Ontario · Toronto · updated October 16, 2026

What does an electrical permit cost in Toronto?

An electrical permit in Toronto is not a City of Toronto permit. It is a notification filed with Ontario's Electrical Safety Authority (ESA), priced from ESA's province-wide 2026 fee guide, so the same scope costs the same in Scarborough as in Kingston. What the City adds, when the job also needs one, is a building permit priced by floor area. Here is what the 2026 schedules say, and where each fee belongs in an electrical bid.

Key takeaways

The City of Toronto says almost all electrical work in Ontario needs an electrical permit from ESA, obtained separately from a building permit.
ESA's minimum fee for a notification is $92. A residential renovation of 11 to 30 outlets with no service work is $92 at the contractor rate; with service work it is $150.
Toronto's building permit fee is the service index times the floor area, with a 2026 minimum of $214.79. Interior alterations run $11.53 to $13.41 per m².
Put the ESA fee on its own line in the estimate. The building permit is usually the general contractor's or owner's, so price it only when it is yours.

On this page: Who issues it · ESA's 2026 fees · Toronto building permit · In the estimate · FAQ · Sources

Who issues an electrical permit in Toronto

ESA does. The City of Toronto's own building permit guide states it: "In Ontario, almost all electrical work requires an electrical permit from the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA)," and that permit is obtained separately from a building permit.¹ ESA calls the filing a notification of work, or permit. A Licensed Electrical Contractor hired to do the work files it before the work starts, a homeowner doing their own work files their own, and the installation is inspected before it is concealed or buried.² Where filing first is not practicable, Ontario's amended Rule 2-004 allows the notification within 48 hours after the work starts.³

ESA's 2026 fees for a Toronto job

These ESA fees apply anywhere in Ontario, so a Toronto job is priced from the same schedule as any other. ESA raised its wiring and licensing fees by 1.9% on April 1, 2026.⁴ The 2026 Wiring Fee Guide, whose cover reads "Effective July 6, 2026", sets a minimum fee of $92 for a notification and prices a residential renovation by the number of outlets:⁵

Residential renovation	Contractor, no service work	Contractor, with service work	Non-contractor, no service work	Non-contractor, with service work
1–10 outlets	$46	$105	$64*	$222
11–30 outlets	$92	$150	$143	$257
31–40 outlets	$143	$201	$220	$293
41 outlets and up	$201	$256	$340	$399

* ESA marks the fees that the $92 minimum applies to when a notification's total comes to less.

Other lines a Toronto estimator meets, at the contractor rate: a new single-family dwelling up to 7,000 sq ft is $253 with a service up to 200 A, $366 for 201 to 400 A and $523 above that; each service is $86, subject to the minimum; plan review is $350 for the first two hours and $175 an hour after; and work started without a notification filed within 48 hours carries the inspection fees plus $354 for the first two hours and $177 an hour after.⁵ Commercial and industrial notifications are priced item by item, by amperage, unit or group of outlets, in ESA's commercial reference guide; a low-voltage service of 226 to 799 A, for example, is $158.⁶

Toronto's building permit fees, when the job needs one

A building permit does not cover electrical work,⁷ but the renovation your wiring sits in may need one. The City of Toronto prices it as "Permit fee = SI x A": a service index for the class of work times the floor area in square metres, with a 2026 minimum of $214.79 for all work and $92.79 an hour for examination and inspection activities. The 2026 service indexes for interior alterations are:⁸

Interior alterations (partitions, finishings, etc.)	Service index, $ per m² (fee effective Jan 1, 2026)
Group A, B and D	$12.45
Group C, E and F	$11.53
Alterations/renovations, residential occupancies, floor replacement	$13.41

So a 200 m² interior alteration in Group D works out to 200 × $12.45 = $2,490, and anything that computes below $214.79 is charged the minimum. Check the occupancy group and the full table on the City's page before you rely on a figure.

Where the permit belongs in a Toronto estimate

The ESA notification is yours. Price it on its own line, from the fee guide, so a change in scope moves it visibly. In VOLTA, enter it in Settings under Permits + mobilization and it prints on its own line on the quote.
The building permit usually is not. On most jobs the general contractor or the owner pulls it. Price it only when your contract makes it yours, and say so in the scope.
Late filing costs more than filing. The cost recovery for work started without a notification is $354 before inspection fees, nearly four times the minimum notification fee.
The permit is not the big number. Labour is. The electrician hourly rate Toronto clients see on a quote is built up from wage, burden, overhead and margin; the Ontario hub starts from Job Bank's published wages.

For the Ontario-wide picture, including the code edition in force and the licences behind the work, see the Ontario hub; for the same question in the capital, see what an electrical permit costs in Ottawa.

Frequently asked

How much is an electrical permit in Toronto?

It is an ESA notification priced from ESA's province-wide 2026 Wiring Fee Guide, with a minimum fee of $92. A residential renovation of 11 to 30 outlets is $92 at the contractor rate without service work and $150 with it.

Does the City of Toronto issue electrical permits?

No: the City says almost all electrical work in Ontario requires an electrical permit from the Electrical Safety Authority, obtained separately from a building permit. The City issues the building permit when the work needs one.

Do I need a building permit for electrical work in Toronto?

Not for the electrical work itself, which ESA covers; ESA says a building permit does not cover electrical work. The renovation around it may need a building permit, so a job can need both.

What does ESA charge if work starts without a notification?

The applicable inspection fees plus a cost recovery fee of $354 for up to the first two hours and $177 for each additional hour, under section 2.12.3 of the 2026 Wiring Fee Guide, when the notification is not filed within 48 hours of starting work.

What is the electrical inspection cost in Ontario for a small job?

The minimum ESA fee for a notification is $92, and the contractor rate for a renovation of 1 to 10 outlets with no service work is $46 in the 2026 guide. Check which fees ESA marks as subject to the minimum before you price a small job.

Sources

Each source was opened and checked on October 16, 2026.

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