Building Permit: State-by-State Guide
Building Permit applies to property owners and contractors doing structural, electrical, plumbing, or mechanical work. Who issues it is the first thing that changes at the state line — sometimes a state agency, often a city or county. Each state page below names the office we verified for that state, or says plainly that we could not.
Typical cost (US range)
$50–$10,000
Typical timeline
3–90 days
Renewal
None; the permit covers the project, and typically lapses if work does not start.
Who issues this across the US
51 jurisdictions issue this locally.
What varies: what triggers a permit, review times, fee formula, and which inspections are required.
Choose your state
- Building Permit in Alabama · local
- Building Permit in Alaska · local
- Building Permit in Arizona · local
- Building Permit in Arkansas · local
- Building Permit in California · local
- Building Permit in Colorado · local
- Building Permit in Connecticut · local
- Building Permit in Delaware · local
- Building Permit in Florida · local
- Building Permit in Georgia · local
- Building Permit in Hawaii · local
- Building Permit in Idaho · local
- Building Permit in Illinois · local
- Building Permit in Indiana · local
- Building Permit in Iowa · local
- Building Permit in Kansas · local
- Building Permit in Kentucky · local
- Building Permit in Louisiana · local
- Building Permit in Maine · local
- Building Permit in Maryland · local
- Building Permit in Massachusetts · local
- Building Permit in Michigan · local
- Building Permit in Minnesota · local
- Building Permit in Mississippi · local
- Building Permit in Missouri · local
- Building Permit in Montana · local
- Building Permit in Nebraska · local
- Building Permit in Nevada · local
- Building Permit in New Hampshire · local
- Building Permit in New Jersey · local
- Building Permit in New Mexico · local
- Building Permit in New York · local
- Building Permit in North Carolina · local
- Building Permit in North Dakota · local
- Building Permit in Ohio · local
- Building Permit in Oklahoma · local
- Building Permit in Oregon · local
- Building Permit in Pennsylvania · local
- Building Permit in Rhode Island · local
- Building Permit in South Carolina · local
- Building Permit in South Dakota · local
- Building Permit in Tennessee · local
- Building Permit in Texas · local
- Building Permit in Utah · local
- Building Permit in Vermont · local
- Building Permit in Virginia · local
- Building Permit in Washington · local
- Building Permit in West Virginia · local
- Building Permit in Wisconsin · local
- Building Permit in Wyoming · local
- Building Permit in District of Columbia · local
Related filings
Most businesses that need a building permit end up needing at least one of these too.