Electrical AHJ Study 2016

Non-Local Inspectors

Non-local inspectors

Third-Party Inspectors

In some jurisdictions, third-party agencies are used in place of having an in-house inspector. In some smaller towns, the municipality will contract out with a third party such as Bureau Veritas or Middle Department Inspection Agency. This is most common in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.

Quick stat. 674 third-party inspection agencies were identified in the study.

Use of third-party inspection agencies — **Does your jurisdiction use third-party inspection agencies? [email survey]**

The majority of respondents in the original email survey (90%) do not use a third-party inspection agency. Some jurisdictions (6%) will use a third-party inspection agency when an in-house inspector is either not available or when they are short-handed. There are also times when the state inspectors (3%) will step in and help with some of the local inspections. Common third-party inspection agencies that they noted using (2%) include American Inspection Agency, Middle Atlantic Inspections, or Commonwealth Electrical Inspection Services. However, most jurisdictions in Pennsylvania and Kentucky, for example, mostly use third-party inspection agencies to perform their electrical inspections while maintaining the electrical permitting in house.

State Electrical Inspectors

State-wide electrical inspectors are be used in a variety of circumstances. In some states, such as Minnesota, the majority of electrical inspections within the state are required to be inspected by a state electrical inspector (with the exception of a few municipalities). Other states such as Alabama use state electrical inspectors for state-owned buildings only. State electrical inspectors can also be called out to inspect local inspections if called upon by a local AHJ, such as in Arkansas.