Electrical Panel Upgrade Permit: Rules, Who Can Pull It and Permit Data

Quick Facts

From our city pages and each city's open permit data (refreshed October 30, 2026).

Why There Is No Exemption for Panel Work

Model codes and the cities we track carve out small electrical tasks from permits: Austin's exemption list, for example, allows replacing a breaker of the required capacity in the same location. Replacing the panel itself, adding a subpanel or upsizing the service goes well beyond that list. Service work affects the meter, the service entrance conductors and grounding, and it usually requires the utility to disconnect and reconnect power.

Step-by-Step: What to Do

1. Get a load calculation or written reason for the size you are buying.
2. Confirm the electrician's license and that they will pull the permit.
3. Coordinate the utility disconnect and reconnect; the electrician usually books it.
4. Pass the city's electrical inspection before the utility restores power where required.
5. Keep the permit and final inspection for resale and insurance.

City Rules From Official Sources

Chicago

The Department of Buildings' Express Permit Program lists "performing electrical work, including new electrical service up to 400 amps" as eligible for residential remodeling permits without plan review. Our matched records show the scale: 3,360 permits; median 0 days to issue. Many Chicago descriptions say "electrical service" or give an amperage rather than "panel", so this count includes service upgrades as well as panel changes.

Los Angeles

LADBS lists electrical installations under 600 volts and up to 400 amps total load in existing residential buildings as express permits, with no plan check. It also lists EV charging installations up to 400 amps of service, including any needed service upgrade. Matching LA records were few (6), so we do not publish a figure for Los Angeles.

New Orleans

New Orleans requires an electrical permit to install, repair, replace or alter any electrical equipment except light bulbs and fuses, and only a contractor with a City Class "A" electrical license can obtain one. The published fee is a $40 application fee plus $3 per new circuit plus $0.30 per amp of service, so the service amperage portion of a 200-amp service is $60. The permit lapses after six months of inactivity.

New York City

NYC's Department of Buildings requires an electrical permit for electrical installation, alteration or repair, filed by a New York City licensed electrician. Our matched New York records for panel or service work were too few to publish.

Austin

Austin's exemption list covers only minor electrical work, such as replacing a breaker of the same capacity in the same location. Its Residential Change-Out permit, which covers HVAC and water heaters, excludes work involving circuits larger than 50 amps, so a panel or service change goes through a regular electrical permit. Austin still issued 1,624 permits; median 5 days to issue in our data.

How Many Panel and Service Permits Each City Issued

Permits issued 2025-10-30 through 2026-10-30, matched by keywords in each city's published permit descriptions. A permit can cover more than one job, and description wording varies by city, so treat counts as a floor rather than an exact total.

The median days figures show how fast a no-plans electrical permit can move: a few days in Austin and New Orleans. Chicago's records report a median of 0 days, meaning at least half of these permits were issued on the same day the application was recorded, which is typical of the Express Permit Program.

Panel Upgrades Tied to Other Projects

Panel upgrades often come with something else: a heat pump, an EV charger, solar or a kitchen remodel. Los Angeles folds a service upgrade for EV charging into the same express category, and solar permits in several cities depend on the rating of the existing panel. If your upgrade is part of a solar install, our guide to Solar Panel Permit Rules for Homeowners explains how panel size affects the solar permit path.

Questions to Ask the Electrician

1. Will you pull the electrical permit, and under which license?
2. What load calculation supports the new service size?
3. Who arranges the utility disconnect and reconnect, and how long will the power be off?
4. Is the permit fee in the quote?
5. When is the inspection, and will you be there?

Where the law names a licensed electrician as the only permit applicant, a contractor who suggests skipping the permit is also telling you something about their license. More on this in Hiring a Licensed Contractor: Permit Rules That Depend on Licensing.

Building Departments in the Cities We Cover

Rules in this guide vary by jurisdiction. These are the official departments that issue residential permits in the 15 cities we track, with the city's open-data source for permit records. Each city page shows the rules for roofing, HVAC, solar, fence and deck work.

Before relying on any rule, read the department's current page or call its permit desk. Model-code sections cited here (such as IRC R105) are adopted locally, often with amendments.