Paperwork
What a permit is, the kinds of work that usually need one, and who normally pulls it. General ground only — the rules for your address are a local question.
The short version
Permission first: somebody with authority agrees the work can be done the way it has been described. The check comes later, when an inspector looks at what was actually built and either signs it off or lists what has to change.
It is paperwork, and it is also the only record that the work met a standard. That record is what a buyer's solicitor asks for, and what an insurer looks for after something goes wrong.
Usually, not always
Six broad families. None of them is a rule, and every one of them has exceptions where you live.
Confirm it locally, every time
Permitting is set by the authority with jurisdiction over your address, and it changes. Nothing on this page is a statement about the rules where you are. Ask the authority, or ask us and we will tell you what we know.
Who does what
Either the property owner or the contractor can usually apply, and which of the two it is should be settled in writing before the job starts rather than assumed. It is a fair question to ask of anybody quoting for work, and the answer belongs in the scope.
They are generally the one the authority holds responsible for the work that the permit covers.
The owner generally takes that responsibility on themselves, for the work and for closing it out.
What an inspection is
At arranged points in the job, not at random. Access has to be available, so somebody usually needs to be there.
Against the codes in force locally, and against what the permit said would be done. Work that has been covered over may have to be opened up.
A failed inspection is normally a list of corrections and a return visit rather than a disaster. The permit closes once the last one passes.
Tell us what you are planning and we will say plainly whether it is the kind of work that usually needs permission.
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