Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia electrical permit cost
Philadelphia charges one electrical permit fee for every occupancy:
$25 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of estimated electrical construction cost, with a published minimum of $63 and a published maximum of $18,975. The "or fraction" means the estimate rounds up to the next thousand — $12,400 of cost is thirteen increments, not twelve and a fraction — and above $759,000 of estimated cost the fee stops climbing at the ceiling the schedule prints. A $100 filing fee is paid when you apply, is nonrefundable, and is counted toward this permit fee; the City's $3.00 and the State's $4.50 surcharges ride on top, and an optional $150 rough-in permit is its own separate application.
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 — $25 per $1,000 or fraction of estimated costPermit fee | $25.00 per $1,000 of project valuation, or fraction thereof | Every permit of this type | min $63.00 · max $18,975.00 |
| Filing fee floor — electrical permit, $100.00Permit fee | the shortfall up to the $100.00 minimum on calculated permit fee | permit fee under 10000 | — |
| Electrical rough-in permit, $150 (optional, separate application)Other fee | $150.00 flat fee | rough in is true | — |
| City surcharge, $3.00 per permitSurcharge | $3.00 flat fee | Every permit of this type | — |
| State surcharge, $4.50 per permitState surcharge | $4.50 flat fee | Every permit of this type | — |
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
An electrical remodel of an existing commercial space whose estimated electrical construction cost is twelve thousand four hundred dollars.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Project valuation | $12,400 |
| Occupancy class | Commercial |
| Type of work | Alteration |
Example total
$332.50
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 3Rules considered 5
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Electrical permit — $25 per $1,000 or fraction of estimated costPermit fee§4-A-903.2, as L&I's fee regulation quotes it: "The permit fee for electrical work shall be $25 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of estimated electrical construction costs; minimum fee of $63 and maximum fee of $18,975" — the same three figures the electrical permit page publishes. One row for every occupancy: PG_012 prints the cell spanning both columns, so a house and a warehouse are priced identically here. "Or fraction thereof" means $12,400 of cost is thirteen increments and $325.00 of fee, and the published maximum is modelled as the rule's own ceiling: above $759,000 of estimated cost the fee stops at $18,975.Show the working
| $25.00 per $1,000 of project valuation, or fraction thereof, in $1,000 steps | $325.00 |
City surcharge, $3.00 per permitSurchargeEvery L&I service page's Cost block: "City surcharge: $3 per permit". Flat, per permit, and outside the permit fee — the City's rough-in standard prints the two surcharges together as "Surcharges of $7.50 will apply". It is not in PG_012's table at all, which is why the table's own column totals are $7.50 short of what a filer pays.Show the working
| $3.00 flat fee | $3.00 |
State surcharge, $4.50 per permitState surchargeEvery L&I service page's Cost block: "State surcharge: $4.50 per permit" — a Commonwealth charge the City collects with its own fee, printed beside the City's $3.00 and summed as $7.50 in the rough-in standard. Neither PG_012 nor L&I's fee regulation contains the figure, so the source recorded here is the service page rather than an ordinance this pass could read.Show the working
| $4.50 flat fee | $4.50 |
| Total | $332.50 |
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.
- Filing fee floor — electrical permit, $100.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electrical rough-in permit, $150 (optional, separate application) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
Assumptions
- Calculated from 3 fee rules in effect on 2026-09-28.
- Amounts are rounded to the nearest cent, once, at the end of each component.
$12,400 is thirteen thousands once the "or fraction thereof" rounds it up, and thirteen × $25 is $325.00 — comfortably above the published $63 minimum, so the minimum contributes nothing, and comfortably below the $18,975 maximum, so neither does that. The $100 filing fee again has nothing to add: a $325 permit fee is already above it. The two surcharges complete the stack at $332.50.
The neighbouring cases show each boundary doing its job. The same scope estimated at $1,000 prices at $25, the $63 minimum lifts it to $63, and the filing-fee floor then adds the $37 shortfall — the permit fee the filer actually owes is $100, the filing fee already paid. And a scope estimated at $800,000 prices at $2,000 of fee before the schedule's own ceiling holds it at $18,975.
What is different in Philadelphia
Two published numbers deserve to be read together, because one of them is quietly unreachable. The $63 minimum never governs on its own: the $100 filing fee is credited against the permit fee, so a job whose permit fee would be $25 or $63 is topped up to $100 — the shortfall between the permit fee and the filing fee, not a second charge. The maximum, on the other hand, does bind: an electrical scope estimated at $800,000 would price at $2,000 of fee and is held to $18,975, which is the first published ceiling this site has modeled on a permit fee itself.
The rough-in is held outside the permit fee deliberately. L&I treats it as its own application — submitted after the main application is accepted for review, valid 60 days, only while the work is still visible, and impossible to obtain once the full permit has approved — so charging it as a separate component keeps the filing-fee floor measuring the permit rather than the two together.
And the exemptions are real and listed: Title 4-A-301.2.3 says a permit may not be needed at all for regular-maintenance repairs — replacing lamps, breakers, fuses, switches, sockets, receptacles and bulbs, and replacing lighting fixtures to existing conditions among 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 PG_012's electrical fee as L&I's regulation quotes it (§4-A-903.2), the $100 filing fee credited toward it, and the $7.50 of surcharges. It excludes:
- The record retention fee of $4 per plan.
- Accelerated Plan Review, $1,050 for this permit, optional and not credited — "$350 is due when you apply. You must pay the remainder once approved."
- The rough-in permit's timing rules, which are modelled as a component but not as a deadline: 60 days, work not concealed, no approval once the full permit has issued.
- Payment surcharges — credit +2.10% (minimum $1.50), debit +$3.45 — and the $500,000 limit on online eCLIPSE payments.
- A separate PECO service and meter application, which the City notes may be required.
- The paired building permit: "A separate Building Permit is required for all interior and exterior renovations… no Electrical Permit will be issued until the Building Permit is issued" — a sequencing rule, not a fee.
- Every other authority's charge, including Philadelphia Department of Public Health permits for emergency generators and fire pumps.
What you need before applying
- A licensed electrical contractor, and a licensed agency for every inspectionRequired
"A licensed electrical contractor must perform all electrical work" — active license, current on City taxes, current insurance on file with L&I — and where someone other than the electrical contractor files, the application must carry a signed statement on the contractor's letterhead affirming association with the project. Inspections are third-party by rule: "The owner or the owner's agent must hire a licensed electrical inspection agency to perform all inspections." From July 1, 2026 a permit application including an electric vehicle charger also requires the named contractor to hold a valid EVITP certification on file with the license.
- Work that needs no electrical permit at all — Title 4-A-301.2.3May be required
"In accordance with Title 4-A-301.2.3, you may not even need an Electrical Permit for the following work": repairs related to regular maintenance — "the replacement of lamps, circuit breakers and fuses; repairing or replacing switches, lamp sockets, ballasts, drop cords, receptacles and bulbs; taping bare joints; and replacing lighting fixtures to existing conditions" — connection of approved portable equipment to permanently installed receptacles, work on regulated public utility equipment, removal of wiring in a demolition, temporary systems for testing or servicing, electrical componentry in partition systems, low-voltage wiring in one-and-two-family and Group U occupancies, railway cars and automotive equipment, and conductors or equipment of public utilities under Commonwealth or federal jurisdiction.
Common questions
How much is an electrical permit in Philadelphia?
$25 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of estimated electrical construction cost, with a minimum fee of $63 and a maximum of $18,975. One row for every occupancy — PG_012 prints it as a single cell spanning both columns, so a house and a warehouse are priced identically. $12,400 of estimated cost is thirteen increments and $325 of fee.
Electrical permit page, Cost block; Philadelphia Code §4-A-903.2 as quoted in L&I's fee regulation.
What is the filing fee for an electrical permit?
$100, nonrefundable, "counted toward the final permit fee". Because it is credited it works as a floor: if the calculated permit fee comes in below $100, this site adds only the difference — a $63 permit fee picks up a $37 shortfall — and above $100 nothing is added at all. The $3 City and $4.50 State surcharges are separate and apply to every permit.
Electrical permit page, Cost block, read 2026-09-25.
Does the $63 minimum ever apply?
It is applied, but the filing fee usually supersedes it. The $63 minimum is the schedule's floor on the permit fee itself; the $100 filing fee, credited against that same fee, sits above it — so a small job lands at a $100 permit fee: the $63 minimum, then the $37 shortfall to the filing fee. The $63 figure is visible in the breakdown; it just never survives as the final number.
Electrical permit page ("Minimum fee: $63") with its filing-fee sentence; both read 2026-09-25.
Do I need a permit to replace a light switch or a receptacle?
Usually not. "In accordance with Title 4-A-301.2.3, you may not even need an Electrical Permit" for repairs related to regular maintenance — the City's list includes "the replacement of lamps, circuit breakers and fuses; repairing or replacing switches, lamp sockets, ballasts, drop cords, receptacles and bulbs; taping bare joints; and replacing lighting fixtures to existing conditions." New wiring, relocated devices and anything beyond like-for-like replacement are permitted work.
Electrical permit page, "Projects that may not need permits", citing Title 4-A-301.2.3.
What is an electrical rough-in permit?
A $150 permit to install cables and conduit before the full permit is issued. You apply for the electrical permit first — including plans and fees, requesting the rough-in on that application — and once it is accepted for review you "must submit a separate application for the rough-in approval". Approval lasts 60 days, the work must not be concealed, and it cannot be granted once the full permit has been approved.
Electrical permit page, "Rough-in Permits" and Cost block, read 2026-09-25.
Who performs the electrical inspections?
A third party you hire. "The owner or the owner's agent must hire a licensed electrical inspection agency to perform all inspections." The permit itself also needs a licensed electrical contractor — active license, current City taxes, insurance on file with L&I — and from July 1, 2026 any application naming an electric vehicle charger needs EVITP certification on the contractor's license.
Electrical permit page, "Third-party inspection" and "Contractor", read 2026-09-25.
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- Fee schedule (PDF)CityPrimary source
Construction Permit Fees, effective January 1, 2025 (PG_012, Rev 2.2026)
Read 2026-09-25 in both pdftotext -layout and plain modes, because layout mode mispairs labels with amounts in this document (its "Foundation Only" row appears to sit beside "$16.40 per 100 sq. ft."). Four pages, two columns — Residential (1 or 2 family) and Other Occupancies — covering building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, fire suppression and administration. Every figure this site charges comes from this table; the pairings recorded in the research file are the ones both extraction modes and the City's service pages agree on.
- City websiteCityPrimary source
Get an Electrical Permit — City of Philadelphia
Read 2026-09-25. Publishes the electrical fee in words — "The permit fee for electrical work is $25 for each $1000 or fraction thereof of estimated electrical construction cost. Minimum fee: $63. Maximum fee: $18,975" — the $100 filing fee ("nonrefundable … counted toward the final permit fee"), the $150 rough-in as its own application valid 60 days while the work is not concealed, the exemption list of Title 4-A-301.2.3, the third-party inspection rule ("The owner or the owner's agent must hire a licensed electrical inspection agency to perform all inspections"), the $1,050 accelerated review, and the rule that no electrical permit issues until the paired building permit has issued.
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.