Texas SB 1202, in effect since September 1, 2025, lets a qualified third party, such as a licensed master electrician, a licensed electrical inspector or a licensed engineer, do the plan review and inspection for a home generator or battery backup instead of the city. The city then has three business days to issue its approval, and the reviewer cannot be the homeowner or the installer.
Texas Senate Bill 1202 took effect September 1, 2025. It lets a qualified third party, such as a licensed master electrician, a licensed electrical inspector or a licensed engineer, do the plan review and inspection for a home backup power installation instead of the city. It covers generators, standby systems and energy storage serving one- and two-family homes at 600 volts or less. Once the city receives the approving notice, it has three business days to issue its approval. The reviewer cannot be the homeowner or the contractor doing the work, and in Mansfield separate city permits are still required for electric or gas service release.
What does SB 1202 actually say?
The bill adds Section 247.0025 to the Local Government Code (SB 1202, enrolled text). It defines a home backup power installation as "an electric generating facility, an energy storage facility, a standby system, and any associated infrastructure and equipment intended to provide electrical power to a one- or two-family dwelling" connected at 600 volts or less. A Cummins standby generator and its transfer switch fall inside that definition.
Under it, a qualified person may review the development documents without submitting them to the city for review, and may do the required inspection without requesting one from the city.
Who is allowed to do the review and inspection?
- A licensed master electrician (Occupations Code §1305.153)
- An electrical inspector as defined in Occupations Code §1305.002
- Anyone already authorized under the earlier third-party law, which includes a licensed engineer (HB 14, 88R, §247.002)
SB 1202 carries over the earlier law's conflict rules. The plan reviewer cannot be the applicant or "a person whose work is the subject of the application." The inspector cannot be the property owner or "a person whose work is the subject of the inspection." So the company installing your generator cannot sign off on its own work, even if it employs a master electrician. You can check any Texas electrician's license on TDLR's license search.
How does the timeline work under SB 1202?
| Step | Deadline or rule | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Third party submits notice approving the plans | Construction may begin | 247.0025(j) |
| Third party reports review or inspection results to the city | Within 15 days of finishing | 247.004(a)(2) |
| Third party sends copies of its documents, notes and reports | With that notice | 247.0025(h) |
| City issues the approval, permit or certificate | By the 3rd business day | 247.0025(i) |
The city also has obligations. It must post the laws, rules, standards and fee schedules a reviewer needs, or provide them within two business days of a request. If it hasn't posted or provided a fee schedule, it cannot charge a fee for the approval or permit. The amended Section 247.003 also bars a fee "related to the review of a development document or the inspection of an improvement" done by the third party.
What does SB 1202 cover, and what doesn't it?
Mansfield has published how it applies the law (City of Mansfield, SB 1202). The city lists generators and transfer switches, energy storage systems, and solar PV installed with energy storage as covered. It lists two exclusions:
- Electrical service or panel upgrades
- Feeders or branch circuits not directly associated with backup equipment
The bill itself also says it does not limit an electric utility's authority to implement its tariff, or a co-op's or municipal utility's authority to enforce its interconnection and service policies. If your generator job also needs a panel or service upgrade, that part goes through the normal permit process. Our Texas panel permit guide covers how that works.
How does Mansfield handle SB 1202 permits?
Mansfield states that it "does not perform plan review or inspections for permits processed under SB 1202," and that responsibility for code compliance "rests with the third-party reviewer/inspector and contractor of record." It also says separate city electrical and/or plumbing permits, with passing inspections, are still required for any electric or gas service release. Mansfield's Building Safety Department is at (817) 276-4220. Other DFW cities may handle SB 1202 differently, so ask your city's permit office before you plan around it.
Does SB 1202 make a generator install faster?
It can take the city's plan review and inspection scheduling off the critical path for the backup equipment. The law's deadlines apply to the city's approval, though, not to the whole job. Gas work, utility coordination, service release and any panel upgrade still follow their own process. How much time it saves depends on the city and the job, and the bill sets no figure for that. We don't either.
Liability shifts too. The city "is not liable for a review or inspection" done under this section, and the third party is liable for damages from negligent acts or omissions in the review or inspection.
What should I ask before choosing the SB 1202 route?
- Will this job go through the city or through SB 1202? Why?
- Who is the third-party reviewer and inspector, and what is their license number?
- Is that person independent of the company doing the installation?
- Does the job include any service or panel work that needs a normal permit?
- Who handles the gas permit and the service release inspection?
Sizing and price are separate questions. See our standby generator sizing guide and our whole-house generator cost guide. For which code edition your city inspects to, see NEC editions by DFW city.
Planning a Cummins standby generator?
We size it, pull the permits the job needs and coordinate the service release. 7 AM to 7 PM Monday through Friday. Licensed Texas Electrical Contractor TECL #40628.
SB 1202 questions
A Texas law, effective September 1, 2025, that lets a qualified third party do the plan review and inspection for a home backup power installation instead of the city. It covers generators, standby systems, energy storage and associated equipment serving one- and two-family homes at 600 volts or less. Qualified people include licensed master electricians, electrical inspectors and licensed engineers.
No. The law excludes the applicant and anyone whose work is the subject of the application from the plan review, and the property owner and anyone whose work is being inspected from the inspection. The reviewer and inspector must be independent of the company doing the installation.
Mansfield's SB 1202 page says no. It excludes electrical service or panel upgrades, and feeders or branch circuits not directly associated with the backup equipment. Mansfield also still requires city permits and passing inspections for any electric or gas service release. Check how your own city applies the law.
The city must issue the approval, permit or certification by the third business day after it receives the third party's notice approving the documents or inspection. The third party must send that notice within 15 days of finishing the review or inspection, with copies of its documents and reports.
Under the amended Local Government Code §247.003, a city may not charge a fee related to a review or inspection done by the third party. And if a city hasn't posted or provided its fee schedule as the law requires, it cannot charge a fee for issuing the approval or permit for a home backup power installation.
