Do I need a plumbing permit in Arlington, VA? The like-for-like rule, gas, and timing

Arlington's rule, and the state code behind it

The County's Plumbing / Gas Permit page (read 23 October 2026) sets the line, and points to Section 108.2 of the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code for the rest (13VAC5-63-80):

The County does not address an electric water heater swap on its own; it says to ask the Inspection Services Division on 703-228-3800 when in doubt. Bathroom remodels that move fixtures go with the building permit: the County's residential permits page asks for fixture layouts on the architectural plans and warns that more than three bathrooms may require a 1-inch water service.

Who can pull it

Virginia's code lets "the owner or lessee of the relevant property or the agent of either", or the contractor, apply (USBC 108.3). Arlington's Permit Arlington Roles page says the contractor "Must meet specific licensing criteria (specialty / class)", that the County "strongly suggest[s] that the Contractor is identified on the permit application as the Permit Holder", and that "a notarized affidavit is required" when it is not (read 22 October 2026). The plumbing page adds that a Permit Authorization Affidavit may be required depending on who holds and who applies.

A plumbing contractor in Virginia holds a DPOR license with a plumbing specialty, and its class caps the job size: Class C up to $30,000 a job, Class B to $150,000 (Code of Virginia 54.1-1100). Check it on DPOR's License Lookup; the steps are in Arlington, VA contractor license lookup.

How the County processes it

From the County page:

1. Apply online in Permit Arlington. If a building permit exists, plumbing plans go under it instead.
2. Completeness check within 2 business days.
3. Review, up to 2 business days for residential work. A fixture count may be required, and DES may validate drainage fixture units.
4. Final processing within 2 business days: contractor verification and fee calculation. Pay in Permit Arlington Online Payment.
5. Post the permit and placard, then schedule inspections. The person on site must call the assigned inspector the morning of the inspection, "or the inspection is cancelled", and the approved plans must be on site.

Fuel-burning appliances need a completed Chimney Vent Certification form, and a backflow device needs a final cross-connection inspection, which cannot be booked until a cross-connection application is in.

What it costs

Arlington publishes separate fee schedules for Inspection Services, Zoning and DES, and "Some permits involve fees from more than one schedule"; the fee is calculated in final processing. We could not read a current residential plumbing fee table on the County's site, so the invoice is the figure to plan on. The usual filed job value on an Arlington plumbing permit was $3,000.

What 6,454 Arlington plumbing permits show

Arlington plumbing is licensed and mostly finished: 93.1% of firms matched a current DPOR license, and 83.3% of permits a year or more old were finaled. The spread between firms is what to look at: the 10th-percentile firm with 10 or more permits finaled 60.9%, and 19 of 106 firms were under 70%. Filing is fairly even through the year. Prices by job size: Arlington plumbing cost. Year-by-year counts: Arlington permit statistics.

See every Arlington plumber by permits finaled →

Check it after the job

Search your address in Permit Arlington's Look Up Property Information, or switch to "Look Up by Licensed Professional" to see the plumber's other jobs (Arlington building permit search). The full hiring checklist is in hiring a plumber in Arlington, VA; compare firms on the Arlington plumber list. Other cities' rules: do I need a permit for plumbing repairs and water heaters.

What this does not tell you

We leave out owner-pulled permits, so a homeowner's own plumbing job is not in these counts. Arlington's feed repeats permits, and we keep one row per permit number. A final means the County's inspector passed the work, not what it cost.