In Dallas County, building permits are a city matter. The county government in Selma lists no building or inspection department and publishes no county building permit, while the City of Selma’s Building Inspector’s Office (222 Broad Street, 334-876-1210) and the City of Valley Grande (334-872-0104) permit work inside their limits. Selma’s code also makes its building code controlling in the city’s police jurisdiction, the belt just outside the limits, so ask the Building Inspector’s Office before building there. Selma charges by construction cost, starting at $15 for jobs under $1,000; Valley Grande charges nothing on projects valued at $10,000 or less.
What needs a permit in Dallas County?
In Selma it is unlawful to start construction without a permit from the Building Inspector’s Office. The city code applies that to erecting, repairing, changing or altering any building or structure, air-conditioning equipment included, and requires a separate permit for each building.
In Valley Grande the City’s application covers new residences, attached and detached garages and carports, remodels and additions, and a separate application covers mobile homes.
In the unincorporated county no building permit is published. County approval is needed for two things: a subdivision plat, which ends with the County Engineer’s Permit to Develop, and a driveway turnout onto a county road, which the Engineering Department installs itself.
Who issues building permits, place by place
The county has three municipalities.
| Place | Who issues building permits | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Unincorporated Dallas County | No county office. The county’s department list has no building, inspection or planning department, and its hazard mitigation plan records no zoning ordinance and no code enforcement. | County Engineering, 102 Church Street, Selma, 334-874-2503 |
| Selma | City of Selma Building Inspector’s Office, which also reviews plans, performs electrical, gas, plumbing and HVAC inspections and issues sewer connection permits. Section 6-8 of the city code makes the building code controlling in the corporate limits and in the police jurisdiction. | 222 Broad Street, 334-876-1210, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm |
| Valley Grande | The City’s Building Permit Department, run through the City Clerk’s Office; the application is headed Valley Grande Public Safety Department. | City Hall, 5914 AL Hwy 22, 334-872-0104 |
| Orrville | The mitigation plan lists no zoning ordinance and no code enforcement in Orrville; the Town publishes no permit procedure. | Town Hall, 14761 Main Street, 334-267-1859 |
Short on time to read all of this?
Get a free quote →The plan referred to is the Division C Hazard Mitigation Action Plan published by the Alabama Emergency Management Agency. It names Selma and Valley Grande as the Dallas County jurisdictions that practice building code enforcement.
Permits and applications by office
- Selma Building Inspector’s Office: building permits for contractors and homeowners, sanitary sewer connection permits for new residential and commercial structures, yard sale permits and new street addresses. The office also prepares the agendas for the Planning Board and the Board of Adjustment and posts a “Building Permit Applicant Responsibility” sheet.
- Valley Grande: Building Permit Application, Mobile Home Permit Application and Sewer Application, all on the City’s applications page. The building packet includes the City’s no-charge FEMA Floodplain Certification, and a mobile home must be permitted before it is placed inside the city limits.
- Selma demolition permit: issued by the Building Inspector once the contractor carries comprehensive insurance of up to $1,000,000 and posts security: a $1,000 cash bond or letter of credit when the demolition costs $5,000 or less, or security equal to the full cost above that. The work has to be finished within 30 calendar days of the permit.
- Dallas County Engineering: the Permit to Develop for subdivisions outside city limits, issued after the County Commission approves the plat.
Permit costs in Dallas County
Selma’s building permit fees are fixed in Section 6-10 of the city code and are based on the total cost of construction, labor and material included.
| Cost of construction | Selma permit fee |
|---|---|
| $999 or less | $15 |
| $1,000 to $4,999 | $25 |
| $5,000 to $49,999 | $35 for the first $5,000, plus $5 per additional $1,000 or fraction |
| $50,000 to $99,999 | $260 for the first $50,000, plus $4 per additional $1,000 or fraction |
| $100,000 to $499,999 | $460 for the first $100,000, plus $3 per additional $1,000 or fraction |
| $500,000 to $999,999 | $1,660 for the first $500,000, plus $2 per additional $1,000 or fraction |
| $1,000,000 and up | $3,660 for the first $1,000,000, plus $1 per additional $1,000 or fraction |
Not sure this scope needs a permit?
Get a free quote →For example, a $150,000 house pays $460 plus $3 for each of the 50 thousands above $100,000, which comes to $610.
An owner who starts work in Selma without a permit owes the normal fee plus a $100 fine, and $50 for each further day the violation continues.
Valley Grande’s fees are set by Ordinance 2018-88. The City assigns the project value itself: $60 per square foot of finished, conditioned area for residential work and $80 per square foot for commercial work. Those two are valuation rates, not the fee.
| Project value | Valley Grande permit fee |
|---|---|
| $10,000 or less | No fee; the permit is recorded only |
| $10,001 to $15,000 | $50 for the first $10,000, plus $5 per additional $1,000 or fraction |
| $15,001 to $25,000 | $75 for the first $15,000, plus $5 per additional $1,000 or fraction |
| $25,001 to $50,000 | $125 for the first $25,000, plus $5 per additional $1,000 or fraction |
| $50,001 to $150,000 | $250 for the first $50,000, plus $5 per additional $1,000 or fraction |
| $150,001 to $250,000 | $750 for the first $150,000, plus $5 per additional $1,000 or fraction |
| $250,001 to $500,000 | $1,250 for the first $250,000, plus $3 per additional $1,000 or fraction |
| $500,001 to $1,000,000 | $2,000 for the first $500,000, plus $3 per additional $1,000 or fraction |
| Over $1,000,000 | $5,000 flat |
| Inspections, projects over $50,000 | A minimum of 4 inspections at $75 each, $300 |
| Single-wide manufactured home | $400, plus a $100 inspection fee |
| Double-wide or larger manufactured home | $650, plus a $100 inspection fee |
Rather talk it over?
Call 1-855-478-4290 →A 2,000-square-foot house is valued at $120,000, so the Valley Grande permit is $250 plus $5 for each of the 70 thousands above $50,000, or $600, and the 4 inspections add $300 for a total of $900. The general contractor pays the inspection fee before the first inspection. Work or a mobile home set up before the permit adds a fine of $100 per day to the permit price. Dallas County installs a driveway turnout for a private landowner at no charge.
Electrical, plumbing, HVAC and septic work
Selma requires plumbing, electrical, heating and air conditioning work to be done by a contractor licensed by both the State of Alabama and the City of Selma, and the Building Inspector performs the electrical, gas, plumbing and HVAC inspections. The same office administers the certification examinations for journeyman and master electricians. The city code prices trade permits by item: a residential mechanical permit carries a $10 issuance fee ($12 for non-residential work) plus a charge for each unit, and the plumbing schedule is $1.50 per permit plus $1.50 per fixture.
Valley Grande wants the names, state licence numbers and Valley Grande business licences of the plumber, the heating and air contractor and the electrician on the building permit application, and its rough-in inspection covers all three trades.
Septic permits throughout the county come from the Dallas County Health Department, 100 Samuel O. Moseley Drive, Selma; its Environmental Health line is 334-872-5887.
How to apply: 5 steps
Selma, Valley Grande, Orrville or unincorporated county: the answer decides everything that follows.
Outside Selma, call E-911 Addressing on 334-874-1212; in Selma the Building Inspector’s Office assigns new street addresses. Valley Grande will not start its floodplain certification until the E-911 address has arrived.
In Selma, take plans and the cost of construction to 222 Broad Street. In Valley Grande, file the Building Permit Application at City Hall with 2 full sets of plans and a copy of the septic permit; the City’s stated norm for evaluating the documents is 3 working days after everything is in.
Selma issues no permit until all fees are paid.
Selma inspects the site before footings are poured and checks the work in progress. Valley Grande requires 4 inspections and stops the job if one is skipped.
Rather not deal with the Dallas County building department?
Get a free quote →Inspections
Selma’s Building Inspector inspects sites before the footings are poured, construction in progress, and alteration and repair jobs, and examines the plans filed with each application. The office is open 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.
Valley Grande’s 4 required inspections are footings before concrete, slab or floor framing with the under-floor plumbing, rough-in before the walls are covered, and a final when the building is ready to occupy. Permanent power is released after the City Inspector’s final inspection, and the certificate of occupancy follows that inspection. A re-inspection carries an extra inspection fee.
The county lists no inspector for buildings outside the cities.
Local details for Dallas County projects
Subdividing rural land: the County Engineer reviews every proposed plat. Developers must follow the Standards for Road Construction in Dallas County, and at least 10 days before the plat goes to the County Commission, notice of the Engineer’s decision is sent by certified mail to the owner, the adjoining owners and each affected utility. Plats inside city limits and transfers to immediate family members are exempt.
Driveway turnouts: the county supplies clay gravel, labor and equipment if you buy the drainage pipe in the size and type the Engineering Department specifies. Large vertical pipe headwalls are not approved on county right-of-way.
Contractor licensing: in Selma, general contractors bidding residential jobs over $10,000 or commercial jobs over $50,000 must hold a State of Alabama contractor’s licence. County business licences run from October 1 to September 30 and must be renewed by November 1.
Flood zones: Dallas County participates in the National Flood Insurance Program and its current maps are dated September 3, 2014. In Selma the Building Inspector reviews every permit application for new construction or substantial improvement for flood safety. In Valley Grande a Development Permit from the Mayor’s office is required before any development in a mapped flood hazard area, and the lowest floor of a new building must sit at least 1 foot above the base flood elevation.
Want this handled start to finish?
Get a free quote →Codes on the books: Selma’s code of ordinances still names the 1997 Standard Building, Gas, Plumbing and Mechanical Codes and the 1999 National Electrical Code. Valley Grande’s Ordinance 2013-24 adopts the 2009 International Building Code and International Residential Code without the residential sprinkler requirement.
Selma appearance review: plans for new or remodeled buildings in the commercial and local business zones go to the Planning Commission’s appearance approval committee, and the Building Inspector cannot issue the permit until that committee approves them.
County offices: Engineering is on the 1st floor of the Courthouse Annex, 102 Church Street, Selma, and the Commission Office is on 334-874-2560. Both are open Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.
Alabama building code
From 1 January 2027, under Act 2024-443, a residential home builder must build to the applicable residential code (the Alabama Residential Building Code, or the local code where one applies) even where no building department inspects the work. Since 1 October 2024 the Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board adopts the residential code, and the Licensing Board for General Contractors the commercial energy code. Alabama’s codes and the 2027 change
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →Official sources for Dallas County
- Dallas County Engineering
- Dallas County municipalities
- Dallas County E911 and addressing
- City of Selma Building Inspector
- Selma Code of Ordinances, Sec. 6-10 (permit fees)
- Selma Code of Ordinances, Chapter 6 (building code and police jurisdiction)
- City of Valley Grande applications
- City of Valley Grande Building Department
- Valley Grande Ordinance 2018-88 (building permit fees)
- City of Valley Grande ordinances
- Dallas County Health Department contacts
Dallas County building permit FAQs
Does Dallas County, Alabama issue building permits?
No county office does. Building permits are issued by the City of Selma and the City of Valley Grande inside their limits. Selma’s building code also applies in its police jurisdiction, so call 334-876-1210 before building just outside the city.
How much is a building permit in Selma?
It depends on construction cost: $15 for $999 or less, $25 up to $4,999, then $35 for the first $5,000 plus $5 per additional $1,000 up to $49,999, with lower rates per thousand above that. A $150,000 house is $610.
Can a homeowner pull a permit in Selma?
Yes. The Building Inspector’s Office issues building permits to contractors and homeowners, but plumbing, electrical and HVAC work must be done by contractors licensed by the State and the City.
What happens if I build without a permit in Selma?
You pay the normal permit fee plus a $100 fine, and $50 for every additional day the violation continues.
Who issues permits in Valley Grande?
The City of Valley Grande, at City Hall, 5914 AL Hwy 22, 334-872-0104.
How much is a building permit in Valley Grande?
Nothing for a project valued at $10,000 or less. Above that the fee starts at $50 and rises with value; a 2,000-square-foot house, valued at $60 per square foot, pays $600 plus $300 for the 4 required inspections.
Who do I call for a new address in the county?
E-911 Addressing, 334-874-1212.
Who permits septic systems in Dallas County?
The Dallas County Health Department’s Environmental Health office, 334-872-5887.
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This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Dallas County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.