About Us
A free, independent resource that translates confusing local government permit rules into plain language — so homeowners can get their projects done right.
Every year, millions of American homeowners start a home improvement project — a shed, a deck, a fence, a pool — and immediately hit the same wall: "Do I need a permit for this?"
The frustrating answer is that there is no single national rule. Building permit requirements are set by local governments — counties, cities, and townships — each of which adopts its own version of building codes and adds its own local amendments. The threshold that requires a permit in Gwinnett County, Georgia is completely different from the one in Wake County, North Carolina, even though both follow the same model building code.
Finding a clear answer requires navigating county government websites that are often outdated, organized for contractors rather than homeowners, and buried under navigation that assumes you already know what you're looking for. Many homeowners give up and either skip the permit (and risk problems at resale) or call the county and spend 45 minutes on hold to ask a question that should have a three-sentence answer.
PermitLocal exists to give you that three-sentence answer — plus the context, the specific fee, and the direct link to apply.
Every permit threshold, fee range, and setback requirement on PermitLocal is researched directly from primary sources: county and city building department websites, official zoning ordinances, permit fee schedules, and direct verification calls to building department staff when the online information is ambiguous.
We do not scrape data, guess, or extrapolate from national averages. When we publish a threshold — "Gwinnett County requires a permit for sheds over 144 sq ft" — that figure comes from Gwinnett County's own published permit requirements, verified against their online portal.
We acknowledge when our information may be outdated and encourage every homeowner to verify current rules directly with their county before starting any project. Local governments change their rules, often without much fanfare. We update pages when we become aware of changes, but we are not an official government source.
PermitLocal currently covers 25+ counties across Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Florida, Maryland, Texas, Colorado, and Ohio, with more counties added regularly. We prioritize high-growth suburban counties where the permit process is most actively used and where clear guidance is most needed.
Our expansion targets: Pennsylvania (Chester, Montgomery, Bucks counties), Arizona (Maricopa County), Washington (King County), and additional counties in the states we already cover.
If you've found an error — a threshold that changed, a phone number that's wrong, a rule that no longer applies — please contact us. We take accuracy seriously and will update content promptly when notified of changes.
If you'd like to suggest a county we should add, we welcome those requests as well.