2.1 Project Administration & Legal (0101)

Permits, Inspection Records, and Enforcement Documents

The official ICC outline calls sub-topic 0101 Project Administration and Legal, and describes it as: verify that required permits are issued and valid; issue and maintain inspection reports, correction notices, stop-work orders, and data for the issuance of the certificate of occupancy; and verify that the required approved plans and specifications are available on the job site. The outline adds a parenthetical note that some questions may refer to a set of plans for reading fixture schedules, panel schedules, and riser diagrams — which is why plan reading is taught here rather than as its own sub-topic.

Before approving any rough-in, trim, service, or final, you must confirm the work is authorized. The key documents are:

• Electrical permit — issued by the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ); it authorizes the named scope and typically lists the inspection sequence (rough, service, final).
• Inspection report — the record created at each visit describing what was checked and whether it passed or failed.
• Correction notice — a written defect list issued when an installation does not comply; it cites the NEC article violated and the required remedy.
• Stop-work order — a formal enforcement action halting all or part of the work until cited violations are resolved and re-inspected. Work that proceeds after a stop-work order is a separate violation.
• Certificate of Occupancy (CO) data — under the International Building Code (IBC), a building cannot be lawfully occupied before the CO is issued. A final electrical inspection is one of the prerequisites the building official checks before signing the CO; the inspector may be asked to verify that life-safety circuits (exit/emergency lighting, fire alarm, smoke control) are operational.

Exam tip: Questions in this domain often describe a contractor asking for a final on a job with an open correction notice, or an owner wanting to move in before final. The correct answer is almost always to refuse the final until the cited items are cleared and re-inspected, and to coordinate with the building official on CO sequencing.

Verifying Approved Plans and Specifications on Site

The requirement to keep approved construction documents on the job site is an administrative provision of the adopted building code (International Building Code Chapter 1, Administration and Enforcement), not a rule inside the NEC — the NEC's own administrative hook is 90.4, which makes the authority having jurisdiction responsible for interpreting and enforcing the Code. Work is approved against the stamped approved plan set and specifications, not against shop drawings that were never reviewed. Before signing off on any inspection:

1. Confirm an approved (stamped) set of plans and specs is physically present on the job site.
2. Confirm any approved deviations/change orders are referenced and signed.
3. Verify the installed material and routing match the approved design; deviations require an approved revision.

If the approved set is missing, the correct response is to not perform the inspection and require the approved set to be produced.

Reading the Plan Set

Fixture Schedule

A fixture schedule is a tabular listing of every luminaire type on the project. Typical columns:

Panel Schedule

A panel schedule lists the circuits in a panelboard. It shows circuit number, description, conductor size, OCPD rating, and the connected load per pole.

The inspector cross-checks the panel schedule against the load summary and the OCPD against the conductor ampacity per Table 310.16 and the small-conductor limits in 240.4(D).

Riser Diagram and One-Line (Single-Line) Diagram

• Riser diagram — a vertical representation showing how the service/feeder distribution descends from the service point through switchboards, transformers, feeders, and panels. Use it to verify service conductor sizing, raceway routing, and overcurrent device coordination.
• One-line (single-line) diagram — a simplified schematic showing the power distribution on a single line per phase. Use it to verify fault-current ratings, AIC (interrupting) ratings of OCPDs, transformer kVA and primary/secondary voltages, and grounding/bonding paths.

Load Summary (Article 220 Demand Load Calculation)

A load summary is the NEC Article 220 demand calculation table. It lists general lighting, receptacles, continuous vs. noncontinuous loads, HVAC, motors, and applies demand factors. The inspector verifies:

• Continuous loads are counted at 125% of their rated load per 210.20(A) and 215.3.
• Noncontinuous loads are counted at 100%.
• The neutral, service, and feeder sizes are consistent with the summed demand.

Common Plan Symbols

Plan vs. Field: What the Inspector Actually Checks

The plan set tells you what should be there; the field tells you what is there. The inspector's job is to reconcile the two:

• On the plan: circuit counts, conductor sizes, OCPD ratings, voltage drop calcs, load sums, equipment listing.
• In the field: correct conductor type and size pulled, raceway support and fill, box fill, terminations torqued, working clearances maintained, equipment listing label present and legible.

A discrepancy between plan and field is either a field defect (install to the plan) or an unapproved deviation (submit a revision).