How to Get a Building Permit: Steps, Timing, Pitfalls

Summaries of the process from Santa Clara and San Francisco follow this same order: zoning first, then drawings, then application.

The model code starts from the opposite assumption. Local adoptions of IBC Section 105.1 say an owner or authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair or move a building must first apply to the building official and obtain the required permit. Section 105.2 then lists work that is exempt. Those lists are short and they change from place to place. A shed exemption, for example, is set at 120 square feet in one county's amendment to 105.2, and other jurisdictions use different figures.

Two points matter more than the list:

• Exempt does not mean unregulated. The code says exemptions do not authorize work done in violation of the code or other local laws.
• Different work, different permit. A deck needs a building permit, electrical work needs an electrical permit and plumbing changes need a plumbing permit, according to a typical city summary. One project can mean several permits.

If you are unsure, call the information line. A two-minute answer beats paying for drawings you did not need. For common small projects, see our guides on sheds and decks.

A building permit is not a zoning approval. Setbacks, lot coverage, height limits and use restrictions apply separately, and some projects need land-use review before the building department will accept an application. A conditional use, for example, is decided by planning, not by plan check. Our conditional use permit guide covers that path. If your project is in the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles permit page is a starting point.

Do this before you pay a designer. Zoning is where an otherwise sound project most often dies.

The application itself is a written form furnished by the jurisdiction. A study-guide summary of IBC 105.3 says it asks for a description of the work, property identification, occupancy group and valuation. That is a secondary source, so confirm against your adopted edition.

Behind the form sits the package that plan reviewers actually read:

1. A site plan. Waterford, CA, for example, asks for a scaled plot plan showing dimensions, setbacks from property lines and other buildings, and a north arrow. Our site plan guide goes through what to draw.
2. Construction drawings. Floor plans, elevations, sections and details at the scale your checklist specifies, plus structural drawings or engineering when required.
3. Supporting documents. Energy compliance forms where they apply, a statement of special inspections for projects that need one, and any reports the checklist calls for.
4. Applicant details. Many cities ask for contractor license number and proof of insurance or workers' compensation. Lemon Grove, CA lists a state license number, a city business license and a current workers' compensation certificate.

Set counts and formats vary. Shelby County, TN asks for four sets of construction documents, while Lompoc, CA requires digital sets unless the building official grants a waiver. Duvall, WA states that applications missing items on its commercial checklist will not be accepted. Treat the checklist as pass/fail.

Who is allowed to apply

Most jurisdictions limit applicants to the owner or a licensed contractor. Woodland, CA says only the owner or a licensed contractor may take out building permits. Butte County, CA allows authorized agents, but the owner-builder acknowledgment can only be given to the property owner. Lawndale, CA adds a residency condition for owner applicants: the job site must be their principal residence, occupied for at least twelve months before work is completed.

An owner-builder is generally treated as the responsible party for code compliance. Read the acknowledgment before you sign it.

Most cities now take applications through an online portal, though counter and mail options often remain. You pay a plan review fee at submittal and a permit fee at issuance in many places. For how fees are calculated, see how much a building permit costs.

Plan review is where timelines diverge. Published city targets show the pattern:

These are targets from two California cities, not national averages. Chicago's published target for its standard program is much longer at 53 days, per a city data listing found in search. Some departments sell faster tracks. Atascadero lists an express tier of 7 to 10 days for first review.

Rechecks are the real schedule risk. Each round of comments adds weeks, so a complete first submittal is worth more than a fast one. When the comments arrive, respond to every item in order, with a sheet reference for each.

Once the plans meet the requirements, the department issues the permit with stamped drawings and a list of required inspections. Keep the approved set on site. Inspectors check the work against it, not against your latest revision.

The permit also starts an expiration clock. The model text of IBC 105.5 makes a permit invalid if work does not start within 180 days of issuance, or if work is suspended or abandoned for 180 days after it starts, as reproduced in Boise's adopted code. Baldwin County, AL describes each passed inspection as resetting the expiration date and starting a new 180-day period. Local amendments change these numbers. Our guide to how long a building permit is good for covers extensions.

Inspections happen at the stages listed on the permit. You or your contractor schedule each one, usually before covering the work: footings before concrete, framing before insulation, and so on. A failed inspection has to be corrected and rescheduled, which can add days or weeks to the timeline.

Keep a simple log of each inspection: date, result, inspector comments and the correction you made. That log is what you will reach for if a later inspector questions something already approved.

The final inspection comes after all work authorized by the permit is complete. San Leandro's copy of the code states that the final inspection is made after all work required by the building permit is completed.

What you receive depends on the project. For new buildings and changes of use, a certificate of occupancy is the gate: Clark County, NV states a building shall not be used or occupied until the certificate has been issued. For remodels where occupancy does not change, some cities issue a certificate of completion instead. Miami describes a certificate of occupancy as for new construction or change of use, while a certificate of completion covers remodels and renovations. Not every jurisdiction uses those names.

An open permit that never gets a final is a liability. It can surface when you sell or refinance, so close every permit.

• Incomplete submittal. Intake rejects it before a reviewer sees it.
• Missing site plan details. Setbacks and dimensions are checked against zoning.
• Wrong permit type. Electrical or plumbing scope left out of the original application.
• Slow responses. A correction letter sitting for weeks lets the application lapse. Some local codes deem an application abandoned 180 days after filing unless it is pursued in good faith, and some cities use 90 days.
• No record of what changed. Reviewers' comments and your responses live in email threads and PDFs.

If you are juggling several permits at once, tracking each submittal date, review round and expiration date in one place beats rebuilding the picture from email. Olumba's permit tracking does that job, and nothing in this guide requires it.