Starting on January 30, 2025, a new law went into effect to prohibit anyone but a licensed electrician from opening electrical panels and performing certain tests. 

Although the interpretation of the law was relaxed somewhat in a February 19, 2025 memo from the Board of Examiners for Electricians, the Board still interprets the law to prohibit home inspectors from opening and inspecting electrical panels.

Since the electricians’ law allows the owners of a single-family or two-family dwellings, to install their own wiring if the owner lives in, or is “about to live on” the property, some REALTORS® are encouraging sellers to open the electrical panel themselves to make it possible for the buyer’s home inspector to inspect the panel without touching it. 

 A home inspector recently expressed some concerns about this practice: 

• Are there safety issues with having an unlicensed person open an electrical box?
• Are there risks with leaving the electrical box open before, during, and after an inspection – particularly if the buyer brings children or other family members with them to the inspection?
• If something goes wrong or the seller is not comfortable with the inspection results, could the seller falsely claim that a home inspector or real estate licensee opened the box?

 The home inspector suggested having buyers work with a trusted electrician who has a relationship with a home inspector rather than encouraging a seller to open an electrical panel.

 For more information, members of the Rhode Island Association of REALTORS® may contact the RIAR Legal Department at 401-432-6945 or email [email protected].