Merced, CA Building Safety: Electrical Permits (2026)

010 adopts, by reference, California Code of Regulations Title 24, Part 3, 2025 California Electrical Code, based on the 2023 National Electrical Code and amended by the California Building Standards Commission, as the Electrical Code for the City of Merced, with three certified copies kept on file with the city clerk; the current version dates to Ordinance No. 2582, Section 8, effective December 15, 2025. 060 sets the licensing gate for permits: no permit shall be issued to any person to do or cause to be done any electrical work regulated by this chapter, except to a person holding a valid unexpired and unrevoked California electrical contractor's license and city contractor's business license, except when and as otherwise provided in this chapter.

070 carves out the standard owner-builder exception, allowing a permit to issue directly to the bona fide owner of a single-family dwelling used exclusively for living purposes, including the usual accessory buildings, to do electrical work on that property without holding a contractor's license. 050 adds a submittal requirement on top of the permit itself: a one-line diagram of the service, subfeeds, subpanels and floor-plan layout showing volts, watts or amps, conduit and conductor sizes, feeder and disconnect sizes, and over-current and short-circuit protection for any hotel, motel, commercial, industrial or similar use.

Together these sections mean a Merced electrical permit applicant must show either a valid electrical contractor's license plus a city business license, or qualify for the single-family owner exemption, before the building division will issue the permit.