Article 100 of the NEC or National Electrical Code defines “AHJ” as:
“Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ). An organization, office, or individual responsible for enforcing the requirements of a code or standard, or for approving equipment, materials, an installation, or a procedure.”
The AHJ is typically a qualified level III electrical inspector from your local government’s building inspections department. Each individual county in North Carolina has several different inspectors who are granted authority within their respective jurisdiction.
The AHJ’s responsibility is to make sure the electrical system is installed to meet or surpass national and local electrical codes. This ensures the safety and quality of your project and protects both the customer and contractors involved.
To sum it all up, the AHJ makes the final call when it comes to how something is installed in the field. If they don’t like it, or don’t agree with the means or methods of installation… it will need to be corrected before they can approve final building inspections or TCO’s.
The AHJ’s word is law, even though sometimes they’re wrong. We always do our best to verify our installations with national and local codes to satisfy the AHJ’s requests.
At the end of the day, it is every electrician’s responsibility to ensure safe and quality electrical installations to protect all parties involved.
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