San Clemente, CA Building Safety: Electrical Permits (2026)

Section 15.12.010 adopts by reference California Code of Regulations Title 24, Part 3, the California Electrical Code, 2025 Edition, itself based on the National Electrical Code (NEC), 2023 Edition as published by the National Fire Protection Association, as San Clemente's governing electrical code for the installation, alteration, repair, replacement, remodeling and use of electrical wiring, connections, fixtures and appliances anywhere in the City. A copy is kept on file for public examination at the Building Division office, and the section has been repeatedly re-adopted with each new state code cycle, most recently by Ordinance No. 1796 on November 4, 2025.

Section 15.12.020 layers city-specific amendments onto that adopted code. It folds in the administrative and fee provisions from Division II of Chapter 1 of the amended Building and Residential Codes, so the same permit-application, plan-review, expiration and reinspection-fee rules that govern building permits also govern electrical permits. It also adds a new Subdivision (L) to NEC Article 300 requiring underground utilities: whenever a property is developed with a new or relocated main building, defined as the building housing the lot's principal use, the Building Official must require all utility services on the lot to be installed underground as a condition of the building permit, with the owner or developer responsible for providing the facilities needed to receive underground service. The Building Official can modify or delay that requirement if it would cause extraordinary hardship, potentially requiring a recorded agreement and financial security guaranteeing the work gets done later. Surface features like transformers, pedestal terminal boxes, meter cabinets and concealed underground ducts are still allowed above ground even where undergrounding applies.