Charles County, MD Electrical Standards

The County Commissioners of Charles County do hereby define that a homeowner may be granted a permit for installation of electrical wiring in one's own residence upon demonstrating to the Board of Electrical Examiners, through passage of a written test developed by said Board, that the homeowner possesses adequate knowledge of electrical wiring to be able to install systems correctly and protect his own safety.

§ 234-2 Certification of qualification required prior to issuance.

The Inspections and Permits Division of Charles County shall issue such a homeowner's electrical wiring permit only upon receipt of certification of qualification from the Board of Electrical Examiners.

§ 234-3 Inspections.

Inspections shall be made in accordance with the normal fee scale and procedures of the Middle Department Association of the Fire Underwriters.

§ 234-4 Authority designated for administration and issuance procedures.

Applications, rules and regulations as shall hereafter be adopted by the County Commissioners and overall administration of the procedure for issuance of permits for homeowner's installation of electrical wiring in his own residence shall be the responsibility of the Division Chief of the Inspections and Permits Division of the Department of Public Works.

Article II Homeowner Licensing Requirements

[Adopted 7-6-1977 by Res. No. 77-35]

§ 234-5 Application.

Any person desiring to secure a homeowner's electrical license shall make application on a form provided by the Inspections and Permits Division of Charles County. Any false, erroneous or misleading answers or statements made in an application shall be cause for the rejection of the same or the revocation of a license issued to said applicant.

§ 234-6 Examinations; fees.

General regulations.

(1)

Examinations will be held once a month.

(2)

Any person to be examined shall have his application on file with the Inspections and Permits Division within a reasonable time prior to the date of the scheduled examination. The Division shall notify the applicant of the date, time and place of the examination. All examinations shall be held to determine the applicant's knowledge of the National Electrical Code and practical electrical work. During the examination, applicants shall be allowed to refer to the National Electrical Code.

(3)

Any person found referring to unauthorized notes or books during an examination shall be disqualified and shall not be examined again until at least six months have elapsed.

(4)

All tests shall be developed, reviewed and graded by the Board of Electrical Examiners and Supervisors for Charles County.

(5)

Applicants for examination will be required to obtain at least a grade of 70% in order to obtain a license.

(6)

Applicants who fail to obtain the required 70% will be entitled to reexamination upon submission of a new application. No person shall be entitled to more than three examinations (one initial examination and two reexaminations) in any one calendar year.

Examination fees.

(1)

The examination fees shall be as follows:

(a)

Examination: $25.

(b)

First reexamination: $15.

(c)

Second reexamination: $10.

(2)

The fee is due at the time of submitting the application.[1]

[1]

Editor's Note: The remainder of this subsection read as follows: "Make check or money order payable to the 'Board of Electrical Examiners and Supervisors for Charles County."

§ 234-7 Eligibility.

No license shall be granted to any person under the age of 21 years.

§ 234-8 Restrictions on location of electrical work.

A time period of two years must elapse before any person issued a license for work to be done at one location may be issued a license for work to be done at a different location.

§ 234-9 Duration of license.

A homeowner's license is valid for one year from the date of issue.

§ 234-10 Performance of work.

Any and all electrical work shall be personally performed by the homeowner.

§ 234-11 Revocation of license; public hearing.

The Inspections and Permits Division shall have full power to revoke for proper cause any license after a full hearing of all parties involved. The date, time and place of said hearing shall be set by the Division.

§ 234-12 Complaints.

Any and all complaints must be made in writing to the Inspections and Permits Division.

§ 234-13 Inspections required; violations and subsequent procedures.

All electrical work is to be inspected. Applications for electrical inspection are to be made to the Middle Department Inspection Agency before the start of electrical construction.

If an inspection is made and a violation noted by the Inspector, a reinspection is required. If, after the reinspection, the violation has not been properly corrected as instructed by the Inspector, an additional inspection fee equal to 1/2 of the original inspection fee must be paid before any future reinspections will be performed by the Inspector.

Any electrical work violation not properly corrected as instructed by the Electrical Inspector may result in the electrical power being disconnected from said building or structure.

§ 234-14 Approval of electrical final; notification of County agency.

The Middle Department Inspection Agency shall notify the Inspections and Permits Division of Charles County whenever an electrical final under a homeowner's permit has been approved. Such notification shall be made within 30 days of said final.