Environmental Permit Assistance Centers

Federal law requires each state to provide small business assistance centers to help businesses unscramble the confusing and frustrating environmental permits that are required. Permit Place provides electronic links and contact names and numbers to all 50 state environmental assistance offices at City Links page. Just click on this link and select the individual state […]

What States Require Contractor Licensing

This question came in today from one of our users concerned about what states require contractor licensing. Yes I am from North Carolina and I have this talent for building homes. Do I have to obtain a contractor license to build homes or could I just obtain a permit to do so? Permit Place provides […]

What Goes On A Site Plan?

Even though there are 28,000 different interpretations of what should be on this very important portion of the plan review documents, providing the following items will get you through most building departments. North arrow Full Legal Description Tax parcel number Zoning designation Name of Owner Owner’s address and phone number Address of property if known […]

Do I Need A Building Permit

“Do I Need A Building Permit?”  This is our most frequently asked question. It is almost always asked in the vein of “Can I get away with not having a permit” It will usually cause you a lot more trouble than you wanted if you try to get around the permit process. Hundreds of people […]

Building Department Responsibilities

Building departments adopt administrative rules from time to time for construction issues that are not covered by the currently adopted codes. These rules are called administrative guidelines and should always be reduced to writing by the local jurisdictions and placed in an administrative manual and easily accessible to the staff of the department. Problems occur […]

A Good Vicinity Map

Really want your project to flow smoothly?  Learn how a good vicinity map can help! Make sure you provide the building department with a good vicinity map when you apply for your building permits, showing the major roads to get to your property. You will need to have an accurate map and directions for your […]

Site Plan Requirements

This is a list of typical requirements for a site plan submitted to most permitting jurisdictions: North Arrow Scale of drawing Property lines defined and dimensions Tax parcel number Full legal description attach extra sheet if necessary Address of property Name of Owner Identification of streets Corner elevations Location of easements Location of driveway Location […]

The Permit Review Process Pt. 2

The Permit Review Process, Part 2: What are you doing to stay on top of the building permit review process for the project you just submitted for a building or site development permit? You can cut several days or even weeks off the total turn-around time by staying involved with how your application is going […]

The Permit Review Process

The Permit Review Process: The main reason for lengthy delays, unless the federal government is involved in the construction permit review process, is the failure of local jurisdictions to appoint a person or agency responsible for final permit approval on a guaranteed schedule. In many county governments, we always find many departments that need to […]

When Is A Permit Required?

One of the most frequently asked questions at Permit Place is “Do I need a permit?” This is not a very difficult question for most larger projects. The problems arise with the smaller projects, such as a fence or a reroof project or a backyard patio or deck. You can get a lot of different […]