What should I check before calling an electrician about a dead outlet?

Check three things first: is it one outlet or several, is a GFCI involved, and is the outlet warm or marked. Those answers tell an electrician more than anything else, and they cost nothing. Do not unscrew the cover plate or touch the wiring behind it.

Is it one outlet or several?

Plug a lamp you know works into the dead outlet, then into the other half of the same outlet and into the next outlets along the wall. Note which ones work. A single dead outlet points to that outlet, its connection or a GFCI it depends on. A whole wall or room dead points upstream, toward a breaker or a connection earlier on the circuit. Write down the rooms affected, because the electrician will ask.

Look for a GFCI

A GFCI outlet has a TEST and a RESET button between the sockets. It trips to stop the flow of electricity when it senses a ground fault, and it can be the reason other outlets are dead.^[2] Leviton describes the load wiring of a GFCI as delivering power from the GFCI to another receptacle in the circuit.^[2] So an outlet in a bathroom, garage, basement or outside may be dead because a GFCI somewhere else tripped. The CPSC recommends GFCIs in kitchens, bathrooms, and other areas where the risk of electric shock is higher.^[1]

Look for GFCIs in the kitchen, bathrooms, garage, basement, laundry and outdoors, and test each the way the maker intends. The Consumer Product Safety Commission's home electrical safety checklist tells owners to test every GFCI once a month according to the manufacturer's instructions.^[1] If there are no instructions, its procedure is to plug a light into the outlet and turn it on, press the test button, and see whether the light goes out.^[1] Then press the reset button and see whether the light comes back on.^[1] If the light does not go out, or does not come back on, the CPSC says to replace the GFCI.^[1]

If you press reset and the outlets come back, tell the electrician what tripped it and how often it happens. A GFCI that keeps tripping is a fault being reported, not a nuisance.

When a GFCI will not reset

Leviton's instruction sheet says a GFCI has a lockout feature that prevents reset if no power is being supplied to it, if the line and load connections are reversed, or if it cannot pass its internal test.^[2] That means a GFCI that will not reset may be worn out, miswired or cut off from power further back. Pressing the button over and over does not fix any of those. Leave it and call.

What the outlet is telling you

Look at the dead outlet and the ones near it, without touching the wiring.

• Warmth. The CPSC says unusually warm outlets or switches may indicate an unsafe wiring condition, such as a loose electrical connection, and to stop using them until an electrician checks the problem.^[1] Some dimmer switches may warm in normal use, it adds.^[1]
• Burn marks, melted plastic, buzzing or a burning smell. Treat these as urgent and stop using the outlet.
• Loose-fitting plugs. The CPSC says loose-fitting plugs can cause overheating and fires and that the outlet should be replaced.^[1]
• An outlet that works only when you wiggle the plug. The CPSC says outlets that do not work properly may indicate an unsafe wiring condition, and that a loose screw holding a wire or a worn out switch can lead to electrical arcing, overheating, or a fire.^[1]

What to tell the electrician

A short list saves diagnosis time: which outlets are dead, whether any GFCI tripped or will not reset, when it started, what was plugged in or running at the time, and whether anything felt warm or smelled. Photos of the outlet and the panel label help. If you know of recent work by others in that room, say so.

When to call a licensed pro

For anything past these checks. Virginia's building code lists replacement of 125 volt, 15 or 20 ampere receptacles in a single dwelling unit among the work that needs no permit,^[3] but the same section says that does not exempt the work from the code's other requirements. Repairing a fault in the wiring is a different job from swapping a worn receptacle.

The Code of Virginia says "no individual shall engage in, or offer to engage in, work as a tradesman as defined in § 54.1-1128 unless he has been licensed",^[4] and the Code defines a tradesman as someone who works for the general public for compensation in the trades of electrical, plumbing and heating, ventilation and air conditioning.^[5] Ask any electrician for their licence number and look it up before work starts, using how to check if a contractor is licensed in Virginia.

Next, read when to call an electrician for a dead outlet and what a dead outlet repair costs in Virginia. You can also browse electrical services or more electrical repair answers.

When you are ready, describe the dead outlet once and licensed local electricians quote it.