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Questions to ask before you hire an electrician in Houston

A standby generator after the last hurricane outage, a panel upgrade for an EV charger in a 1960s ranch, or a storm-torn service mast that CenterPoint won’t reconnect until it passes inspection — Houston electrical jobs run through a specific chain of state licenses, City registration, permits, and utility steps. Texas licenses electricians and electrical contractors through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR); inside city limits, the contractor and its master electrician must also be registered with the City of Houston to pull a permit; and CenterPoint Energy controls the meter even though a separate retail electric provider sends your bill. Use these questions to compare Houston-area electricians on verified credentials, permit practice, and a written scope — not just who can come out today.

Questions to ask

1. What is your TDLR electrical contractor license number, and are your contractor and master electrician licenses registered with the City of Houston?

Why it matters: In Texas, non-exempt electrical work has to be done by licensed people working through a TDLR-licensed electrical contractor. To hold that license, the business must be a master electrician or employ one, carry the business liability insurance TDLR requires, and either show workers’ compensation coverage or file the state’s notice that it has elected not to carry it. Inside Houston city limits there is one more step: the City says anyone who wants to do electrical work in Houston must register with its Electrical Inspections section, and electrical permits are issued only to registered master electricians. Ask for the contractor license number and the master electrician’s name, check both on the TDLR license search, and ask the contractor to confirm their City of Houston registration is current (the City’s Electrical Inspections section, which handles registration, is at 832-394-8860). A truck wrap, a general contractor’s say-so, or an out-of-state license is not the same thing.

2. Who will actually do the work at my house, and what Texas license does each person hold?

Why it matters: Unlike Arizona, Texas licenses individual electricians as well as the business. TDLR licenses journeyman electricians, who work under the general supervision of a master electrician; residential wiremen, who are licensed only for single-family and multifamily dwellings up to four stories; and apprentices, who must be registered and supervised. Ask who will be on-site, what license each person holds, whether they are employees or subcontractors, and who from the company supervises apprentices. Every license type shows up on the TDLR license search, so you can check names before work starts. A crew that can’t tell you who holds which license is a crew that may not be licensed at all.

3. Will you pull the City of Houston electrical permit, who schedules the inspections, and is the permit fee in your price?

Why it matters: The City of Houston says all work that requires an electrical permit must be inspected and approved by a City electrical inspector before the project is finalized, all electrical work must be performed by a licensed electrical contractor, and the licensed contractor doing the work schedules the inspections. Under the City’s electrical code administrative provisions, only a licensed and registered electrical contractor may obtain an electrical permit, and the application is signed by the registered master electrician of record. That means you, as a homeowner, generally can’t pull the electrical permit yourself in Houston, and a contractor who asks you to is a warning sign. Ask the contractor to say in writing whether your job needs a permit and which one, who pulls it through the City’s online permit system, who meets the inspector, and whether permit and any re-inspection fees are included. Confirm your actual jurisdiction first: Pasadena, Pearland, Sugar Land, Bellaire, West University Place, Katy, and other nearby cities run their own permit offices, and unincorporated areas of Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery counties follow different rules. A discount for skipping a required permit shifts the risk to you at resale and in any insurance claim.

4. If the job means pulling the meter, how will you get CenterPoint’s authorization first — and who handles the City release before reconnection?

Why it matters: Houston’s electricity market is deregulated: your retail electric provider bills you, but CenterPoint Energy owns the meter and the lines. CenterPoint’s service standards say a licensed electrician must call CenterPoint before removing a self-contained residential meter, give the contractor name and license number, and request a date at least two business days out; the electrician then gets a 48-hour window, and CenterPoint returns afterward to inspect and reseal the meter. CenterPoint also says an unsanctioned meter removal results in a charge to the customer under its tariff — so a contractor who just cuts the seal can leave you with the bill. For bigger changes, the same standards say you should notify both CenterPoint and your retail electric provider, not assume a service increase or rewire will be served from the same point as before, and expect the City’s inspection approval before CenterPoint reconnects. Ask who makes each call, how long you’ll be without power, and whether waiting on utility clearance is built into the schedule and price.

5. Will my job be permitted under the 2026 National Electrical Code, and are you working to it?

Why it matters: Texas sets one statewide electrical code. TDLR adopted the 2026 National Electrical Code effective September 1, 2026, with a limited exception on ground-fault (GFCI) protection for certain outdoor outlets. The Houston Permitting Center says permit applications submitted on or after September 1, 2026 are reviewed for compliance with the 2026 NEC, while earlier applications were reviewed under the 2023 edition, along with the City’s own administrative provisions. Ask which edition your permit falls under, whether AFCI and GFCI protection, tamper-resistant receptacles, or surge protection apply to your scope, and whether any of that is priced in. “We’ve always done it this way” is not a plan — the permit date controls which edition applies.

6. If I want an EV charger, will you pull Houston’s EV charging outlet permit, and does my panel have the capacity?

Why it matters: The City of Houston has a dedicated Electrical Vehicle Charging Outlets permit: registered electrical contractors who install a charging outlet must apply for an electrical permit, inspection is required, and plans are required for a Level 3 charging outlet. Ask for a load calculation on your existing panel before you buy a charger, whether a panel or service upgrade is needed (which brings in CenterPoint, see question 4), the circuit size and charger amperage they recommend, where the charger and conduit will run, and who registers the equipment warranty. A low bid that skips load math can leave you with a charger you can’t fully use — or a surprise mid-job upgrade.

7. For a standby generator or home battery, what will the City actually inspect, and how will you prevent backfeed onto CenterPoint’s lines?

Why it matters: Backup power rules changed recently. The Houston Permitting Center says that under Senate Bills 1202 and 1252 (effective September 1, 2025), cities may not regulate the installation or inspection of a residential energy backup system of 50 kW or less, or with 100 kWh or less of storage. For those systems, the City inspects only the service connections — the electrical service equipment, through a temporary cut-in or reconnect permit, and gas piping, through a separate gas permit — and does not inspect the generator, inverter, or batteries themselves. That puts more weight on the installer’s own work. CenterPoint’s service standards require a permanently installed customer generator to sit on the customer side of the meter behind a service-entrance-rated device that keeps it from feeding the utility system, and they bar transfer switches between the meter and the meter socket jaws. Ask who sizes the generator and transfer switch to your actual loads, who runs the gas line and pulls that permit, whether your property is in a floodplain (the City says to contact its Floodplain Management Office before installing there), and where the unit will sit relative to your neighbors.

8. After storm or flood damage, will you repair my service equipment and get the City reconnect permit so CenterPoint can restore power?

Why it matters: When a hurricane or wind storm rips the service mast or meter base off the house, the repair often falls on the homeowner, not the utility. CenterPoint’s service standards define meter mounting devices as owned and furnished by the customer, and say that in localities with electrical ordinances, approval by the city inspecting authority is required before CenterPoint may reconnect service. In Houston, the City requires a reconnection permit and inspection to reconnect an existing service that has been disconnected. Ask whether the contractor is registered with the City (Houston issues electrical permits only to registered master electricians), how quickly they can get the inspection after a storm, what they’ll do if flood water reached outlets, panels, or wiring, and whether they’ll document the damage with photos for your insurance claim. Storm-chasing crews from out of town often can’t pull a Houston permit at all.

9. Given Houston’s older housing stock and humidity, how will you check the panel, wiring, and grounding before quoting a full fix?

Why it matters: Many Houston-area homes still have older panels (including brands such as Federal Pacific or Zinsco that many electricians recommend replacing), aluminum branch wiring from some decades, undersized services for modern loads, or corrosion from Gulf Coast humidity and past flooding. A bid that only swaps the failed breaker can miss the bigger condition, and a bid that jumps straight to a full panel replacement may be more than you need. Ask whether they will inspect the panel brand and age, wiring type, grounding and bonding, and available capacity; whether they recommend repair, partial rewire, or a service upgrade, and why; and whether surge protection is part of the scope. Require a stop-and-call process before any extra work begins.

10. Will we have a written contract, and will you give me the Texas residential construction disclosure statement before I sign?

Why it matters: Texas Property Code Chapter 53 requires the original contractor on a residential construction contract to give the owner a disclosure statement before the contract is signed (§53.255). That statement tells you to get the scope, timeline, price, and payment terms in writing; warns that oral promises left out of the written agreement may not be enforceable; and explains how subcontractor and supplier lien claims work, including the rule on reserving 10 percent of the contract price. If the job is on your homestead, a contractor’s lien on it generally requires a written contract signed before work begins, signed by both spouses if you’re married, and filed with the county clerk (§53.254). Before final payment, ask for the final bills-paid affidavit described in §53.259 so you have the contractor’s written statement that subcontractors and suppliers have been paid. These are complicated rules; if you’re signing a large contract or receive a lien notice, talk to a Texas attorney.

11. What does the written estimate include, how do you handle after-hours calls, and can you give me recent Houston references?

Why it matters: “Fix the outlets” is not a scope. A good quote lists the circuits affected, breaker sizes, wire type and gauge, device brands (for example AFCI or GFCI breakers), any panel or service work, permit and inspection fees, utility coordination, debris disposal, and cleanup, plus the labor warranty in writing separate from the manufacturer’s warranty. Ask what after-hours, weekend, or post-storm rates apply and what the minimum call-out fee is. Then ask for two or three recent local references for similar jobs — ideally a similar house type and part of town (a Heights bungalow rewire, a suburban panel upgrade, an EV circuit, a generator hookup). References tell you about punctuality, permit follow-through, cleanup, and whether the work passed inspection the first time.

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