Electrical Permits

An electrical permit is written permission from the City of Surrey authorizing regulated work (electrical) to be performed within the City's jurisdiction.

A permit is required for all regulated work performed within the City, unless exempted under the Electrical Safety Regulation of BC. In addition, a permit must be issued before regulated work is performed.

Permit Processing Times

The average processing time for electrical permit applications is currently 5-7 business days. Please note, if a permit application is placed on hold due to incomplete or inaccurate information or outstanding Expired Permit Fees, a further 2-3 business days to review permit amendment emails will be required.

Changes to Permit Application Information

Permits may be placed on hold if incomplete or inaccurate information has been submitted.

Amendments to permits now require submission of an Electrical Permit Amendment Request Form. You must also complete this form if inaccurate or incomplete information has been submitted during the permit application process.

This form must be submitted and accepted by the Electrical Safety Officer for any amendments to take effect.

Amendment of permit for additional or other work at site SSG 14: On payment of any required fee, a safety officer may amend a permit to allow additional regulated work to be performed under the permit.

Permit Applications Placed on Hold

Common reasons permit applications are placed on hold include, but are not limited to:

General Permits

• Invalid address. Check COSMOS, our online mapping system, for accurate addressing.
• Permit value is deemed low for declared scope of work. Applicant may be requested to provide additional documentation to support declared value.
• Scope of work is not clearly identified.
• Location in a large complex is not clearly identified.
• Associated building permit is not issued or a building permit is required but does not exist. 
• Proposed scope of work is deemed not compliant with existing zoning/bylaw requirements.
• Electrical contractor licence is not in good standing with Technical Safety BC.
• Electrical contractor does not have a valid business licence.
• Electrical contractor's permit issuance privileges are suspended due to outstanding fees owing to the City.
• Active violations are posted for property. These may include building, bylaw, etc.
• Declared scope of work is not permitted under the electrical contractor's current licence class.
  • A: Unrestricted
  • B: Up to 750V 3 Phase
  • C: Systems derived from maximum 200 A 150V to ground, single phase (Not qualified to work on systems derived from greater than 200 A 3 phase i.e. excluding commercial and industrial buildings)

Town House Permits

Electrical Permit application for townhouse sites require the following:

When there are Electrical Rooms that feed two or more buildings:

•  Separate permit for the Electrical Room only. The permit application must have:
  • The buildings and units ranges that the Electrical Room feeds.
  • The building the Electrical Room is attached to.
  • The service size and details.
     
• Separate permits for each townhouse building that the Electrical Room feeds. The permit application must have:
  • The building number and unit range.
  • What Electrical Room number is feeding it (No service size and details required).
  • The building the Electrical Room is attached to and what other buildings it feeds. 
  • The Low Voltage details of the townhouse building.
  • The Extra Low Voltage details of the townhouse building, including the installation type (prewire or prewire/finishing).

When the Electrical Room is only feeding one building:

• A permit must reflect:
  • The building number and unit range.
  • What Electrical Room number is included.
  • The service size and details.
  • The Low Voltage details of the townhouse building.
  • The Extra Low Voltage details of the townhouse building, including the installation type (prewire or prewire/finishing).

Electrical Permit Applications & Bulletins

Electrical Contractor Installation Permit

Apply for an electrical permit from the City of Surrey.

Electrical Operating Permit

Find out when an operating permit is required, and apply for your permit.

Expired Electrical Permits

Learn what to do if your electrical permit expires, and how to extend it to avoid fees.

Homeowner Electrical Installation Permits

Find out about the required homeowner electrical permits and temporary construction power permits.