Durham, NC
Durham electrical permit cost
A Durham electrical permit is priced by the count of what is being permitted
in the schedule's own rows rather than as a share of anything. House service is flat by size — $156.00 for a 100 to 200 ampere service and $187.00 for 400 amperes, one permit per house meter on a multi-family project. Outlets are $21.00 for the first ten and $0.83 for each one after that, and fixtures are the same shape on their own row. Service equipment not covered by those schedules is priced by the ampacity of its buses: $34.00 up to 100 amperes and $6.97 for each additional 100 amperes or fraction thereof. Water heaters are $10.90 each, an electric sign's first circuit is $10.90 with $3.22 for each further circuit, and three floors sit underneath the whole schedule — a $65.00 minimum permit fee, and $100.00 residential or $150.00 commercial for a permit that requires a rough-in inspection.
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 fixturesPermit fee | $21.00 for the first 10 fixtures, plus $0.83 for each additional fixture | Fixtures is provided | — |
| Mobile home, one inspection onlyPermit fee | $65.00 flat fee | electrical item is mobile home | — |
| Modular unitPermit fee | $69.00 flat fee | electrical item is modular unit | — |
| Outlets for lights, receptacles and switchesPermit fee | $21.00 for the first 10 outlets, plus $0.83 for each additional outlet | outlets is provided | — |
| House service, 100 to 200 amperesPermit fee | $156.00 flat fee | electrical service is service 100 200 | — |
| House service, 400 amperesPermit fee | $187.00 flat fee | electrical service is service 400 | — |
| Service equipment by ampacity of the busesPermit fee | $34.00 + $69.70 per 1,000 amperes of service amperage above 100 A, or fraction thereof | electrical service is not provided and amperage is provided | — |
| Electric signs and outline lighting, by circuitPermit fee | $10.90 for the first circuit, plus $3.22 for each additional circuit | circuits is provided | — |
| Solar photovoltaic panel inspection, commercialPermit fee | $150.00 flat fee | electrical item is solar commercial | — |
| Solar photovoltaic panel inspection, residentialPermit fee | $100.00 flat fee | electrical item is solar residential | — |
| Electric water heaters or boilersPermit fee | $10.90 per heater | heaters is provided | — |
| Minimum electrical permit fee, $65.00Permit fee | the shortfall up to the $65.00 minimum on calculated permit fee | permit fee under 6500 | — |
| Minimum fee for a commercial permit requiring a rough-in inspection, $150.00Permit fee | the shortfall up to the $150.00 minimum on calculated permit fee | rough in is true and Occupancy is not residential and permit fee under 15000 | — |
| Minimum fee for a residential permit requiring a rough-in inspection, $100.00Permit fee | the shortfall up to the $100.00 minimum on calculated permit fee | rough in is true and Occupancy is residential and permit fee under 10000 | — |
| Paper application surchargeSurcharge | $5.00 flat fee | paper application 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 new house's electrical permit in Durham: a 100-to-200-ampere service and eighteen outlets on general-purpose branch circuits.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Occupancy class | Residential |
| Number of outlets | 18 |
| Electrical service | service_100_200 |
Example total
$183.64
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 2Rules considered 15
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Outlets for lights, receptacles and switchesPermit feeSchedule B: "1 - 10 outlets $21.00 / Each additional outlet $0.83", for outlets on general-purpose branch circuits with two or more outlets. The flat charge covers the first ten together, so eleven outlets are $21.83 and not $21.00 plus eleven rates.Show the working
| $21.00 for the first 10 outlets, plus $0.83 for each additional outlet | $27.64 |
House service, 100 to 200 amperesPermit feeElectrical Permit Fee Schedule, Schedule A: "100 amp to 200 amp service $156.00", for new residential dwellings and multi-family — "For house service of Multi-Family projects, a separate Electrical Permit is required for each house meter."Show the working
| $156.00 flat fee | $156.00 |
| Total | $183.64 |
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 fixtures — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Mobile home, one inspection only — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Modular unit — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- House service, 400 amperes — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Service equipment by ampacity of the buses — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electric signs and outline lighting, by circuit — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Solar photovoltaic panel inspection, commercial — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Solar photovoltaic panel inspection, residential — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electric water heaters or boilers — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Minimum electrical permit fee, $65.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Minimum fee for a commercial permit requiring a rough-in inspection, $150.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Minimum fee for a residential permit requiring a rough-in inspection, $100.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Paper application surcharge — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
Assumptions
- Calculated from 2 fee rules in effect on 2026-09-28.
- Amounts are rounded to the nearest cent, once, at the end of each component.
Two rows, both from their own schedule: the 100-to-200-ampere service is $156.00 flat, and the outlet row is $21.00 for the first ten together plus $0.83 for each of the eight after — $27.64. The permit is $183.64, comfortably above the $65.00 minimum, so no floor is charged; the paper-application surcharge is not applied either, because the application was electronic.
Three variations show the parts that bite. Three outlets on their own come to $21.00, which is below the minimum, so the permit is the $65.00 minimum permit fee — and if that job also needs a rough-in inspection, a residential permit is brought to $100.00 and a commercial one to $150.00, the shortfall measured after the $65.00 floor rather than added to it. Service equipment of 450 amperes on a non-dwelling job is $34.00 for the first 100 and four rounded increments of $6.97 for the rest — $61.88. A paper application adds the schedule's $5.00 surcharge to the total.
One caution belongs with the number. Schedule A house service and Schedule F's service equipment are alternatives, and the calculator charges the one the applicant selected: a 400-ampere dwelling service is $187.00, not the ampacity arithmetic of the miscellaneous schedule.
What is different in Durham
The floors are what make this schedule different from the building one, and they are floors on the permit, not on any row. A job of eighteen outlets is $21.00 plus eight at $0.83 — $27.64 — which is well under $65.00, so the permit pays $65.00. The schedule states three amounts for one permit, and they are reached in that order rather than added: the small job is brought to $65.00, and when a rough-in inspection is required a residential job is then brought to $100.00 and a commercial one to $150.00. Three floors never become three charges. A job that already clears them pays nothing for them at all — a 200-ampere service at $156.00 with eighteen outlets at $27.64 is $183.64, and the floors are silent. On top sits a $5.00 surcharge for a paper application, which the schedule applies to any plumbing, electrical or mechanical application submitted manually rather than electronically.
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 estimate is the electrical schedule's priced rows, its three permit-level floors and the paper surcharge. It excludes:
- The technology surcharge as a separate amount, because the schedule's header states its figures include it.
- Electrical Schedule D, motors and generators: "Minimum charge $18.00 / Each motor $3.22 / Additional charge per hp or fraction thereof, applied against total hp $0.62". Two of those three lines are variables and the schedule does not say whether the minimum includes the first motor's $3.22 or replaces it, so all three amounts are named rather than one guessed at.
- The remaining device rows of Schedule E: disposals under 1 hp, dryers and dishwashers, electric heat (first unit $10.90, each after $3.95), unit heaters and furnaces by kilowatt, and "all other devices, appliances or equipment … each $10.90".
- Feeders and transformers, priced by the ampacity of the feeder itself — a second amperage figure the schedule does not ask this calculator for — and the lampholder and solar ground-mount trip rows.
- Re-inspections and re-reviews: $100.00 when an inspection is not ready or five or more code violations are found, $200.00 for a third reinspection, $300.00 for a fourth, $200.00 for a second plan re-review and $300.00 for each after; the first re-review is free.
- After-hours inspections at $125.00 per hour with a two-hour minimum, and commercial reinspection at $65.00.
- The mechanical permit, published as a fourth schedule and not priced on this site.
What you need before applying
- Three floors can apply to one electrical permitRequired
The schedule states a $65.00 minimum permit fee and, for a permit requiring a rough-in inspection, a $100.00 residential or $150.00 commercial minimum. They are floors on the permit rather than on any one row, and they are reached in that order: a small job is brought to $65.00, and a rough-in job is then brought to $100.00 or $150.00 — never charged three times over.
Common questions
How much is a Durham electrical permit for a small job?
The schedule's floor is $65.00. Three outlets are $21.00 on the outlet row, so the permit is $65.00 — the minimum is on the permit, not on the row, and a job whose rows already clear it pays only what the rows come to.
Electrical Permit Fee Schedule, Schedules B and G
How are outlets and fixtures priced?
$21.00 for the first ten of either, and $0.83 for each one after that. The flat charge covers the first ten together, so eighteen outlets are $21.00 plus eight at $0.83 — $27.64 — and not $21.00 plus eighteen rates. Fixtures are priced on their own row in the same shape.
Electrical Permit Fee Schedule, Schedules B and C
What is the rough-in minimum?
"Minimum fee for any permit requiring a rough-in inspection: Commercial $150.00 / Residential $100.00". It is a floor on the permit, reached after the $65.00 minimum rather than added to it: a residential job charging $21.00 is brought to $65.00 and then to $100.00, which is one shortfall of $79.00 and not two separate charges.
Electrical Permit Fee Schedule, Schedule G
How much is an electrical permit for a new 200-ampere service?
$156.00 for a 100-to-200-ampere house service, one permit per house meter — a multi-family project needs a separate permit for each meter. Add the other rows the job involves: eighteen outlets on the same permit are $27.64, for $183.64 together.
Electrical Permit Fee Schedule, Schedule A
Is there a technology surcharge on Durham's electrical permits?
Not as a separate line. Every Durham schedule carries the header `(Effective 7/1/18--Includes Technology Surcharge)`, so the published amounts already contain it. What the schedule does add separately is the $5.00 paper-application surcharge, charged when the application is submitted manually rather than through the electronic system.
Electrical Permit Fee Schedule, header and surcharge notice
Does Durham price an electrical permit by square footage or valuation?
No. The electrical schedule's only measurement of the work is the count of things being permitted — services, outlets, fixtures, circuits, amperes of service equipment. That is the clearest difference from the building schedule next door, which prices a new house by gross area, and from Raleigh's schedule, which prices a trade permit as a share of the building permit fee.
Electrical Permit Fee Schedule, Schedules A to G
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- Fee schedule (PDF)CityPrimary source
Durham City-County Building & Safety Department — Electrical Permit Fee Schedule
Read 2026-09-25, 1,084,801 bytes, sha256 beginning `10763b17d1426cc4`. Four pages, Schedules A to H, plus the paper-application surcharge notice that heads every trade schedule. The three floors — $65.00 minimum permit, $100.00 residential and $150.00 commercial for a permit requiring a rough-in inspection — are all on this document, and they are stated per permit rather than per row.
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.