Boston Electrical Service Upgrade Permit: $20 Plus the Amp Charge

As retrieved September 8, 2026, Boston’s electrical permit page lists a simple formula for a service upgrade or other electrical work priced by amperage: $20 plus $0.25 per amp up to 240 volts. The page does not state an effective date, so treat these as the city’s displayed figures on that retrieval date and recheck them before filing. The permit is applied for by a licensed electrical contractor, and the city says work cannot start before the permit is issued. Read Boston’s electrical permit guidance. The city’s permit portal provides the filing context.

Turn the formula into a budget line

At the published rate, a 100-amp line is $20 + (100 × $0.25) = $45. A 200-amp line is $20 + (200 × $0.25) = $70. A 200-amp upgrade therefore adds $25 to this permit calculation compared with a 100-amp service. Those are filing-fee examples, not the price of the panel, meter equipment, utility work, electrician labor, inspection corrections, or any required building work.

Boston’s page labels the formula as a service-upgrade line and gives other electrical work its own calculations. A project that changes the service may still contain additional work, such as a new panel, grounding and bonding, an outdoor disconnect, feeder changes, or utility coordination. Ask the contractor to state whether the permit application covers only the service line or includes separate devices and circuits.

Do not confuse no-service work with a service change

The city lists a different $20 + $1 for each fixture, plug, or outlet + $5 meter formula for “no service change” work. A homeowner adding an outlet while leaving the existing service alone should not use the amp-based service-upgrade formula by default. Boston also lists an “other” formula of $20 + $10 per $1,000 of estimated cost, which can matter when the project does not fit the listed service or no-service categories.

The page says a homeowner cannot apply for this permit; a licensed electrical contractor must do so. It also warns that starting without a permit can lead to a double fee. The amount due is therefore tied to the contractor’s classification of the work and the city’s accepted application.

Questions for the contractor

Before work starts, request:

• service size before and after the change;
• whether the application is an amp-based service upgrade;
• any no-service-change device lines included;
• utility or inspection steps outside the permit fee; and
• the permit number before demolition or installation.

For the narrow published formula, 100 amps produces a $45 filing-fee example and 200 amps produces $70. Use those numbers to test the permit portion of a quote. The rest of a Boston service upgrade must be priced from the actual electrical scope and site conditions.