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Electrical Inspection Checklist for an Ontario House: Before the ESA Rough-In, Before Drywall, at Final and Before the Last Payment
Electrical & Lighting
The Electrical Checklist: Four Stops, and the Cheapest One Is Before the Drywall
The ESA inspector checks the wiring against the code. Nobody checks it against your house except you. The inspector does not know you wanted a receptacle behind the TV, a switch at the bottom of the basement stairs, or a circuit in the garage for the car you have not bought yet. This list runs in the order the work happens, written so a homeowner can do it with a set of plans and a tape measure and without touching a wire.
Stop One: Before the Rough-In Inspection
Walk the house with the plans while the boxes are on the studs and the cable is pulled. Moving a box now is a few minutes of the electrician’s time. Moving it after drywall is a hole, a patch, a paint touch-up and a bill.
- Every box on the plan is on the wall, at the height you wanted, on the side of the door the door does not swing over
- Kitchen counter receptacles placed so no point along the counter wall is more than 900 mm from one; the island has what the plan shows
- Receptacles within 1.5 m of a sink, tub or shower are planned as GFCI; so are outdoor receptacles within 2.5 m of finished grade
- Smoke alarm boxes on every storey including the basement, in every bedroom and in the hallway serving the bedrooms; CO alarm locations where the house needs them
- Pot light count matches the quote, and each one sits where the plan put it, not where the joist made it easy
- Dedicated circuits are pulled: range, dryer, heat pump, HRV, EV-ready circuit to the garage, hot tub if there is one
- Low voltage: Cat6 drops, the TV wall, the doorbell, the camera locations
The kitchen and bath rules are on the kitchen and bathroom requirements page, and the alarm rules on the smoke and CO alarm page. On an ICF house, stop one comes earlier: every penetration through the concrete needs a sleeve set before the pour. ICFPro.ca covers the wall side of that.
Stop Two: Before Insulation and Drywall
The rule here is ESA’s, not mine: nothing is covered by insulation, drywall or flooring until an inspector authorizes it. Ask the electrician for confirmation that the rough-in passed before the insulation crew is booked. “He’ll be here Thursday” is not an authorization.
- The rough-in passed, in writing or on ESA’s record, not “should be fine”
- Photos of every wall and ceiling, with a tape measure in the frame from a corner. Those photos are worth more than the camera
- Blocking in place for heavy fixtures, ceiling fans and the TV mount
- Pot light housings sealed where they meet an unheated attic
The building side of this stop is on the before-drywall checklist; I will not repeat it here.
What a Missed Item Costs Later
| Item | At rough-in | After drywall, or after the pour |
|---|---|---|
| EV-ready 240 V circuit to the garage | $750 to $1,200 | $2,000 to $2,800 |
| Pot light | $100 to $200 each | $150 to $350 each |
| Cat6 data drop | $80 to $150 | $150 to $300 |
| Ceiling fan rough-in, per bedroom | $50 to $120 | a new fixture needing a new circuit, $300 to $600 |
| Sleeve through an ICF wall | a piece of pipe in the form | core drill $150 to $400 a hole plus a patch (allowance) |
| Electrician back to fix it | nothing | service call $75 to $200 plus $80 to $160 an hour |
October 2026 prices, installed, before HST. The core drill figure is an allowance, not a researched price.
Why Ontario prices are all over the map: the contractors we checked for this page quoted the same pot light at very different prices. A North York contractor said $75 to $95 a light, another GTA contractor $100 to $150, and a Guelph contractor $150 to $250 new and $200 to $350 retrofit. EV circuits were no better: a national marketplace said $800 to $2,000 for a charger install, an Ottawa contractor $900 to $1,500 for an easy one. New work or retrofit, an insulated ceiling, whether the light itself is in the price, and the distance from the panel make most of the gap. Budget $140 a pot light new and $220 retrofit, and get two or three quotes on the same written scope.
Stop Three: At Final
Ask the electrician to walk the final with you. A good one will. Bring the plans and the quote.
- The panel directory is filled in, legible, and says “kitchen counter left of sink”, not “plugs”
- The maximum residential load is labelled; the 2024 code requires it. Ask the electrician to show you where
- Each GFCI receptacle trips when you press TEST and comes back on RESET
- The electrician presses the AFCI and GFCI breaker tests with you watching, so you know where they are
- Receptacles are tamper-resistant throughout, apart from ones dedicated to an appliance or above 2 m
- Press one smoke alarm test and every alarm in the house sounds; they are interconnected
- Every switch does something. A switch that does nothing is a box somebody forgot about
- Outdoor receptacles have their covers, and the EV circuit is labelled at both ends
The house-wide version of this walk is the final walkthrough checklist.
Stop Four: Before the Last Payment
- The final inspection passed, and the Certificate of Acceptance is issued or on its way. ESA sends it to whoever filed the notification; get your copy. The ESA permit page covers it.
- The utility connection is done on a new service. The utility will not connect until it has ESA’s authorization.
- The photos from stop two are in a folder you will find in ten years.
- The warranty is in writing, with the years and what it covers.
- The manuals for the alarms, the surge protector and any EV charger are left in the house.
Hold the last payment until those are in your hand. Not because anyone is a crook, but because paperwork gets done when there is still money attached to it.
Questions people ask
When does ESA inspect a new house?
At rough-in, before anything is covered by insulation or drywall, and at final when the devices and panel are finished. The utility will not connect a new service until it has ESA’s connection authorization.
Can I insulate before the electrical inspection?
No. Nothing is concealed by insulation, drywall or flooring until an ESA inspector authorizes it. Insulate early and you may be taking it back out for the inspector.
What is a Certificate of Acceptance?
The document ESA issues to whoever filed the notification once the work passes. Only ESA issues it. Keep a copy for insurance and resale; ESA can send a copy at 1-877-372-7233.
How do I test a GFCI receptacle?
Press TEST: the power at that receptacle, and any downstream of it, should go off. Press RESET to bring it back. If it does not trip, call the electrician. Leave breaker tests to the electrician or do them with them.
What should the panel directory say?
Every breaker labelled with the room and the load in plain words, legible, matched to what the breaker actually turns off. “Plugs” and “lights” are not labels.
Put the extras on the plan before stop one
The whole-house electrical cost calculator prices the house with the add-ons that are cheap at rough-in and dear after it, the EV circuit, the extra pot lights, the Cat6 and the generator inlet, so you can decide now. If you have quotes, the $99 review reads up to three and marks which of these lines each one left out.
Sources and further reading
- ESA notifications and inspections: when a notification of work is needed, who files it, and the rule that nothing is covered until an inspector authorizes it.
- ESA Bulletin 26-18-15: AFCI and GFCI in a dwelling unit: where arc-fault and ground-fault protection is required in a house.
- Ontario Electrical Safety Code: ESA on the 2024 (29th) edition in force since May 1, 2025, and what changed for houses, EV loads and energy storage.
