Electrical Napa

Electrical work in Napa, from a panel inspection to backup power

Napa takes electrical permits at its First Street counter or by email, never through an online portal, and asks for specific paperwork. A service change-out is an over-the-counter permit, an EV charger gets its plan review within 48 hours, and a standby generator needs three sets of plans showing exhaust, noise and warning labels. On an overhead service, the new conductors are torqued in front of the city inspector before the panel is energized.

Title 24 climate zone
Zone 2 for ZIP codes 94558 and 94559
EV charger plan review
Within 48 hours of an emailed submittal
Electricity providers
PG&E delivers; the city is an MCE member
Service change-outs
Over-the-counter permit, no plans needed
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  • Rules on this page checked against 20 public sources, October 2026
Downtown Napa buildings with towers and arched windows above the Napa River, seen from a riverside railing with a lamppost
Downtown Napa buildings with towers and arched windows above the Napa River, seen from a riverside railing with a lamppost. Photo: Oleg Alexandrov, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Permits and local rules

City paperwork behind Napa electrical permits

  1. Counter, express or full review

    Napa sorts permits three ways. Over-the-counter permits need no plans and cover electrical service change-outs and furnace and water heater change-outs. Express review takes small projects such as rooftop PV under 10 kilowatts with three sets of plans checked at the counter. Full review takes up to 21 business days. Replacing lamps and plugging approved portable equipment into existing receptacles need no permit, and permits applied for from January 1, 2026 follow the 2025 California codes.

    City of Napa Building Division (opens in a new tab)

  2. The expedited EV charger process

    Applicants email a building permit application, the city's EV checklist and three sets of plans to the Building Division's permit technicians. Electrical plans are to be stamped and signed by an electrical engineer or a C-10 Electrical Contractor, include a load calculation under California Electrical Code Article 220, and size the branch circuit for 125 percent of the charger's continuous load. Within 48 hours the city sends a comment letter or word that the permit is ready to pick up.

    City of Napa Building Division (opens in a new tab)

  3. Generator and transfer switch checklist

    The city asks for three sets of plans and two copies of the manufacturer's specifications and installation guides. The site plan must keep the exhaust at least 5 feet from operable windows, vents and the building, and meet Planning's noise limit at the property lines; the electrical plan shows the generator's kilowatts, the transfer switch and its loads, panel amperages, grounding and conductor sizes. Inspectors look for reflective red-and-white labels reading WARNING: BACKUP POWER SOURCE beside the main disconnect.

    City of Napa Building Division (opens in a new tab)

  4. Smoke and CO alarm affidavit at final

    At the final inspection the owner signs, under penalty of perjury, an affidavit that smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are in place under the California Residential Code. Alarms in an existing house may run on batteries alone when the work removes no wall or ceiling finishes and there is no attic, crawlspace or basement to run wiring through; otherwise multiple alarms must be interconnected so one sets off all.

    City of Napa Building Division (opens in a new tab)

State license for this work: C-10 Electrical. Look up a contractor's license on the CSLB website (cslb.ca.gov).

Free, no obligation. Next, add your details in the request form.

The work

Five jobs Napa electricians are called for

  1. Replacing the main panel

    The city's inspection-prep sheet lists what its inspector checks. The meter, the panel and the grounding electrodes must be reachable, and if the panel sits in a locked garage or behind a gate, someone has to be there or leave written entry instructions. The panel must be securely mounted, labeled as the main service panel when it is the main disconnect, and have its required working clearance. On an overhead service, the installer torques the service conductors with the inspector watching, before power is restored.

  2. Choosing an EV charger level

    Napa's EV checklist asks the applicant to tick one charger type, from Level One at 120 volts through Level Two circuits at 20, 30, 40, 50 or 100 amps, up to DC fast charging. The choice rests on a load calculation, and the city publishes its own single-family load calculation form. Level One chargers need no single-line diagram. The plans also show the main panel and service entrance conductor sizes and the breaker protecting the charger circuit.

  3. Standby power for the hills

    The city's water FAQ names the hillside neighborhoods whose water depends on pump stations, among them Browns Valley, Alta Heights, Silverado Highlands and Old Coach Road, and explains that it keeps emergency generators ready for them when PG&E cuts power. Utilities use these Public Safety Power Shutoffs when strong winds and heat raise wildfire risk. A home generator with a transfer switch is permit work: the wiring diagram shows which loads move to a subpanel, and the plans fix where the unit and its exhaust sit.

  4. Rooftop solar

    A rooftop photovoltaic system under 10 kilowatts qualifies for Napa's express review, where plans for a small project are checked at the counter in about 10 to 15 minutes. The 2014 earthquake gave solar a test: FEMA's investigators looked at eight arrays in Napa and Vallejo and found all but one undamaged, and the rooftop panels on a Browns Valley house survived even though the fault rupture cracked the house beneath them.

  5. Making room for electric appliances

    The city declared a climate emergency on April 5, 2022, and its energy page suggests heat pump water heaters, induction cooktops and smart thermostats, and running major loads outside the 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. peak. Each of those can add circuits to a panel sized for gas appliances. A load calculation shows whether the existing service can carry them, and switching a water heater or range from gas to electric is a C-10 job on the electrical side.

Free request

Describe the electrical job once. Local pros who take work in Napa reply by call or text.

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Get quotes for electrical work in Napa

Two short steps. A local pro who takes this work calls or texts you back.

To send a request, call or text (415) 449-8213.

Free to request, and you agree the scope and price with the person you hire before work starts. In California, a job over $1,000 in labor and materials, or one that needs a building permit, must be done by a contractor licensed by the CSLB in the right class. Ask for the license number and check it at cslb.ca.gov.

Electricians inspecting the electrical panels and meters on a multifamily house
Electricians inspecting the electrical panels and meters on a multifamily house. Photo: Tomwsulcer, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The houses here

Houses wired long after they were built

Napa's oldest neighborhoods, Napa Abajo, Fuller Park and Calistoga Avenue, were largely built out between the 1860s and World War I, many of their houses before household electric service, so the wiring was added and enlarged later. The interurban railway of 1905 brought the next wave of houses to Spencer's Addition and Alta Heights. Then came the wartime tracts, Lincoln Park around 1941 and Westwood in 1943, whose small houses typically had a living room fireplace and a garage built into the house, and after the war seventy-one more subdivisions in six years. That built-in garage matters now: an EV charger installed inside a garage or carport needs no site plan.

Timing

Counter days and outage season

The Building Division counter at 1600 First Street is open Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and takes its last submittal at 3:30, so a job that needs a counter visit loses Fridays. EV charger plans travel by email and come back within 48 hours, while full plan review runs up to 21 business days. In hillside neighborhoods, put a generator or battery plan on paper well ahead of the windy, hot spells that bring PG&E's power shutoffs.

Questions

Napa panel, charger and generator questions

Can we apply for a Napa electrical permit online?

No. The city says plainly that it has no online portal for submittals. Applications go over the counter at the Building Division, 1600 First Street, Monday through Thursday, and EV charger packages go by email to its permit technicians. Inspections, once a permit is issued, can be scheduled online through eTRAKiT or on the city's automated inspection line.

How long does an EV charger permit take in Napa?

The city's expedited process commits to a plan review within 48 hours of receiving a complete package: the permit application, its EV checklist and three sets of plans. You get either a comment letter or notice that the permit is approved and ready to collect at the Building Division. A charger installed inside the garage or carport needs no site plan.

Did rooftop solar hold up in the 2014 Napa earthquake?

Largely, yes. FEMA's post-earthquake report examined eight solar arrays in Napa and Vallejo, from ground-mounted canopies to low-profile roof arrays, and all but one, which had an eccentric baseplate connection, showed no reported damage. On a Browns Valley house that the fault rupture split, the rooftop panels were undamaged.

Is our Napa electricity from PG&E or MCE?

Both play a part. The city authorized membership in MCE, the public, not-for-profit community choice provider that Napa, American Canyon, Calistoga, St. Helena and Yountville joined so customers could buy electricity with 50 to 100 percent renewable supply. PG&E customers here can choose it, and PG&E still delivers the power over its lines, so a service upgrade is coordinated with PG&E.

Will a panel upgrade make us replace our battery smoke alarms?

Not by itself. Napa's affidavit allows battery-only alarms in an existing house when the work removes no wall or ceiling finishes and there is no attic, crawlspace or basement route for wiring. If the electrician opens walls or has that access, multiple alarms must be interconnected, and the owner signs the affidavit at final inspection.

Free, no obligation. Next, add your details in the request form.

Before you hire

What to pin down with a Napa electrician

  • Will you run the load calculation on the city's single-family form before we choose a charger level or a bigger service?
  • Where will the generator and its exhaust sit relative to our windows, vents and property lines, and how loud is it there?
  • Who meets the inspector, unlocks the garage or gate, and does the conductor torque check on our overhead service?
  • Is your C-10 Electrical license current on cslb.ca.gov? The city's EV checklist asks for the license number and type.
  • Will the job open walls or ceilings, and if so, which smoke and CO alarms have to be hardwired and interconnected?

Where these facts come from

Checked against these public sources in October 2026. Rules and programs change: confirm permit requirements with the city before work starts, and a contractor's license on the CSLB website.

Electrical work in Napa? Tell us what you see.

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