What to expect when an electrician works in your home

Updated November 10, 2026 · KeystoneProGuide editorial team

What happens before the electrician arrives?

Paperwork, for any job that adds or moves wiring. Pennsylvania's code regulation says the permit must be obtained before the work starts, with one exception: an emergency repair or replacement may go ahead first if the permit application follows within 3 business days.

Many permit offices want the contract in hand first. Haverford Township, for one, will not accept a permit application without a signed contract between the owner and the contractor, the contractor's township license and insurance certificates. Philadelphia requires a copy of the signed contract between the owner and the licensed electrical contractor as part of the permit.

How long the permit takes depends on the office and the job. Philadelphia says applications that need no plans are reviewed while you wait, and those with plans within 20 business days. Ask your electrician when they expect the permit, because work should not start without it.

In Philadelphia, the city asks owners to check that the permits are posted on the property before work begins, and its online permit lookup lets you confirm one was issued.

What should you do to get ready?

Clear the way to the panel. The Electrical Safety Foundation says the service panel is usually in the basement, garage or utility area; that is where the electrician will start and finish.
Expect the power to go off. The panel is also where power to a circuit is shut off before work on it. Ask which rooms will lose power and for how long, so you can plan around refrigerators, medical devices and work from home.
Ask about lead in an older house. If the house was built before 1978 and the job means cutting into painted walls, the Environmental Protection Agency requires anyone paid for that work to be certified in lead-safe practices. Ask how the work area will be contained and cleaned.

What happens on the day?

The electrician turns off the circuits involved, does the work, and leaves anything that must be inspected open until it has been. That last part shapes the schedule on bigger jobs.

When do the inspections happen?

On a job that opens walls, expect at least two: one before the wiring is covered, and one at the end.

The state regulation lists an electrical system inspection, a wallboard inspection and a final inspection among those a code official must make, and says the permit holder must tell the official when work is ready and make it accessible. Local codes spell out the order. The Borough of West Chester's electrical code says no electrical work may be concealed until an approved inspection agent has inspected and approved it, that the agent makes a final inspection on completion, and that inspections take place within five days of the request. Nockamixon Township in Bucks County requires a third-party agency for the rough and the final inspection and wants both inspection cards filed with the township. Philadelphia's rough-in approval for cables lasts 60 days, and the work must not be concealed.

So on a renovation, expect the electrician to run the new cables, call for the rough inspection, and only then let the walls be closed. If a drywall crew is booked for the day after the wiring goes in, ask whether the inspection can be done in time.

What if the job involves the service or the meter?

Then the utility becomes part of it. PECO's equipment responsibility page says it owns the service wire and the meter, while the customer owns the attachment point, the weather head, the conduit to the meter and the meter box. Philadelphia's permit page notes that a separate PECO service and meter application may be needed. The state regulation says equipment owned and controlled by the utility, such as its meter, needs no permit from your town, while work on your own equipment falls under the normal permit rules. A panel or service upgrade can therefore involve the electrician, the inspector and the utility, each on its own schedule.

What do you get at the end?

Proof that the work passed, and a finished job before final payment.

The inspection record. The state regulation requires a final inspection report, and a third-party agency hired by the permit holder must send a copy to the property owner. Lower Merion requires an agency's certificate of approval within 15 days of the work being finished. Keep the report with the house papers.
A finished job before you sign off. The Attorney General advises not signing a completion certificate until all the work in the contract is done to your satisfaction, and the Federal Trade Commission says not to make the final payment until the work is done.
A working panel directory. Ask for any changed circuits to be labeled.

How long does it take?

None of the public bodies whose pages were read publishes a typical duration for electrical jobs. The permit review times above, the inspection windows in local codes and the utility's schedule can matter as much as the hours of work. Ask the electrician for a schedule that includes all three.

The questions to settle before the day are in questions to ask an electrician, what the job should cost is in the cost guide, and the permit rules are in what Pennsylvania requires. Electricians are listed on the electricians directory page.

Sources

34 Pa. Code § 403.62. Permit requirements and exemptions., Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Code)
34 Pa. Code § 403.64. Inspections., Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Code)
Get an Electrical Permit, City of Philadelphia
Find a licensed contractor and contractor information, City of Philadelphia
Building & Codes Department, Township of Haverford
Chapter 54: Electrical Standards, Borough of West Chester (eCode360)
Chapter 72: Electrical Standards, Township of Lower Merion (eCode360)
Permits & Forms, Nockamixon Township
Understanding Your Home Electrical System, Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI)
Equipment Responsibility, PECO
Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Pottstown-Based Home Improvement Contractor Jailed at Least 3 Years for Taking More than $156K for Jobs he did not Complete, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
How To Avoid a Home Improvement Scam, Federal Trade Commission