Omaha building permits

Building department contacts

To look up permits already issued for an address (useful before you buy, or to check a contractor's work), use the city's official permit search: aca-prod.accela.com².

Gas appliance permits from the Metropolitan Utilities District

In Omaha, permits and inspections for gas appliances come from the Metropolitan Utilities District³, the gas utility, not from the city’s building department. Its gas rules say: These Rules and Regulations have the same legal force and effect as a City Ordinance and are binding upon the consumers as one of the conditions of their service.⁴

Equipment that needs a permit and inspection from the utility, in its own words:

• (a) All gas space heating, including combination water and space heaters known as combo-heaters, and gas cooling equipment, except unvented room heaters.⁴
• (b) Water heating equipment with an input rating in excess of 100,000 Btu/hour. Pool heaters with an input rating in excess of 400,000 Btu/hour or installed in an enclosed structure.⁴
• M.U.D. Gas Rules were amended in 2017 to require inspection of any pool heater that is located inside a structure regardless of the BTU input.⁵
• Natural gas-fired generators.⁴

Who applies

1. Applications. An application for a permit shall be submitted to the District by the installer for all equipment to be permitted and inspected.⁴

How long a permit lasts

1 year: 5. Term. Permits shall be valid for one year from the date of issuance.⁴

Moving equipment

6. Equipment Relocation. When equipment requiring a permit is relocated, the owner shall obtain a new permit for such installation, which shall be subject to all of the requirements of these Rules and Regulations.⁴

Requesting the inspection

7. Inspection. Upon completion of the installation of equipment requiring permits, the installer shall notify the property owner to notify the District to conduct an inspection of the installation and the equipment.⁴

Older furnaces

Residential furnaces older than five years old will not be inspected by M.U.D.⁵

Fuel gas code the rules list

ANSI Z223.1/NFPA 54, 2025 edition⁴

The utility’s inspection fees, effective June 1, 2026⁶

Electrical inspections in Omaha

Electrical work in Omaha is inspected by the city’s own program (the state electrical division lists “City of Omaha Inspects”⁷), not by the state. State law: State inspection shall not apply within the jurisdiction of any county, city, or village which provides by resolution or ordinance standards of electrical wiring and its installation that are not less than those prescribed by the board or by the State Electrical Act and which further provides by resolution or ordinance for the inspection of electrical installations within the limits of such subdivision by a certified electrical inspector.⁷ Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-2125(1)

Doing the work yourself (owner-builder)

Nebraska's statewide owner-builder and licensing rules are on the Nebraska permit guide.

Nebraska rules that also apply in Omaha

• Contractor licensing in Nebraska
• Selling a home with unpermitted work in Nebraska
• Private plan review and inspections in Nebraska