One pole out, then another a month later
A run of fittings of the same age reaching end of life together. This is where a retrofit across the whole lot beats replacing them one at a time with a truck charge each.
Electrical & Lighting26,236 businesses licensed for it
Parking lot and exterior lighting
Exterior lighting is a security and liability item before it is an amenity: a dark lot is where slips, break-ins and insurance arguments happen. Work covers pole and wall-pack fittings, photocells and time clocks, underground feeds that have failed, damaged pole bases after a vehicle strike, and retrofits from metal halide to LED. Bucket truck access is what makes this different from indoor lighting, so it is worth doing every pole in one visit.
Enter your ZIP to see the businesses listed for this trade nearest to your site, with their phone numbers.
- Free to searchno account, nothing to submit
- Public registersevery listing names its source
- License numberswhere the state publishes one
- Directyou call the business yourself
- Our estimate
- $300-$8,000
- Time on site
- 2-16 hrs
- Fault patterns covered
- 2
- Licensed for this trade itself
- 26,236
What parking lot and exterior lighting costs
Most of these jobs land near $780. The full spread runs $300 to $8,000, and the gap between those two ends is diagnosis against replacement rather than one business being dearer than another.
What moves it: how much of the job is parts, whether the fault is found in the first hour or the third, access to the equipment, and the hour of the day you call. We never speak to the businesses listed here, so there is no rate card behind any of this. It is our own band for the category, and there is no regional index: the figure does not change with your metro.
| How soon you need it | Typical | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled visitBooked in advance, no urgency multiplier applied | $780 | $300 to $8,000 |
| Same dayOur band multiplied by 1.12 | $875 | $335 to $8,960 |
| Emergency calloutOur band multiplied by 1.35 | $1,055 | $405 to $10,800 |
Our estimate from national cost bands, not a quote from any business. Every row is the same band with the urgency multiplier the site applies everywhere else, so this table can never contradict the headline number. Ask for a written price before the work starts.
Who is licensed to do this work
In California the classification that squarely covers this is C-10 electrical, and the register says who holds it. Every listing on this site shows the classification, the license number and the date we read it, with a link back to the register entry so you can check it against the state rather than against us.
Overlapping classifications exist and are labeled as overlapping rather than as a match: D-31 pole installation and maintenance. A general building contractor may hold the job and subcontract the trade, which is a real answer and a different one, so the card says which of the two you are looking at.
One thing worth being plain about: CSLB classifications do not distinguish commercial work from residential. There is no separate commercial license to hold and no register field that would prove one. That is why this page describes the equipment rather than the contractor, and why nothing here says a business has been checked out. We read a public record on a stated date. That is the whole claim.
Before you pay for a callout
Two minutes of checks that sometimes end the problem
We would rather you did not need a callout at all. These are the checks that end the most calls for this fault.
Try a quick fix first
Some issues resolve without a truck roll. Two minutes now can save the callout.
- 1
Note whether the lights are out at night or on during the day. Both point at the photocell or the time clock rather than the fittings, and that is the cheap fix.
- 2
Count the dark poles before you call. The bucket truck is most of the cost, so doing them all in one visit changes the price per pole substantially.
- 3
If a pole has been hit, treat the base as unsafe and cone it off. A leaning pole with a cracked base is a genuine hazard and there is a live feed at the bottom of it.
- 4
Check whether the lot is yours. In a shared plaza the lighting is frequently common area, which makes it the landlord's bill.
What the visit actually includes
- Fitting, lamp or driver replacement at height
- Photocell and time clock testing and replacement
- Underground feed testing where a whole run has failed
- Pole and base inspection
- Light level check across the lot after the work
Diagnosis
How lot lighting faults usually present
Written from how these faults actually present on a working premises, not from a manual.
Whole run dead after heavy rain
Water in a base or a junction on the underground feed. Common in older lots, and it needs the feed tested rather than the fittings replaced.
Listed for this trade
Businesses listed for lot lighting
Read from public license registers, so there is no ranking here and no distance: this page has no location to measure from. Enter your ZIP to sort by who is nearest to your site.
By location
Parking lot and exterior lighting near you
Local pages show which businesses are listed for that metro, how far out they sit, and the local conditions that drive demand.
Counted from the businesses we have imported for each metro center inside a 25 mile radius, and counting only those whose own license classification names this trade. General contractors licensed widely enough to take it on and subcontract it are excluded here, and still appear in a search. A metro reads “none yet” until we load a register that covers this trade there.
All coverage areasQuestions owners ask
Lot lighting FAQs
Short, specific answers. If yours is not here, ask the business you call before you agree to the visit.
How much light does a parking lot need?
Your city usually sets a minimum for commercial parking, and your insurer may have a view too. If lighting came up after an incident, ask for measured light levels rather than an opinion.
Is LED worth it out here?
This is the strongest case for it, because the labor to reach a pole head dwarfs the parts. Longer life means fewer truck visits, and that is where the money actually is.
What license is needed?
C-10 electrical in California, and pole work also touches D-31 pole installation and maintenance. Both are shown on the listings here where a business holds them.
Related work
Often booked in the same visit
Batching jobs into one mobilization is the cheapest way to buy this kind of work.
Power lossPart of the premises dead, breakers that will not stay in, and no power at all.from $200PanelFailed breakers, hot panels, no spare ways and service upgrades for new equipment.from $280LightingDead fittings, flickering tubes, failed drivers, emergency lights and LED retrofits.from $160OutletsDead sockets, tripping GFCIs, scorched outlets and circuits for new equipment.from $160
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Ready when you are
Need lot lighting sorted?
Search your ZIP to see the businesses listed for this trade nearest to your site, with the license numbers and phone numbers we hold, then call them yourself.
- Cost to search
- Free
- Account needed
- None
- Who you call
- The business