Do I need a permit? 13 common home projects, checked against city rules and permit files

The 13 projects, city by city

The rules below are quoted from four building departments, read 21 October 2026. The last column shows that the job is routinely permitted somewhere: how many permits of that type one of our cities issued in its three-year window.

Two rules hold across all four cities. First, an exemption is not a licence to build badly: Elk Grove's policy says exemptions "shall not be deemed to grant authorization for any work to be done in any manner in violation of" the code. Second, zoning is separate from building permits. Bellevue's shed exemption comes with the note that the shed must still meet land-use rules, which is where setbacks and height limits live.

For three more cities' exemption lists (Seattle's $6,000 repair rule, Austin and Minneapolis), see permit vs no permit, which also covers what happens when work is done without one.

How long a small-job permit takes

Small trade permits close fast when the contractor books the inspection. The usual water heater permit went from issue to final in 16 days in Cary, 23 in Elk Grove and 38 in Sacramento County. An EV charger permit took 20 days in Seattle. Not every one closes: 71.7% of Sacramento County's water heater permits a year or more old reached a final. A permit that never gets its final is still open on your address. Our open permit guide covers how to close one, and how long home projects take has the figures for bigger jobs.

What a permit costs

There is no national price, but the structure is similar. Miami charges residential permits a set percentage of the estimated construction cost, "including labor and materials", with a fixed rate for work under $2,500 and a minimum fee on every permit (City of Miami fee schedule, adopted 23 April 2026). Seattle charges a re-roof permit "half of our base fee plus the state surcharge", and renewing an expiring permit costs one and a half times its hourly fee (Seattle SDCI). For a small trade job the fee is usually a flat minimum; for a remodel or addition it grows with the value the contractor files. Ask whether the quote includes the permit, and who is pulling it.

Who should pull it

The contractor doing the work, in its own name. When the permit names you as owner-builder, you are the one responsible for the inspections, and our owner-builder guide explains what that means. In California, a handyperson without a licence may only take jobs under $1,000, labour and materials together, and only if "no building permits are needed" (CSLB, AB 2622, effective 1 January 2025). A quote for permitted work from someone without a licence is a mismatch to ask about.

Check it in five minutes

1. Search your city's site for "work exempt from permit" and find your project.
2. If it needs one, ask the contractor who pulls it and whether the fee is in the price.
3. After the job, look your address up on the city's permit search and confirm the final inspection is recorded. Our did my contractor pull a permit guide has the search link for each of our cities.

See who files water heater permits in Sacramento County →

What this does not tell you

We read four cities' rules, not all 50-plus of ours, and each city amends the model code. Counties, HOAs and historic districts can add their own approvals. The permit counts show that a job type is permitted somewhere; they do not tell you how many such jobs were done without one.