Verified against the city’s published rules · page updated October 23, 2026 · rules change — confirm with the city before applying
In Houston, a permit covers almost any change to fixed wiring, and only a city-registered electrical contractor can buy one. Everything below comes from the city’s own pages and documents, dated where they carry a date, plus the Texas Occupations Code.
Electrical permits inside Houston city limits come from the Electrical Inspections section of Houston Public Works, Building Code Enforcement, at the Houston Permitting Center.
The section is on the 4th floor of 1002 Washington Avenue, Houston, TX 77002. Its published number is 832-394-8860, and its hours are 8 am to 4:30 pm. The Houston Permitting Center’s main line is 832-394-9000. Contractors buy permits through iPermits, the city’s online portal.
The state electrical licensing law, Chapter 1305 of the Texas Occupations Code, gives counties no electrical permitting role and does not mention them. Section 1305.201(d) says electrical work inside a city’s limits “must be installed in accordance with all applicable local ordinances,” and §1305.201(e) says work in an unincorporated area must meet standards “at least as stringent as the requirements of the state electrical code.” This page covers addresses inside Houston city limits only.
Houston’s electrical code is the 2023 National Electrical Code as modified by the city’s Administrative Code Provisions. The city’s Code Development page says the code package that includes it took effect January 1, 2024, under Ordinance 2023-907.
Houston requires a permit to install, alter, repair, replace or remodel regulated wiring, and exempts a short list of like-for-like repairs.
Section 301.1 of the Administrative Code Provisions makes that work unlawful without an active permit, unless you work under someone who holds one. Section 301.2 lists 13 exemptions. These are the ones a homeowner is most likely to meet:
Replace a breaker with one of the same capacity in the same place, or reinstall a receptacle, and no permit is needed. Add an outlet, a circuit or a panel, and you need one. The city’s permit list says a permit is required any time a light fixture “must be installed, moved, rewired, repaired, or replaced.”
No. We found no homeowner electrical permit in Houston, and the city’s code reserves electrical permits for licensed, registered contractors.
Section 302.1 reads: “Only a licensed and registered electrical contractor shall obtain an electrical permit.” The master electrician of record, registered with the city, must sign the application. The city’s permit pages repeat it: “Electrical permits are only issued to registered master electricians.”
Section 401.2 makes it unlawful for anyone without a city license or registration, or a state electrical license, to perform electrical work.
Plumbing is different. Houston issues a Homeowner’s Plumbing Permit to an owner who lives in a registered homestead and does the work personally. We found no electrical version, and no homeowner exam or affidavit, in any current city document or in the superseded 2014 code.
State law exempts an owner who lives in the dwelling only for work “not specifically regulated by a municipal ordinance” (Tex. Occ. Code §1305.003(a)(6)). Houston’s ordinance regulates this work.
Your electrician needs a TDLR license and a City of Houston registration, and the registration is free.
Texas requires a TDLR license to perform or offer electrical work (§1305.151). A TDLR electrical contractor must employ a licensed master electrician. You can check any name on the TDLR license search.
Houston adds registration on top. Section 403.1 bars anyone from working as an electrical contractor in the city without it, and the applicant must hold a valid state contractor license. The master electrician and the contractor register together on form CE-1189. The form must be notarized unless the license holders sign in person. The city’s registration guide (form CE-1203, revised January 2024) says: “There are no registration and or renewal fees required.” A registration expires with the state license (§402.2). Since April 1, 2022, a master electrician of record may be registered to only one contracting business.
Texas Occupations Code §1305.201(f) reads: “A municipality or region may not collect a permit fee, registration fee, administrative fee, or any other fee from an electrician who holds a license issued under this chapter for work performed in the municipality or region. This subsection does not prohibit a municipality or region from collecting a building permit fee.” Houston charges nothing to register. The city does charge the permit fees below, and this page does not decide how they fit the statute.
Before work starts, look up both licenses at TDLR and confirm the company is registered with the city. Find TDLR-licensed electrical contractors filed in Harris County. See the other Texas city electrical permit guides.
Houston publishes its electrical fees item by item, in a 2026 schedule effective January 1, 2026.
The city’s 2026 Building Code Enforcement Permit Fee Schedule took effect January 1, 2026, according to its 2026 Fee Increase Notice. These are the lines a homeowner is most likely to see:
“All permit fees are subject to the minimum and administrative fees,” the 2026 schedule says. So three new outlets at $1.34 each are billed at the $91.06 minimum plus $33.56. A Level 2 EV charging outlet comes to $100.71 plus $33.56, or $134.27 by our arithmetic.
Skipping the permit costs more. The 2026 schedule sets an investigation fee for unpermitted construction of “$333.42 minimum or double fee whichever is greater,” on top of the permit fee.
Your electrician schedules the inspections, and nothing gets connected to power until the city approves it.
The Electrical Inspections page says: “The licensed electrical contractor performing the work will schedule the required electrical inspections.” Requests go online or through the city’s phone system at 713-222-9922, using a 4-digit scheduling PIN.
The city lists ditch or slab cover, wall cover, ceiling cover and temporary cut-in inspections. Section 305.1 bars covering any wiring before it is inspected and requires a final inspection when the job is complete. Wiring “shall not be connected to the energy source until inspected and authorized by the building official.” The Electrical Inspections section handles those utility releases. Section 305.2 says the city will “endeavor to inspect work within three working days” of a request.
A permit becomes inactive after 180 days if no inspection has taken place (§303.4).
Panel work, service upgrades, EV chargers and standby generators each have their own Houston permit.
We did not confirm anything with the city by phone, and we quote no figure the city has not published.
Section 502 of the Administrative Code Provisions still names the 2020 NEC, while the adopting ordinance and the document’s title say 2023. The Generator Permit web page lists older fees than the 2026 schedule, so we used the schedule. The EV guide dates from 2019.
License and permit information from the City of Houston and the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, read September 24, 2026. Neither this site nor the information as presented here is endorsed by the State of Texas or any state agency.
Every figure on this page comes from one of the documents below, each published by the body that sets, measures or administers the thing it describes. We record the document’s own date and the date we read it, because published pages change without notice.
| Source | Document date | We read it |
|---|---|---|
| City of Houston Building Code Enforcement — 2026 Permit Fee Schedule | titled 2026 Permit Fee Schedule; fees effective January 1, 2026 per the city’s 2026 Fee Increase Notice | 2026-09-24 |
| Houston Permitting Center — 2026 Fee Increase Notice | undated city web page (states fees effective January 1, 2026) | 2026-09-24 |
| Houston Permitting Center — Electrical Inspections | undated city web page | 2026-09-24 |
| City of Houston — Administrative Code Provisions for the 2023 National Electrical Code (Exhibit D-1) | cover states adopted by Ord. No. 2023-907, passed October 25, 2023, effective January 1, 2024 | 2026-09-24 |
| City of Houston — Ordinance No. 2023-907 adopting the Houston Construction Code (scanned PDF, read by OCR) | 2023 ordinance; Section 4 replaces the 2020 NEC with the National Electric Code, 2023 Edition | 2026-09-24 |
| Houston Permitting Center — Code Development (2021 Code Amendments) | undated city web page (states the 2021 Houston Construction Code took effect January 1, 2024) | 2026-09-24 |
| Houston Permitting Center — Circuit Panel Permit (HPWCODE1062) | undated city web page | 2026-09-24 |
| Houston Permitting Center — Electrical Meter & Loop Service Permit (HPWCODE1055) | undated city web page | 2026-09-24 |
| Houston Permitting Center — Electrical Vehicle Charging Outlets Permit (HPWCODE1056) | undated city web page | 2026-09-24 |
| Houston Permitting Center — Generator Permit (HPWCODE1118) | undated city web page | 2026-09-24 |
| Houston Permitting Center — Reconnection Fee (HPWCODE1064) | undated city web page | 2026-09-24 |
| Houston Permitting Center — Electrical Contractor Registration (HPWCODE1051) | undated city web page | 2026-09-24 |
| Houston Permitting Center — Homeowner’s Plumbing Permit (HPWCODE1099), read for contrast | undated city web page | 2026-09-24 |
| City of Houston — Registration & Renewal Process for Master & Contractor Electrical Licenses (Form CE-1203) | revised January 2024 on the document | 2026-09-24 |
| City of Houston — Electrical Building Permit Application (Form CE-1057) | revised September 2026 on the document | 2026-09-24 |
| City of Houston — Residential Standby Generator Permit & Inspection Guide (Form CE-1060) | revised September 2024 on the document | 2026-09-24 |
| City of Houston — Electric Vehicle Charging Station Permits (Form CE-1256) | revised October 22, 2019 on the document | 2026-09-24 |
| City of Houston — Electrical Code 2014 Administrative Code Provisions (superseded), read to check for a homeowner route | 2014 edition, superseded January 1, 2024 | 2026-09-24 |
| Houston Permitting Center — Contact Us | undated city web page | 2026-09-24 |
| Texas Occupations Code ch. 1305 (§§1305.003(a)(6), 1305.151, 1305.201), official text, Texas Legislature | current text; §1305.201 last amended by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 285 (H.B. 3329), eff. September 1, 2017; chapter contains no reference to counties | 2026-09-24 |
| TDLR – Apply for a New Electrical Contractor License (master electrician of record) | undated agency web page | 2026-09-24 |
| TDLR — License Search | undated state web page | 2026-09-24 |
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