Subcontractor

A subcontractor performs one trade on a project under the general contractor. In permitting terms, the important point is that the regulated trades are licensed separately, and the license holder for each trade is the party who pulls and is accountable for that trade's sub-permit.

The regulated trades

Electrical, plumbing, mechanical, roofing, and gas are separately licensed nearly everywhere. Others, including pools, fire sprinklers, alarms, and elevators, are regulated separately in many jurisdictions.

Why this shapes the permit

Because each trade pulls its own permit, each trade also has its own inspections and its own closeout. A project is only finished when every sub-permit has closed, and the practical failure mode is a subcontractor who finished the work, got paid, and never called for the final inspection.

What the general contractor needs from each sub

• A current license of the correct class for the jurisdiction
• A signed affidavit naming them on the permit
• Their own sub-permit pulled before their work starts
• Inspections called and passed as their work proceeds
• A closed permit before final payment is released