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Do I need an electrical permit in Little Rock? Unit fees, the homeowner consultation and inspections

Yes: Little Rock requires an electrical permit for new wiring, circuits, panels and appliances, priced item by item with a $50 minimum, and pulled by a licensed master electrician or, after a consultation, by an owner on their own home. Electricians filed 4,569 electrical permits on Little Rock homes from May 2023 to April 2026, and 81.6% of those a year or more old were closed.

By Contractor Records · data through April 24, 2026

What needs a permit

The Building Codes Division issues and inspects electrical work (Planning and Development divisions, read 26 October 2026). Little Rock adopted the 2020 National Electrical Code by ordinance on 6 December 2022, with local rules in Chapter 8 of the City Code.

The fee ordinance shows what the City treats as permit work, because each item has a price. From Ordinance 22,204, § 8-31(c) II:

Electrical item Fee
New one- or two-family home $0.10 per square foot under roof
Meter loop, first / each additional $16 / $8
Load center up to 100 / 150 / 200 amps $18 / $28 / $38
Openings (outlets, switches, fixtures), 1 to 20 / 21 to 60 $12 / $28
Special circuit (window AC, baseboard heater, outdoor lighting, other) $18
Range / dryer / water heater, each $17
Dishwasher, disposal, ceiling fan, vent hood or bath fan, each $6
Smoke or CO detectors, 1 to 4 $12
Hot tub or spa / pool bonding $14 / $18
Temporary power $25
Inspection / re-inspection, each $25 / $45
Minimum fee $50
Data processing fee (all residential permits) $25
Work done with no permit 3 × the permit fee

Worked through: a 200-amp panel change with a new meter loop is $16 + $38 = $54 by our arithmetic, so it clears the $50 minimum; adding two bath fans and a circuit is $6 + $6 + $18 = $30, billed at $50. A revision on the Board's 16 December 2025 agenda, written to take effect 1 January 2026, raises most item fees about 3% (the first meter loop to $16.48) and keeps the $50 electrical minimum. The City's Building Codes page still links Ordinance 22,204, so check the invoice.

Who can pull it

A licensed electrician. The City's Documents Required sheet asks for "Master Licenses for Plumbing and Electrical", plus the contractor's Arkansas license, City business license and a $10,000 surety bond. The City's posted Electrical Code (§ 8-147(a)) issues electrical permits "only to persons licensed under this article", and requires electrical contractors to register with the Building Codes permit section with the name of their supervising master electrician. Arkansas electricians are on the State Board of Electrical Examiners roster; filter by status "Active".

You, on your own home. Under § 8-147(b) of that posted code, a permit may go to a property owner "to do work on their own home". An owner without a master or journeyman license pays a $35 consultation fee and must "consult with the Electrical Inspections Supervisor" about the project and their competence before the permit is issued, show they own the home and live or will live in it, and sign an agreement to follow the code. If two consecutive inspections of the same work fail, the supervisor may require a licensed electrician to finish. The posted copy is an older edition (it still cites the 2006 International Residential Code), so confirm the current rule with the permit desk, (501) 371-4832 or Permits@littlerock.gov.

How to apply and get inspected

  1. Apply through the City's Interactive Building-Construction Permit Program or at the permit desk, 723 West Markham Street.
  2. Three inspections. The ordinance lists electrical inspections as "Pipe-In Wall, Rough, Final". The City's inspection codes are 220 slab, 225 underground conduit, 230 rough-in conduit, 235 rough-in wire, 240 temporary permanent power and 250 final. Nothing gets covered before the rough passes.
  3. Schedule on 501-588-7493, by texting "SCHEDULE" to 855-949-5403, or at inspections.littlerock.gov.
  4. Permit life. A year from issue; invalid if work has not started within six months.

What 4,569 Little Rock electrical permits show

Measure Little Rock electrical
Permits on homes, May 2023 to April 2026 4,569
Firms 322
Firms with a permit from May 2025 to April 2026 207
Firms with 10 or more permits 111
Closed (permits a year or more old) 81.6%
10th / 90th-percentile firm (10+ permits) 62.8% / 94.9%
Firms with 10+ permits closing under 70% 16 of 101
Share held by the five busiest firms 15.0%
Busiest / quietest month April (120) / December (77)

Unlike HVAC, Little Rock's electrical work is spread out: the five busiest firms hold only 15.0% of permits and 111 firms filed ten or more. Most close their permits; 16 of 101 busy firms closed fewer than seven in ten. The City records no job value on electrical permits, so we cannot show prices; national figures are in electrical work cost. Counts by year: Little Rock permit statistics.

See every Little Rock electrician by permits closed →

Before you hire

Look the electrician up on the state roster (how to check an Arkansas license) and on the Little Rock electrician list. Rules elsewhere: do I need a permit for electrical work and electrical panel upgrades; questions to ask in hiring an electrician.

What this does not tell you

Little Rock's file records whether a permit closed but not when, so there are no days to final, and it ends in April 2026. Electrical permits carry no job value. Owner-pulled permits are not ranked, and we have not matched firms to the state roster.

How we know this

Fees, the inspection list and the no-permit penalty are quoted from Little Rock Ordinance 22,204 (§ 8-31(c)); the 2026 revision from the Board's 16 December 2025 agenda; who may pull a permit from the City-posted Electrical Code article (§ 8-147) and its Documents Required sheet; inspection codes from the City's scheduling instructions; all read 26 October 2026. Examples are our arithmetic. Permit counts are City of Little Rock electrical permits on homes, May 2023 to April 2026; "closed" is the share of permits a year or more old the City recorded as closed.

Numbers come from City of Little Rock Planning and Development permits on single-family, duplex and manufactured homes (the City's periodic permit download, the edition that runs to April 30, 2026), data through April 24, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.

Questions

  • How much is an electrical permit in Little Rock?

    Little Rock prices electrical work by item under Ordinance 22,204: for example $16 for the first meter loop, $38 for a load center up to 200 amps, $12 for 1 to 20 openings and $18 for a special circuit, with a $50 minimum and a $25 data processing fee. A new house is $0.10 per square foot under roof.

  • Can a homeowner pull an electrical permit in Little Rock?

    The City's posted Electrical Code (§ 8-147) allows a permit to an owner working on their own home who lives there or will after the work. Without an electrician's license the owner pays a $35 consultation fee and meets the Electrical Inspections Supervisor first. That posted copy is an older edition; confirm with the permit desk on (501) 371-4832.

  • Do I need a permit to replace an electrical panel in Little Rock?

    Yes. The fee ordinance lists load centers by amperage, from $9 up to 60 amps to $38 up to 200 amps, plus meter loops at $16 for the first. That comes to $54 for a 200-amp panel and meter by our arithmetic, over the $50 minimum, before the $25 data fee.

  • What inspections does a Little Rock electrical permit need?

    Three: pipe-in-wall, rough and final. The City's scheduling codes include 230 rough-in conduit, 235 rough-in wire and 250 final. Book them on 501-588-7493, by text to 855-949-5403, or at inspections.littlerock.gov.

  • What if electrical work was done without a permit in Little Rock?

    The ordinance says the violator pays three times the permit fee, and no more permits are granted until all fees are paid.

Build your own list

Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.

Little Rock, AR electrical

Related guides

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Sources
  1. Ordinance No. 22,204, permit fee schedules, § 8-31(c) (passed 6 December 2022) — City of Little Rock (accessed 2026-10-26)
  2. Proposed ordinance revising § 8-31(c) permit fees, Board of Directors agenda of 16 December 2025 — City of Little Rock (accessed 2026-10-26)
  3. Article III, Electricity (City-posted copy of the Electrical Code, Chapter 8) — City of Little Rock (accessed 2026-10-26)
  4. Ordinance adopting the 2020 National Electrical Code (passed 6 December 2022) — City of Little Rock (accessed 2026-10-26)
  5. Planning and Development Divisions (Building Codes) — City of Little Rock (accessed 2026-10-26)
  6. Documents Required to Obtain a Building Permit — City of Little Rock Building Codes (accessed 2026-10-26)
  7. Inspection Scheduling Instructions — City of Little Rock (accessed 2026-10-26)
  8. Interactive Building-Construction Permit Program (Dynamic Portal) — City of Little Rock (accessed 2026-10-26)
  9. State Board of Electrical Examiners Roster — Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing (2026-10-25)