Dearborn County, IN Building Safety: Electrical Permits (2026)

Dearborn County does not run a separate electrical licensing chapter in the code. Electrical work is regulated through the building permit system in Chapter 150. Section 150.03 defines CONSTRUCTION to include installation of any part of the permanent heating, ventilating, air conditioning, electrical, plumbing, sanitary, emergency detection, emergency communication, or fire or explosion suppression systems for a Class 1 or Class 2 structure at the site where it will be used. Section 150.08 then prohibits construction unless it conforms to a valid building permit obtained from the Building Commissioner before construction begins.

The technical standard is the state electrical rule. Section 150.20(A)(4) incorporates Article 17 of Title 675 of the Indiana Administrative Code, the Indiana Electrical Code, by reference, and the incorporation includes later amendments. Two copies of the incorporated rules are on file for public inspection in the office of the clerk for the legislative body. The Building Commissioner and the Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission can grant a variance, but a variance granted by the Building Commissioner is not effective until the state commission approves it.

The fee appendix to Chapter 150, Schedules of Fees and Required Inspections, prices electric service. In Exhibit A (Nonresidential Fees and Required Inspections), the Electric Service line shows $105.00 up front and $10.00 per meter, and the Gas Service line below it shows $105.00 and $5.00 per meter. Exhibit B (Residential) carries its own electric service lines, but the printed table does not tie those amounts to their rows clearly enough to quote, so ask the Building Department for the residential figure. Fees for permit types not listed are set by comparison to the most similar listed type at the Building Commissioner's discretion.

Application steps follow § 150.09: a completed form, scaled plans and specifications, a scaled plot plan unless all work is inside an existing structure, and the fee established by the County Commissioners. Unpaid fees allow the Building Commissioner to withhold later permits under § 150.14. This applies in unincorporated Dearborn County, Indiana only.