What needs an electrical permit
The City of Missoula's Building Division page (read 24 October 2026) lists for one- and two-family homes:
- "Install, change or repair any hard wired electrical system."
- "Run any additional wiring, put in an additional electrical outlet or light fixture or change out your fuse box to circuit breakers."
- "Extend any branch circuit for a switch or outlet more than 6'."
Electrical permits are also required when a building permit triggers new fixtures, such as required smoke alarms. Every solar system needs one: the City's solar page says "An electrical permit is required for all solar systems" and treats them as a "change or service upgrade". On commercial jobs the 6-foot allowance does not apply: adding any outlet or switch needs a permit.
The City does not review electrical plans for one- and two-family homes; "compliance will be field verified during the inspection". The Building Division posts its own handouts on service changes, Ufer grounds, appliance disconnects and GFCI rules for new houses, and Missoula currently enforces the 2020 National Electrical Code. The page does not say whether a homeowner may take out an electrical permit on their own house; ask the permit coordinators at (406) 552-6060.
What it costs
The FY2027 permit fee schedule sets flat fees for single-family homes:
| Single-family job | FY2027 fee |
|---|---|
| Miscellaneous wiring, labor and materials up to $50 | $51 |
| Miscellaneous wiring over $50, no addition, remodel or rewire | $95 |
| Change or upgrade service: meter and/or breaker panel (includes alternative energy connections) | $82 |
| Addition, remodel or interior rewire | $130 |
| New house, 100–300 amp service / 301+ amps | $427 / $662 |
| Detached garage or shed, new or unwired, up to 200 amps | $130 |
| Solar installation (building permit, flat) | $250 |
| Re-inspection / skipped inspection | $56 / $150 |
A 5% technology fee is added to the total, and a credit card adds 3%. Work started without a permit pays double.
How to apply and get it inspected
- Apply for an Electrical Permit online in the City's Citizen Portal, Building record type (Permit Processes and Policies).
- The permit holder schedules inspections; the City says "All permits should have a final inspection", and every open permit must pass a final before a Certificate of Occupancy.
- Start work within 180 days of issue, and don't let it sit idle for 180 days, or the permit becomes invalid.
What 2,044 Missoula electrical permits show
| Measure | Missoula electrical permits |
|---|---|
| Applied for October 2024 to September 2026, and issued | 2,044 (20% of all City permits) |
| October 2024 to September 2025 / October 2025 to September 2026 | 1,060 / 984 (−7%) |
| Finished, permits from October 2024 to September 2025 | 85.4% |
| Expired without a final, same permits | 11.3% |
| Busiest / quietest calendar month (index) | July (128) / February (64) |
| ZIPs with the most | 59801 (833), 59802 (411), 59808 (363) |
Electrical work in Missoula is twice as busy in July as in February, so a winter job meets the quietest counter. One permit in nine from the first year expired without a final: check yours reached Final in the Citizen Portal before you make the last payment. Monthly counts are on Missoula electrical permits, every kind of work on Missoula permit statistics, and the rows on browse Missoula permits. Solar permits are counted separately, on Missoula solar permits.
Before you hire
Look up the permit and its Processing Status as described in Missoula building permit search. Other cities' rules are in do I need a permit for electrical work and do I need a permit for an electrical panel upgrade; filed costs in electrical work cost.
What this does not tell you
The City's permit layer names no electrician and carries no job value, so we cannot rank electricians or show costs. Permits are dated by application, so we show no time to final. The City of Missoula only: the rest of Missoula County permits elsewhere.
How we know this
Requirements are quoted from the City of Missoula Building Division page and Clean Energy Permits (Solar) page; fees from the FY2027 Building (MEC, PLM, ELC, RFG) Permit Fee Schedule; the portal route from Permit Processes and Policies, all read 24 October 2026. Our counts are the City's AddressesWithPermits_mso layer, read 19 October 2026: electrical permits applied for October 2024 to September 2026 and issued.
Numbers come from public permit records in 57 cities, data through October 19, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- Do I need a permit to add an outlet in Missoula?
Yes. The City's Building Division says a permit is needed to run any additional wiring, put in an additional outlet or light fixture, or extend a branch circuit for a switch or outlet more than 6 feet on a one- or two-family home.
- How much is an electrical permit in Missoula?
Flat fees under the FY2027 schedule: $51 for small residential wiring (materials and labor up to $50), $95 above that, $82 for a service or panel change, $130 for an addition, remodel or rewire, and $427 for a new house up to 300 amps. A 5% technology fee is added.
- Do I need a permit to change a fuse box to breakers in Missoula?
Yes. The Building Division lists changing out a fuse box to circuit breakers as permit work, and the FY2027 fee for a service or breaker panel change on a single-family home is $82.
- Does a solar installation need an electrical permit in Missoula?
Yes. The City says an electrical permit is required for all solar systems and treats solar as a change or service upgrade. The solar installation permit is a $250 flat fee in the FY2027 schedule.
- How many electrical permits does Missoula issue?
2,044 electrical permits were applied for from October 2024 to September 2026 and issued: 1,060 in the first year and 984 in the second. 85.4% of the first year's had finished by October 2026 and 11.3% had expired.
Build your own list
Pick your city and the kind of work. Every firm with a permit on record, sorted by what you value.
Related guides
- Albuquerque building permit search: how to look up permits on an address
- Building a casita in Albuquerque: the 750 sq ft limit, rear-yard rule, parking, free plans, and who builds them
- Do I need a permit to build a house in Albuquerque? GB-2 or homeowner, the plan set and the fee
- Do I need a solar permit in Albuquerque? Building and electrical permits, the engineer triggers and the fee
- Building Division — City of Missoula Community Planning, Development & Innovation (2026-10-24)
- Building (MEC, PLM, ELC, RFG) Permit Fee Schedule FY2027 (PDF) — City of Missoula (2026-10-24)
- Clean Energy Permits (Solar) — City of Missoula (2026-10-24)
- Permit Processes and Policies — City of Missoula (2026-10-24)
- AddressesWithPermits_mso — City of Missoula (ArcGIS Online) (2026-10-19)