NYC electrical in numbers
| What we measured | New York City |
|---|---|
| Electrical permits on 1–2 family homes, three years | 50,479 |
| Firms | 1,252 |
| Firms with a permit in the last 12 months | 957 |
| Usual days from permit to sign-off | 162 |
| Signed off (permits a year or more old) | 75.1% |
| 10th / 90th-percentile firm (10+ permits) | 43.2% / 88.7% |
| Firms under 70% signed off | 244 of 479 |
| Firms with exactly one permit | 217 (17.3%) |
That under-70% count is the number to notice: about half of busy NYC electricians leave more than three in ten permits without sign-off. Filing peaks in October (index 122) and is lowest in February (80). For national price ranges, see electrical work cost.
Which license an NYC electrician needs
The Department of Buildings licenses master electricians, and DOB's page for alteration jobs on one- and two-family buildings says "plumbing, sprinkler, electrical, boiler, and/or elevator work permits are issued separately to individual contractors" (NYC DOB, read 22 October 2026). So the general contractor's registration does not cover the wiring: the electrical permit is filed by a licensed electrician under its own license. If the electrical work is part of a renovation, the renovator also needs DCWP's Home Improvement Contractor license; that check is in the NYC contractor license lookup.
The five-minute check: ask for the license number, open DOB's License Search, choose Master Electrician, and read the status and any disciplinary actions. DOB also lists disciplinary actions and surrenders.
The permit rule for electrical work in NYC
Electrical work is filed on its own permit by the licensed electrician (DOB, read 22 October 2026). Once the job is booked, search your address on the DOB NOW Public Portal; DOB says the portal "only reflects DOB NOW filings", so check the BIS property profile too for older jobs (Find Building Data). The electrical filing should name your electrician; after the inspection, look for the sign-off. Panel rules in other cities are in do I need a permit for an electrical panel upgrade.
Red flags in the NYC record
- A sign-off share under 43.2%. That is the 10th-percentile line among the 479 NYC electricians with 10 or more permits on homes. Ask the firm for its open permits by address and what is holding them.
- Days to sign-off far above 162. An unsigned electrical permit stays open on your building and can hold up a sale or a certificate of occupancy.
- No license number on the quote. DOB issues the electrical permit to an individual licensee, so a firm that cannot name one cannot file.
- A firm that went quiet. 44 electrical firms with 5 or more permits filed none in the last 12 months.
- A request to do the work "without DOB". Unpermitted electrical work leaves nothing for an inspector or a buyer's engineer to read.
The busiest NYC electricians in the last 12 months
Ranked by electrical permits on one- and two-family homes in the last 12 months of the window. Volume, not quality, and several of the busiest firms file mostly the electrical side of rooftop solar, so their numbers say little about panel or rewiring work.
| Firm | Permits, last 12 months | Permits, three years |
|---|---|---|
| Island Electric Corp | 1,155 | 4,776 |
| Sunrun Solar Electl Corp | 1,094 | 4,122 |
| Berger Quality Elec'l Con | 640 | 5,619 |
| NY Solar Electrical LLC | 440 | 1,922 |
| Redline Electric Inc | 303 | 779 |
The five busiest hold 35.1% of the city's home electrical permits. The compare list shows each firm's sign-off share and usual days next to its volume; for solar firms specifically, see hiring a solar installer in NYC.
See every NYC electrician by sign-off share and days to sign-off →
What the NYC record does not tell you
DOB's data shows stale license status for many electricians, so our electrical pages show no license status; run DOB's License Search yourself. Our file covers one- and two-family homes only, so an electrician busy in apartment buildings can look small here. Electrical permits carry no job value, so we cannot show prices. A sign-off means DOB accepted the work, not that the price was fair. The national checklist is in hiring an electrician, and state rules outside the five boroughs in how to check a contractor's license in New York.
How we know this
Permits are NYC Department of Buildings electrical filings on one- and two-family homes (NYC Open Data), 2023-10 to 2026-09. "Signed off" uses permits a year or more old; days to sign-off is the median from issue to sign-off. Percentile and under-70% figures use electrical firms with 10 or more permits. The busiest-firm table ranks by permits in the last 12 months. No license status is shown for NYC electricians. Rules are quoted from NYC DOB pages, read 22 October 2026.
Numbers come from NYC Department of Buildings permits and DOB NOW filings on one- and two-family homes (NYC Open Data), data through October 17, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- How do I choose an electrician in NYC?
Get the DOB license number of the electrician who will file the electrical permit, check it on DOB's License Search, and read the firm's sign-off share: 75.1% of NYC electrical permits on one- and two-family homes a year or more old were signed off, and 244 of 479 busy firms were under 70%.
- Does an electrician need a license in New York City?
Yes. The Department of Buildings licenses master electricians, and electrical permits are issued separately to the individual licensed contractor, not under the general contractor's registration. Check the license and any disciplinary actions on DOB's License Search.
- Do I need a permit for electrical work in NYC?
DOB's alteration rules for one- and two-family homes say electrical work permits are issued separately to individual contractors, so the electrician files its own permit. Look it up by address on the DOB NOW Public Portal, and on BIS for older jobs.
- How long does an NYC electrical permit take to sign off?
The usual NYC electrical permit on a one- or two-family home took 162 days from issue to sign-off. Ask who requests the inspection and get the sign-off date in writing.
- Who are the biggest electrical contractors in NYC?
On homes, by permits in the last 12 months, Island Electric Corp led with 1,155, then Sunrun Solar Electl Corp with 1,094. Several of the busiest file mostly for rooftop solar.
Build your own list
Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.
Related guides
- Contractor red flags, including the three you can see in the public record
- Hiring an electrician: 5 red flags and 10 questions, checked against electrical permits in 45 cities
- Hiring an electrician in Austin: the TDLR license, the permit, and what 24,000 electrical permits show
- Hiring an electrician in Bellevue, WA: the L&I electrical license, the permit, and what 8,000 electrical permits show
For one city
- License Search — NYC DOB Building Information System (2026-10-22)
- Know Your Construction Professional — NYC Department of Buildings (2026-10-22)
- Registrant Project Requirements: Alteration, 1-2 family buildings — NYC DOB (2026-10-22)
- Find Building Data — NYC DOB (2026-10-22)
- DOB NOW: Public Portal FAQs — NYC DOB (2026-10-22)