Nashua, NH
Nashua electrical permit cost
A Nashua electrical permit is priced from measurements rather than from cost.
A new house pays $0.080 per square foot of habitable area for the wiring; a commercial service entrance is $0.50 per ampere; each outlet, switch, receptacle, smoke detector and lighting fixture is $1.00; a panel is $30.00; a house meter or a meter relocation is $55.00; an in-ground pool is $60.00; and low-voltage wiring is $0.080 per square foot of work area. Every application carries a $50.00 non-refundable fee on top.
How this fee is calculated
These are the components the schedule defines for this permit, as they applied on 2026-09-28. A component only applies to your project if its conditions match — read that column before assuming a figure. Want a figure for your own project? Estimate this fee with the permit fee calculator.
| Component | Formula | Applies when | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical permit application fee, $50.00Other fee | $50.00 flat fee | Every permit of this type | — |
| Electrical permit — annual permit, $300.00Permit fee | $300.00 flat fee | Occupancy is not residential and annual permit is true | — |
| Electrical permit — commercial lighting fixtures, $1.00 eachPermit fee | $1.00 per lighting fixture | Occupancy is not residential and lighting fixtures is provided | — |
| Electrical permit — commercial outlets, $1.00 eachPermit fee | $1.00 per outlet | Occupancy is not residential and outlets is provided | — |
| Electrical permit — commercial panels and subpanels, $30.00 eachPermit fee | $30.00 per electrical panel | Occupancy is not residential and panels is provided | — |
| Electrical permit — commercial service entrance, $0.50 per amperePermit fee | $0.5 per ampere | Occupancy is not residential and service entrance is true | — |
| Electrical permit — illuminated signs, $35.00 eachPermit fee | $35.00 per sign | Occupancy is not residential and signs is provided | — |
| Electrical permit — commercial electric water heaters, $15.00 eachPermit fee | $15.00 per heater | Occupancy is not residential and heaters is provided | — |
| Electrical permit — house meter, $55.00Permit fee | $55.00 flat fee | Occupancy is residential and house meter is true | — |
| Electrical permit — low-voltage wiring, $0.080 per sq ftPermit fee | $0.08 per sq ft | Occupancy is residential and low voltage is true | — |
| Electrical permit — adding or relocating a meter, $55.00Permit fee | $55.00 flat fee | Occupancy is residential and meter work is true | — |
| Electrical permit — in-ground pool, $60.00Permit fee | $60.00 flat fee | Occupancy is residential and pool is true | — |
| Electrical permit — new residential construction, $0.080 per sq ftPermit fee | $0.08 per sq ft | Occupancy is residential and electrical new construction is true | — |
| Electrical permit — residential service entrance, $35.00Permit fee | $35.00 flat fee | Occupancy is residential and service entrance is true | — |
| Electrical permit — service change, by dwelling unitPermit fee | $55.00 for the first 2 dwelling units, plus $20.00 for each additional dwelling unit | Occupancy is residential and service change is true | — |
| Electrical permit — subpanel, $30.00 eachPermit fee | $30.00 per electrical panel | Occupancy is residential and panels is provided | — |
| Electrical permit — temporary service, $50.00Permit fee | $50.00 flat fee | temporary service is true | — |
| Re-inspection fee, $75.00Inspection fee | $75.00 flat fee | reinspection is true | — |
| Surcharge for work started without a permit, commercial (100%, capped at $750.00)Surcharge | 100% of fees charged | worked without permit is true and Occupancy is not residential | max $750.00 |
| Surcharge for work started without a permit, residential (100%, capped at $275.00)Surcharge | 100% of fees charged | worked without permit is true and Occupancy is residential | max $275.00 |
A real permit fee is these components added together. The department’s final calculation is the one that applies — this is the schedule it will be based on.
A worked example
Follow the arithmetic by hand. Every line is produced by the engine from the rules above, so the total cannot drift away from the schedule behind it.
Worked example
A commercial fit-out: a 400-ampere service entrance, 120 outlets and switches, and 60 lighting fixtures, with no other permit on the job.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Occupancy class | Commercial |
| Number of outlets | 120 |
| Service amperage | 400 A |
| Service entrance | Yes |
| Number of lighting fixtures | 60 |
Example total
$430.00
An estimate, not an official fee. It is calculated from the published fee schedule as it applied on 2026-09-28. The permit office’s own calculation is the one that applies, and your project may fall under rules this schedule does not describe.
Fee schedule as of 2026-09-28Rules applied 4Rules considered 20
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Electrical permit application fee, $50.00Other fee§105-28C(1)(a) and §105-28C(2)(a) — a nonrefundable application processing and review fee, $50.00, in both the residential and the commercial table.Show the working
| $50.00 flat fee | $50.00 |
Electrical permit — commercial lighting fixtures, $1.00 eachPermit fee§105-28C(2)(e)[2] — for lighting and lighting fixtures, each: $1.00, where "each four feet of continuous fluorescent lighting shall be deemed a separate lighting fixture". The conversion is the filer's to make; the site charges the fixture count it is given.Show the working
| $1.00 per lighting fixture | $60.00 |
Electrical permit — commercial outlets, $1.00 eachPermit fee§105-28C(2)(e)[1] — for switches, receptacles, and fire and smoke detectors, each: $1.00.Show the working
| $1.00 per outlet | $120.00 |
Electrical permit — commercial service entrance, $0.50 per amperePermit fee§105-28C(2)(b) — electrical service entrance and service change, per amp: $0.50. Priced on the amperage of the service rather than on the cost of the work, which is what makes a commercial service upgrade cheap against a commercial fit-out.Show the working
| $0.5 per ampere | $200.00 |
| Total | $430.00 |
Fees that do not apply here
Listed so you can see what was considered and left out, rather than wondering whether something is missing. A rule can also be left out because it is not published for this permit at all, and that is stated where it matters.
- Electrical permit — annual permit, $300.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electrical permit — commercial panels and subpanels, $30.00 each — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electrical permit — illuminated signs, $35.00 each — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electrical permit — commercial electric water heaters, $15.00 each — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electrical permit — house meter, $55.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electrical permit — low-voltage wiring, $0.080 per sq ft — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electrical permit — adding or relocating a meter, $55.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electrical permit — in-ground pool, $60.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electrical permit — new residential construction, $0.080 per sq ft — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electrical permit — residential service entrance, $35.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electrical permit — service change, by dwelling unit — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electrical permit — subpanel, $30.00 each — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electrical permit — temporary service, $50.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Re-inspection fee, $75.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Surcharge for work started without a permit, commercial (100%, capped at $750.00) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Surcharge for work started without a permit, residential (100%, capped at $275.00) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
Assumptions
- Calculated from 4 fee rules in effect on 2026-09-28.
- Amounts are rounded to the nearest cent, once, at the end of each component.
Every row is priced from a count rather than from a cost.
- Service entrance: 400 amperes at $0.50 is $200.00.
- Outlets, switches, receptacles and fire and smoke detectors: 120 at $1.00 is $120.00.
- Lighting fixtures: 60 at $1.00 is $60.00, where the schedule counts four feet of continuous fluorescent lighting as one fixture — a conversion the filer makes, since the City prices fixtures and not feet.
- Application fee: $50.00.
That is $430.00. Put the same measurements into a house and almost none of it applies: a new dwelling is priced at $0.080 per square foot of habitable area, its outlets are not counted, and its service entrance is a flat $35.00 instead of a rate per ampere.
What is different in Nashua
The divide that matters is residential against commercial, because the two tables are priced on entirely different things. A house's electrical permit is measured in habitable square feet at $0.080 — 3,000 square feet is $240.00 — and a house's outlets are not counted at all. A commercial building is counted item by item instead: $1.00 an outlet, $1.00 a lighting fixture, $30.00 a panel, $35.00 a sign, $0.50 an ampere of service.
Two rows catch people out. The first is low voltage: phone, data, television and alarm wiring is its own row at $0.080 per square foot of work area, priced by area rather than by device, and it only appears on the residential table. The second is that a commercial service entrance is charged per ampere, so a 400-ampere service is $200.00 on its own — against $35.00 for a new dwelling's service entrance, which is a flat fee.
The schedule also prices an annual permit at $300.00, in lieu of an individual permit for each alteration, for a firm with a certified electrician on premises it owns or operates. That is the only fee in the article that replaces others rather than adding to them.
What this figure does not include
Impact fees, utility connections and other departments’ permits are the usual omissions, and in some jurisdictions they are larger than the permit fee itself.
Not included in these figures
This is the §105-28C rows plus the $50.00 application fee, the $75.00 re-inspection fee and the unpermitted-work surcharge. It excludes:
- Where a row needs a unit the calculator does not count. Ranges, dryers and similar heating devices are $15.00 each; high-intensity lighting 250 watts and above is $15.00 each; fixed multi-outlet receptacle assemblies are $8.00 per six feet; track lighting $8.00 per ten feet; motor control centres, automatic transfer switches and HVAC unit wiring $35.00 each; electric baseboard heat $10.00 a unit; bus ducts $15.00 a section; transformers, generators, motors and x-ray machines $25.00 each; paging and sound systems $5.00 a speaker and $25.00 a console. All are published, and none is charged here.
- Circuit breakers, conduit runs and wire lengths, which the schedule does not price at all — Nashua counts devices, not circuits.
- The discretionary minimum for miscellaneous equipment, $40.00, which applies where the Code Official judges it appropriate.
- Signs, in the case of an illuminated sign, which is charged here and also requires the sign to be UL listed and labelled.
- Re-inspection above $75.00 in effect: the fee is $75.00 for the same work, and a job that fails repeatedly is charged it again rather than more.
- Fire alarm and sprinkler permits, which are the Fire Marshal's, and the mechanical and plumbing permits a job usually carries alongside this one.
- Everything the building schedule prices, including the $35.00 filing fee and the $25.00 land use review fee the department's summary describes.
What you need before applying
- A licensed electrician's number on the applicationRequired
The electrical permit forms carry a Licence # field beside the contractor's signature, and the applicant attests that "all statements made on this application are true to the best of my knowledge" — a false statement on the form being a criminal offence. An Eversource work order number is required against the service entrance, house meter and service-change rows.
Common questions
How much does an outlet cost on a Nashua electrical permit?
$1.00 each on the commercial table, for switches, receptacles, and fire and smoke detectors. Residential permits are not priced per outlet — a house is charged $0.080 per square foot of habitable area for new construction instead.
How is a commercial service entrance priced?
At $0.50 per ampere, so a 200-ampere service is $100.00 and a 400-ampere service is $200.00. A house's service entrance is different: a flat $35.00 for a new dwelling, and $55.00 for a service change covering up to two units with $20.00 for each additional one.
What does a Nashua electrical permit cost for a new house?
$0.080 per square foot of habitable area, plus $35.00 for the service entrance, plus $55.00 for the house meter, plus the $50.00 application fee. A 3,000 square foot house is $240.00 of area charge, and the two equipment rows bring it to $330.00 before the application fee.
Is low-voltage wiring priced separately?
Yes — $0.080 per square foot of work area, as its own residential row. Phone, data, television and alarm wiring are priced by area rather than by device, which is why a large cabling job in a small building is cheaper than the count would suggest.
What is the annual electrical permit?
$300.00, issued in lieu of an individual permit for each alteration to an approved installation to a firm regularly employing one or more certified electricians on premises it owns or operates, against a detailed record of every alteration kept available to the Code Official.
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- Municipal codeCityPrimary source
Read 2026-09-25 from the codifier's consolidation (code date 2026-02-10). §105-28 carries four schedules — A building, B mechanical, C electrical, D plumbing — with the amending ordinance and date printed against each subsection, most recently 3-9-2021 by Ord. No. O-21-045. This is the operative source for every fee rule in the seed.
- Official documentCityPrimary source
Residential Electrical Permit application, City of Nashua
Read 2026-09-25 as a scanned PDF with no text layer, so its figures were read as page images against the code text rather than extracted. Prints the §105-28C(1) rows as an itemised table with a $50.00 application fee line and the $275.00 surcharge footnote. Four sibling forms — commercial electrical, residential and commercial mechanical, commercial plumbing — were printed from their own URLs beside it.
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.