Yes. In the City of Los Angeles, replacing or upgrading an electrical panel needs an electrical permit from the Department of Building and Safety (LADBS), and the work is not finished until LADWP reconnects the service. A home with 400 amps of total load or less qualifies for an express permit with no plan check.
The part most homeowners do not expect is that a panel upgrade runs through two agencies. LADBS permits and inspects the work, and LADWP sets where the new meter goes and restores power only after LADBS releases the job. Here is how the two fit together.
Express permit or plan check
| Service size | LADBS permit path | LADWP service category |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 200 amps | Express permit, if total load is 400 amps or less | Single family, 0 to 320 amps. LADWP guarantees a fault current value of 10,000 amps for residential services up to 200 amps |
| 320 amps | Express permit, if total load is 400 amps or less | Single family, 320 to 400 amps. LADWP guarantees 22,000 amps for Class 320 services |
| Above 320, up to 400 amps | Express permit, if total load is 400 amps or less | Single family, 320 to 400 amps |
| Over 400 amps total load, or equipment rated 600 amps or more | Electrical plan check before a permit is issued | Large single family, over 400 amps |
The express route covers non-engineered wiring under 600 volts in existing residential buildings. Electrical work for an EV charger, including any service upgrade it needs, is also an express permit up to 400 amps of service.
The steps, in order
| Step | Who | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Meter spot | LADWP | Contact your LADWP Electric Service Representative and request a meter spot. LADWP provides it free to contractors and homeowners, and it confirms where the new panel goes, because safety or code rules may require it in a different location from the old one. For overhead residential services of 400 amps or less, the Meter Spot Sheet is required before the LADBS inspection |
| 2. Electrical permit | LADBS | Express permit for most homes, or plan check above the 400 amp line |
| 3. Notice before work starts | LADWP | Notify your LADWP Electric Service Representative at least five working days before construction |
| 4. Installation | Licensed electrical contractor, or the owner | New panel, main breaker and service equipment installed to code |
| 5. Inspection and release | LADBS | Once the work passes inspection, LADBS sends the release to LADWP electronically. The service details on the release must match the electrical permit, and LADWP asks customers to allow several days for it to arrive |
| 6. Reconnection | LADWP | LADWP restores the service after it receives the release. Above 200 amps, LADWP also inspects and approves the service equipment itself |
Source for the LADWP steps: LADWP’s consumer guide to having electric service installed or revised. Utility procedures change, so confirm the current steps by calling 1-800-DIAL-DWP when you apply.
What does not need a panel permit
Replacing a single breaker or fuse with one of the same rating in the same location needs no permit in the City of Los Angeles under Municipal Code section 93.0202. That exemption has a catch: it does not apply to equipment that was originally installed without a required permit, or that is part of a hazardous or illegal wiring system. In an older house with an unpermitted subpanel, even a like-for-like breaker swap can need a permit.
Changing the panel itself is not on the exemption list. Neither is moving it, adding a subpanel, or increasing the service size.
Can a homeowner upgrade their own panel?
LADBS issues permits to owners as well as contractors. Under California’s owner-builder rule, Business and Professions Code 7044, an owner can improve their own property, doing the work personally or with employees paid wages, when none of the improvements are intended or offered for sale. A service upgrade also involves disconnecting and reconnecting the utility, so owners usually hand the job to a licensed contractor for it. Work done without a required permit can also come up when the house is sold; what a homeowner can do without a permit covers how unpermitted work has to be disclosed when a house is sold.
Outside the City of Los Angeles
Unincorporated Los Angeles County and the cities that contract with it issue electrical permits through Los Angeles County Building and Safety. Independent cities such as Pasadena, Burbank and Glendale run their own building departments, and several operate their own electric utilities, so both the permit and the reconnection steps differ there. Southern California Edison serves much of the rest of the county.
How we handle it
On an electrical panel upgrade, we file the electrical permit, coordinate the service disconnect and reconnect with the utility, and carry the job through inspection. When a house also needs whole-home rewiring, the panel can be planned into the same project, and the warning signs are covered in signs your home needs rewiring.
