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

1 requires anyone who wants to erect, install, alter, repair, remove, convert or replace electrical systems or equipment regulated by the code to first make application to the code official and obtain a permit; fees, where charged, must be paid before the permit issues, and the issued permit must stay on the premises and be available for inspection. 3 exempts five categories of minor work from the permit requirement: listed cord-and-plug temporary decorative lighting, reinstalling attachment-plug receptacles (though not the outlets), repairing or replacing branch-circuit overcurrent devices of the same capacity in the same location, temporary experimental-laboratory wiring, and wiring or equipment operating under 25 volts and 50 watts.

That exemption does not authorize work that otherwise violates the code. 5 deems an unpursued application abandoned after 180 days, though the code official can grant extensions of up to 90 days each on written request. Chapter 10 of the same administrative code makes it unlawful under Section 1001 to erect, alter or repair any regulated electrical system in violation of the code, and Section 1003 sets the same two-tier penalty used across the county's construction codes: up to $200 for a first violation, with seven calendar days to correct it, and up to $2,000 per day for an uncorrected second violation. 3.