There are many reasons an electrical inspection can fail or be denied by the electrical inspector, and not all of them are always related to installation practices of the electrician.

Below are a few examples:

• A permit not being posted
• A unique city policy regarding certain items that must be present or done in a specific order before an inspection can be requested
• The general contractor requesting an electrical inspection before the electrician is ready to get the electrician to hurry up
• A new code change or city amendment that modifies the code language the electrician is using to justify an installation method
• Not having the carton or package available for cable ties or other small electrical products so that the electrical inspector can verify that the product is certified (listed) by a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory such as UL

There are however times that the electricians work, or readiness will be the cause of a failed inspection.

Most electrical inspectors have a specific routine or route which includes organizing their inspections for the day based on location. Some inspectors perform their first inspection at the job site farthest from the office and gradually work their way back so that they are near the office as they finish up their day.

Many inspectors charge a fee and lock the permit so that no inspections can be scheduled for up to 48 hours to deter workers from scheduling an inspection before the work has been completed. Electricians who are not quite ready for the inspection will commonly schedule an inspection the night before with the hopes that that they can finish their work the next morning before the inspector arrives. A change in the inspector’s schedule, or a different inspector covering for another can result in the inspector showing up first thing and issuing a red tag for the electrical work not being ready for inspection. When an electrician realizes that they will not be ready for the scheduled inspection, its best that they try and call the inspector and cancel rather than risking having the inspector show up when work is not ready and assign a fee or place a temporary hold on scheduling additional inspections. Inspectors deal with “work not ready” every day and often get to a point where their entire day is wasted with these types of inspections.

All day long the inspector will deal with electricians who just need to fix one or two items for their inspection to pass and they will ask the inspector to approve the inspection and “trust them” that they will fix those items after the inspector leaves and before the wall or ceiling is covered or closed up. Most inspectors will refuse such requests. If the inspector says yes every time this occurs, over the inspectors career, there is potential to be thousands of code violations that were present when the inspector approved the inspection that may have never actually been fixed.

The NEC^® doesn’t say much about phases of construction or when inspections should be scheduled, but in North Carolina, the below language from the NC Administrative Code is used as a basis for all types of inspections:

NC Administrative Code 107.2. Inspection requests. It shall be the duty of the permit holder or his or her agent to notify the code enforcement official when work is ready for inspection and to provide access to and means for inspection of the work for any inspections that are required by this code.

NC Administrative Code 107.3. Approval Required. Work shall not be done beyond the point indicated in each successive inspection without first obtaining the approval of the code enforcement official. The code enforcement official, upon notification, shall make the requested inspections and shall either indicate the portion of the construction that is satisfactory as completed, or shall notify the permit holder or an agent of the permit holder that the work fails to comply with the technical codes. Any work that does not comply shall be corrected and shall not be covered or concealed until authorized by the code enforcement official.

NC Administrative Code 107.1.8 Final inspection. Final inspections shall be made for each trade after completion of the work authorized under the technical codes.