Oh, permits are required for LV wiring just about everywhere in the Washington, DC area. I just had to spend an entire day taking a course to receive "continuing education credits" just so I could renew my electrician's license in just one county! The course was on "safety when working with high voltages and arc faults". Like that has anything to do with low voltage wiring!

Anyway, that county requires a full electrical contractor's license to install low-voltage wiring (well, to obtain permits anyway). In DC, nobody is allowed to install low-voltage wiring except fully-licensed master electricians. They don't even have a "limited" license available.

Sounds to me like you actually got off light! Still, you should probably get used to it. It's a huge revenue generator for the towns, cities and counties. Ca$h is what it's all about.

Ed Vaughn, MBSWWYPBX