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.

Electrical San Mateo

From 1920s circuits to express service permits: electrical work in San Mateo

San Mateo lists a residential electrical service upgrade among its Express Building Permits, which need no drawings and no plan review, and gives an EV charger at a house the same treatment. Older wiring is the harder part. The city's population more than doubled in the 1920s, and both its kitchen remodel guide and the reach code adopted in March 2026, still awaiting state approval, make allowances for knob-and-tube still in use. Even a fixture swap is listed as permit work here.

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  • Rules on this page checked against 17 public sources, October 2026
Service upgrade permit
Express Building Permit, no plans or plan review
EV charger at a house
Exempt from plan review, eligible for express processing
Population, 1920 to 1930
5,979 to 13,444, per the city's historic context statement
Energy Code climate zone
Zone 3, per the city's adopted building codes

The work

The San Mateo calls an electrician tends to get

  • A service upgrade, permitted at the counter

    San Mateo requires an electrical permit for new service equipment, a service relocation or upgrade, and fixed appliance connections. A residential service upgrade is on the city's Express Building Permit list, meaning work that needs no plan review or construction drawings, and it can be issued at the Building Division counter or applied for through the Online Permit Center. The permit fee is set by the size of the service and the count of circuits, outlets and fixtures.

  • Knob-and-tube behind plaster and lath

    The city's Kitchen Remodel Guide gives knob-and-tube its own section. Any of it left in place must be in factory listed condition, any alteration needs a licensed electrician to certify that the wiring is to code and safe before the walls are covered, and wiring that is questionable or deteriorated has to be removed and replaced with a listed product. The same guide asks that every breaker be labeled and that multi-wire circuits disconnect all hot conductors together at the panel.

  • Chargers at houses, townhomes and ADUs

    San Mateo's EV charging checklist exempts detached one- and two-family houses, efficiency units, townhomes outside their common areas, and accessory dwelling units from plan review, and makes them eligible for express permit processing. The municipal code also requires the city to accept electronic charger applications and electronic signatures. A charger for a single dedicated parking space at a multifamily building is handled differently, through over-the-counter review with plans.

  • Swapping the air conditioner under the pending reach code

    Under Ordinance 2026-04, which the city lists as pending state approval, a new or replacement air conditioner on existing ducts would bring measures beyond state code, among them R-49 attic insulation and replacing or covering light fixtures not rated for insulation contact, unless knob-and-tube runs through the vented attic. If a load calculation under Article 220.83 or 220.87 of the electrical code showed the panel can carry an air conditioner but not a heat pump, only the standard state rules would apply, and calculations for both would go to the city before the permit.

  • Solar and batteries on a house or duplex

    Single-family and duplex solar and energy storage systems are on the city's list for over-the-counter or video review, with plans required. Installers who use SolarAPP+, the automated compliance check for most roof-mounted residential systems, need an active San Mateo business license and must be added to the city's SolarAPP+ eligibility list, and they submit the SolarAPP+ inspection checklist with the permit.

The houses here

Bungalow tracts, Spanish Revival lanes and six steel-framed houses

The city's historic context statement shows how early San Mateo was wired for growth. Hayward Park was sold with advertisements praising easy connections to sewer, gas and electricity, and its early houses included many California bungalows. In 1929 the city annexed the Beresford District, subdivided outside it back in 1884, south of 15th Avenue. The San Mateo Gas Light Company, founded in 1892, had become part of PG&E in 1905. Between 1920 and 1930, new and annexed subdivisions took the population from 5,979 to 13,444. Not every wall is wood, either: the first phase of Sunnybrae in 1938 built five wood-frame houses and six Unibilt steel-frame ones.

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Get quotes for electrical work in San Mateo

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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.

Permits and local rules

City of San Mateo rules behind an electrical quote

  • What needs a permit, and what goes over the counter

    The Building Division's answer is short: a permit is required for any construction, repair, improvement, modification or demolition, and its list of exempt work names nothing electrical. Some electrical permits can be approved over the counter, and the city's examples are a residential service upgrade, installing or replacing receptacles, switches, lighting outlets or fixtures, and temporary power poles.

    City of San Mateo Building Division (opens in a new tab)

  • Express Building Permits

    Express permits cover work that needs no plan review or construction drawings and are issued from the Building Division's permit counter, or through the Online Permit Center. Electrical service upgrades and temporary power poles appear on the list, alongside other single-trade jobs. When a job grows past that, residential electrical, plumbing and mechanical projects that do not meet express requirements move to over-the-counter or virtual review with plans.

    City of San Mateo Building Division (opens in a new tab)

  • Reach codes for the 2025 code cycle

    On March 16, 2026 the City Council adopted reach codes for the 2025 code cycle, which the city's reach code page lists as pending approval by the Building Standards Commission and the California Energy Commission. Once approved, cooling upgrades would have to use a heat pump or an air conditioner with efficiency measures beyond state code, kitchen and laundry renovations would get electric-readiness measures, and renovations of 1,000 square feet or more in single-family houses, townhomes and duplexes would have to reach a target score of 12 points.

    City of San Mateo (opens in a new tab)

  • Virtual plan review for minor projects

    Plan checkers hold virtual over-the-counter appointments Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to noon, through the Customer Self-Service portal. After a complete submittal the applicant is contacted within one business day to schedule the review, and once the project is approved the permit is issued within one business day of the fees being paid.

    City of San Mateo 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 (opens in a new tab).

Before you hire

Ask a San Mateo electrician before work starts

  • For a service upgrade, ask whether it will go in as an Express Building Permit and who applies through the Online Permit Center.
  • In a 1920s or 1930s house, ask whether any knob-and-tube will stay, and who certifies it before the walls close.
  • Replacing central air once the pending reach code takes effect, ask for the Article 220 load calculation that decides between a heat pump and an air conditioner.
  • For solar, ask whether the installer holds a San Mateo business license and is on the city's SolarAPP+ eligibility list.
  • Check the C-10 Electrical license at cslb.ca.gov, and confirm the permit is taken out under that license.

Questions

San Mateo homeowners ask about permits, old wiring and power

Do I need a permit to replace a light fixture in San Mateo?

Plan on one. San Mateo's Building Division says a permit is required for any construction, repair, improvement or modification, and its list of exempt work includes nothing electrical. The city names installing or replacing receptacles, switches, lighting outlets and fixtures among the electrical permits that can be approved over the counter.

Does a San Mateo service upgrade need drawings?

Usually not. A residential electrical service upgrade is on the city's Express Building Permit list, which covers work that needs no plan review or construction drawings. It can be issued at the Building Division counter or applied for through the Online Permit Center, and the fee is based on the size of the service and the number of circuits and fixtures.

Our Hayward Park bungalow still has knob-and-tube. Can it stay?

Some of it can. The city's Kitchen Remodel Guide allows existing knob-and-tube to remain if it is in factory listed condition, requires a licensed electrician to certify any altered wiring as safe and to code before it is covered, and requires questionable or deteriorated runs to be replaced with a listed product. The reach code adopted in 2026, still pending state approval, also exempts attics with knob-and-tube from its insulation measure.

We are replacing our air conditioner. Will San Mateo make us put in a heat pump?

Not necessarily. Under the reach code adopted in March 2026, which the city lists as pending state approval, a cooling upgrade would be either a heat pump or an air conditioner with efficiency measures beyond state code, such as more attic insulation. If a load calculation showed the existing panel can carry an air conditioner but not a heat pump, those extra measures would fall away, and calculations for both would go to the city before the permit.

Who supplies our electricity, PG&E or WestLight Energy?

Both, in different roles. Peninsula Clean Energy, now renamed WestLight Energy, buys the electricity and PG&E delivers it over its poles and wires, with one bill from PG&E. WestLight also offers owner-occupants a free Home Upgrade Advisor, who can help work out whether a planned heat pump or induction cooktop needs an electrical panel upgrade.

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.

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