I’ve been trying to install a Tesla wall charger and working on the permit process. My small city in California quoted my permit cost at $400. This felt pretty high to me and I learned it includes standard charges with an additional $35 fee because it’s an electric vehicle charger which seems pretty backwards to me. I would have thought if anything there should be an incentives to install home chargers to encourage overnight charging, especially during our hot summers. I’d love to know how typical this is. If you have any insight into permit costs in other places, please share!
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Expected cost for wall charger permit
- Thread starter Bbear
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- permit wall charger
If that’s what your city charges that’s what it is.
CA quotes are all over; both higher and lower than yours.
If you don’t want to pay it look at alternatives.
You know there’s something like a 30% rebate/refund/credit on the complete charger install which I would expect covers the permit.
Check into it.
CA quotes are all over; both higher and lower than yours.
If you don’t want to pay it look at alternatives.
You know there’s something like a 30% rebate/refund/credit on the complete charger install which I would expect covers the permit.
Check into it.
Hank42
Legacy Supporter
Just install it without the permit. F**CK the municipality for charging such an absurd fee.
Considering it's CA, just don't blame me if the the thing sparks a forest fire and they found out you installed it without a permit!
Considering it's CA, just don't blame me if the the thing sparks a forest fire and they found out you installed it without a permit!
That's more than I paid in "Taxachusetts" for a permit for a full house renovation that included a new main electrical service, extensive wiring, new plumbing, re-worked roof, as well as all the carpentry work.
I'd say it was slightly absurd.
I'd say it was slightly absurd.
Thanks for the feedback. It’s challenging to find clear information on this kind of thing.
As far as the 30% tax incentives, it seems there are restrictions based on where you live starting this year so most people no longer qualify. That includes me if I understand correctly.
The breakdown looks that way. With all the other processing fees it seems unnecessary.
Hank42
Legacy Supporter
Not sure if you're trying to be funny - but are you ok with even the $365 for a PERMIT for an OUTLET? What, exactly, justifies that cost from the permitting office? It is nothing more than a recording fee and a stamp that takes 10 seconds. $365? That's how much it _SHOULD_ cost to install, not for a permit. A sparky charging $365 and hour could probably install it in less than an hour plus maybe $60 in materials. (Depending on the run and complexity, yeah, I get it). What is this world coming to? F'it - install it without a permit, and if the world burns as a result, it's on THEM for being so egregious with their pricing. Talk about disincentivizing people to do the right thing(because, I mean, yeah, permit process is generally a good thing). WTF is wrong with CA?
You can go all off on CA all you want based on one person on the internet, but you may have noticed that towns and states are not the same thing. In my quick research, the most expensive cities in CA don't charge anywhere near that, so this is not a "California" thing:
A permit and INSPECTION (it's not just a permit) costs $148 in San Francisco for up to 10 outlets:
It's $65 in LA for the permit:
Some people want to direct the discussion to a "State vs state" thing, and that conversation always spirals out of control, so I am putting a stop to it right now. This has nothing to do with the state, either as already pointed out.
I would tell the OP that sounds very out of bounds as a PERMIT cost, mine, through an electrician filed it for me for my wall connector was something like $50-60 dollars for the permit (not the install). The install + permit in my case was around $450 but I dont live in bigbear which is a guess based on your user name.
No idea what it is up there.
I would tell the OP that sounds very out of bounds as a PERMIT cost, mine, through an electrician filed it for me for my wall connector was something like $50-60 dollars for the permit (not the install). The install + permit in my case was around $450 but I dont live in bigbear which is a guess based on your user name.
No idea what it is up there.
Electrph
Member
just to add to this i live in CA as well and my permit cost zero, nada (twice actually once when i diy'd my connector and once when powerwall installers relocated it) .. just had to make appt for inspector to come out as stated repeatedly above it is usually up to the county / city etc ..
i agree whatever municipality / county etc is requiring that amount , if that is the correct amount does seem excessive
i agree whatever municipality / county etc is requiring that amount , if that is the correct amount does seem excessive
You had an inspector come out for free? Which California do you live in? I live in the ridiculous one that has out of control housing costs.
davewill
Active Member
Permits and inspections are LOCAL! It doesn't matter which state you're in. Same with housing costs. Move to a small town in CA and houses can be cheap. There are expensive places in a lot of states.
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Electrph
Member
Tulare County (Central California) …. After looking up the fee schedule looks like they do charge a nominal fee (either this changed since 2019 or they just didn’t bother charging me back then
)I just had mine installed today, my local office charges $150 for the permit, but my installer applied an extra $300 because I wanted a licensed electrician/contractor to pull the permit. To my knowledge, the $150 permit applies when the homeowner files for the permit. I didn't want to go down this route for one reason - should I ever sell my house, the permit does not stay with the house. When a licensed electrician/contractor files for the permit, the permit stays with the house. Seeing the direction of where the economy is going, this made the most sense in the long-term. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but this is what I got from my local City office's website, and what's stated on my quote/contract. FWIW, I'm in the Los Angeles area but it seems like many of us have seen similar costs.
Electrph
Member
When you say applied an extra $300 do you mean charged you an extra $300 for a total of $450 for permitting ?
Far as I know permitting / inspection process is so that a county / city etc official can inspect the work done for conformity to safety / performance etc standards. Upon sale of the home if something were not up to standard it would not pass inspection, or worse in case of electrical, gas, structural work if something failed people could be hurt or killed and homeowners insurance may refuse to honor any resulting claim. Not sure what your locality means by prof vs diy permitting ?
A permit filed and inspection passed for this type of work would be on record with the county etc .. not a piece of paper that goes with the home and or installer whether a professional or the homeowner.
In the case of a home EV connector I don’t think it matters if it is DIY or professional , if it is quality work and passes inspection it passes, if it is not it doesn’t.
This is all from my experience in CA .. maybe things are different elsewhere or things have changed
I 100% agree with your response. This was something I heard/read online, I need to find the source. Perhaps that information is incorrect? Since my conduit run involved around 125ft, had to be placed on wooden studs as a part of the building code, combining low voltage circuits to make room to add a 60A breaker, all while my solar panels are pending their own inspection approval the City was not something that I wanted to tackle on my own. I attached part of the contract that shows both permit fees. I had to photoshop some information out to protect both parties.
When you say applied an extra $300 do you mean charged you an extra $300 for a total of $450 for permitting ?
Far as I know permitting / inspection process is so that a county / city etc official can inspect the work done for conformity to safety / performance etc standards. Upon sale of the home if something were not up to standard it would not pass inspection, or worse in case of electrical, gas, structural work if something failed people could be hurt or killed and homeowners insurance may refuse to honor any resulting claim. Not sure what your locality means by prof vs diy permitting ?
A permit filed and inspection passed for this type of work would be on record with the county etc .. not a piece of paper that goes with the home and or installer whether a professional or the homeowner.
In the case of a home EV connector I don’t think it matters if it is DIY or professional , if it is quality work and passes inspection it passes, if it is not it doesn’t.
This is all from my experience in CA .. maybe things are different elsewhere or things have changed♂
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davewill
Active Member
Looks to me like the city/county fee is $155 and they are estimating that it will take $300 worth of THEIR time to deal with the permitting process (preparing documents, filing, attending the inspection, etc...).
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