Oconee County, SC Building Safety: Electrical Permits (2026)

Section 6-48 adopts 'the 2020 National Electrical Code (NFPA 70) with South Carolina modifications' by reference and incorporates it into Chapter 6 of the Oconee County Code, making it one of the mandatory nationally recognized codes the county enforces under Section 6-40 alongside the building, residential, fire, plumbing, mechanical and fuel gas codes. Section 6-82 imposes the permit duty itself: any owner, authorized agent, contractor or other party who wants to erect, install, enlarge, alter, remove, convert or repair 'any electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system' regulated by the adopted codes must first apply to the building official and obtain an appropriate permit before doing the work, with an exception allowing emergency repairs to begin immediately if a permit is obtained afterward.

Once issued, the permit must be kept at the jobsite and produced for the building official or codes department staff on demand. The county codes department, established under Section 6-81 and headed by a building official appointed by the chief administrative officer, accepts electrical permit applications, reviews plans and specifications, performs required inspections, and issues the certificates and permits tied to the adopted electrical code. Section 6-86 reinforces the permit system by making it unlawful for any public utility company to connect new electrical service to a building regulated under this chapter until the building official releases it and a certificate of occupancy is issued, preventing power hookups to unpermitted or uninspected electrical work.