Sunnyvale, CA Building Safety: Electrical Permits (2026)

Section 16.32.020 adopts the 2023 National Electrical Code published by the National Fire Protection Association, together with the state amendments in California Code of Regulations Title 24, Part 3, known as the 2025 California Electrical Code, as the electrical code of the city of Sunnyvale, subject to the local changes set out in the rest of Chapter 16.32. Section 16.32.030 amends the electrical code's administrative section, 89.101, to apply the code to grading and to the construction, alteration, movement, enlargement, replacement, repair, equipment, use and occupancy, location, maintenance, removal, and demolition of every building or structure or its appurtenances within the city, including the plumbing and drainage systems, mechanical systems, and electrical wiring and fire safety systems serving that structure. The exemptions match the rest of Title 16: federal and state property, work primarily in a public way, public utility towers and poles, mechanical equipment not otherwise regulated, and hydraulic flood control structures.

Section 89.101.13, Time Limitation of Application, deems a permit application expired 180 days after filing unless it has been pursued in good faith or a permit has been issued, though the building official may grant one or more extensions of up to 180 days each on a written request showing justifiable cause; once an application expires, a new application, new plan review fees, and current-code plans are required to proceed. As with the building, residential, plumbing, and green building chapters, electrical permit fees are set by the city's current fee resolution rather than a fixed amount printed in the code.