Dunwoody, GA Building Safety: Electrical Permits (2026)

Section 8-1(a) declares it "the intention of the council to enforce and adopt the state minimum standard codes as defined by O.C.G.A. § 8-2-20(9)," and lists the National Electrical Code among the mandatory codes adopted, alongside the International Building, Fuel Gas, Mechanical, Plumbing, Fire, Energy Conservation, and Residential Codes, each administered by the state department of community affairs. Section 8-23(a)(3) then fixes the code's reach: "the provisions of the National Electrical Code, as adopted and amended by the state department of community affairs, shall apply to the installation of electrical systems, including alterations, repairs, replacement, equipment, appliances, fixtures, fittings, and appurtenances thereto," covering both brand-new wiring and later changes to it.

Dunwoody amended the adopted NEC in three specific ways under Section 8-1(e)(3). Whenever a residential electrical service is changed, every receptacle the current code requires to be GFCI-protected, covering bathrooms, kitchen counters, and outdoor outlets, must be brought up to that protection, and any smoke alarms required for new construction must go in per the adopted residential code. Separately, the code requires a "reinspection permit and reinspection" before power can be restored to "any residence or building where power has been disconnected for six months or more," a rule meant to catch wiring that may have degraded while dead.

Electrical work is administered through the same building department and permit article that governs the other construction trades, enforced by the building official alongside the International Building, Plumbing, Mechanical and Fuel Gas Codes.