Permits and Inspections in Los Angeles County

What needs one

Adding a circuit. Replacing or upgrading a panel. Wiring a remodel or an addition. Running power to a detached building. Installing a car charger, a generator, a battery or solar. Anything that goes inside a wall.

What usually does not is swapping a light fixture for another, replacing a switch or an outlet with the same kind, or changing a ceiling fan on an existing fan rated box.

Who you file with

The city where the property sits. In the city of Los Angeles that is the Department of Building and Safety. Pasadena, Long Beach, Santa Monica, Burbank, Glendale and the rest each run their own. Unincorporated areas like Altadena or Hacienda Heights go through the county.

Each one has its own fees, its own inspection scheduling and its own quirks. This is one reason a local electrician who works your city often moves faster than a shop from the other side of the county.

Do not pull it yourself

Cities offer an owner builder permit. A contractor who asks you to use it is moving the liability for the work onto you, and it usually means their license or insurance will not carry it.

When the contractor pulls the permit, the work is inspected against their license and their bond stands behind it. That is the protection you are paying for.

Why it matters later

Unpermitted electrical work turns up in three places. A buyer inspection, where it becomes a price reduction. An insurance claim after a fire, where it becomes a coverage argument. And a future remodel, where the city asks you to open and correct it.

The permit is a few hundred dollars. All three of those cost more.