The Short Answer
Four permits are always required. The rest depend on your lot.
Every new house needs a building permit plus electrical, plumbing, and mechanical trade permits. Beyond those, your lot decides the rest: septic and well permits if utilities aren't at the street, driveway and grading permits for site work, and special reviews for flood zones, coastal lots, seismic regions, or HOA communities. The most expensive mistake isn't a fee — it's discovering a required permit mid-build.
Core Permits — Required on Every Build
These four apply to essentially every new single-family home in the US.
Documents needed: Complete plan set (floor plans, elevations, sections), site plan, energy compliance forms, contractor license info
Documents needed: Electrical plan or panel schedule, licensed electrician info
Documents needed: Plumbing riser diagram or fixture count, licensed plumber info
Documents needed: Equipment specs, duct layout, Manual J load calculation (increasingly required)
Site Permits — Depends on Your Lot
Walk this list against your specific lot. Rural lots typically hit 3–4 of these; suburban infill lots 1–2.
Buying land soon? Run this list before closing — see what to know before buying land to build and what happens if the lot fails a perc test.
Special-Condition Reviews
The Right Order — 7 Steps
Permits fail on sequence more than paperwork. This is the order that avoids re-submittals.
Verify the lot is zoned for a single-family home and your footprint fits inside setback lines before paying for full plans. A quick call to the planning department is free.
Perc test (if septic), soil test (if required), survey. These gate everything and take weeks to schedule.
If applicable — the building department often requires proof of it, and it runs 3–6 weeks on its own clock.
Full plan set + site plan + energy forms. Ask the counter what their current review time is and whether they offer expedited review.
Licensed electricians, plumbers, and HVAC contractors pull trade permits under their license. If a contractor asks YOU to pull their trade permit, that is a red flag — it usually means they are unlicensed.
Footing → foundation → framing → rough-in (electrical/plumbing/HVAC) → insulation → drywall → final. A failed inspection can idle the site for 1–2 weeks; build slack into the schedule.
An open permit surfaces at resale and can hold up closing years later. Get the certificate of occupancy AND confirm each trade permit shows "final" status.
Know your number before you apply
What will permits cost in your county?
Base fees, impact fees, and special-condition flags for your specific county and build — instant PDF.
Frequently Asked Questions
What permits do I need to build a house?
Every new house needs a building permit plus three trade permits: electrical, plumbing, and mechanical/HVAC. Depending on the lot you may also need site permits — septic, well, driveway access, grading, stormwater, or tree removal — and special-condition permits such as flood zone, coastal, or HOA architectural approval. Total permit costs typically run $2,500–$25,000+ depending on county impact fees.
How much do building permits cost for new construction?
Base building permit fees run $1,000–$6,000 in most US counties, but impact fees are the real variable: they range from under $2,000 in low-fee states like Indiana to $50,000+ in high-fee California and Washington markets. The all-in permit total for a new single-family home is typically $2,500–$25,000 depending on jurisdiction.
Who pulls the permits — me or my contractor?
The general contractor typically pulls the building permit under their license, and each licensed trade (electrician, plumber, HVAC) pulls its own trade permit. Owner-builders can pull permits themselves in most states but then carry legal responsibility for code compliance. If a contractor asks a homeowner to pull permits for them, it usually means the contractor is not licensed — treat it as a red flag.
How long does the permit process take?
Building permit review takes 2–12 weeks depending on the jurisdiction — 1–3 weeks in fast rural counties, 6–12 weeks in busy metro areas. HOA/ARC review (where required) adds 3–6 weeks before you can even apply. Trade permits are usually issued in days. Budget 2–3 months from application to breaking ground in most suburban markets.
What happens if I build without a permit?
Building without a required permit risks stop-work orders, fines (commonly $500–$5,000, and per-day in some cities), forced demolition of non-compliant work, denied insurance claims, and serious problems at resale — unpermitted work must typically be disclosed and often retroactively permitted at 2–4x the original cost.
Kerem is a construction cost analyst and architectural graduate with a degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology. He has spent over a decade analyzing residential and commercial build costs across all 50 U.S. states, and leads the cost methodology team at Equin Global LLC — the company behind CostToBuildHouse.com.
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