Permits, what the county actually charges, the licence to check before you hire, and what an inspector is looking for.
We've dated every figure we gathered. If we know when a number expires, we've said so.
Who issues the permit
For electrical permits, you deal with the Department of Inspections, Licenses & Permits. You'll find it at 3430 Court House Drive, Ellicott City. The permits line is 410-313-2455. The Health Department handles septic systems and wells. If your job involves both, you deal with two departments.
The current fee schedule is Howard County Council Resolution #83-2026. The county adopted it under § 3.222 of the Howard County Code. It took effect on 1 July 2026. It replaced the previous schedule outright. If your quote uses last year's fees, those figures are out of date.
What the county charges
New residential construction, by service size
The numbers behind this
| Service | Fee |
|---|---|
| 1- or 2-family dwelling, 0–200 amp | $150 |
| Over 200–400 amp | $200 |
| Over 400–600 amp | $300 |
FY2027 Electrical Permit Fee Schedule, adopted under § 3.222 of the Howard County Code, effective 1 July 2026. A non-refundable $50 application fee applies on top.
The common jobs
| Work | Fee |
|---|---|
| Service heavy-up (upgrade), per service or feeder | $50 |
| Generator | $100 each |
| Swimming pool | $100 flat |
| Hot tub | $50 flat |
| Residential elevator | $50 each |
| Telephone, alarm, central vacuum, intercom | see schedule |
You also pay a non-refundable $50 application fee.
(FY2027 Electrical Permit Fee Schedule, effective 1 July 2026.)
The $50 heavy-up fee is worth knowing. A service upgrade is one of the jobs most often quoted in the county. The permit costs a small fraction of what you'll be quoted for the work.
Commercial, counted by outlet
| Outlets | Fee |
|---|---|
| 25 or fewer | $50 |
| 26–100 | $150 |
| Over 100 | $150 + $25 per additional 100 or part |
You pay extra for components. The first piece of equipment or appliance costs $50. Each one after that costs $5. Each transfer switch costs $50. A service up to 200 amps costs $50. Generators cost $100 for 0–50 kW. They cost $300 for 51–500 kW. The first elevator or escalator costs $200. Each additional one costs $50. Those fees exclude plug-in chair lifts.
- 1A heavy-up is charged at $50 per service or feeder, plus the non-refundable $50 application fee. The permit is a small fraction of what you will be quoted for the work.
- 2The new service permit fee is set by size: $150 for a 1- or 2-family dwelling up to 200 amps, $200 over 200 to 400, $300 over 400 to 600.
- 358.4% of the county's housing was built between 1970 and 1999 — wired for a household without a heat pump, an induction hob, two home offices and a car on the drive. The stock is concentrated where the original service size has been outgrown rather than where it is unsafe.
- 4Any electrical component of a well or septic system needs its own permit, separate from the plumbing one.
FY2027 Electrical Permit Fee Schedule, adopted under § 3.222 of the Howard County Code, effective 1 July 2026.
What failing an inspection costs
You pay more each time the same inspection fails:
The numbers behind this
| Failures | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2 | $100 |
| 3 | $125 |
| 4 or more | $175 |
FY2027 Electrical Permit Fee Schedule, effective 1 July 2026. Fees apply per repeated failure of the same inspection.
An inspection outside business hours costs $125 for the first hour. You pay $100 per additional hour or part of it.
If your contractor books an overtime inspection, ask why. If your job has failed twice, the next failure costs more than the original permit. Ask what was wrong the first time.
What is behind the walls here
58.4% of Howard County's homes — 73,212 units — were built between 1970 and 1999. Only 12.2% were built before 1970.
That is the most useful fact to know about electrical work here. A house from 1975 was wired for a different household. It did not have a heat pump, an induction hob, two home offices and a car on the drive. Most homes here come from a period when the original service is now too small rather than unsafe. That is why heavy-ups are such a common job here. It also explains the flat fee for them.
Only about one Howard County house in eight predates 1970. Old wiring, such as cloth insulation or knob and tube, is unusual here. You are more likely to find it in older parts of the state.
We've given a source for every figure. We've included the date we read it.