Know what a panel replacement changes. Find out how far a heavy-up reaches beyond the breaker box. Compare the work, utility arrangements and planned outage before you sign.
Establish what the new panel will solve
A panel replacement changes the equipment that distributes power to your circuits. A service heavy-up increases the power your home can draw. Check which result you are buying. More breaker spaces alone do not mean your service can carry more load.
Ask your electrician to calculate the demand from the equipment you intend to use. Ask how the proposed service meets that demand. Include any appliances you plan to add. If the quote promises room for future equipment, ask what equipment the electrician has allowed for.
Fairfax's electrical review form checks the service conductors, main disconnect and breaker sizes separately. It also checks grounding and the wires feeding other panels. Replacing the visible box may still leave other work to do. Ask which parts can stay. Ask which must change to support the proposed capacity.
If your panel has failed, ask for the repair to be listed separately in the quote. Keep any optional increase in capacity separate too. You need to see what restores your existing service. You also need to see what buys extra capacity.
Source: Fairfax County Land Development Services (LDS), Electrical Plan Review Record, updated July 2024; no separate effective date stated. Gathered 2026-09-23.
Settle the utility scope before ordering equipment
Fairfax County lists both Dominion Energy and NOVEC as local electricity providers. Use the provider on your bill. A Dominion requirement is not automatically a NOVEC requirement.
If you use Dominion, its Blue Book says to request a service upgrade well in advance. Tell Dominion before you make a substantial change in connected load. Wait for the company to acknowledge it. Consult Dominion before changing existing equipment. Get approval before buying equipment you will own that houses utility equipment.
Ask your electrician whether the job changes the meter enclosure, service entrance or utility connection. Dominion requires written voltage and available-fault-current information before you buy equipment. This helps your electrician choose equipment with suitable ratings. Only people Dominion authorises can connect to its equipment.
A heavy-up can also reveal problems outside the panel. Dominion reserves the right to correct service discrepancies during an upgrade. If you move the service, it must meet Dominion's standards. Ask for any unsettled utility requirements to be named in the quote. Do not assume the existing outdoor arrangement can stay.
Source: Fairfax County Emergency Management, Power Outage/Blackout, undated, no effective date stated; Dominion Energy, Information and Requirements for Electric Service—Blue Book, March 2024 edition, no separate effective date stated. Gathered 2026-09-23.
Check whether the service size changes the paperwork
You can find Fairfax's residential electrical permit process on the county electrician page. For a heavy-up, check whether your proposed service size means you need drawings.
Fairfax's residential electrical guide requires plans for a service rated 600 amps or more. Those plans must include a service riser diagram showing how the service connects. It must show conduit or trough sizes, wire sizes, breaker or fuse sizes, and grounding details. You need a drawing of the electrical path, not just a picture of the new panel.
The guide's wording overlaps at 800 amps. It allows a Virginia master electrician or Class A electrical contractor to design services at or below that rating. It also requires a Virginia registered design professional to sign and seal plans for services at or above that rating. If your proposal reaches that boundary, check with LDS who must prepare and seal the plans. Settle that before you agree to a design fee or start date.
These thresholds tell you when the guide requires service plans. A smaller panel job may still need a permit or other documents, depending on the work.
Source: Fairfax County LDS, Electrical (ELER)—Residential, undated guidance, no effective date stated. Gathered 2026-09-23.
Compare the whole job, not just the panel price
We could not verify a Fairfax-specific installed price for a panel replacement or service heavy-up in the primary sources we reviewed. We have no supported local price range to offer in place of a quote for your house.
The county fee schedule is covered on the county electrician page. It is only part of your quote. Keep the assessed permit charge separate from labour, equipment and any utility charge. A published county fee cannot tell you what your electrician will charge to move a panel. Nor can it tell you the cost of repairing the wall afterwards.
To compare quotes, ask each bidder:
- Which panel and breakers will you supply?
- Which existing circuits will you reconnect?
- What meter, service-wire, grounding or panel-location work is included?
- Who pays utility charges?
- Who pays any extra inspection charges?
- Who opens the walls, if needed?
- Who repairs them?
- Who replaces exterior finishes, if needed?
- Who restores disturbed ground, if needed?
If some work is still uncertain, ask what the price assumes. Ask how the contractor will price extra work. A cheaper quote may leave those items out of its total. Do not compare totals until you know what work is included.
Source: Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Appendix Q—Land Development Services Fee Schedule, effective 2026-07-01. Gathered 2026-09-23. No county-specific installed-price figure verified; quote questions are homeowner guidance.
Plan for the outage and the inspection separately
If the utility must disconnect your service, ask who arranges that. Ask who requests the county inspection. Ask who confirms the utility can reconnect. Put those responsibilities beside the electrician's work date. Booking the panel replacement does not, by itself, tell you when power will return.
Fairfax emails the applicant and onsite contacts on the morning of the inspection. The email gives a two-hour arrival window. It also gives the inspector's name and contact details. Those contacts receive the results afterwards. Make sure whoever coordinates your outage will receive those messages.
You can also request an after-hours electrical inspection through the issued permit record. County staff assess the fee. They assign an inspector too. Confirm that arrangement. Do not count on it automatically if the day's work runs late. The inspector also decides whether to allow a remote inspection.
We could not verify a fixed Fairfax heavy-up outage duration or a guaranteed same-day reconnect. Ask what happens if the work fails inspection or the utility cannot return as expected. Ask who fixes the problem. Ask who keeps you updated.
Source: Fairfax County LDS, Building and Trade Inspections, undated guidance, no effective date stated. Gathered 2026-09-23.
Put the unresolved items in the contract
Before you sign, put the remaining questions into written terms. Virginia's contractor rules require a signed written contract for covered residential work. You must have it before work starts or the contractor accepts payment. It must say when work begins. It must give an expected finish date. It must explain how the price works. Payment dates must be included too.
Ask for the contract to spell out the panel and service work. Ask it to name the promised materials. Get the work left out listed too. If the utility has not settled its part, ask for the contract to explain how that affects your price. Get any effect on the schedule written down too. Do not leave “utility work included” unexplained.
The state rules also require a contract clause covering delays outside the contractor's control. Read it alongside your proposed outage plan. Settle who will keep you informed if the utility date changes.
The required contract terms say changes to cost, materials, work or the estimated finish date must be written down. All parties must sign them. If opening the old panel reveals extra work, ask for that written change. Get it before you agree to the added work and price.
Source: Virginia Board for Contractors, 18VAC50-22-260, Filing of charges; prohibited acts, latest amendment effective 2025-09-01. Gathered 2026-09-23.