Raleigh electrical in numbers
| What we measured | Raleigh |
|---|---|
| Electrical permits, three years | 16,812 |
| Firms | 942 |
| Firms with a permit in the last 12 months | 622 |
| Usual days from permit to final | 91 |
| Firms with 10+ permits | 283 |
| Firms with exactly one permit | 270 (28.7%) |
| Firms with 5+ permits, none in the last 12 months | 54 |
| Share held by the five busiest firms | 17.2% |
Filing peaks in July (index 115) and is lowest in December (81). For national price ranges, see electrical work cost.
Which license a Raleigh electrician needs
North Carolina licenses electrical contractors through the Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors (NCBEEC); the City of Raleigh issues the permits. The class (Limited, Intermediate, Unlimited or special restricted) caps the job size, and a general contractor's license does not cover electrical work.
The five-minute check: ask for the license number, search it on NCBEEC's Verify License Search, and check the status, the class and that the company matches your quote. More in the Raleigh contractor license lookup.
The permit rule for electrical work in Raleigh
The rule is state law. G.S. 160D-1110 requires a permit for "The installation, extension, alteration, or general repair of any electrical wiring, devices, appliances, or equipment". In a one- or two-family home it exempts "repair or replacement of electrical lighting fixtures or devices, such as receptacles and lighting switches", when the replacement has the same voltage and the same or less amperage and the work is done by a licensed electrician (read 23 October 2026). A panel, a new circuit, an EV charger or a generator is permit work.
Search your address on the City's Permit and Development Portal. Its help center says "You do not need to register to search the available public records"; enter only the house number and street name, with no suffix such as Drive or Road (read 23 October 2026). The electrical permit should name your electrician. Panel rules elsewhere: do I need a permit for an electrical panel upgrade.
Red flags in the Raleigh record
- A permit still open well past 91 days. That is the usual time to final; ask when the inspection is booked.
- A firm that stopped filing. 54 electrical firms with 5 or more permits filed none in the last 12 months.
- One permit and gone. 270 firms (28.7%) filed exactly one Raleigh electrical permit in three years.
- A class too small for the job, or a general contractor's license offered for electrical work.
- An offer to skip the permit for anything beyond a like-for-like fixture or device swap.
The busiest Raleigh electricians in the last 12 months
Ranked by Raleigh electrical permits in the last 12 months of the window; firms trading under a person's name are left out of this table and are on the compare list. Volume, not quality; several of the busiest wire new homes for builders.
| Firm | Permits, last 12 months | Permits, three years |
|---|---|---|
| Romanoff Electric Residential LLC. | 227 | 686 |
| Ideal Electric Inc | 158 | 930 |
| Ogilvie Enterprises Inc. | 147 | 302 |
| Raleigh Electric Company | 133 | 419 |
The compare list shows every firm's volume and days to final.
See every Raleigh electrician by permits and days to final →
What the Raleigh record does not tell you
Raleigh's file gives a final date but we do not publish a finished share for Raleigh, so compare firms on days to final and volume. Electrical permits carry no job value, so we cannot show prices. We have not matched permits to NCBEEC's license file, so our pages show no license status. The national checklist is in hiring an electrician, and state rules in how to check a contractor's license in North Carolina.
How we know this
Permits are City of Raleigh electrical permits on homes, 2023-10 to 2026-09. Days to final is the median from issue to the City's final date. The busiest-firm table ranks by permits in the last 12 months. No license status is shown. The statute is quoted from the General Assembly's site and City text from its own pages, read 23 October 2026.
Numbers come from City of Raleigh building permits, data through October 12, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- How do I choose an electrician in Raleigh?
Check the firm's license and class on the NC Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors' search, make sure it pulls the City electrical permit in its own name, and read its Raleigh record: the usual Raleigh electrical permit reached final 91 days after issue, and 54 firms with 5 or more permits have stopped filing.
- Does an electrician need a license in Raleigh?
Yes, a state license from the NC Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors, whose classes (Limited, Intermediate, Unlimited and special restricted) cap the size of job. The City of Raleigh issues permits, not licenses.
- Do I need a permit to replace a panel or add a circuit in Raleigh?
Yes. NC law (G.S. 160D-1110) requires a permit for installing, extending, altering or repairing electrical wiring and equipment. In a one- or two-family home, only like-for-like replacement of lighting fixtures and devices such as receptacles and switches, by a licensed person, is exempt.
- How do I look up an electrical permit in Raleigh?
On the City's Permit and Development Portal. Its help center says you do not need to register to search public records; type only the house number and street name, without a suffix such as Drive or Road.
- Who are the busiest electricians in Raleigh?
By permits in the last 12 months, Romanoff Electric Residential LLC. led with 227. The five busiest hold 17.2% of Raleigh's electrical permits; 270 firms filed exactly one.
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