Pittsburgh electrical in numbers
| What we measured | Pittsburgh |
|---|---|
| Electrical permits, three years | 4,618 |
| Firms and licensees | 329 |
| With a permit in the last 12 months | 205 |
| Usual filed value | $2,655 |
| Middle half of firms' usual value | $1,690 to $4,500 |
| Usual days to completion (estimate) | 42 |
| Completed (permits a year or more old) | 85.9% |
| 10th / 90th-percentile firm (10+ permits) | 72.7% / 96.3% |
| Firms under 70% completed | 8 of 104 |
Filing peaks in October (index 115) and is lowest in January (84). Prices by job size are on the Pittsburgh electrical cost page.
Which license a Pittsburgh electrician needs
Pennsylvania's Department of Labor & Industry says the Commonwealth "currently has no licensure or certification requirements for most construction contractors" (L&I, read 23 October 2026), so Pittsburgh licenses electricians itself, through the Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections (PLI). PLI's Licensing Rules and Regulations define an electrical contractor as "any person performing work that requires an electrical permit", require proof of insurance "prior to issuance of any permit under Title Ten", and say "Trade licensees must carry a copy of their PLI-issued trade license at all times while performing work under permits" (read 23 October 2026).
The license belongs to a person, which is why many Pittsburgh electrical permits are filed under an individual's name rather than a company's. The five-minute check: ask the electrician to show the license card, note the name and number, and make sure that person is the one named on your permit. We found no public trade-license search on PLI's pages. The state's home improvement contractor registration is covered in the Pittsburgh contractor license lookup.
The permit rule for electrical work in Pittsburgh
PLI's rules exempt "Minor repair work, including the replacement of lamps", along with some temporary decorative lighting and low-voltage equipment (read 23 October 2026). A panel, a service upgrade, a new circuit or an EV charger is permit work, done by the licensee. To see what was permitted at your address, use OneStopPGH Insights: the City's permit status page says it is "the best way to access that information" for anyone other than the applicant. Panel rules in other cities: do I need a permit for an electrical panel upgrade.
Red flags in the Pittsburgh record
- A completed share under 72.7%. That is the 10th-percentile line among the 104 Pittsburgh electrical firms with 10 or more permits; 8 complete under 70%. Ask about the open ones by address.
- A City license that is no longer active. 19 electrical firms on Pittsburgh permits (5.8%) matched a City license record that is not active.
- No license card to show. PLI requires licensees to carry it while working under a permit.
- A firm that stopped filing. 28 firms with 5 or more permits filed none in the last 12 months.
- One permit and gone. 91 filers (27.7%) pulled exactly one Pittsburgh electrical permit in three years.
How the Pittsburgh electrical market is spread
Most of Pittsburgh's busiest electrical permit holders are licensed individuals filing under their own names, so we do not list them here; they are all on the compare list with their volume and completed share.
| What we measured | Pittsburgh |
|---|---|
| Share held by the busiest filer | 4.1% |
| Share held by the five busiest | 17.6% |
| Filers with 10+ permits | 106 |
| Filers with exactly one permit | 91 |
No one dominates: the five busiest filers hold 17.6%, so most Pittsburgh electricians have a record of a few dozen permits to read rather than hundreds.
See every Pittsburgh electrician by permits completed →
What the Pittsburgh record does not tell you
"Completed" uses the City's permit status; days to completion are our estimate from status and age. Our license status is a name match to the City's trade license file: licenses are held by people and permits are often filed under companies, so 75.1% of filers did not match. That is our gap, not proof a firm is unlicensed. HIC registrations are not matched. The national checklist is in hiring an electrician, and state rules in how to check a contractor's license in Pennsylvania.
How we know this
Permits are City of Pittsburgh electrical permits on homes from the Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center, 2023-10 to 2026-09. "Completed" uses permits a year or more old; days to completion are estimated from status and age. Percentile and under-70% figures use filers with 10 or more permits; the filed-value range uses filers with 3 or more. License status is our name match against the City of Pittsburgh's trade license file. PLI and City text is quoted from their own pages, read 23 October 2026.
Numbers come from City of Pittsburgh permits (Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center), data through October 12, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- How do I choose an electrician in Pittsburgh?
Ask to see the City of Pittsburgh electrical trade license the electrician must carry, make sure the electrical permit is pulled, and read the firm's Pittsburgh record: 85.9% of electrical permits a year or more old were completed, and the 10th-percentile busy firm completed 72.7%.
- Does an electrician need a license in Pittsburgh?
Yes, a City electrical trade license from the Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections (PLI). Pennsylvania has no state license for most construction contractors. PLI's rules define an electrical contractor as any person performing work that requires an electrical permit.
- Do I need a permit for electrical work in Pittsburgh?
For anything beyond minor repair, yes. PLI's licensing rules list minor repair work, including the replacement of lamps, among the exemptions; panels, new circuits and service work need an electrical permit.
- How much does an electrician cost in Pittsburgh?
The usual Pittsburgh electrical permit was filed at $2,655, and the middle half of electrical firms usually file between $1,690 and $4,500. That is the value written on the permit, not a quote.
- How do I look up a Pittsburgh electrical permit?
The City sends anyone who is not the applicant, even a property owner, to OneStopPGH Insights, a record of current and historic permits searchable by address or record type.
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
- Contractor Licensing — Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (2026-10-23)
- Licensing Rules and Regulations — City of Pittsburgh PLI (amended through 12 March 2026) (2026-10-23)
- What is the Status of My Permit? — City of Pittsburgh OneStopPGH (2026-10-23)
- OneStopPGH Insights — City of Pittsburgh (2026-10-23)