Dona Ana County staff demonstrate new online permits portal for electrical permits

Sean Mick, a Dona Ana County staff member, walked contractors through the county's new online permit portal and explained how to set up accounts, start electrical permit applications, submit documents and request inspections.

Mick said users will get initial emails from the county and a separate message to set their password, and he demonstrated how to search for past permits, start a new electrical permit, attach required documents and request inspections once a permit reaches issuance.

The demonstration focused on practical steps contractors will use. "You're gonna receive an email from permits@donnaanna.gov," Mick said, adding that a second message from sp.clarity@avaset.com will prompt users to set a password. He said the username is the email associated with the account and advised users to remember their password.

Mick showed the portal search bar as the primary tool for finding permits. He said the search can return permits by address, contractor name or permit number and that the system can display permits "all the way back till 02/2013." He cautioned that only permits started after a user creates an account will appear under "my permits," and older permits must be located via the search field.

On application steps, Mick demonstrated choosing an electrical permit type (commercial or residential), entering contact and contractor information, and supplying a license number, property address and, if available, parcel ID. He said the building permit number is required to proceed and that entering the last six digits may be sufficient.

Mick covered form details that mirror the paper permit, including selecting the service size and any additional work (for example, photovoltaic or alarm). He said applicants must select "submit documents" to upload a one-line diagram when required and noted that one-line diagrams are not needed for 400-amp service and below: "If it's 400 amp service and below, you're fine. Just simply skip this and go to next." He also warned applicants not to place sensitive information such as gate or access codes in comment fields because those entries are viewable by others.

On payments and timing, Mick said the county is "almost there" with online payments but is experiencing an issue with accounting codes that prevents payments from routing automatically to the correct department. He said permits submitted through the portal currently come to staff for processing and that it takes "about a day or 2 to process" before staff change the application status to pending payment. Mick added, "I'm short staffed right now," and said callers can contact the office if they miss a payment notice.

For inspections, Mick explained that once an application reaches issuance and inspections status, users can request inspections through the portal. He said the inspection entry will show the assigned inspector's name (he mentioned Riley, Joel or himself) and that applicants will receive an email when an inspection is completed. He noted inspection correction notices will appear in an inspection-notes area of the record.

Mick concluded by inviting users to contact the office for help and by summarizing that the portal will allow online searches, applications, document uploads and, once accounting-code issues are resolved, online payments.