Verified against the city’s published rules · page updated October 23, 2026 · rules change — confirm with the city before applying
In Irving (Dallas County), new electrical wiring needs a city permit. A contractor must hold the state license and register with the city before it can get one. A homeowner can get the permit and do the work on a home they live in, once a homestead exemption is on file with the Dallas Central Appraisal District. Everything below is from the city’s code, fee schedules, forms and council records, with dates, plus the Texas Occupations Code.
The City of Irving Inspections Department issues electrical permits for work inside the city limits, through its online portal.
The department is at City Hall, 825 W. Irving Blvd., 2nd Floor, Irving, TX 75060, open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Its number is 972-721-2371 and its email is irving-permits@irvingtx.gov, as printed on the city’s Inspections pages. Its Building Inspections Division covers building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and irrigation inspections.
Permits run through My Government Online (MGO), the city’s portal at mgoconnect.org. Contractors must apply there. The city’s residential brochure says homeowners may also apply by email.
Irving sits entirely in Dallas County, according to the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimates.
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 the city limits of Irving (Dallas County) only.
The rules are in Chapter 8B of Irving’s Land Development Code. Section 8B-21 adopts the 2023 edition of the National Electrical Code “as the electrical code of the City of Irving,” with local amendments, last changed by an ordinance adopted March 21, 2024. On March 26, 2026, City Council adopted the 2024 International Codes and rewrote the permit and registration section, Ordinance 2026-11253, which by its own terms took effect May 1, 2026. The Inspections pages still link that ordinance under the word “Proposed.”
New electrical wiring needs a permit. Replacing a fixture or appliance at an existing connection does not.
Irving’s Residential Guidelines say building permits are required to “erect, enlarge, alter, move, demolish or repair a structure in the City of Irving.” The city’s residential brochure lists “New electrical wiring” among the jobs that need one, and its Fees + Forms page lists Single Trade Permits for electrical work.
The same Residential Guidelines page draws the exempt side in one sentence: “Permits are not required for cosmetic work such as painting, carpeting and cabinetry, nor is it required for replacing fixtures or appliances, except water heaters, at existing connections.” Swapping a light fixture on the same box is on the exempt side. A new circuit or a moved outlet is new wiring and is not. Service changes have their own fee line, below.
Electrical permits need no drawings. The Residential Guidelines list electrical among the permits that “do not need any plans.”
Starting without a permit adds a second fee. Section 8B-27 adds “an investigation fee equal to the fee included in the permit fee schedule” for anyone who starts electrical work before getting the permit, on top of the regular fee.
Yes. Irving lets a homeowner get the permit and do the work, on a home they live in with a homestead exemption filed with the Dallas Central Appraisal District before applying.
Section 8B-27 reads: “Homeowners may obtain permits to perform work at a residence for which they have a homestead tax exemption and in which they live without being registered and without the requirement of hiring a registered contractor.”
The Residential Guidelines set the timing: “If the homeowner is planning to do the work themselves, the homeowner must have a homestead exemption filed with the Dallas Central Appraisal District before applying for a residential permit, except roof permits.” If you bought the house recently, check that your exemption is on file before you apply.
The Inspections FAQ puts it this way: “Homesteaded residents (through the Dallas Central Appraisal District) do not have to be licensed to perform work on their own home, in most cases.” The city does not say which cases are excluded. We found no Irving text that bars homeowners from service or meter work, requires an exam or affidavit, or says the owner must do every part of the job personally. Ask before you plan service work.
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)). Irving’s ordinance regulates this work, which is why the city’s permit and its conditions apply.
The city also warns against pulling a permit for someone else. “Do not take out a building permit for any contractor.” The FAQ explains: “If you sign for the permit, you are liable for correcting the contractor’s work if it does not meet city-adopted code standards.”
A contractor needs a TDLR Electrical Contractor license and a current registration with the City of Irving.
Texas requires a license from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) to perform or offer electrical work (§1305.151). TDLR says a business “must employ a licensed Master Electrician to apply for an Electrical Contractor license.” Check any name on TDLR’s license search, or read how to look up a Texas electrical license.
Irving adds registration. Under §8B-27, electrical contractors “are required to register with the city in order to secure a permit as provided for in this code.” Registration is made in writing or through the online portal, and it “shall expire one year following the date of its issuance.” The Fees + Forms page lists Contractor Registration as an MGO application: “Required to register as a contractor, such as: electrical, mechanical, plumbing, irrigation, sign, fence, general contractor, etc.” The Inspections FAQ adds that “the city verifies applicable contractor licensing with the State of Texas for all building permit applications.”
An electrician joining a permit someone else holds is added by email, not through the portal, and the city says: “There is no fee to validate.”
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.” None of Irving’s three posted fee schedules prints a contractor registration fee. The city does charge the permit fees below, and this page does not decide how they fit the statute.
Find TDLR-licensed electrical contractors filed in Dallas County. See the other Texas city electrical permit guides.
Irving prints one $65 electrical permit line, for service changes, temporary poles and utility releases, and no line for a new circuit, a panel replacement on its own or an EV charger.
Section 8B-27 says permit fees are set by City Council resolution. The FY26 schedule linked from the city’s Rates + Fees page has an Inspections section effective February 13, 2026. These are the lines that touch residential electrical work, as the city prints them:
The FY27 schedule prints the same lines with an Inspections section dated November 1, 2026. The Fees + Forms page still links an older schedule, dated October 15, 2022, which prints the same figures too.
The schedule has no line for a new circuit, a panel replacement on its own, an EV charger or a generator. For work not listed, §8B-27 says “a fee shall be charged based upon a category of work shown which most nearly resembles the work intended.” That makes the price of a new circuit or a panel swap the city’s call, and we give no total. Call Inspections at 972-721-2371 for the fee on your job.
Your permit includes its inspections, and you request each one in MGO by 6 a.m. on the day you want it.
The residential brochure says “Your permit includes all the associated inspections.” The Building Inspections page says that through MGO “the cut-off time is 6 a.m. the day of the inspection,” and that later requests go to the next business day. Results show in MGO, and there is an MGO Connect phone app.
A failed inspection costs $75 to re-inspect. The Inspections FAQ says “Typically permits expire if work authorized is not started and inspected 180 days after issuance.”
Panel and service work carries Irving’s local code changes, and generators, solar and batteries have their own permit path.
We report what the city and state texts say, and we did not confirm anything with the city by phone.
We do not state what a new circuit, a panel replacement on its own or an EV charger costs, or give a permit total. We do not say whether the homeowner permit covers service or meter work, or which cases the city’s “in most cases” leaves out. We did not open the registration form inside MGO, so we do not say what registration costs, only that the fee schedules list nothing for it.
License and permit information from the City of Irving and the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, read October 9, 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 Irving Land Development Code, Chapter 8B, Building Codes (§8B-21 National Electrical Code; §8B-27 Permits; fees; registration), eCode360 | §8B-21 last amended by Ordinance 2024-10884, adopted March 21, 2024; §8B-27 as rewritten by Ordinance 2026-11253, adopted March 26, 2026. Code version 2026-08-27, which states it includes legislation through Ord. No. 2026-11315 adopted August 27, 2026 (re-read 2026-10-09 by the fact gate; the drafter’s ‘through July 30, 2026’ was stale) | 2026-10-09 |
| City of Irving, 2023 National Electrical Code Amendments (Attachment 7 to Chapter 8B), eCode360 | pages marked ‘Publication, Feb 2025’ | 2026-10-09 (read as PDF text) |
| City of Irving, ordinance adopting the 2024 International Codes and rewriting Chapter 8B (posted text) | posted March 2026 with the notice of the March 26, 2026 public hearing; Section 5: takes effect May 1, 2026 | 2026-10-09 (read as PDF text) |
| City of Irving, Ordinance No. 2026-11253 as passed (amending Chapter 8B to adopt the 2024 I-Codes), filed with the codifier; eCode360 Law Ledger | ‘PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF IRVING, TEXAS, on March 26, 2026’; Section 5: ‘This ordinance shall take effect on May 1, 2026’; PDF created March 30, 2026; 53 pages; signature lines blank in this copy (no signature images in the file). Law Ledger lists it ‘Ordinance 2026-11253 … 2026-03-26 Amends Chapter 8B: Building Codes’ | 2026-10-09 (read as PDF text by the fact gate) |
| City of Irving City Council, minutes of April 16, 2026 (consent items 2 and 3, approving the minutes of March 26, 2026) | April 16, 2026; the March 26, 2026 minutes themselves are not posted on the city’s agendas page | 2026-10-09 (read as PDF text by the fact gate) |
| City of Irving City Council, Long Agenda, March 26, 2026 (item 25, Chapter 8B Building Codes) | March 26, 2026; states ‘The effective date for this ordinance is May 1, 2026.’ | 2026-10-09 (read as PDF text) |
| City of Irving, Residential Guidelines | undated city web page | 2026-10-09 |
| City of Irving, Inspections (department page and FAQs) | undated city web page | 2026-10-09 |
| City of Irving, Building Inspections | undated city web page | 2026-10-09 |
| City of Irving, Fees + Forms | undated city web page; its ‘Permit Fees’ heading links the FY24-25 schedule PDF, and the sentence under it (‘Permit Fee schedule for permit applications filed with the Inspections Department. Revised Oct. 15, 2022.’) links the Rates + Fees page, which carries the FY26 and FY27 schedules | 2026-10-09 |
| City of Irving, Schedule of Fees, February 2026 Amendments (Inspections section, items 11, 13, 26, 37 and 41) | Inspections section headed ‘EFFECTIVE FEBRUARY 13, 2026’; linked from the city’s Rates + Fees page as the FY26 Consolidated Fee Schedule | 2026-10-09 (read as PDF text) |
| City of Irving, Schedule of Fees, FY26-27 Amendments (Inspections section, items 11, 13, 26, 37 and 41) | cover ‘Effective Oct. 1, 2026’; Inspections section headed ‘EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 1, 2026’; linked from the city’s Rates + Fees page as the FY27 Consolidated Fee Schedule | 2026-10-09 (read as PDF text) |
| City of Irving, Consolidated Fee Schedule FY24-25 (Inspections section) | Inspections section headed ‘EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 15, 2022’; the document the Fees + Forms page links | 2026-10-09 (read as PDF text) |
| City of Irving Inspections Department, Residential Permits brochure | undated; PDF created April 2025 | 2026-10-09 (read as PDF text) |
| City of Irving Inspections Department, My Government Online (MGO) Instructions | undated; PDF created April 2025 | 2026-10-09 (read as PDF text) |
| City of Irving, Third-Party Backup Power page and its Standard Operating Procedure, Home Backup Power Installations | undated city web page; the procedure PDF was created August 2025 | 2026-10-09 |
| U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 subcounty population estimates, Texas (Irving city rows) | July 1, 2025 estimates (Vintage 2025) | 2026-10-09 |
| 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. Raw text read from the Legislature’s resource file behind that page (tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/OC/htm/OC.1305.htm) | 2026-10-09 |
| TDLR, Apply for a New Electrical Contractor License (master electrician of record); TDLR License Search | undated agency web page | 2026-10-09 |
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