Off-the-Books Garage Panel for a New Hampshire Journeyman
A New Hampshire journeyman electrician who works for a licensed electrical contractor is approached by a homeowner to replace a 60 A subpanel in a detached garage on a weekend for cash. The homeowner says the job is "under $500" and therefore no permit is needed. The garage is fed from the house by 6/3 NM cable with a bare equipment grounding conductor; the existing subpanel has the neutral and ground bars bonded together and a single 8 ft ground rod with no supplemental electrode. The journeyman holds a current NH journeyman license but is not a master electrician, and the contractor's master electrician has not been asked to review the job. The homeowner wants the work done "off the books" and asks the journeyman to sign the permit application as the electrician.
1. Can the journeyman take this job independently and sign the permit application? Explain the licensing and permitting issues.
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No. New Hampshire RSA 319-C separates the master and journeyman license categories. A journeyman license authorizes electrical work within the scope of that license, but it does not authorize the journeyman to contract independently, advertise electrical services, or act as the qualifying licensee for a permit. Only a master electrician or a properly licensed electrical contractor may contract for the work and pull the permit. The homeowner's "under $500" statement is not a license exemption, and local permit requirements for replacing a panel are set by the municipality, not by the homeowner's budget. Taking the job off the books would also expose the journeyman to board discipline for unlicensed contracting. The journeyman should decline the off-the-books arrangement and refer the homeowner to the contractor's master electrician, who can review the job, obtain the permit, and supervise the work.
2. Assuming the work is properly permitted, what code defects exist in the existing detached-garage subpanel installation?
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Several defects are visible. A detached structure supplied by a feeder must have a separate grounding electrode system under 250.32(A), and the equipment grounding conductor must be run with the feeder under 250.32(B)(1). Bonding the neutral and ground bars together at the subpanel creates a parallel neutral path and objectionable current, violating 250.6 and the separation required for a subpanel. The single 8 ft ground rod must be supplemented by an additional electrode under 250.53(A)(2) unless it can be shown to have 25 ohms or less resistance. The 6/3 NM feeder with a 60 A breaker is generally acceptable if the load is within the 55 A ampacity of 6 AWG NM at 60°C and the next-standard-size rule of 240.4(B) applies; the 10 AWG bare equipment grounding conductor is adequate for a 60 A circuit under Table 250.122. The contractor should correct the bonding, add the supplemental electrode, and verify the feeder ampacity and terminations.
3. What should the journeyman do if the homeowner insists on no permit and no master electrician involvement?
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The journeyman should walk away from the job. Performing electrical contracting without the proper master license and permit is not a paperwork problem; it is a licensing violation that can result in board action against the journeyman's license, civil liability, and failed inspection. The journeyman should explain that the work must be contracted through the licensed contractor, with the master electrician responsible for the permit and supervision. If the homeowner refuses, the journeyman should document the refusal and not perform any work. The journeyman may offer to have the master electrician provide a written estimate and permit application. The safe and lawful path is to keep the work within the contractor's license, correct the subpanel defects, and have the installation inspected before energizing it.