Deck vs patio: the permit line, and what deck permits cost in 9 cities

The decision table

The permit line, in the code's words

The model code for houses is the International Residential Code (IRC). Its list of work exempt from permit, R105.2, includes as item 10 in the 2021 edition:

"Decks not exceeding 200 square feet in area, that are not more than 30 inches above grade at any point, are not attached to a dwelling and do not serve the exit door required by Section R311.4."

That wording is as reprinted by Island County, Washington, on its 2021 IRC work-exempt handout; we could not load the ICC's own page. Read it as four tests, all of which have to pass. A 150 sq ft deck bolted to the house fails. A freestanding 12 × 20 platform (240 sq ft) a foot off the lawn fails. A low deck that serves as the landing outside your back door fails. Our reading of "30 inches at any point": the highest point on sloping ground, not the average. Cities word it their own way: the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department exempts detached decks of 200 sq ft or less "not more than 30 inches (762 mm) above grade at any point within 36 inches (914 mm) of the deck perimeter" that "do not serve the required egress door".

What each city says

Each city's own page, read 20 October 2026. Where we could not load it, the row says where to ask.

Bellevue, Bend and San Francisco use a 30-inch line with no size test; Citrus Heights adds the attachment test, so an attached deck needs a permit at any height; Colorado Springs uses the code's four tests in its own wording. Nashville, Greensboro and Somerville publish no small-deck exemption at all.

Deck vs patio in Nashville

In Nashville any new deck needs a Metro Codes permit, and so does replacing more than 100 sq ft of deck boards or any footing or framing; tearing a deck down without replacing it needs none. If the home is owned by an LLC or trust, the owner can pull a self-permit only for work under $25,000 (Metro Nashville Codes, "Add a deck", read 21 October 2026). Metro publishes no separate patio rules on that page, so ask the Zoning Help Desk about a patio. The usual Nashville deck permit was filed at $16,229 (773 permits from 305 firms, September 2023 to September 2026; middle half of firms' usual jobs $12,075 to $25,818). We hold no Nashville patio values, because patios leave no permit to count. Compare deck builders on the Nashville deck list.

Deck vs patio in Citrus Heights

Citrus Heights draws the line in two places: a deck needs a permit if it is more than 30 inches off the ground or attached to the house at any height, and any patio cover needs one, while an open patio on the ground does not (City of Citrus Heights, "Permit Requirements & Exemptions", read 21 October 2026). The City files patio covers, decks and accessory structures in one category, so our numbers cover them together: 155 permits from 60 firms, October 2023 to September 2026, usual filed value $8,690, middle half of firms $8,000 to $12,458. 93.7% of those a year or more old reached final, usually 90 days after issue, and 76.7% of the firms matched an active CSLB license. The Citrus Heights patio and deck list shows each firm.

Other California files that combine patio covers and decks

These sit outside the nine-city deck table below because the categories mix covers, decks and sheds (or, in Marin, stairs), so they are not a deck price. Marin's usual $50,000 is several times Citrus Heights' $8,690; Marin's category is decks and stairs only, with no patio covers to pull the middle down, and its usual permit took 335 days to final. We read only Citrus Heights' permit rules for this page; for the others, ask the county or city building counter.

What deck permits cost, city by city

"Usual filed value" is the middle declared value on the permit. "Firm spread" is the middle half of firms' own usual value (firms with 3+ permits). "Days to final" is the usual time from issue to final inspection, with open permits counted as unfinished. A dash means the city's file does not record that field. The category covers slightly different work in each city, shown in the second column.

What the table says:

• Colorado Springs: many permits, low usual value. 2,531 permits at a usual $10,000, but its category also includes patio covers and pergolas, so it is not a pure deck price.
• Naperville's firms cluster tightly. The middle half of its deck firms file between $24,990 and $31,734, so a Naperville quote far outside that band is worth a question.
• San Francisco's spread is wide ($12,000 to $80,000) because its label covers stairs and porches too. Compare firms there by their own usual value, not the city's.
• Time to final varies more than price. 41 days in Greensboro and 54 in Colorado Springs, against 205 in Bellevue, 208 in Somerville and 237 in San Francisco. A deck permit still open six months after issue is ordinary in those three; in Greensboro it is not.
• Most deck firms file rarely. In Arlington 67.2% of firms filed exactly one deck permit in three years; in Bellevue, 91.2%. The busiest Colorado Springs firm, Krueger Inc., filed 46 in the last twelve months alone.

Filing peaks in April in Naperville (index 169, where 100 is an average month) and in September in Bend (196); the table has the rest. The index is filing volume, not price; we have no data on whether quiet months are cheaper.

Patios: one city with numbers

Most patios need no permit, so they never enter the file. Naperville is the exception, because it requires a patio permit from 500 sq ft or with a fire pit, grill or fixtures: 252 patio permits went to 155 firms, usual filed value $25,842, middle half of firms $20,000 to $38,000, 355 days usual to final. The city's category is "Patio/Athletic Court", so sport courts are in it too, and small patios are not. Treat it as the price of a big patio in Naperville, not of a patio.

Elsewhere the only patio-related work in the file is covers and pergolas, mixed in with decks where the city's label names them (Colorado Springs, Bellevue, Bend; Naperville's deck category adds pergolas and gazebos). We cannot split them out. We found no public primary source for patio prices in general. Get two written quotes that specify square footage, base depth and material, and compare those.

Naperville patio contractors by permit record →

If the deck is built without one

An unpermitted deck has no inspection record, and seller disclosure forms in Texas, Washington and Oregon ask in writing whether work was permitted. Our permit vs no permit guide quotes those forms and one city's penalty schedule. Two things to do now:

1. Before the first post hole, ask the contractor for the permit number, then search it on your city's permit portal (Did my contractor pull a permit? lists the search for each city).
2. Open your city's deck list below and look the firm up: how many deck permits it filed, its usual filed value against the city's, and (where recorded) its finished share.

What this does not tell you

The file records the declared value, not the price paid, and it does not record size, height, material or whether the deck is attached, so we cannot price per square foot. Colorado Springs, Somerville and Nashville do not record a usable finish status for deck permits, and Nashville records no completion date, so those cells are blank rather than estimated. Bend records a value on only 68.5% of its deck permits. Labels differ by city, so a San Francisco "deck" permit can be a set of stairs. And we cannot see decks built without a permit at all.

Colorado Springs deck builders by permit record →

San Francisco deck contractors by permit record →

Nashville deck builders by permit record →

Arlington deck builders by permit record →

Naperville deck builders by permit record →