Your Electrical Installations
Excellent information published by the Department of Labor and Industries, January, 2004.

What property owners and contractors should know before doing electrical work.

Property owners, before you do electrical work or hire a contractor, please consider this:
You should protect your investment by making sure all electrical permits, inspections, and approvals are obtained as required by law. According to the National Fire Protection Association, there are about 38,000 reported home fires each year resulting in about 1,200 injuries and $668 million in direct property damage.
An electrical permit must be purchased by the entity doing the work. Only property owners or electrical contractors can purchase an electrical permit.
The lack of a permit, inspection and approval could affect the safety of your home or business, your ability to obtain financing, and your ability to sell your property, obtain insurance or collect on insurance claims.
A permit, inspection and approval will ensure that the work done on your property conforms to current safety codes.
Electrical contractors and property owners, please consider this:
You should protect yourself and your customer by purchasing electrical permits and having your electrical work inspected, as required by law.
You could be subject to civil penalties if you do not obtain the required permits.
You could face a fine of up to $1,000 for failing to obtain a permit before beginning electrical work. Each day and each location on which a violation occurs constitutes a separate violation.
Additional penalties can be levied for failure to correct any violations noted during an electrical inspection.
Failure to comply with the law might result indisconnection of your electrical power.
An electrical permit is required for all new, remodel and maintenance electrical work except for:
Travel trailers, plug-in appliances, like-in-kind replacement of circuit breakers, fuses, lamps, snap switches, receptacle outlets, household appliances, heating elements, light fixture ballasts, contactors, relays, timers, motor starters, similar control components, and small motors.