Laredo (Webb County) electrical permits: only a city-registered electrical contractor can pull one

In Laredo (Webb County), electrical work needs a city permit, and the city issues electrical permits only to contractors who hold a TDLR Electrical Contractor license and are registered with the city. A homeowner can pull a building permit, but not the electrical one. Everything below is from the city’s code, ordinances, forms and council records, with dates, plus the Texas Occupations Code.

Who issues the permit

The City of Laredo Building Development Services department issues electrical permits inside the city limits.

The office is at 1413 Houston St., Laredo, TX 78040. Its number is 956-794-1625 and its email is bldgpermits@ci.laredo.tx.us, as printed on the city’s Electrical Permit Application and its residential permit manual (May 2024). The department is changing its name. On September 21, 2026, City Council passed on final reading an ordinance merging it with Planning and Zoning into a new Development Services Department, according to the council’s preliminary minutes.

Laredo is the seat of Webb County, according to the county’s own map.

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 Laredo (Webb County) only.

The rules are in Chapter 11 of the city code. Laredo adopted the 2020 edition of the National Electrical Code with Ordinance No. 2024-O-148, which City Council passed on final reading on August 5, 2024, according to the council’s approved minutes. The ordinance as placed on the agenda takes effect “immediately upon passage.” The code published online has not caught up: its §11-2 still adopts “The National Electrical Code, 2017 edition.”

When you need one

Any new electrical installation or alteration needs a permit first. Minor repairs and maintenance do not.

Section 11-39 makes it unlawful for anyone but the franchised utility to “commence the construction, installation or alteration of any electrical work, either outside or inside of any building, without first making application in writing on forms furnished by the city to the inspector for a permit.” Section 11-40 adds: “No permit required by section 11-39 shall be required for the making of minor repairs or maintenance work, the connection of portable electrical equipment or lamps to permanently installed receptacles.”

The code does not list which jobs count as minor repairs, and we found no city handout that does. Adding a circuit or changing a panel is installation or alteration work, which §11-39 covers. Ask the department before you treat any job as exempt.

Starting early costs more. If work starts before the permit is issued or applied for, the fee carries “a penalty of one hundred fifty (150) percent of the usual permit fee in addition to the required permit fees” (§11-44(b)). A permit expires 90 days after issue if work has not started, or 30 days after work is suspended or abandoned (§11-39).

Can a homeowner pull it?

No. Laredo issues electrical permits only to electrical contractors who hold a valid license, or their authorized agents.

Section 11-43 reads: “Permits shall be issued to electrical contractors or electrical sign contractors who are qualified by having a valid license to secure permits as set forth in this chapter or their duly authorized agent.” Chapter 11 has no homeowner or homestead exception.

The city’s residential permit manual (May 2024) says the same in plain terms. “The homeowner can pull out a permit but will be considered the contractor for the project.” The next line limits that to the building permit: “permit such as mechanical/air condition, plumbing, electrical, irrigation and mobile home installation are permits acquired by licensed contractor for the respective field.”

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)). Laredo’s ordinance regulates this work. If you own the house, your part is choosing the electrician.

Hiring an electrician: state license and city registration

Your electrician needs a TDLR Electrical Contractor license and a city registration, and the code charges electricians nothing to register.

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.” You can check any name on TDLR’s license search, or read how to look up a Texas electrical license.

Laredo adds registration. Section 11-23 says “All master electricians and electrical contractors must be registered with the city building development service department.” The code’s registration form is one “for which no fee is required and shall be renewed annually in order to obtain permits in the city” (§11-1), and the fee table in §11-24 lists “No fee” for both registration and renewal. The electrician must also keep a certificate on file showing at least $300,000 of general liability and completed operations insurance, with the City of Laredo as certificate holder (§11-25).

Laredo’s general contractor rules name electrical subcontractors as well. Section 7-21 requires them to register, asks for a police criminal history background check and says “there is a separate fee to process” it, without stating the amount. The code does not say whether an electrician registered under Chapter 11 also registers under §7-21. Section 7-28 charges a $60 annual administrative fee to “All general contractors and subcontractors except licensed electricians and plumbers.”

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.” Laredo’s code lists no registration fee for electricians and exempts them from the $60 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 Webb County. See the other Texas city electrical permit guides.

Fees

Laredo charges a basic fee for each electrical permit plus a charge per item. Council has voted to raise the basic fee from $50 to $60, and we could not find the date the $60 fee takes effect.

These lines are from §11-44 of the city code as published online (updated July 1, 2026), which does not include the city’s 2024 fee ordinance. The city’s Electrical Permit Application (revised March 2020) prints the same per-item figures:

• Basic fee, each permit: $50.00 in the published code. Ordinance No. 2026-O-188 raises it to $60.00 (see below).
• Meter reconnection inspection: $25.00
• Circuits: $5.00 per item
• Fixtures, base plug: $0.50 per item
• Appliances (range, water heater, dryers, dishwashers, disposals, etc.): $7.00 per item
• Service up to 60 amperes: $3.00; 61 to 100 amperes: $4.00; 101 to 200 amperes: $7.00; 201 to 400 amperes: $10.00; over 400 amperes: $18.00
• Services, each additional meter: $7.00
• Motors 1 hp and smaller: $4.00
• Re-inspection: $50.00
• Residential emergency inspection outside normal working hours or holidays: $50.00 per hour
• Inspection request outside normal working hours or holidays: $50.00 per hour, minimum 2 hours, in the published code. Ordinance No. 2024-O-247 raised it to $150.00 per hour (see below).

On September 21, 2026, City Council passed Ordinance No. 2026-O-188 on final reading, according to its preliminary minutes. It changes §11-44’s basic fee from $50.00 to $60.00 and marks no change to the other electrical lines. The ordinance takes effect “from and after its adoption and publication required by the City Charter and by state law.” We did not find the publication date, so we cannot say which figure the counter charges today.

Two ordinances disagree on the after-hours inspection line. Ordinance No. 2024-O-247, signed November 4, 2024, changed it from $50.00 to $150.00 per hour. Ordinance No. 2026-O-188 reprints the section with $50.00 and marks no change to that line. Ask the department which rate applies.

A 2021 ordinance, No. 2021-O-164, created a technology fee: $20.00 on every residential permit, and $10.00 under an electrical heading in the Land Development Code’s fee appendix. The city’s residential manual (May 2024) still lists the $20.00 fee. The fee schedule in §7-2 as published online (last amended 2025) does not print it, and neither §11-44 nor the electrical application lists one. We do not add it.

The form is itemized, so the fee depends on the job. We give no total. Call Building Development Services at 956-794-1625 for the figure on your job.

Inspections

Wiring must be complete and the inspector notified before it is covered. Only the permit holder gets the clearance.

Section 11-48(a) says “All wiring must be complete before the same shall be allowed to be concealed from view.” Covering wiring before inspection without notifying the inspector at least eight hours ahead, not counting Saturday afternoons, Sundays and holidays, is a violation (§11-48(b)). Section 11-47 says the inspector “shall issue a clearance only to the person ordering the permit after the inspection and approval of the work completed under the permit issued therefor.”

The department’s 2020 bulletins give two ways to schedule: the Selectron phone line at 956-794-1660, or online through Click2Gov. The solar bulletin says inspections must be scheduled the day before. We could not read the department’s current inspection page, so confirm the channels when you call.

Common homeowner jobs

Panel and service work has its own fee lines, and solar needs a registered master electrician’s plans.

• Panel or service change. The fee table prices services by amperage, from $3.00 up to 60 amperes to $18.00 over 400 amperes, plus the basic fee. A meter reconnection inspection has its own $25.00 line. If the inspector has found the wiring unsafe, “once disconnected, the service shall not again be connected until the entire wiring has been made to comply with this chapter” (§11-63). Laredo also bans one old wiring method outright: “Knob and tube wiring will not be approved for installations within the city” (§11-61).
• Solar. The department’s Building Bulletin 2020-001 (February 27, 2020) requires electrical plans from a master electrician, and “Master Electrician must be registered with the Building Development Services.” It says the solar fees include an electrical permit priced by circuits and fixtures, and leaves the solar permit fee itself “To be determined.” Ordinance No. 2024-O-247 (November 4, 2024) later set a $200.00 solar panel permit fee in the building fee schedule, but the schedule as restated in 2025 does not print it, so confirm the solar fee with the department. Under the same 2020 bulletin, homes on the AEP Texas system also need a signed interconnection agreement with the utility.
• EV charger or standby generator. We found no city page, form or fee line for either.

What this page does not claim

We report what the city and state texts say, and we did not confirm anything with the city by phone.

We do not say whether the $60.00 basic fee is in force yet, or give a permit total. We do not say which after-hours inspection rate or solar permit fee applies today. We do not say whether the technology fee or the background check fee applies to an electrical contractor, or how the city’s permit fees fit §1305.201(f). The inspection phone line comes from 2020 bulletins.

License and permit information from the City of Laredo and the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, read October 6, 2026. Neither this site nor the information as presented here is endorsed by the State of Texas or any state agency.

Sources, and when we read them

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 Laredo Code of Ordinances, Chapter 11, Electricity (§§11-1, 11-2, 11-23, 11-24, 11-25, 11-39, 11-40, 11-43, 11-44, 11-47, 11-48, 11-61, 11-63), Municode	Supplement 23 Update 3, product last updated 2026-07-01. §11-2 last amended by Ord. No. 2021-O-199 (10-4-21), adopting the 2017 NEC (behind Ord. 2024-O-148, 2020 NEC, final reading 2024-08-05, not codified); §11-44 last amended by Ord. No. 2017-O-137 (10-11-17); §11-24 by Ord. No. 2017-O-137. Raw section text read from Municode’s content API (api.municode.com/CodesContent, jobId 495510)	2026-10-06
City of Laredo Code of Ordinances, Chapter 7, Buildings and Building Regulations (§7-2 permit and plan-checking fees; §§7-21 and 7-28, registration of general contractors and subcontractors), Municode	Supplement 23 Update 3; §7-2 last amended by Ord. No. 2025-O-149 (9-2-25); §7-28 last amended by Ord. No. 2025-O-156 (9-2-25); §7-7 adopts the 2018 IRC (Ord. No. 2021-O-198). Raw text from the content API	2026-10-06
City of Laredo Code of Ordinances, Supplement History Table, Municode	Supplement 23; lists ordinances through 2026-O-92 (5-4-26); no entry for 2024-O-148 or 2024-O-149	2026-10-06
City of Laredo, Ordinance No. 2026-O-188 (fee increases, including §11-44 electrical permit basic fee $50.00 to $60.00), Legistar matter text and ordinance attachment	introduced 2026-09-08 (file 26-1650, ‘close and introduce’, Pass); on the 2026-09-21 City Council agenda for final reading (Legistar matter 8347). Section 11: effective ‘from and after its adoption and publication’. Signature block undated in the attachment. Raw text read from the .docx XML	2026-10-06
City of Laredo City Council, Meeting Minutes – Preliminary, Regular Meeting A-2026-R-15, September 21, 2026	September 21, 2026; marked ‘These minutes are preliminary and subject to change.’ Item 25 (2026-O-188) and item 28 (2026-O-191) carried in the motion ‘to approve final reading of Ordinances 20-28 with the exception of #22, 24’, 8 for, 0 against. Read with pdftotext	2026-10-06
City of Laredo, Legistar matter 2024-O-148, ‘amending Chapter 11 of the Code of Ordinances in order to adopt the 2020 edition of the National Electrical Code’	introduced 2024-07-05; status ‘First Reading’; only history entry 2024-07-22 ‘close and introduce’; MatterPassedDate null; last modified 2024-07-31. Status field is stale (fact gate 2026-10-06): the approved minutes of 2024-08-05 record final passage. Attachment ‘2020 NEC Code of Ordinances Chapter 11.docx’ read raw: §11-2 ‘2017’ struck, ‘2020’ inserted; Section 6 ‘effective immediately upon passage’	2026-10-06
City of Laredo City Council, Meeting Minutes – Approved, Regular Meeting A-2024-R-12, August 5, 2024	August 5, 2024; marked ‘Meeting Minutes - Approved’. Section X, Final Reading of Ordinances: ‘Motion to approve final reading of Ordinances 6-23’, 5 for, 0 against, 4 not present; item 14 is 2024-O-148 (2020 NEC), item 15 is 2024-O-149 (2021 ICC codes). Read with pdftotext by the fact gate	2026-10-06
City of Laredo, Ordinance No. 2024-O-247 (foundation-only, solar panel, pre-development, after-hour and partial inspection fees; amends §7-2, §11-44(a)(6), §25-8)	passed and approved November 4, 2024 (handwritten date, mayor and city secretary signatures, city seal); effective 60 days from the first public hearing (October 28, 2024 per its agenda sheet). Listed on the department’s City Ordinances page (2026-08-20 capture). Raw PDF from the Internet Archive capture of 2026-03-06; scanned, so the $150.00 and $200.00 lines were read on rendered page images. Not in Municode’s supplement history	2026-10-06
City of Laredo, Ordinance No. 2025-O-149 (§7-2 fee schedule restated), Legistar matter 5746 attachment	codified by Municode at 9-2-25; restates §7-2 with no technology fee and no solar panel line, and marks no deletion of either. Raw .docx XML read by the fact gate	2026-10-06
City of Laredo City Council, Regular Meeting Agenda, October 5, 2026	lists ‘Approval of Minutes of: Sept 8th, Sept 21st, Sept 28th’; the meeting’s minutes are not posted (Legistar EventMinutesStatus ‘Draft’, 2026-10-06), so approval of the September 21 minutes is not confirmed	2026-10-06
City of Laredo Building Development Services, City Ordinances page	undated city page. Link list read from the Internet Archive capture of 2026-08-20 (raw HTML): ‘2024-O-148 Amending Chapter 11 to adopt 2020 Edition of the National Electrical Code’ links to ‘http://’ with no document; same listing confirmed via WebFetch 2026-10-06	2026-10-06
City of Laredo Building Development Services, Electrical Permit Application (REV 03-2020)	REV 03-2020; PDF modified 2024-08-21. cityoflaredo.com refuses curl from both the Cowork VM and the cloud container (403); the identical URL was downloaded from the Internet Archive capture of 2025-09-27 (id_ raw bytes) and read with pdftotext	2026-10-06
City of Laredo Building Development Services, Residential Projects Permit Guidance Manual & Guide Using Project Dox	May 2024 edition per the city’s file; PDF title ‘Residential Guide 05-2022’, modified 2024-08-22. Raw PDF from the Internet Archive capture of 2025-09-27, read with pdftotext	2026-10-06
City of Laredo Building Development Services, Permit Applications/Requirements page	undated city page; read via WebFetch only (no raw copy obtainable). Used for the list of forms (Electrical Permit Application, Electrical Contractor Application, Solar Permitting Checklist) and nothing quoted	2026-10-06
City of Laredo Building Development Services, Building Bulletin 2020-001, Solar Panel Installation Permits	February 27, 2020; prints the former address 1120 San Bernardo Ave. Raw PDF from the Internet Archive capture of 2025-09-27, read with pdftotext (born-digital Word PDF). Its fee lines ($50.00 electrical permit, $5.00 per circuit, $0.50 per solar panel, solar permit ‘To be determined’) are superseded in part by Ord. 2024-O-247 and are no longer printed on the page	2026-10-06
City of Laredo Building Development Services, Building Bulletin 2020-002 (foundation inspections; inspection scheduling channels)	March 23, 2020; prints 1413 Houston St. Raw PDF from the Internet Archive capture of 2025-09-27, read with pdftotext	2026-10-06
City of Laredo, Ordinance No. 2021-O-164, technology fee (Chapter 7 §7-2 and Chapter 24 Appendix D)	2021 (codified at §7-2 as 9-7-21). Linked from the city’s ordinances page as ‘Technology Fee – Ordinance 2021-O-164’. Raw PDF from the Internet Archive capture of 2026-03-06; scanned with an OCR text layer, read with pdftotext	2026-10-06
Webb County, General Information Map (Webb County Planning)	PDF created 2026-09-08; ‘County Seat: City of Laredo’; shows ‘LAREDO CITY LIMITS 2025’	2026-10-06
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)	2026-10-06
TDLR, Apply for a New Electrical Contractor License (master electrician of record); TDLR License Search	undated agency web page	2026-10-06