Auburn, AL Building Safety: Electrical Permits (2026)

Section 5-65 of the Auburn Code adopts the 2020 National Electrical Code, recommended by the National Fire Protection Association, as the city's electrical code, with any code reference to 'NFPA 70' elsewhere in the city's building and fire code amendments read as pointing to this same currently adopted edition. Section 5-82 requires a permit and payment of fees before any building's electrical wiring, lighting, heating or power installation, or any alteration to existing wiring, may proceed, with the current fee table maintained in § 5-7 rather than fixed in the ordinance text itself.

Contractors doing electrical work in Auburn also fall under the licensing rules in § 5-3: anyone required to hold a state electrical license must show an active Alabama Electrical Contractors Board license before the city will issue a permit or business license, and electrical contractors who are not state-licensed must instead renew a City of Auburn Electrical Competency Card annually, a card that lapses if not renewed on time and must be replaced through the state board before any further city permit or business license is issued.

All electrical work performed under a permit must be supervised by a licensed master or journeyman electrician. Homeowners doing their own wiring and licensed contractors both go through the same building official permit and inspection process, and inspections check the work against the 2020 NEC as locally adopted, not an older or newer edition.