Most disputes about electrical work trace back to something that was never discussed. These are the questions worth asking, and why each one matters.
A good electrician expects them and will answer directly. Reluctance to answer tells you something on its own.
1. What is your license number?
Electrical licensing is regulated at state level, and in some states at county or city level. Ask for the number and verify it with the issuing authority. Most have a free online lookup.
This matters more than it might seem. Licensing is what distinguishes a regulated trade from someone with a van, and it is also what your insurer will ask about if a claim ever arises.
2. Are you insured, and can I see proof?
General liability at minimum. Ask for a certificate rather than a verbal assurance. If the work involves employees on your property, workers’ compensation matters too.
3. Does this work need a permit?
This is the question people skip, and it causes the most trouble later.
As a general rule: panel and service work, new circuits, and rewiring require a permit and inspection. Replacing a fixture or a device on an existing circuit often does not. Requirements are local and vary.
An electrician who volunteers that a permit is not needed for panel work is telling you something important about how they work. Unpermitted electrical work complicates home sales, can void insurance claims, and leaves you with no independent verification that the work was done correctly.
4. What is the diagnostic fee, and does it come off the repair?
For fault-finding work, most electricians charge separately for diagnosis. That is legitimate. Locating an intermittent fault is often the bulk of the work.
What you want to know is the amount, and whether it is credited against the repair if you proceed. Both are normal; you just want to know which arrangement you are in.
5. Is this a quote or an estimate?
Not the same thing, and the distinction has cost people a lot of money.
A quote is a fixed price for a defined scope. An estimate is a considered guess that may change. Both are reasonable in the right context. Scope hidden behind a wall cannot honestly be quoted at a fixed price. But you should know which one you have been given.
Get it in writing, with the scope described.
6. What happens if you find something unexpected?
Electrical work uncovers things. Opening a panel reveals the branch wiring. Running a new circuit exposes what is already in the wall.
Ask how variations are handled: will they stop and discuss before proceeding, and how is additional work priced? Agreeing this in advance prevents the most common source of billing disputes.
7. What is your warranty, and what does it cover?
Ask about labour and parts separately, and how long each runs. Get it in writing.
If you found the electrician through a referral service, including ours, be clear that the warranty is the electrician’s, not the referral service’s. We connect you; we did not do the work and cannot warrant it.
8. Who will actually do the work?
Especially relevant for larger jobs. Will it be the person quoting, an employee, or a subcontractor? Not a problem either way, but worth knowing who will be in your home and who is accountable.
9. Will you provide the inspection documentation?
For permitted work, the jurisdiction inspects before sign-off. Ask for that documentation and keep it. It is what proves the work was done properly when you sell.
A note on getting multiple quotes
For anything substantial such as a panel upgrade, a rewire, or a charger installation, get more than one. Not purely on price, but because the scope of what each proposes tells you a lot.
If one quote is dramatically cheaper, the useful question is what it excludes. Frequently it is the permit, the grounding upgrade, or the drywall repair, all of which you will pay for eventually.
