Electrical Panel Inspection Checklist: Free PDF Download

In this post, we share a free electrical panel inspection checklist for technicians to use during electrical installations, inspections, or maintenance visits. It includes the following sections:

• General inspection

• Panel and breakers

• Wiring

• Grounding and bonding

• Safety

• Documentation and labels

• Notes and observations

• Recommendations

• Signature and date

Below, we’ll provide a link to download the checklist and begin using it in your electrical business.  

While this checklist is a useful reference for technicians on the job, keep in mind that PDF templates have some key limitations. For example:

• You can’t ensure they’re used for every job. Techs notoriously resist red tape, so static PDFs often won’t get used. This can increase the chance of a tech missing a step or failing to spot a sales opportunity.

• PDFs don’t integrate with the other apps you use to run your business, such as your CRM, so it’s easy to lose records from inspections.

• The details of safety issues discovered during inspections can’t be easily shared between field and office staff, causing delays in important next actions (e.g. checking warranty or inventory information, drafting estimates, ordering parts, etc.).

So, in addition to sharing the free electrical panel inspection checklist below, we’ll also walk through how our electrical contractor software, ServiceTitan, solves these challenges and more.

Electrical Panel Inspection Checklist

At the top is a section to document general information for the job, including the date, electrician's name, job location, and customer name.

Below, the checklist is categorized into the following sections:

General Inspection

• Ensure the panel is easily accessible.

• Verify the panel door opens and closes properly.

• Check for signs of damage (e.g. water damage, rust, corrosion, or other physical damage).

• Confirm proper labeling of all circuit breakers.

• Ensure the service panel is free of any obstructions.

Panel and Breakers

• Inspect the main breaker for proper function.

• Check that all circuit breakers are correctly installed.

• Look for signs of overheating or burn marks.

• Test each breaker to ensure it trips properly.

• Verify the amperage rating of breakers matches the wire sizes.

Electrical Wiring

• Inspect for loose connections or frayed wires.

• Check for proper grounding and bonding.

• Ensure no double-tapped breakers unless designed for it.

• Look for proper wire color coding.

• Verify no wires are in contact with sharp edges.

Grounding & Bonding

• Ensure the ground bus bar is properly connected.

• Check for a proper connection to the grounding electrode conductor.

• Verify the neutral bus bar is isolated from the ground bus bar (if required by local building codes).

• Inspect the grounding conductor for continuity.

Safety

• Ensure there are no open knockouts or missing panel covers.

• Check for proper arc fault circuit interrupter (AFCI) protection where required.

• Verify ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) protection where required.

• Inspect for the presence of any recalled or obsolete breakers (e.g., Federal Pacific, Zinsco).

• Confirm there are no signs of pest infestation in or around the panel.

Documentation and Labels

• Verify all circuits are labeled clearly and correctly.

• Ensure the panel schedule is accurate and up-to-date.

• Check for any necessary warning labels.

The final sections include fields for notes, observations, recommendations, and the technician’s signature. 

If followed, filling out this electrical panel checklist can help ensure techs are thorough during every inspection, reducing risks of electrical hazards for your customers. However, as we mentioned above, PDF or paper checklists have key limitations when it comes to:

• Ensuring these checklists are filled out on every job.

• Storing and organizing inspection data.

• Sharing key job information between field and office staff.

Below, we’ll discuss how electrical software like ServiceTitan can help contractors address these challenges.

Streamline Electrical Work Across Technicians: Safety Protocols, Inspection Checklists, Estimates & More

Ensure the Proper Forms & Checklists Are Completed for Every Job

ServiceTitan’s electrical software allows contractors to create customized forms and checklists — including checklists for electrical panel inspections.

Users can create checklists and add them to specific jobs, customers, locations, or equipment. All forms can be accessed on our desktop or mobile app — eliminating the need to keep stacks of paper checklists in your trucks or transfer job and customer data to a computer system. 

Because ServiceTitan saves all entered data on the cloud, retrieving forms and customer information is quick and straightforward.

Forms can be built from scratch. But our users also enjoy access to numerous pre-built templates — sourced from forms used by other electrical companies via TitanExchange. These, too, can be customized to a shop’s specific needs or preferences.  

Ensure Checklists Are Used Every Time

Within the form settings, business owners can select the option to require techs to fill out certain forms for certain jobs. 

Panel inspection checklists are a great use case for this. For example, suppose a tech is installing a new panelboard for a commercial account. In that case, they can be required to complete your electrical panel inspection checklist and a warranty form before marking the job as complete. 

This fosters accountability through automation, reducing stress on business owners and managers while ensuring standard operating procedures are followed in the field for every job. 

Customize & Adjust Checklists with Ease

Users can also add or subtract from checklists to perfectly match their needs and preferences. For example, any of the following electrical components could be added to a checklist to ensure that technicians make thorough assessments of an electrical system:

• Service entrance conductor

• Electrical meter

• Electrical panel

• Junction box

• Overcurrent devices/Circuit breakers

• Electrical wiring methods

• Branch circuits

• Bushings

• Main bonding jumper

• Receptacles

• GFCI outlets

• Connectors

• Light fixtures

• Light switches

• Smoke detectors

• Surge protectors

• Raceways

In addition, every form and checklist can be duplicated as many times as necessary, right from the job site.

Create & Present Estimates When Issues Are Discovered

For business owners, one of the benefits of having a consistent electrical inspection process is that it empowers electrical technicians to discover and capitalize on valuable sales opportunities.  

For example, when a tech finds an issue with electrical equipment during an inspection, ServiceTitan gives them the ability to build a custom Good Better Best proposal within our integrated pricebook. 

Using a tablet, techs can present proposals including product photos, equipment specs, and pricing to customers on the spot, as well as email them to clients for review and approval. This feature allows contractors to save time in delivering estimates to customers whose needs are often urgent. 

ServiceTitan also provides automated tracking and follow-up on outstanding estimates, enabling users to improve close rates and maximize their bottom line.

Easily Track, Access & Update Maintenance Agreements

Oftentimes, electrical inspection checklists are used in the context of electrical maintenance agreements. ServiceTitan's service agreements feature allows electrical businesses to efficiently document, manage, and track recurring services. 

Crucially, all of the records and specifications of these agreements are stored in one place, making them easy to search and reference.  

Details that ServiceTitan users store with this feature include the following:

• Membership type 

• Agreement period 

• Membership locations (single or multiple)

• Billing terms and schedule 

• Service frequency (e.g. quarterly, biannual, or annual maintenance plan)

• Revenue recognition (point of sale or deferred)

Since this information is archived in a central location, contractors do not need to sift through paper files or spreadsheets. The details are easy to edit and can be viewed from our desktop app by office staff or technicians in the field.  

Furthermore, membership tracking is seamlessly integrated with the software tools that our users rely on to schedule jobs, build proposals, send invoices, and collect payments. 

Leverage Automation to Schedule Maintenance Visits on Time

Once recurring service events are set up, they’re automatically added to your schedule based on the defined dates and frequency. This saves office staff significant time from having to manually track and add these jobs to the schedule while reducing the chances of missing maintenance visits.

Office staff can view upcoming recurring service events by date range, and initiate individual jobs by contacting the customer to coordinate a time and book the job. At that point, the job will be assigned to a technician and automatically viewable on their schedule and through the dispatch board.

You can also create follow-up notifications for cases where you’re unable to contact a customer, they aren’t ready to book a job, or they no longer want the service. These offer electrical contractors peace of mind and help to ensure that office staff follow up. 

If you’re scheduling a maintenance visit that’s not connected to a service agreement, our call booking workflow offers a suite of features that make this seamless, including:

• Providing CSRs with the names and customer histories of incoming callers.

• Guiding CSRs through an intuitive set of form fields and drop-down menus to ensure important information is captured on the first call.

• Allowing CSRs to efficiently schedule appointments from the same screen.

• Automatically adding scheduled jobs and job details to our easy-to-use dispatch board.

Efficiently Send Invoices and Get Paid Faster

Drawing on the equipment/materials, hourly rates, and other factors that go into an electrical quote, ServiceTitan automatically populates invoices so there’s no discrepancy between the estimate and the bill. 

Electrical contractors can send invoices by email — with a link to allow clients to pay online — or have them e-signed on-site with a mobile device.  

Collecting payments is similarly painless. Homeowners and commercial clients can pay through our customer portal, which allows them to save credit card information. Contractors are still free to take cash or checks, too. (As revenue flows in, our QuickBooks integration makes it easy to keep track of.)   

Finally, ServiceTitan can help electrical contractors overcome objections by providing near-instantaneous access to one of our financing partners. It takes just minutes on our mobile software for customers to apply and get approved, reducing cost obstacles that might otherwise reduce profitability.

Get a ServiceTitan Demo to See These Features in Action

Using best-in-class electrical software such as ServiceTitan empowers contractors to improve efficiency and grow their revenue.

In addition to optimizing electrical inspection protocols and maintenance tasks, our software offers additional features to facilitate other core business functions as well, including:

• Call booking

• Scheduling

• Dispatching

• Work orders

• Invoices

• Payments

• Real-time reports