Plugging a Level 2 charger into your home is not like plugging in a toaster. The charger (the box on the wall is called the EVSE) needs its own 240-volt circuit, sized for the charger, run from your panel to the parking spot. New circuits are permitted electrical work everywhere in California, so the short answer is yes: a permit, and an inspection at the end.
What the permit actually covers
The permit is for the electrical work, not for the car or the charger brand. The inspector checks that the circuit is the right size for the charger, that the breaker and wire match, that the charger is listed equipment installed to its instructions, and that the connection in the panel is done correctly. For a hardwired charger the inspector looks at the charger's connection too; for a plug-in charger, at the receptacle.
If the charger is installed where the car will sit outside, the same rules apply, with weather-rated equipment and the correct mounting height.
Who pulls the permit
We do. A licensed contractor pulls the permit under their license, schedules the inspection and meets the inspector. For a single charger at a house this is typically a standard residential electrical permit, with no drawings or plan check, pulled before the work starts.
Where the permit comes from depends on your address:
- Inside the City of Los Angeles (most of the San Fernando Valley, the Westside, Hollywood, the Harbor area), it is the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, LADBS.
- In an independent city such as Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Torrance or Santa Clarita, it is that city's building department.
- In an unincorporated community such as Altadena, Topanga or Hacienda Heights, it is Los Angeles County Building and Safety.
- Orange and Ventura County cities use their own building departments.
Our permits and utilities guide has the full map.
How long cities are allowed to take
California passed two laws to stop EV charger permits from dragging. AB 1236 (2015) requires every city and county to have an expedited, streamlined permitting process for chargers. AB 970 (2021) put deadlines on it: for a project of one to twenty-five chargers, the city has five business days to say whether the application is complete and twenty business days to approve it, and if it misses those deadlines the permit is deemed approved. In practice a single home charger is a routine permit for a licensed contractor in most of our service area, and the deadlines are the backstop, not the norm.
The utility usually stays out of it
Adding a charger circuit does not change your electrical service, so LADWP or SCE are not involved and nothing has to be scheduled with them. That is the main reason a charger install is a one-visit job while a panel upgrade takes weeks.
The exception is when your panel cannot carry the charger. Then you are looking at either a load-management option (a charger that shares capacity with another large load) or a service upgrade, and the utility comes into the picture. Which one makes sense is exactly what the on-site visit is for.
The real question is your panel
Before anyone talks about charger brands, we do a load calculation: your service size, the big loads you already have (range, dryer, air conditioning, water heater, pool, spa, ADU), and what is left for a charger. Common outcomes:
- A 200-amp service with gas appliances almost always has room for a 40- or 50-amp charger circuit.
- A 100-amp service with electric range, dryer and central air often does not, and a smaller charger circuit or a load-sharing charger can be the smart answer instead of a full upgrade.
- An older panel with no open breaker spaces needs a sub-panel or a replacement before anything else.
What to have ready for the free on-site visit
A photo of your panel with the door open, the charger you are considering (or the car, if you have not chosen a charger), and where you park. With those three things we can usually tell you on the spot what the job involves and put the price and timeline in writing.
Request a free on-site estimate or call (844) 430-7681.