NDSEB Inspection Information

Electrical Inspections

Inspection Districts | Self Wire | Water Damaged Equipment

When is an electrical inspection required?
Five basic requirements for issuing electrical wiring certificates:

any new service entrance.
any building moved from one location to another.
any change on a service entrance regardless of cost.
where a mobile home feeder is installed
where the additional wiring cost is $300.00 or more. (Cost to include owner furnished materials and reasonable labor)

Inspection Guidelines and Wiring Certificates
All electrical installations, including new jobs and additional work on old installations, made in this state, must have an electrical wiring certificate properly executed by the master or class B electrician supervising the installation of electrical wiring. The state electrical board shall prescribe such form, and shall have on hand a supply of such certificates for distribution to master and class B electricians. Such certificate must consist of the original and five copies.

Before work commences on any electrical installation where a new entrance is installed, an existing entrance is altered, a building is moved, where a mobile home feeder is installed,, or where the costs of the repair work or additional installation exceeds three hundred dollars, the master or class B electrician supervising such installation shall execute an electrical wiring certificate and distribute the various copies as directed. The goldenrod copy of the certificate must be forwarded to the state electrical board or city electrical inspection authority having jurisdiction and the canary copy to the power company before work is commenced. Within fifteen days of completion, use, or occupancy, whichever is foremost, the white and green copies must be forwarded to the office of the state electrical board, along with the proper fee. The pink copy must be retained by the master or class B electrician and the manila copy must be left in, or on the panel or given to the owner. All six copies must contain a description of the work and the legal description of the location. Certificates with job cost of five thousand dollars or less are valid twelve months from the original filing date. Wiring certificate must be submitted with proper description of work completed and with the proper fee. A new wiring certificate must be filed on all unfinished work.

The electric wiring certificates are available from the state electrical board at Bismarck, North Dakota, upon request of any master or class B electrician holding a proper current license from the electrical board. The master or class B electrician must be held responsible for all certificates issued to that person. A charge of fifteen dollars to cover board costs must be imposed on each lost wiring certificate.

A copy of an electrical wiring certificate must be filed with the power supplier before an electrical installation may be energized.

Inspection fees

Job Cost	Inspection Fee
Up to $300.00	$25.00 (minimum fee)
$300.00 to $3,000.00	$25.00 for the first $300.00 plus 2% on balance up to $3,000.00
$3,000.00 to $l0,000.00	$79.00 for the first $3,000.00 plus l.5% on balance up to $l0,000.00
$l0,000.00 to $l5,000.00	$l84.00 for the first $l0,000.00 plus l% on balance up to $l0,000.00
$l5,000.00 to $l00,000.00	$234.00 for the first $l5,000.00 plus l/2 of l% on balance up to $l00,000.00
Over $l00,000.00	$659.00 for the first $l00,000.00 plus l/4 of l% on balance

Inspection fee must accompany the copies of wiring certificates which must be forwarded to the state electrical board, P.O. Box 7335, Bismarck, North Dakota 58507-7335.

The electrical inspection fee must be based on the total amount of the electrical contract or total cost to the owner including extras.

The following items need not be included in the cost:

Appliances, including dishwashers, heat pumps, air-conditioners, disposals, and similar equipment;
Heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) units;
Electric motors, PLC, Generators;
Industrial machines.

The electrical contractor is responsible to collect the proper inspection fee on each installation. When the owner furnishes the material and the electrical contractor furnishes the labor, the owner shall provide the electrical contractor with the total amount expended for electrical materials used in connection with the installation, and the electrical contractor shall then calculate and collect the necessary inspection fee from the owner.

Whenever electrical materials are removed from an existing installation and placed at another location, the electrical contractor shall estimate the cost of these materials and include the amount in the job cost for the purpose of calculating the proper inspection fee.

The inspection fee for all motor-driven passenger or freight elevators and dumbwaiters installed in North Dakota shall be as follows:

Elevators and dumbwaiters having horsepower rating up to 5 horsepower - $20.00
Elevators and dumbwaiters having horsepower rating 5 horsepower through l5 horsepower - $40.00
Elevators and dumbwaiters having horsepower rating over l5 horsepower - $60.00

The master electrician (restricted) having supervision of elevator or dumbwaiter installations shall obtain electrical wiring certificates from the state electrical board. The certificate form must be completed, signed by the master electrician (restricted), and forwarded to the state electrical board, Bismarck, North Dakota, with the inspection fee.

Electrically driven irrigation machines. Each center pivot system, a flat fee of fifty dollars. All other work, the fee must be based on cost of electric material and labor.

Requested inspections. For inspections not covered in this section or special services, the fee must be fifty dollars per hour, including travel time, plus twenty-five cents per mile traveled.

Whenever an electrical installation made by or under the supervision of a master or class B electrician is commenced or in use without submitting an electrical wiring certificate, as directed in subsection 2, the certificate may be considered late and the normal inspection fee, as required under this section, is increased in the amount of fifty dollars. In addition, when time and travel is expended by employees of the board to obtain a late certificate, an investigative fee may be charged to cover the cost incurred. Costs to be calculated at a rate of fifty dollars per hour and twenty-five cents per mile of travel.

Corrections. Whenever a correction order is written and corrections are not completed within the allotted time, there shall be an administration charge of fifty dollars, which must be paid to the board by the master or class B electrician.

All reinspections must be paid for by the electrical contractors at a cost of fifty dollars per hour with a minimum charge of one hundred dollars.

Self Wiring
For self-wire inspections on wiring done by the owner, the inspection fee must be as stated in this section, except the minimum must be fifty dollars. Owner wiring may be done on residential and farmstead property occupied by the owner. Certification and inspection is required as stated in subsection l. The owner is required to notify the state electrical board or authority having jurisdiction before work commences. Requests for inspection of owner wired installations must be in writing and must be accompanied by a print or drawing depicting the wiring to be done. Self wiring requirements.