Albuquerque, NM
Albuquerque electrical permit cost
Albuquerque prices electrical work by the item, not by the value of the job
and the regional modifier does not touch it: §112.2.1 sets the Table 112-B modifier at 1.0, so the printed rates are the charged rates. Every application starts with a $47.00 administrative charge, then the table's own rows: meter loops at $40.00 each, outlets — communication and signal points, fixtures, switches and receptacles — at $1.50 each for the first 20 and $0.90 each above, commercial lighting fixtures at $1.50 and $1.00, panels at $8.00 and sign connections at $40.00. When plans are required, §112.3 adds 25% of the permit fee as a separate plan review charge.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative charge, $47.00 each applicationPermit fee | $47.00 flat fee | Every permit of this type | — |
| Commercial lighting fixtures — first 20, $1.50 eachPermit fee | $1.50 per lighting fixture | lighting fixtures is provided and lighting fixtures up to 20 | — |
| Commercial lighting fixtures — over 20, $1.00 eachPermit fee | $30.00 for the first 20 lighting fixtures, plus $1.00 for each additional lighting fixture | lighting fixtures is provided and lighting fixtures over 20 | — |
| Meter loop, $40.00 eachPermit fee | $40.00 per meter | Each meter on the permit | — |
| Outlets, receptacles, switches, fixtures and signal points — first 20, $1.50 eachPermit fee | $1.50 per outlet | outlets is provided and outlets up to 20 | — |
| Outlets, receptacles, switches, fixtures and signal points — over 20, $0.90 eachPermit fee | $30.00 for the first 20 outlets, plus $0.90 for each additional outlet | outlets is provided and outlets over 20 | — |
| Electrical panels, $8.00 eachPermit fee | $8.00 per electrical panel | Each electrical panel on the permit | — |
| Sign connections, $40.00 eachPermit fee | $40.00 per sign | Each sign on the permit | — |
| Plan review fee, 25% of the permit feePlan review | 25% of calculated permit fee | plan review is true | — |
| Investigation fee for work without a permit, equal to the permit feeSurcharge | 100% of calculated permit fee | unpermitted work is true | — |
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 permit for 40 outlets and devices, 12 commercial lighting fixtures and one panel, with plans submitted for review.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of electrical panels | 1 |
| Number of outlets | 40 |
| Plan review | Yes |
| Number of lighting fixtures | 12 |
Example total
$151.25
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 5Rules considered 10
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Administrative charge, $47.00 each applicationPermit feeUAC Table 112-B item 1: "Administrative charge applicable to all applications and additions to permits — $47.00 each. EXCEPTION: re-inspection fee." Charged with every electrical permit application, and inside the permit fee that the 25 percent plan review is measured against.Show the working
| $47.00 flat fee | $47.00 |
Commercial lighting fixtures — first 20, $1.50 eachPermit feeUAC Table 112-B item 4: "Installation of commercial lighting fixtures: (a) First 20 — $1.50 each", with the note that "When fluorescent lighting is installed in continuous rows, each unit shall be considered a separate fixture. (The term fixture shall be interpreted to mean the lighting device at any outlet.)"Show the working
| $1.50 per lighting fixture | $18.00 |
Outlets, receptacles, switches, fixtures and signal points — over 20, $0.90 eachPermit feeUAC Table 112-B item 3(b): "All over 20 — $0.90 each." The first twenty are charged at $1.50 each by the row above; this row charges the remainder, so forty outlets are $30.00 plus twenty at $0.90 — $48.00.Show the working
| $30.00 for the first 20 outlets, plus $0.90 for each additional outlet | $48.00 |
Electrical panels, $8.00 eachPermit feeUAC Table 112-B item 7: "Panels — $8.00 each."Show the working
| $8.00 per electrical panel | $8.00 |
Plan review fee, 25% of the permit feePlan reviewUAC §112.3: "The plan review fees for electrical, mechanical, and plumbing, shall be equal to 25 percent of the total permit fee as set forth in Tables 112-B, 112-C, and 112-D." §112.3 adds that this fee "is separate from the permit fee ... and in addition to it", and charges it where §§110.2 and 110.3 require plans — so it is gated behind the plan-review input.Show the working
| 25% of calculated permit fee | $30.25 |
| Total | $151.25 |
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.
- Commercial lighting fixtures — over 20, $1.00 each — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Meter loop, $40.00 each — meter count was not provided, so this component could not be calculated.
- Outlets, receptacles, switches, fixtures and signal points — first 20, $1.50 each — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Sign connections, $40.00 each — sign count was not provided, so this component could not be calculated.
- Investigation fee for work without a permit, equal to the permit fee — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
Limits of this estimate
- meter count is required by at least one fee rule and was not provided (input "custom.meters").
- sign count is required by at least one fee rule and was not provided (input "custom.signs").
Assumptions
- Calculated from 5 fee rules in effect on 2026-09-28.
- Amounts are rounded to the nearest cent, once, at the end of each component.
The administrative charge opens every application at $47.00. The 40 outlets split at the table's own seam: the first 20 at $1.50 is $30.00, the next 20 at $0.90 is $18.00. Twelve lighting fixtures at $1.50 is $18.00 — under the first-20 rate, so the over-twenty dollar does not enter. One panel is $8.00. The permit fee is $121.00, and plan review at 25 percent of it is $30.25 — a total of $151.25 at submittal.
Notice what does not appear: a valuation. This page never asks what the job is worth, because Table 112-B does not price by worth — $1,000 of electrical work and $100,000 of it carry the same rows. The 40th outlet costs $0.90 whether it belongs to a kitchen refresh or a data centre.
The §112.4 investigation fee is the one line that could double this: if the work had already been started without a permit, §112.4.2 collects an investigation fee equal to the permit fee — another $121.00 here, on top of it, with plan review still separate.
What is different in Albuquerque
The two over-twenty rates are different, and the difference is published rather than accidental: outlets drop to $0.90 each above the first 20, while commercial lighting fixtures drop only to $1.00. A job with 40 outlets and 40 lighting fixtures pays $30.00 + $18.00 and $30.00 + $20.00 respectively — the same counts, two schedules, two totals.
The fixture count has a definition worth knowing before quoting it. Table 112-B's note says "When fluorescent lighting is installed in continuous rows, each unit shall be considered a separate fixture" and "The term fixture shall be interpreted to mean the lighting device at any outlet" — so a continuous run of troffers counts by unit, not by run.
Plan review for electrical is a different percentage from the building page's: §112.3 charges 25 percent of the total permit fee for electrical, mechanical and plumbing, against 65 percent for buildings — and it is charged the same way, separately and in addition, at submittal.
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 Table 112-B's administrative charge and per-item rows, with the 25% plan review §112.3 charges when plans are required. It excludes:
- Motor operated equipment, evaporative coolers, residential fixed appliances, transformers, space heating equipment, communication and signal systems, pre-final inspections and swimming pools, all rows of the same table priced per horsepower, per unit or per pool — published, not collected here, because no input on this site takes a horsepower or a pool count.
- Temporary meters, which Table 112-B item 2(a) says require "(separate permit required)" at the same $40.00, and ganged meters at $60.00 per gang — named on the meter loop row rather than charged as their own permits.
- The hourly charges on the trade table: installation for which no fee is prescribed, re-inspection under §113.5.8, and overtime or after-hour inspections, all $47.00 an hour with a two-hour minimum. The building table prints re-inspection as $47.00 each; the trade tables print it per hour, and neither is charged on this page.
- Zoning and hydrology review ($25 or $45 by square footage, $50), which the fee handout prints under its building columns and which belongs to plan review as a whole.
- FasTrax at three times the standard plan review fee, and third-party plan review where the Division allows it.
- Anything charged by another authority — the Construction Industries Division's State licensing and examinations, and utility fees for service and connection work that are not City permit rows.
What you need before applying
- A temporary meter is its own permitMay be required
Table 112-B item 2 prices the meter loop at "$40.00 each" and then prices "(a) Temporary meters (separate permit required) $40.00 each" and "(b) Ganged meters $60.00 per gang" — the schedule says outright that the temporary meter needs its own application, at the same $40.00.
- A homeowner who wants their own electrical or plumbing permit sits an exam firstRequired
The Building Safety Division's permits page: "An electrical or plumbing permit may be issued to a homeowner who successfully completes a written plumbing and/or electrical exam with a score of 75% or greater. If a homeowner cannot obtain the required score, a contractor will be required to request a permit for the work that will be performed. Homeowners will be allowed four (4) hours to complete each exam. Homeowners who do not pass the exam on the first attempt, can retake the exam 30 days later. Only two attempts to pass the exam. Homeowners are only allowed one passing exam a year. A permit will be issued to the homeowner immediately after passing the exam." The same page requires "a licensed contractor ... to obtain a permit" for "all homes leased or rented to others".
Common questions
How is an Albuquerque electrical permit fee calculated?
A $47.00 administrative charge applies to every application, then Table 112-B's per-item rows are charged as printed: $40.00 a meter loop, $1.50 each for the first 20 outlets and $0.90 each above, $1.50 each for the first 20 commercial lighting fixtures and $1.00 each above, $8.00 a panel, $40.00 a sign connection. Plan review, when required, is 25 percent of that permit fee.
Does the regional modifier apply to electrical permits?
No. §112.2.1 sets the modifier for every table except 112-A at 1.0: "The Albuquerque regional modifier for Table 112-B Electrical Permit Fees shall be (1.0)." The .67 and .50 modifiers are building-permit modifiers, and the electrical rates are charged exactly as the table prints them.
How are outlets and lighting fixtures charged above twenty?
Table 112-B splits both rows in two, at different rates: outlets (communication and signal, fixtures, switches and receptacles) are "(a) First 20 — $1.50 each" and "(b) All over 20 — $0.90 each"; commercial lighting fixtures are "(a) First 20 — $1.50 each" and "(b) All over 20 — $1.00 each". Forty outlets are $48.00 and forty lighting fixtures are $50.00.
Is plan review 65 percent for electrical too?
No — 65 percent is the building and sign rate. §112.3 sets the electrical, mechanical and plumbing plan review fee at "25 percent of the total permit fee as set forth in Tables 112-B, 112-C, and 112-D", and charges it the same way: separate from the permit fee and in addition to it, paid when plans are submitted.
Are motors, transformers and swimming pools priced here?
No. Table 112-B publishes rows for motor operated equipment by horsepower, evaporative coolers, residential fixed appliances, transformers, space heating equipment per 1,000 watts, communication and signal systems, pre-final inspections and public and private swimming pools — and this page does not collect a horsepower, a wattage or a pool, so those rows are named rather than charged.
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 City's own PDF of the 2024 UAC edition, whose Exhibit A states that the technical codes it amends carry an effective date of January 1, 2025. Section 112 read in full: §112.2's instruction that permit fees be set by Table 112-A and the other tables; §112.2.1's estimated-permit-value rule and the modifier schedule (.67 commercial and apartments, .50 one- and two-family and townhouse, 1.0 for Tables 112-B through 112-G, each with a $23.50 minimum on Table 112-A); §112.3's plan review fees (65 percent of the building or sign permit fee, 25 percent of the electrical, mechanical and plumbing permit fee, 'separate fees from the permit fees ... and are in addition to the permit fees'); §112.4's investigation fee for work without a permit; §112.5 on refunds; and Tables 112-A, 112-B and 112-D line by line. The fee tables themselves are printed inside this document — Section 112 collects no fees anywhere else.
- City websiteCityPrimary source
City of Albuquerque Building Safety Division — Frequently Asked Questions
Read 2026-09-25. The Division answers "Plan review fees are paid at the time of submittal. They are 65% of the permit fee, plus zoning and hydrology fees" — the counter-side of §112.3, and the sentence that settled how plan review is modelled here: it is a charge, it is paid up front, and it is on top of the permit. The same page describes FasTrax as "an optional expedited plan review program ... The fee for this expedited service is three times the cost for the standard plan review", and states that fees "are based on the square footage and valuation of the construction project".
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.