The Town's list
From the Town's Residential Permits FAQ, read 23 October 2026, under "A permit is required anytime work is done on a building or structure, or the systems serving the structure":
| Electrical job | Permit in Cary? |
|---|---|
| New or relocated "lighting and receptacle outlets" | Yes |
| Ceiling fan with no fan-rated box | Yes: "ceiling fans (unless ceiling fan-rated electrical box is existing)" |
| Range hood | Yes |
| Under-cabinet lighting, hard-wired | Yes |
| Generator | Yes |
| EV charging station | Yes; see the Cary EV charger permit guide |
| Turning power on or disconnecting it from a structure or pool being removed | Yes |
| Replacing a fixture or component with no work in the wall or ceiling cavity | No |
| Plug-in low-voltage landscape lighting | No: "Low voltage exterior outdoor/landscape lighting (plug-in only)" |
The fan rule is the practical one: hanging a fan where a fan was, on a rated box, needs no permit; putting one where a light hung, on an ordinary box, does. Questions: 311, or (919) 469-4046 from outside Cary.
Who can pull it
A licensed electrical contractor. North Carolina licenses electricians through the Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors; search the firm on its Verify License Search. The Town asks for "all of your contractors' names, addresses and state license numbers" on the application, and they are verified in plan review.
You, on your own home. "An owner of the property can do their own building, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical work", and "The owner does not need to be licensed", but the property must be the owner's primary residence for at least 12 months after completion. Steps for checking a license: Cary contractor license lookup.
Inspections, expiry and the certificate
- Which inspections: "determined by the plan review staff and listed on the permit documents at issuance."
- Booking: in Building Permits Online, at Town Hall (316 N. Academy St.), or by phone on 311.
- Expiry: "A permit is active for six months without any activity, or one year after the last inspection. If no inspections take place, the permit will expire", and a restart is a new permit "with the fees doubled" (Residential Inspections Information).
- Done means certified: the Certificate of Compliance goes to the contractor and the owner once required inspections pass.
The FAQ sends fee questions to its Fees Estimation Guide, which we could not open to verify, so we give no electrical fee. Ask 311.
Why so many Cary electrical permits stay open
| Measure | Cary electrical |
|---|---|
| Permits, October 2023 to September 2026 | 1,455 |
| Firms | 279 |
| Firms with a permit in the 12 months to September 2026 | 158 |
| Usual filed value | $2,117 |
| Middle half of firms' usual job value | $1,350 to $3,900 |
| Passed final (permits a year or more old) | 72.7% |
| Usual days from issue to final | 41 |
| 10th / 90th-percentile firm (10+ permits) | 45.9% / 87.1% |
| Busy firms under 70% finaled | 10 of 22 |
| Busiest / quietest month (index, 100 = average) | July (116) / December (79) |
72.7% finaled compares with 77.9% for Cary HVAC and 92.9% for water heaters. The jobs are small (a usual $2,117), and 10 of the 22 busy firms finaled fewer than 70%. Under the Town's expiry rule, a permit with no inspection lapses, which leaves the work uninspected on your address. Before the last payment, ask when the final is booked, and check for the Certificate of Compliance in Building Permits Online (how). The busiest filer in the 12 months to September 2026 was Alternate Current Solutions, with 57 permits. Prices by home value: Cary electrical cost.
See every Cary electrician by permits finaled →
Related
Other places' rules: do I need a permit for electrical work, a panel upgrade and a generator. The checklist: hiring an electrician; national prices: electrical work cost. Generator installers have their own Cary compare list; counts by year: Cary permit statistics.
What this does not tell you
Finished share is measured against permits a year or more old, and some open permits may be finaled late. Fixture swaps the Town exempts leave no record. License status is not on our Cary pages.
How we know this
The permit and exemption lists and the owner rule are quoted from the Town of Cary's Residential Permits FAQ, read 23 October 2026, and inspection and expiry wording from its Residential Inspections Information page. Our counts come from the Town's Building Permit Applications open data, electrical permits on homes, October 2023 to September 2026; "passed final" counts permits a year or more old.
Numbers come from Town of Cary building permit applications (issued permits only), data through October 16, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- Do I need a permit to install a ceiling fan in Cary, NC?
Only if there is no ceiling fan-rated electrical box already in place. The Town lists 'ceiling fans (unless ceiling fan-rated electrical box is existing)' as permit work, and exempts replacing fixtures when no work is done inside the wall or ceiling cavity.
- Do I need a permit to add an outlet in Cary?
Yes. Adding or relocating 'lighting and receptacle outlets' is on the Town of Cary's list of electrical work that needs a permit, as are a hard-wired range hood and hard-wired under-cabinet lighting.
- How long does an electrical permit take in Cary?
The usual Cary electrical permit passed final 41 days after issue, but only 72.7% of permits a year or more old had passed final, the lowest of any Cary trade with 1,000 or more permits in our file.
- Can a homeowner pull an electrical permit in Cary?
Yes. The Town says an owner can do their own electrical work without a license, provided the property is the owner's primary residence for at least 12 months after the work is complete.
- How much does an electrician cost in Cary?
The usual Cary electrical permit carried a filed value of $2,117, and the middle half of firms' usual jobs ran $1,350 to $3,900. That is the value on the permit, not a quote.
Build your own list
Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.
Related guides
- Do I need a permit for an electrical panel upgrade? Yes: the rule in 13 cities, and how long it takes
- Do I need a permit for electrical work? The rule in 13 cities, and how many get filed
- Do I need an electrical permit in Anaheim? Panel upgrades, the utility meter spot, fees and inspections
- Do I need an electrical permit in Arlington, VA? What's exempt, who pulls it, how long it takes
- Do I need an electrical permit in Greensboro? Who can pull it, the fee schedule and inspections
- Do I need an electrical permit in Henderson, NV? Usually, and who may pull it
For one city
- Residential Permits & Inspections FAQ — Town of Cary (accessed 2026-10-23)
- Residential Inspections Information — Town of Cary (2026-10-23)
- Building Permits Online — Town of Cary (2026-10-23)
- Verify License Search — NC Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors (2026-10-22)