Winnebago County, IL Building Safety: Electrical Permits (2026)

Section 18-58 requires a permit for electrical work performed under the 2014 edition of the National Electrical Code (NFPA 70), adopted by Sec. 18-56 and locally amended by Sec. 18-57. Permit fees are set under Sec. 18-3, Permits and Fees, and the code administrator doubles those fees when work starts or proceeds before the permit is issued, except that emergency work is handled on a case-by-case basis rather than automatically doubled.

The permit requirement carries a low-voltage carve-out: telephone system wiring and other low-volt wiring need no permit, but fire alarms, temperature-control systems tied to fan shutdown relays, smoke-control systems, and duct smoke detectors do. Wiring run in a plenum must be rated for that use, and junction boxes installed in a fire-rated wall, partition, or ceiling assembly must comply with the 2003 National Electrical Code and be approved for that installation.

If the code administrator finds work proceeding contrary to the code or in an unsafe or dangerous manner, Sec. 18-58(d) requires a written stop-work order delivered to the owner, the owner's agent, or the person doing the work, and the work must stop immediately. An owner denied a requested code modification can appeal to the board of appeals, which for electrical matters is the mechanical board established under Sec. 18-297; the appeal succeeds only by showing the code's true intent was misapplied, that the provision doesn't actually govern, or that an equally good or better construction method was used instead. Once final tests and inspection confirm compliance, Sec. 18-58(f) requires the administrator to issue a notice of approval.

Article III carries no penalty clause of its own, so a violation falls under the chapter-wide penalty at Sec. 18-6: a petty offense punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000.00, with each day a violation continues charged as a separate offense, on top of the doubled permit fee under Sec. 18-3(c).