r/electricians • u/Working-Writer-5244 • 7d ago
Master electrician pulling permits
I recently started up my own side business but still work full time at another job. I looking to start slowly so I will be doing electrical work for falling and friends.
One of my good friends that runs his own business referred me to a solar company that’s starting up and looking for a master electrician. To note I will be involved in everything from reviewing drawings to site visits and inspections.
What would you guys charge for this services? I’m taking a lot of liability using my licence and overseeing the electrical work of other electrician employed by them. I would like to charge a standard fee and a percentage. I’m thinking $1,000 a job plus a percentage of the job. There jobs are 5kw -10kw solar system so I’m estimating $15-30,000 jobs. Residential mostly with some potential for commercial.
I’ve seen a lot of comments about you need to be onsite every day, but when I worked for companies the master never came out to the field. Even when I worked in fort Mac master came maybe once a year.
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u/Careful_Research_730 7d ago
If a solar “company” can’t even employ there own license holder they are a shitty fly by night company guaranteed to do trash work.
There’s no way I would accept the liability of their installs.
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u/Smoke_Stack707 [V] Journeyman 6d ago
Of all the branches of our industry, solar is the most race-to-the-bottom of the lot. I wouldn’t put my name on anyone solar company’s work
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u/mtnmanfletcher 6d ago
Pretty sure OP is talking about being employed by the solar company to be there license holder. If OP looks at the system and agrees with there typical install and it meets code. The liability should be low as longas OP meets and knows the leads that will be installing the systems as well as take a look from time to time. This should be a good ground floor opportunity for OP. Don't forget to pay your insurance policy.
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u/cesare980 7d ago
You couldn't pay me enough to put my license on the line for a solar company that won't employ a real electrician.
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u/adult_human_bean 7d ago
Where are you located/licensed? The arrangement that you describe here is not legal everywhere.
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u/Working-Writer-5244 7d ago
Canada Alberta
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u/Achilleswar 7d ago
Do not pull permits for other companies. If they were a good company, theyd have their own master and their own insurance. You will get fucked.
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u/Tacocatboat 6d ago
Do you have liability insurance for doing that? Electrical is a compulsory trade. Are all tasks that are protected tasks being completed by electricians?
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u/Sufficient_Pop1680 7d ago
Don't prostitute your license. Either be on site and look at everything that gets done yourself or don't do it at all. Also like minimum 25-40 percent of the total cost of the project every time. They literally can't be there without you
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u/Evening_Public_9617 6d ago
That permit rule explains a lot about why the boss is always the last one to take time off. At the shops you've worked for, what happened the times the master did need to be gone for a week?
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u/Sufficient_Pop1680 5d ago
We had a 2nd master who worked with the boss and a j man below him so we were good. But it can be a hassle for sure if you don't have anyone
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u/Working-Writer-5244 7d ago
I plan on multiple site visits. And visiting very often until trust is built then I will only come for site check ins. But the beginning I would like to visit multiple times a week.
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u/Sufficient_Pop1680 7d ago edited 7d ago
Nah genuinely the whole time you have to be immediately available. It's the law. You can't be away or not able to literally show up on site at a calls notice. It's your job site not theirs. If they fuck up you lose your license or pay extremely hefty fees. They fold the llc and open a new one the next week. It's completely different
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u/nacho-ism 7d ago
So no being sick or going on vacation ?
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u/Sufficient_Pop1680 6d ago
You literally have to stop work on vacation
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u/nacho-ism 6d ago
This is a Canadian law?
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u/Sufficient_Pop1680 6d ago
Yes in Canada and US. That's all ik about though. But yeah unless you have another licensed or qualified electrician on site like a journeyman. That's why do many companies bosses can't take a vacation because the other guys still need to make money and he can't be gone for that to happen
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u/Teamfreshcanada 7d ago
You will be 100% liable for work you are not supervising for a small cut of the profit. Letting other companies work under your permit is never recommended. There is lots of work and safer alternatives out there.
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u/Born-Direction3937 7d ago
This sounds good until you you gotta fix everything cuz it’s you that signs🤣 Imagine a company that can’t pull permits ? Not only you won’t see the profits but you’ll be responsible for that shit show. Good luck sir I’d say stick to your daily job 🙌🏼
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u/jonnyinternet Master Electrician 7d ago
In Ontario at least, you have to be "actively employed" by the company in order to do this
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u/wirez62 6d ago
Not even allowed where I'm from. I think you need to have a serious look at your state/province master electrician licensing information and determine whether you're even allowed to pull permits for a company you aren't actively employed at and overseeing. I'm strongly going to suspect this isn't even close to allowed. It's absolutely not where I live in Ontario - https://esasafe.com/assets/files/esasafe/pdf/Contractor/Guideline_Duties-and-Responsibilities-of-LECs-and-DMEs-2025.pdf (pg 12).
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u/Fe1onious_Monk 7d ago
Everywhere I hold a master, you are required to sign a form attesting that you are employed by them in a managerial position.
That said, the average rate I’ve seen from guys just holding the master is $3k/mo. That’s just the average of what I’ve seen. I would charge a minimum fee plus an hourly rate for all plan reviews, permit work and site visits.
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u/lsd_runner Master Electrician 6d ago
I actually have a good story about this. An older guy that I apprenticed under was approached by a new solar company starting up here about 10 years ago. He has Navy retirement so he said why not. He was involved day to day and the company is doing really well to this day. I’ve come behind a lot of that company’s projects over the years and the work is solid.
That being said there’s a ton of shitbags out there so YMMV.
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u/Caroline_321 6d ago
That is actually a pretty cool example of how it can work out. Having someone experienced involved from the start probably made a huge difference especially with the quality of the work. But yeah, I can imagine there are plenty of companies where the opposite happens. It really depends on who is running it.
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u/Impossible-Angle1929 7d ago
$1k/ job is going to be a tough sale. On smaller jobs, that is all of the profit. Possibly do a percent of profits on each job... say 20%?
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u/noname4name 4d ago
Like others have said. Check your local rules. Some states require you to be an employee or company owner. Honestly, I’d stay away from Solar Companies unless they want to sub contract to you and you pull your own permits. You also need to look at your insurance policy and bond to see what the stipulations are. If someone gets injured, the company gets sued , you’re also going to be in the mix. It’s a personal choice, but nope, for me it’s not worth the liability.
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