OAR 918-309-0000: Electrical Permits

(1) Except as provided by OAR 918, division 282, dealing with restricted energy transactions, limited maintenance specialty contractor-HVAC/R, and registered telecommunications service provider, the signature of a signing supervising electrician or limited supervising electrician must be required on each permit to aid inspections by the division and indicate responsibility under ORS 479.710. Any person providing false or incorrect information or false or an incorrect signature to obtain a permit may be subject to compliance action by the board. (2) The following may purchase electrical permits: (a) Electrical contractors; and (b) Registered telecommunications service providers (TSP) as defined in ORS 759.005, including competitive carriers, competitive local exchange carriers (CLEC) and telecommunications utilities. These telecommunications service providers are listed as such by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC). (3) A permit is required prior to start of electrical work. See OAR 918-309-0080 for temporary permit criteria. Expansion of work under a permit may be added to an existing permit prior to final inspection. (4) A permit must be posted in a conspicuous place near the main electrical panel location. If there is no main panel installed, the permit must be posted in a conspicuous place on the job site. (5) An electrical permit, other than a restricted energy electrical permit as provided in OAR 918-309-0400, issued to one person or firm is not transferable and may not permit any other person or firm to perform any electrical work thereunder. (6) Any permittee holding an unexpired permit may apply for an extension of the time within which work may be completed. (7) Permits issued by an inspection jurisdiction under the provisions of the Oregon Electrical Specialty Code and these rules expire and become null and void if the work authorized by the permit is: (a) Not started within 180 days from the date of permit issuance; or (b) Suspended or abandoned for a period of 180 days after the work is started. (8) Corrections to electrical installations must be completed regardless of 180-day suspension or abandonment of work. All corrections to electrical installations must be completed within 20 calendar days of notice of deficiency. See OAR 918-271-0030 for requirements. (9) In addition to other signing supervising electricians, the following are authorized to sign permits: (a) A person whose qualifications are relied upon for licensing under OAR 918-282-0140 is a “supervisor” under ORS 479.560 and can sign for electrical permits or labels for work under a limited maintenance specialty contractor-HVAC/R license; (b) A Class “A” or Class “B” limited energy technician can sign permits or labels for 100 volt-ampere or less electrical installations performed by those licensees; (c) A “supervisor” as used in ORS 479.630 who can sign restricted energy permits includes: (A) A Class “A” or “B” limited energy technician when the electrical installation is within the scope of the person’s license; (B) Persons whose qualifications are relied upon for the issuance of a restricted energy electrical contractor license under OAR 918-282-0060; and (C) Any other electrical licensee authorized to sign a permit provided the work is within the scope of the person’s license. (10) No electrical permit is required: (a) To replace light bulbs, fluorescent tubes, or approved fuses, or to connect approved portable electrical equipment to permanently installed and properly wired receptacles; (b) For experimental electrical work or testing of electrical products in testing laboratories of electric shops, educational institutions, industrial plants, or recognized testing laboratories; (c) For those minor electrical installations for which the board has authorized an installation label; (d) To install components exempted by OAR 918, division 261; (e) To replace an existing garbage disposal, dish washer, electric water heater or similar appliance of 30 amps or less, single phase; or (f) To install cord and plug connected Class 2 irrigation control systems. (11) Unless noted otherwise in these rules, a permittee is entitled to two inspections for each electrical installation or portion thereof for which a permit fee is assessed. The total number of inspections under a permit are aggregated and used to inspect any of the installations under the permit. A permittee is considered to have received an inspection only when the permittee has requested and received an inspection from the municipality. Inspections are counted based on a single visit, in person or through an approved electronic inspection method, to a job site. See examples in Table 2-E. [Publications: Publications referenced are available from the agency.] [NOTE: Table referenced is not included in rule text.] [ED. NOTE: To view attachments referenced in rule text, click here to view rule.]