InstaBidsIs my electrical quote complete?
Check for identified panels, circuits and fixtures, equipment specifications, wiring routes, access restoration, utility coordination, permit duties and payment milestones; a complete electrical quote states which operations are included and what awaits assessment, alongside the materials, completion date and price recommended by the FTC.
Source: FTC estimate and insurance checklist, read 14 October 2026.
Key facts
- Section 489.505(12) describes electrical work on wiring, fixtures, appliances, apparatus, raceways and conduit.
Source: Florida Statutes section 489.505, read 14 October 2026.
- The FTC recommends written estimates naming work, materials, completion date and price.
Source: FTC estimate and insurance checklist, read 14 October 2026.
- Section 489.126(1) includes anyone performing, contracting or promising the work described in s. 489.105(3), without regard to licensure.
Source: Florida Statutes section 489.126, read 14 October 2026.
- Section 489.126(2)(a) applies when a contractor receives, “as initial payment, money totaling more than 10 percent of the contract price”, and sets conditional deadlines.
Source: Florida Statutes section 489.126, read 14 October 2026.
- Palm Beach's consumer checklist advises closeout of applicable permits before final payment.
Source: Palm Beach contractor directory, read 14 October 2026.
What should a written electrical quote list?
Describe the panel, circuits, fixtures and wiring routes in your written scope, then ask the bidder to identify the proposed operation for each. Section 489.505 describes electrical work through wiring, fixtures, apparatus, raceways and conduit, which supplies useful categories for organising your questions.
Source: Florida Statutes section 489.505, read 14 October 2026.
Use the FTC's written-estimate framework for materials, work and completion date. Ask for a component list rather than assuming a general electrical-upgrade label identifies which equipment will change.
Source: FTC estimate and insurance checklist, read 14 October 2026.
| Quote line | Question for the contractor |
|---|---|
| Panel | Is the proposal replacing equipment, adding capacity or changing its location? |
| Circuits | Which circuits are new, altered or retained? |
| Fixtures | Which devices or fixtures are supplied and installed? |
| Wiring route | Where will wiring or conduit run, and what access is needed? |
| Coordination | Who arranges any utility work or interruption? |
| Completion | What inspection, labelling, testing and restoration are included? |
Ask the bidder to describe any assessment needed before selecting equipment. Supply observations and photographs taken without opening electrical equipment; leave the technical design to the contractor and ask for its resulting scope in writing.
InstaBids gets you competitive written quotes without calls or home visits to bid; contractors never buy leads, and there is no fee during our pilot.
Post your requestFor an appliance addition, organise the request around intended use rather than an assumed wiring solution. Attach the appliance installation information and identify its intended location. Ask the electrician to assess the existing installation and describe the proposed work; do not specify a breaker, conductor or protective device yourself.
For a lighting project, list locations and the fixtures you intend to supply. Ask the bidder to distinguish a fixture replacement from a new point of installation, and to identify access and restoration needs. Keep control changes as separate requested items so the response can address them explicitly.
For a panel proposal, ask whether the work concerns replacement in the existing location, relocation or a change in service. Have the contractor identify retained equipment and anything awaiting assessment. Keep utility arrangements connected to the operation that requires them.
| Request you can describe | Technical answer to obtain from the electrician |
|---|---|
| Add equipment at a named location | Assessment and proposed installation description |
| Change selected lighting | Fixture, control and access boundaries |
| Replace or move a panel | Extent of equipment and connection work |
| Address an observed symptom | Investigation method and subsequent proposal process |
| Restore opened surfaces | Responsibility and agreed finish at each access location |
Request a revision when the technical proposal changes your intended use or location. Ask which requested functions remain included, which are deferred and what information supports the recommendation. You can compare the resulting work descriptions without undertaking electrical testing or designing the circuit yourself.
Which items are often left out?
Check the circuit, restoration and utility-coordination exclusions before reading an electrical proposal as a complete project. Use these as unanswered-item prompts rather than claims about how often omissions occur; distinguish panel replacement from every additional circuit or fixture you want.
Ask whether a proposed panel change includes the associated connections and any work at the service equipment. Have the contractor explain which existing circuits remain and whether their condition requires further assessment. Keep a recommended repair separate from a task you have already authorised.
For a new circuit, ask where the route will run and who opens and closes the wall, ceiling or ground. If a fixture is homeowner-supplied, ask who checks its suitability for the proposed installation and how a substitution will be handled.
Include the practical handoff: who tells the household about an interruption, who coordinates with the utility when needed, and what work remains after inspection. Do not assume that a short equipment description also assigns these responsibilities.
Prepare for the proposed interruption by asking the contractor what areas will be affected and how much notice it intends to give. Identify household access constraints and ask how the installation sequence accommodates them. Avoid turning a scheduling discussion into an assumption that the contractor has assessed every circuit.
At completion, ask for the promised labelling, operating information and inspection documents to be identified individually. Keep unresolved equipment questions with the installing contractor. If another business is responsible for surface restoration, request a clear handoff stating which openings are ready for that work.
What should the payment terms say?
Read the electrical payment schedule against assessment, equipment delivery and installation milestones, with the initial payment separately identified. F.S. 489.126 uses its own contractor definition; avoid treating a quoted percentage as a rule for every electrical agreement without examining that scope.
Source: Florida Statutes section 489.126, read 14 October 2026.
Section 489.126(1) says “contractor” “includes all definitions as set forth in s. 489.105(3), and any person performing or contracting or promising to perform work described therein, without regard to the licensure of the person.” Subsection (1) does not reference part II. Electrical contracting is separately defined in section 489.505. Whether that provision governs your particular electrical contract is an applicability question for a legal adviser.
Source: Florida Statutes section 489.126, read 14 October 2026.
Source: Florida Statutes section 489.505, read 14 October 2026.
For residential work within that definition, subsection (2)(a) uses the initial-payment trigger “money totaling more than 10 percent of the contract price”. Its deadlines read “Apply for permits necessary to do work within 30 days after the date payment is made” and “Start the work within 90 days after the date all necessary permits for work, if any, are issued”, with exceptions for “just cause” and a payer who “agreed, in writing, to a longer period”.
Source: Florida Statutes section 489.126, read 14 October 2026.
Ask the bidder to state what happens if assessment changes the equipment or route. Keep your decision about that revised work and any revised milestone in writing, instead of allowing a delivery payment to imply acceptance of an undefined installation.
Does the quote say who pulls the permit?
Ask the electrical contractor to identify who submits the permit, coordinates inspections and supplies the closeout record for your panel or circuit work. Put the property's jurisdiction and any required utility coordination beside those responsibilities in the written scope.
Palm Beach's consumer checklist advises obtaining a permit when applicable and waiting for closeout before final payment. Use that reminder to ask about your installation's completion documents; it does not supply a permit ruling for every electrical task in either county.
Source: Palm Beach contractor directory, read 14 October 2026.
For a Broward panel project, ask which building department handles the address. For a Palm Beach circuit addition, ask how the submitted description reflects the proposed route and equipment. Have the contractor explain a claimed permit exception before you decide to accept the scope.
Florida's owner-builder disclosure in s. 489.103(7) says: “I may protect myself from potential financial risk by hiring a licensed contractor and having the permit filed in his or her name instead of my own name.” Ask for the permit to name the contracting business.
Source: Florida owner-builder disclosure, section 489.103(7), read 14 October 2026.
How does InstaBids work, in one paragraph?
Homeowners pay InstaBids nothing. Contractors who take part estimate from your photos and a written scope card, so nobody visits before you see any prices. The contractor you pick may visit once before settling the final price against the percentage the bid stated.
Source: How InstaBids works, read 14 October 2026.
Contractors in your trade see the scope card, your photos and your 5-digit ZIP code.
Source: How InstaBids works, read 14 October 2026.
Contact details stay hidden until the homeowner picks a contractor and they confirm the connection. The contact-detail filter can miss disguised contact details.
Source: Pilot FAQ, read 14 October 2026.
How can I compare it with other written quotes?
Compare electrical proposals by the work each assigns to the panel, circuits and fixtures, with the same equipment-use requirements in every written scope. Ask the bidder to explain a different design or installation boundary before treating its response as comparable.
Source: FTC estimate and insurance checklist, read 14 October 2026.
Source: Florida Statutes section 489.505, read 14 October 2026.
Keep an existing-circuit list separate from requested additions. Ask which items the contractor has assessed, which remain to be assessed and what findings could change its proposal. Put the answers beside the applicable component instead of relying on an overall upgrade description.
Review route, access, restoration, interruption and inspection responsibilities across the responses. If you add another appliance circuit or move the proposed equipment, record the revised circuit and equipment list in your request. Revisit the payment milestones only after the work description is consistent.
Next: Florida hiring checklist, How InstaBids works.
Home jobs in Broward and Palm Beach counties. InstaBids is new in your area, so finding contractors can take longer, and a request may get no bids.
Source: Pilot FAQ, read 14 October 2026.
Sources for the facts on this page
Read section 489.505 and the electrical Board FAQ for trade scope, then use the FTC's estimate guidance to organise questions; section 489.126 has its own contractor definition, so its payment rule is presented with that limit.
Sources checked: 14 October 2026.
- Florida Statutes section 489.505.
- FTC estimate and insurance checklist.
- Pilot FAQ, checked 14 October 2026.
- Florida Statutes section 489.126.
- Palm Beach contractor directory.
- How InstaBids works, checked 14 October 2026.
- Florida owner-builder disclosure, section 489.103(7).
Parent: InstaBids home.