A homeowner in Orleans replaced his electrical panel last summer. The "electrician" he hired off Kijiji did the swap in a Saturday afternoon. No permit. Two months later the homeowner tried to sell. The buyer's home inspection flagged the new panel and asked for the ESA Certificate of Inspection. There wasn't one. The deal closed three weeks late after a licensed contractor pulled a retroactive permit, opened the panel, fixed three Code violations, and paid the late-permit surcharge. The retroactive work, the surcharge, and the lost weeks all landed on the homeowner.
Electrical work in Ontario is regulated separately from building work. The Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) is the provincial regulator. They issue electrical permits, inspect work, and certify code compliance. If you are doing renovations in Ottawa, here is when you need them and how the system works.
What ESA Is
The Electrical Safety Authority is a not-for-profit corporation delegated by the Province under the Electricity Act, 1998 to administer the Ontario Electrical Safety Code (OESC). The OESC is the Ontario adaptation of CSA C22.1, the Canadian Electrical Code, with provincial amendments.
ESA does three jobs:
- Licenses Master Electricians and Licensed Electrical Contractors (LECs)
- Issues electrical permits and conducts inspections
- Investigates fires and accidents involving electrical systems
ESA is separate from the City of Ottawa Building Code Services. Your City building permit does not include electrical inspection. You need both, and they happen in parallel.
When You Need an ESA Permit
Section 2-004 of the OESC requires a "Notification of Work" (the formal name for an electrical permit) for any electrical installation, alteration, repair, replacement, or extension of a permanent wiring system. In practice for residential renovations:
- New circuit added (kitchen island outlet, bathroom GFCI, bedroom dedicated circuit, sub-panel)
- Service upgrade (100A to 200A, panel relocation, mast replacement)
- Panel replacement (even same amperage, new panel)
- Aluminum wiring remediation
- Knob-and-tube replacement
- Hot tub, pool, or sauna wiring
- EV charger installation (level 2, 240V circuit)
- Generator transfer switch install
- Solar PV system grid-tie or off-grid
- Any kitchen renovation that touches countertop circuits
- Any bathroom renovation that touches wiring
- Basement finishing with new circuits
What does not need a permit:
- Replacing a light fixture with the same fixture (no wiring change)
- Replacing a switch or outlet on the same circuit (no rewire)
- Plug-in appliance installation
- Low-voltage cabling (network, audio, doorbell under 30V)
Who Can Pull the Permit
Two categories can apply:
Licensed Electrical Contractor (LEC)
This is the standard route. An LEC carries a Master Electrician and is registered with ESA. They pull the permit, do the work, and call for inspections. Their licence number goes on the application. Permit fees apply.
Homeowner Permit
Section 2-024 of the OESC permits a homeowner to do their own electrical work, but only on:
- A single-family dwelling unit
- Owned and occupied by the homeowner
- Not for sale or rent within the next 12 months
You cannot pull a homeowner permit on a rental property, on a duplex (even if you live in one half), on a property you plan to flip, or on work for friends or family. ESA actively cross-checks property records.
The homeowner permit caveat nobody mentions
If you take a homeowner permit and an electrical fire occurs in the next ten years, your insurer will scrutinize the wiring closely. ESA-certified work by a licensed contractor is the cleaner paper trail. The modest savings on the permit fee is rarely worth the insurance argument later.
What an ESA Permit Costs
ESA fees are set province-wide and scale with the scope of the work. What drives the fee on a given job:
- Single circuit addition (1-3 outlets): the smallest filing, priced at the low end of the schedule
- Kitchen renovation (full rewire): more circuits and devices push the fee up
- Bathroom renovation: a modest filing driven by GFCI circuits and fixtures
- Basement finish (new circuits, sub-panel): new circuit count and a sub-panel raise the fee
- Panel upgrade 100A to 200A: a defined filing plus inspection
- EV charger circuit: a single dedicated circuit at the low end
- Hot tub circuit: a single GFCI-protected circuit filing
- Whole-house rewire: the highest residential filing, driven by total circuit count
- New dwelling unit (secondary suite): a full-suite filing covering panel, circuits, and devices
The licensed contractor builds the applicable ESA fee into their quote. On a homeowner permit, you pay ESA directly online via the customer portal at esasafe.com, where the current fee schedule is published.
How the Inspection Process Works
- Submit the Notification of Work through ESA's online portal. Pay the fee. Receive a permit number.
- Do the rough-in. All wires pulled, boxes installed, splices made, panel work complete. Walls still open.
- Request a rough-in inspection. ESA assigns an inspector and confirms a window (typically 2 to 5 business days out, half-day window).
- Inspector visits. They open the panel, check wire gauge, verify GFCI/AFCI placement, confirm box fill, and test continuity on a sample of circuits.
- Pass or defect. Pass means you can close walls. Defect means a list of items to fix and a re-inspection.
- Close walls, install fixtures and devices.
- Request a final inspection. Energization, breaker testing, GFCI/AFCI testing under load.
- Receive the Certificate of Inspection (COI). This is the document buyers, lenders, and insurers ask for. Keep it permanently.
Common Defects in Ottawa Renovations
From hundreds of inspections we have observed:
- Bathroom fan and light on the same circuit as bathroom outlet: bathroom outlets need their own GFCI-protected circuit
- Kitchen split-circuit not split: countertop receptacles must be alternating 15A circuits or 20A circuits
- AFCI breaker missing in bedrooms (mandatory since 2015)
- Smoke alarm not on a 15A circuit shared with lighting (Code wants it on a circuit you would notice if it tripped)
- Tamper-resistant outlets missing in dwelling units (mandatory since 2009)
- Junction boxes hidden behind drywall: every box must remain accessible
- Wires through wall plates without protection: staples, plates, or grommets required
- Aluminum-to-copper splice with non-rated connector: only AlumiConn or Cu-Al rated devices allowed
- Bonding strap missing on metal water service
The defect list arrives by email. The contractor (or homeowner) fixes the items and requests a re-inspection. ESA charges a separate re-inspection fee that varies with scope, published on its fee schedule.
"The ESA inspector is not your enemy. They have seen every bad install in the city. If they find something, fix it. They are catching what could have been a fire."
How ESA Permits Interact With Building Permits
Two parallel processes for one renovation:
- City of Ottawa building permit (drawings, structural, energy) via MyServiceOttawa
- ESA electrical permit (separate filing) via ESA portal
For the City to close the building permit at the final inspection, they need to see the ESA Certificate of Inspection. No COI means the building permit cannot close, which means the basement suite cannot be legally rented, the addition cannot be legally occupied, and the property file is "open" with the City forever.
This is the trap on no-permit work. Sellers list a house with "fully renovated basement." The buyer's lawyer pulls the City file. The basement permit is open with no electrical COI on file. Closing stalls. We see this on roughly one in eight Ottawa basement transactions.
What You Should Do
For any Ottawa renovation involving electrical work:
- Hire a Licensed Electrical Contractor (verify the licence at esasafe.com)
- Confirm the LEC will pull the ESA permit and provide the COI at completion
- Get the permit number in writing before any wires are touched
- Save the COI permanently with your closing documents
- If you are doing the work yourself, review Section 2-024 carefully and confirm you qualify for a homeowner permit
If you are finishing a basement, renovating a kitchen, or remodelling a bathroom, every one of those projects needs an ESA permit. Our quotes always include the LEC permit fee on the line item so there are no surprises. Get a free quote at 613-862-4555.