The rule in Somerville
From the FAQ on the City's ISD Building Division page (read 23 October 2026):
| Question on the City's FAQ | Somerville's answer |
|---|---|
| Can a property owner obtain an electrical permit? | "A licensed electrician must apply for and obtain all electrical permits" |
| Can a homeowner obtain a building permit? | Yes, for a 1 or 2 family dwelling the owner lives in |
| Can a 3-family owner obtain a building permit? | No, "a licensed contractor is required" |
| Which work needs no building permit? | Painting, tiling and flooring |
So a kitchen remodel you run yourself as homeowner can sit on your own building permit, while the wiring in it goes on a separate electrical permit in the electrician's name.
State law sets the timing. M.G.L. c. 143, s. 3L says no one may "install for hire any electrical wiring or fixtures" without "first or within five days after commencing the work giving notice to the inspector of wires", by filing a permit application, and failing to do so is punishable "by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars". The installer must notify the inspector in writing when the work is finished, and the inspector then has five days to approve or disapprove it in writing. Somerville's ISD does not list electrical exemptions on its page; the statute covers wiring and fixtures "for light, heat and power", which takes in panels, circuits, EV chargers and heat-pump wiring.
How to apply and check it
- The electrician files in CitizenServe, where the City says permits can be researched and applied for online.
- Inspection. The inspector of wires inspects after the electrician reports the work complete.
- Check it yourself. Filter the Applications for Permits and Licenses open dataset for your address and read the electrical row's status and contractor name.
- Check the license on the state's eLIPSE lookup; the steps are in the Somerville contractor license lookup.
We could not find a published Somerville electrical fee table; CitizenServe shows the fee before you pay, and ISD is on (617) 625-6600 x5600, isd@somervillema.gov.
What 2,877 Somerville electrical permits show
| Measure | Somerville electrical |
|---|---|
| Permits on homes, October 2023 to September 2026 | 2,877 |
| Electricians and firms that filed them | 762 |
| With a permit in the last 12 months of our data | 394 |
| Usual estimated cost | $3,000 |
| Middle half of firms' usual cost | $1,750 to $5,750 |
| Closed (permits a year or more old) | 89.1% |
| Usual days from issue to close | 112 |
| Busiest / quietest month | July (index 124) / August (87) |
Electrical is the Somerville trade that closes its paperwork best: 89.1% closed, against 67.5% for plumbing and 63.2% for remodels. That makes an open electrical permit more telling here than elsewhere. Among the 62 electricians with 10 or more permits, the 10th-percentile one closed 69.8% and the 90th 96.4%; 7 closed fewer than 70%. The field is spread out: 44.6% of electricians filed just one permit, and the five busiest held 10.6% of them. Prices by job size are on the Somerville electrical cost page.
See every Somerville electrician by permits closed →
Related
Other rules: do I need a permit for electrical work, for a panel upgrade and for an EV charger. National prices: electrical work cost. Somerville counts by year and month: Somerville permit statistics and how long a Somerville permit takes. The state license rules: checking a contractor's license in Massachusetts.
What this does not tell you
Massachusetts publishes no bulk license file, so we show no license status for Somerville electricians. The cost figure is the estimate on the application. Our data stops at September 2026, and a permit that closed says the City signed it off, not that the price was fair.
How we know this
The permit rule is quoted from the City of Somerville ISD Building Division FAQ and the notice rule from M.G.L. c. 143, s. 3L, both read 23 October 2026. Counts are issued City of Somerville electrical permits on homes from the City's open permit dataset, October 2023 to September 2026. "Closed" uses permits a year or more old; days run from issue to the City's close date.
Numbers come from City of Somerville permit applications (issued permits only), data through October 15, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- Can a homeowner pull an electrical permit in Somerville?
No. Somerville's Inspectional Services FAQ says 'A licensed electrician must apply for and obtain all electrical permits.' A homeowner of an owner-occupied one- or two-family house can pull a building permit, but not an electrical one.
- How long does an electrical permit take to close in Somerville?
The usual Somerville electrical permit in our file closed 112 days after it was issued, and 89.1% of electrical permits a year or more old were closed, the highest share of any Somerville trade.
- How much does electrical work cost in Somerville?
The usual Somerville electrical permit carried an estimated cost of $3,000, and the middle half of electricians with 3 or more permits usually filed between $1,750 and $5,750. Those are the contractor's estimates on the application, not invoices.
- When does my electrician have to file the permit?
Massachusetts law (M.G.L. c. 143, s. 3L) says anyone installing wiring for hire must notify the inspector of wires before starting or within five days after starting, by filing a permit application, and must notify the inspector in writing when the work is done. Failing to give notice carries a fine of up to $500.
- How much is an electrical permit in Somerville?
Somerville's ISD pages we read do not publish an electrical fee table. CitizenServe shows the fee at payment, and ISD answers fee questions on (617) 625-6600 x5600.
Build your own list
Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.
Related guides
- Do I need an electrical permit in Anaheim? Panel upgrades, the utility meter spot, fees and inspections
- Do I need an electrical permit in Arlington, VA? What's exempt, who pulls it, how long it takes
- Austin building permit search: how to look up permits on an address
- Do I need an electrical permit in Austin? The exempt list, the homestead permit, fees and inspections
For one city
- ISD Building Division (FAQ: Can a property owner obtain an electrical permit?) — City of Somerville (accessed 2026-10-23)
- M.G.L. c. 143, s. 3L: Regulations relative to electrical wiring and fixtures; notice of electrical installation (accessed 2026-10-23)
- Licenses and Permits (CitizenServe) — City of Somerville (accessed 2026-10-23)
- Applications for Permits and Licenses — Somerville open data (2026-10-23)