Building permits by project

Which home projects need a permit depends on your city or county. Start with the project.

Pick a project to see when it needs a permit, what the model code exempts, the rule in each major city we cover and what cities charge. Every rule is quoted from the official source.

How to read a project page

The answer comes first: whether the cities we cover require a permit, exempt small work below a limit, or list the work as exempt.
Each limit (height, floor area, depth or project value) is shown next to the sentence it comes from, because the conditions in that sentence are part of the rule.
Building permits and zoning are separate. Work exempt from a building permit can still need zoning approval, and still has to meet the code.
Fees are quoted from each city’s fee schedule. Most are formulas based on project value, so we show the formula, not an invented total.
Model-code wording (the International Residential Code) shows how many cities start; it is the rule only where adopted.

For a single city, the permit checker gives the answer in one step. For the process itself, read how to get a building permit.

How to read a project page

Permit types