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General guidance
What a permit is, when work commonly needs one, and who usually sorts it out. Rules are set locally and vary — your city or county building department is the only authority on what applies to you.
The short version
A permit is written permission from a local authority — usually a city or county building department — to carry out a particular piece of work. It exists so that someone independent looks at the work against the standards that apply where you live. In most places the process runs in the same four steps.
An application goes to the local authority describing the work, usually with drawings or a specification where the job is substantial. There is normally a fee, and it is normally scaled to the size of the job.
The authority checks the proposal against the codes and rules in force locally. Small jobs are often approved over the counter or online; larger ones can take days or weeks, which is worth knowing before you plan a start date.
The permit is usually required to be on site or displayed. Some jobs are inspected part-way through, at the point where the work is about to be covered up — so the timing of that visit shapes the schedule.
A final inspection closes the permit out. An open permit left behind on a property has a habit of turning up years later, when the property is sold — which is the practical reason to care that it was closed.
Commonly, not always
These are the categories that come up most often, across most places. None of them is a rule: whether your particular job needs a permit depends entirely on where you are.
Structural work — anything that changes how a building holds itself up, including removing or altering walls
New electrical circuits, panels or service changes
New or relocated plumbing, drainage and gas lines
Heating, cooling and ventilation equipment that is replaced or newly installed
Roofing, siding and window replacement, in many places
Additions, conversions and anything that changes what a room is used for
Decks, porches, fences and retaining walls above a certain size or height
Demolition, and work affecting a shared wall or a neighbouring property
Signage, and any change to the outside of a building in a conservation or historic area
Work on a commercial premises, where a change of occupancy or use is involved
Read this part twice
Nothing on this page is a statement of the law where you live.
Permit rules are written and enforced by your local building department, and they differ from one town to the next — sometimes from one street to the next, where a historic district or a homeowners' association is involved. Before work starts, check with your city or county building department, or ask us to point you at the right office.
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.
Before you agree
Not of us especially — of anyone you are thinking of hiring. The answers tell you a great deal about how a job will run.
Does this job need a permit where I am?
If the answer is "probably not", ask what it is based on. "I'll check with the building department" is a better answer than a confident guess.
Who is applying for it, me or you?
Settle it before the work is booked, and get it written into the scope along with who pays the fee.
Is the permit fee inside the price or on top?
Fees vary by job and by authority, so they are often quoted separately. That is normal — being surprised by it is not.
How will I know it was closed out?
Ask for whatever the authority issues at final sign-off, and keep it with the invoice. It is the document a future buyer asks for.
Next step
Describe the work and we will tell you what we know, and where to check what we do not.
Grab a free call — we'll walk you through everything and answer your questions.
