Barrow County, GA Building Safety: Electrical Permits (2026)

The county adopts "the latest edition" of the National Electrical Code, "as adopted and amended by the state department of community affairs" (§ 22-31(a)(5)), and applies it to "the installation of electrical systems, including alterations, repairs, replacement, equipment, appliances, fixtures, fittings and appurtenances thereto" (§ 22-34(a)(4)). Because the NEC is one of the article's technical codes, any covered electrical job needs a permit from the building official before work starts (§ 22-91(a)), and a contractor doing that work must supply the county with a state license number before the permit issues (§ 22-95).

The building official then walks the job through five staged inspections under § 22-98(f)(2): a temporary power pole inspection once the pole is set; an underground inspection after conduit or cable is installed and before backfill covers it; a rough-in inspection once framing, fire blocking and bracing are up and before wall or ceiling membranes are installed; a permanent power inspection once required fixtures are connected and the meter base is secured to the structure; and a final inspection once the building is complete and ready for occupancy.

Work cannot proceed past any of these points without the building official's written release, and reinforcing steel, insulation or electrical system work cannot be covered or concealed without that release either (§ 22-98(g)-(h)). A certificate of occupancy will not issue under § 22-99 until the electrical system, along with the other required systems, has been inspected and released for compliance with the technical codes.