WAC 296-46B-901   General -- Electrical work permits and fees.  (1) When an electrical work permit is required by chapter 19.28 RCW or this chapter, inspections may not be made, equipment must not be energized, or services connected unless:

     (a) A valid electrical work permit is completely and legibly filled out and readily available;

     (b) The classification or type of facility to be inspected and the exact scope and location of the electrical work to be performed are clearly shown on the electrical work permit;

     (c) The address where the inspection is to be made is clearly identifiable from the street, road or highway that serves the premises; and

     (d) Driving directions are provided for the inspectors' use.

     (2) An electrical work permit is valid for only one specific site address.

     (3) Except as provided in subsection (8) of this section, a valid electrical work permit must be posted on the job site at a readily accessible and conspicuous location prior to beginning electrical work and at all times until the electrical inspection process is completed.

     Permit - responsibility for.

     (4) Each person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity must furnish a valid electrical work permit for the installation, alteration, or other electrical work performed or to be performed solely by that entity. When the permitted work is performed solely or in part by another entity, the electrical work permit purchaser must request approval from the chief electrical inspector or the city that is authorized to do electrical inspections to take responsibility for the work of the original installing entity. Each electrical work permit application must be signed by the electrical contractor's administrator (or designee) or the person, or authorized representative of the firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity that is performing the electrical installation or alteration. Permits purchased electronically do not require a handwritten signature. An entity designated to sign electrical permits must provide written authorization of the purchaser's designation when requested by the department or city that is authorized to do electrical inspections.

     (5) Permits to be obtained by customers. Whenever a serving electrical utility performs work for a customer under one of the exemptions in WAC 296-46B-925 and the work is subject to inspection, the customer is responsible for obtaining all required permits.

     (6) Posting of permits: Where an electrical work permit is required, the work permit must be obtained and posted at the job site prior to beginning any electrical work. Exceptions:

     (a) For an owner, an electrical work permit for emergency repairs to an existing electrical system(s) must be obtained and posted at the job site no later than the next business day after the work is begun.

     (b) For an electrical contractor, in a city's jurisdiction where the city is authorized to do electrical inspections and does not have a provisional and a Class B permit system, an electrical work permit for emergency repairs to an existing electrical system(s) must be obtained and posted at the job site no later than the next business day after the work is begun.

     (7) Fees must be paid in accordance with the inspection fee schedule in Part C of this chapter. The amount of the fee due is calculated based on the fee effective at the date payment is made. If the project is required to have an electrical plan review, the plan review fees will be based on the fees effective at the date the plans are received by the department for review. In a city where the department is doing inspections as the city's contractor, a supplemental fee may apply.

     Permit - requirements for.

     (8) As required by chapter 19.28 RCW or this chapter, an electrical work permit is required for the installation, alteration, or maintenance of all electrical systems or equipment except for:

     (a) Travel trailers;

     (b) Class A basic electrical work which includes:

     (i) The like-in-kind replacement of a: Contactor, relay, timer, starter, circuit board, or similar control component; household appliance; circuit breaker; fuse; residential luminaire; lamp; snap switch; dimmer; receptacle outlet; thermostat; heating element; luminaire ballast with an exact same ballast; component(s) of electric signs, outline lighting, skeleton neon tubing when replaced on-site by an appropriate electrical contractor and when the sign, outline lighting or skeleton neon tubing electrical system is not modified; ten horsepower or smaller motor;

     (ii) Induction detection loops described in WAC 296-46B-300(2) and used to control gate access devices;

     (iii) Heat cable repair; and

     (iv) Embedding premanufactured heat mats in tile grout where the mat is listed by an approved testing laboratory and comes from the manufacturer with preconnected lead-in conductors. All listing marks and lead-in conductor labels must be left intact and visible for evaluation and inspection by the installing electrician and the electrical inspector.

     Unless specifically noted, the exemptions listed do not include: The replacement of an equipment unit, assembly, or enclosure that contains an exempted component or combination of components (e.g., an electrical furnace/heat pump, industrial milling machine, etc.) or any appliance/equipment described in this section for Class B permits.

     In the department's jurisdiction, a provisional electrical work permit label may be posted in lieu of an electrical work permit. If a provisional electrical work permit label is used, an electrical work permit must be obtained within two working days after posting the provisional electrical work permit label. See WAC 296-46B-907(2) for provisional label requirements.

     (9) An electrical work permit is required for all installations of telecommunications systems on the customer side of the network demarcation point for projects greater than ten telecommunications outlets. All backbone installations regardless of size and all telecommunications cable or equipment installations involving penetrations of fire barriers or passing through hazardous locations require permits and inspections. For the purposes of determining the inspection threshold for telecommunications projects greater than ten outlets, the following will apply:

     (a) An outlet is the combination of jacks and mounting hardware for those jacks, along with the associated cable and telecommunications closet terminations, that serve one workstation. In counting outlets to determine the inspection threshold, one outlet must not be associated with more than six standard four-pair cables or more than one twenty-five-pair cable. Therefore, installations of greater than sixty standard four-pair cables or ten standard twenty-five-pair cables require permits and inspections. (It is not the intent of the statute to allow large masses of cables to be run to workstations or spaces serving telecommunications equipment without inspection. Proper cable support and proper loading of building structural elements are safety concerns. When considering total associated cables, the telecommunications availability at one workstation may count as more than one outlet.)

     (b) The installation of greater than ten outlets and the associated cables along any horizontal pathway from a telecommunications closet to work areas during any continuous ninety-day period requires a permit and inspection.

     (c) All telecommunications installations within the residential dwelling units of single-family, duplex, and multifamily dwellings do not require permits or inspections. In residential multifamily dwellings, permits and inspections are required for all backbone installations, all fire barrier penetrations, and installations of greater than ten outlets in common areas.

     (d) No permits or inspections are required for installation or replacement of cord and plug connected telecommunications equipment or for patch cord and jumper cross-connected equipment.

     (e) Definitions of telecommunications technical terms will come from chapter 19.28 RCW, this chapter, TIA/EIA standards, and NEC.

     Permit - inspection and approval.

     (10) Requests for inspections.

     (a) Requests for inspections must be made no later than three business days after completion of the electrical/telecommunications installation or one business day after any part of the installation has been energized, whichever occurs first.

     (b) Requests for after hours or weekend inspections must be made by contacting the local electrical inspection supervisor at least three working days prior to the requested date of inspection. The portal-to-portal inspection fees required for after hours or weekend inspections are in addition to the cost of the original electrical work permit.

     (c) Emergency requests to inspect repairs necessary to preserve life and equipment safety may be requested at any time.

     (d) Inspections for annual electrical maintenance permits and annual telecommunications permits may be done on a regular schedule arranged by the permit holder with the department.

     (11) Final inspection approval will not be made until all inspection fees are paid in full.

     Permit - duration/refunds.

     (12) Electrical work permits will expire one year after the date of purchase unless electrical work is actively and consistently in progress and inspections requested. Refunds are not available for:

     (a) Expired electrical work permits;

     (b) Electrical work permits where the electrical installation has begun; or

     (c) Any electrical work permit where an electrical inspection or electrical inspection request has been made.

     Permit - annual telecommunications.

     (13) The chief electrical inspector or city that is authorized to do electrical inspections can allow annual permits for the inspection of telecommunications installations to be purchased by a building owner or licensed electrical/telecommunications contractor. The owner's full-time telecommunications maintenance staff, or a licensed electrical/telecommunications contractor(s) can perform the work done under this annual permit. The permit holder is responsible for correcting all installation deficiencies. The permit holder must make available, to the electrical inspector, all records of all the telecommunications work performed and the valid electrical or telecommunications contractor's license numbers for all contractors working under the permit.

     Permit - annual electrical.

     (14) The chief electrical inspector or city that is authorized to do electrical inspections can allow annual permits for the inspection of electrical installations to be purchased by a building owner or licensed electrical contractor. This type of permit is available for commercial/industrial locations employing a full-time electrical maintenance staff or having a yearly maintenance contract with a licensed electrical contractor.

     The permit holder is responsible for correcting all installation deficiencies. The permit holder must make available, to the electrical inspector, all records of all electrical work performed.

     This type of electrical permit may be used for retrofit, replacement, maintenance, repair, upgrade, and alterations to electrical systems at a single plant or building location. This type of permit does not include new or increased service or new square footage.

     Permit - temporary installations.

     (15) For temporary electrical installations, the department will consider a permit applicant to be the owner per RCW 19.28.261 under the conditions below:

     Any person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity registered as a general contractor under chapter 18.27 RCW will be permitted to install a single electrical service per address for the purposes of temporary power during the construction phase of a project, when all of the following conditions are met:

     (a) The installation is limited to the mounting and bracing of a preassembled pole or pedestal mounted service, the installation of a ground rod or ground plate, and the connection of the grounding electrode conductor to the ground rod or plate;

     (b) The total service size does not exceed 200 amperes, 250 volts nominal;

     (c) The service supplies no feeders;

     (d) Branch circuits not exceeding 50 amperes each are permitted, provided such branch circuits supply only receptacles that are either part of the service equipment or are mounted on the same pole;

     (e) The general contractor owns the electrical equipment;

     (f) The general contractor has been hired by the property owner as the general contractor for the project;

     (g) The general contractor must purchase an electrical work permit for the temporary service, request inspection, and obtain approval prior to energizing the service.



[Statutory Authority: RCW 19.28.006, 19.28.010, 19.28.031, 19.28.041, 19.28.061, 19.28.101, 19.28.131, 19.28.161, 19.28.171, 19.28.191, 19.28.201, 19.28.211, 19.28.241, 19.28.251, 19.28.281, 19.28.311, 19.28.321, 19.28.400, 19.28.420, 19.28.490, 19.28.551. 09-20-032, § 296-46B-901, filed 9/29/09, effective 10/31/09; 08-24-048, § 296-46B-901, filed 11/25/08, effective 12/31/08; 06-24-041, § 296-46B-901, filed 11/30/06, effective 12/31/06.]