NFPA 70E Energized Electrical Work Permit

Use this permit before any task that must be performed on or near energized electrical equipment. It is meant for work where de-energizing is not feasible, would create greater hazards, or would interrupt essential operations. If the job can be safely de-energized, this permit should not be used as a substitute for lockout/tagout.

This template fits energized troubleshooting, diagnostics, testing, voltage measurements, and other tasks that require exposure to live parts. It does not replace a general maintenance work order, an incident report, or a lockout/tagout procedure. If the task is routine and can be completed with the equipment isolated, document it under your normal safe-work process instead.

The requestor or supervisor usually starts the form, but a qualified worker and an authorized approver should review the hazards and controls before work begins. Many organizations also require safety review for higher-risk jobs or unusual conditions. The key is that the person approving the permit has enough authority and technical knowledge to confirm the work is justified.

Create a new permit for each energized job, each work order, or each distinct task window, depending on your site policy. If the equipment, location, scope, or hazard profile changes, the permit should be updated or reissued. A permit should not be reused across unrelated jobs just because the equipment type is similar.

The justification, voltage level, hazard assessment, incident energy, shock boundary, PPE, and authorization fields are the most critical. Those entries show why the work must be energized and what controls are in place to reduce risk. Missing or vague entries in those sections are a common reason permits fail review.

It creates a dated record of the justification, risk assessment, PPE, briefing, and approvals tied to a specific job. That audit trail helps demonstrate that energized work was reviewed before execution and that workers acknowledged the controls. It also makes it easier to show consistent process use during internal safety reviews.

Yes. You can add facility-specific approval steps, equipment categories, or control checklists without changing the core permit structure. Many teams also add conditional logic for voltage ranges, arc flash boundaries, or site-specific PPE rules so the form stays short when fewer fields apply.

Common mistakes include leaving the deenergization reason too vague, skipping the risk assessment, selecting PPE without matching it to the hazard, and forgetting the worker acknowledgment. Another frequent issue is over-collecting fields that are not needed, which makes the form harder to complete and review. The permit should stay focused on the minimum information needed to authorize the job safely.

An ad hoc email or verbal approval leaves gaps in justification, hazard review, and accountability. This template standardizes the record so the same questions are asked every time and the same approvals are captured. That consistency is especially useful when multiple supervisors, contractors, or shifts are involved.