The City of Bryant’s Planning & Development Department issues building, electrical, plumbing, gas and mechanical permits inside the city limits. Applications go in through the City’s iWorQ portal or in person at City Hall, and a new one- or two-family home is charged $0.14 per square foot under roof, with a $150 minimum.
When do you need a permit in Bryant?
The City says a permit is needed any time you build, install or do significant work that changes a structure or its systems:
Building work
- New houses, commercial buildings and apartment complexes
- Additions and accessory buildings such as garages and sheds
- Renovations, alterations and repairs to a structure
- Accessory dwelling units, which also need a separate $250 application
Trades and site
- Electrical work, including solar and other alternative energy systems
- Plumbing, water heaters and gas service lines
- Heating and cooling systems, ductwork, boilers and commercial vent hoods
- Work in a street right-of-way or city easement
- Clearing, grading or more than 50 cubic yards of fill on unimproved land of an acre or more
Who handles permits in Bryant?
Planning & Development reviews development plans, coordinates permits and handles land use planning for the City. Colton Leonard is the Planning & Development Director, and the department’s code enforcement officers also serve as building inspectors.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Office | 210 SW 3rd Street, Bryant, AR 72022 |
| Phone | 501-943-0488 |
| comdev@cityofbryant.com | |
| Online filing | iWorQ portal: General Construction, New Construction and Right of Way |
| Development Review Committee | Every other Thursday, 9:00 a.m., Boswell Municipal Complex |
Short on time to read all of this?
Get a free quote →Payment is due before a permit is processed: applicants who file in person pay at City Hall, and online applicants receive an emailed invoice to pay online. Land outside the city limits is unincorporated Saline County.
Bryant applications and licences
The iWorQ portal takes general construction, new construction and right-of-way applications, and signs can also be applied for there. The City’s planning page adds PDF forms and checklists for:
- Special Flood Hazard Development Permit (March 2026 form).
- Accessory Dwelling Unit Application, with a $250 plan review fee.
- Small Scale and Large Scale Commercial Checklists and subdivision checklists.
- Contractor Checklist explaining how inspections are booked.
- Conditional use, variance, rezoning and PUD applications.
The municipal code requires anyone in the electrical business in Bryant to hold a City electrical licence ($25 a year) and post a $1,000 bond. Homeowners may do electrical work on their own job with a regular permit, and a plumbing permit may be issued to owners who do the work themselves in the single-family home they occupy.
Bryant permit fees
The City’s Permits & Fees page lists its current schedules. The building fees below match section 11.04.02 of the municipal code. Electrical fees were raised in February 2023 by Ordinance 2023-02, which the online code (codified only through 2022) does not yet show; the web page differs from both on some trade rows, as noted below. No later fee change appears in the City’s 2025 or 2026 ordinances.
| Project | Fee |
|---|---|
| New one- or two-family dwelling | $0.14 per sq ft under roof, $150 minimum |
| Addition (one- or two-family) | $0.14 per sq ft under roof, $100 minimum |
| Accessory building (one- or two-family) | $0.14 per sq ft under roof, $40 minimum |
| New commercial, industrial or apartment building | $0.15 per sq ft under roof, $200 minimum |
| Commercial addition / accessory building | $0.15 per sq ft, $100 / $40 minimum |
| Commercial plan review (valuation over $100,000) | Half the building permit fee, $5,000 maximum, paid at submittal and not refundable |
| Re-inspection or additional inspection | $35 ($50 for electrical) |
| Work started before the permit is issued | Permit fee doubled |
| Right-of-way or city easement work | $50 |
Not sure this scope needs a permit?
Get a free quote →Example: a new 2,000 sq ft house pays $280 for the building permit and $280 each for the electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits, or $1,120 before the $35 gas service fee and water and sewer connection charges.
Projects with several buildings on one set of plans pay plan review on the total square footage of all the buildings. A failed inspection is not rescheduled until the re-inspection fee for each failed trade has been paid.
Electrical, plumbing, gas and mechanical permits
Each trade pulls its own permit from Planning & Development and requests its own inspections. The City’s published trade fees:
| Permit | Fee |
|---|---|
| Electrical, new construction, additions and accessory buildings | $0.14 per sq ft under roof, $100 minimum (Ordinance 2023-02; the City’s web page shows $50, the older code text $35) |
| Electrical renovation, service change or temporary pole | $50 per inspection |
| Solar, fuel cell, wind or other alternative energy system | $100 per system (Ordinance 2023-02; the web page shows $50 plus $45 for each additional system) |
| Manufactured home electrical | $100 in a mobile home park, $150 outside one (Ordinance 2023-02) |
| Plumbing, new construction | $0.14 per sq ft under roof or $40, whichever is greater |
| Plumbing remodel or repair | $35 minimum in the code ($40 on the City’s fee page), plus $5 per fixture and $15 per water heater |
| Gas service line | $35 per meter |
| Mechanical, new construction | $0.14 per sq ft under roof, $70 minimum |
| HVAC change-out or repair | $70 for one unit, $35 each additional |
| Ductwork / boilers | $70 + $35 / $70 + $25 per extra unit |
| Commercial vent hood | $70 for one system + $25 each additional in the code ($60 + $15 on the City’s fee page) |
Rather talk it over?
Call 1-855-478-4290 →The code adopts the National Electrical Code, the International Code Council codes and the state plumbing and gas codes by reference in their latest editions, together with the state fire prevention code; the Bryant Fire Department’s bureau of fire prevention enforces the fire code.
What to submit
Homes and ADUs
- The iWorQ construction application with contractor details and square footage under roof
- For an accessory dwelling unit: plot plan, floor plan and elevations, utility plan, and a letter from Bryant Utilities confirming water and sewer capacity
- For a lot in a flood zone: a survey sealed by an Arkansas engineer or surveyor showing the flood boundaries and base flood elevations
Small commercial
- Two full sets of building plans
- 12 folded site plans (at least 17 by 34 inches) with vicinity map, legal description and landscaping plan
- 12 floor plans and 12 front and rear elevations
- ADEQ stormwater pollution prevention plan for one acre or more
- Two copies of the stormwater detention plan and the $250 drainage review fee
Commercial site plans go to the Development Review Committee, and a project is added to its agenda only once site plans ready for review have been submitted.
How to get a Bryant permit
Look up the parcel in the City’s GIS map and confirm the use is allowed and whether a flood permit is needed.
Choose General Construction, New Construction or Right of Way in the portal, or apply in person at 210 SW 3rd Street.
Upload the plans and the commercial or ADU checklist items; commercial site plans go through the Development Review Committee.
The permit is processed once payment is received; commercial plan review fees are paid when the application is submitted.
Electrical, plumbing, gas and mechanical contractors file their own permits and book their own inspections.
The code gives the builder 12 months from issue to complete the project before an occupancy permit needs a Planning Commission extension.
Rather not deal with the building department?
Get a free quote →Booking inspections in Bryant
Inspections are booked by calling the permit office or online, with the permit number, address or subdivision and lot to hand. An online request made before 4:30 p.m. is usually scheduled for the next business day; one made after hours is scheduled two business days out. Next-day scheduling is not guaranteed.
Same day
- Footer and slab inspections
- Under-slab plumbing
- Sewer, gas and water service lines
- Emergency inspections after a gas or electrical outage
Usually next day
- Framing, fire wall and ceiling
- Electrical, plumbing and mechanical rough-ins
- Electrical, plumbing and mechanical finals
- Certificate of Occupancy inspection
If an inspector does not answer, leave a voicemail with your name, number and project details. Re-inspections cost $50 for electrical and $35 for other trades.
Local rules that affect Bryant projects
Flood zones: Ordinance 2024-02, passed on January 31, 2024, adopted Bryant’s Flood Damage Prevention Code dated February 1, 2024. A new home in an AE zone must have its lowest floor at least 3 feet above the published base flood elevation, recorded on an Elevation Certificate, and no building or manufactured home may be placed in a regulatory floodway whatever its elevation. A flood permit lapses if work has not started within 6 months. Bryant participates in the National Flood Insurance Program.
Water and sewer connections: the City’s fee sheet charges a $600 water impact fee, $685 set and tap fee and $245 connection fee for a 5/8 inch meter, plus a $150 CAW system development charge, and a $500 wastewater impact fee and $150 sewer connection fee per lot or unit.
Want this handled start to finish?
Get a free quote →Accessory dwelling units: an ADU may be no larger than 75% of the house or 1,000 sq ft, whichever is less, and its front setback must be at least as deep as the main house’s front wall. Impact fees and building permits are charged on top of the $250 application fee.
Site clearing: clearing or grading unimproved land of an acre or more, or placing over 50 cubic yards of fill, needs a $5 site clearance permit, which the City reviews within five business days for flood and sediment issues.
Arkansas building code
Arkansas’s building code is the 2021 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code, adopted by the State Fire Marshal and in force statewide since 1 January 2023; building permits are issued locally where a city or county runs a permit program, and the plumbing, gas, mechanical, energy and electrical codes are adopted by separate state agencies. The Arkansas codes
Bryant permit FAQs
Who issues building permits in Bryant?
The City of Bryant Planning & Development Department, 210 SW 3rd Street (501-943-0488), issues building and trade permits inside the city limits.
How much is a building permit for a new house in Bryant?
$0.14 per square foot under roof with a $150 minimum. The electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits are each charged at $0.14 per square foot as well.
Can I apply online?
Yes. General construction, new construction and right-of-way applications are filed through the City’s iWorQ portal, and the City emails an invoice to pay before the permit is processed.
Is there a plan review fee?
For commercial, industrial and apartment projects valued over $100,000, plan review costs half the building permit fee, up to $5,000, paid at submittal.
What happens if I start work without a permit?
The permit fee is doubled for building, electrical, gas and mechanical work started before the permit is issued.
How high must a house be built in a Bryant flood zone?
At least 3 feet above the published base flood elevation in an AE zone, documented on an Elevation Certificate.
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →Official Bryant permit resources
These are the primary sources behind this guide. Codes, fee schedules and procedures change — confirm the position for your filing date.
- Bryant permits and fee schedules
- Bryant iWorQ permit portal
- Bryant Planning & Development Department
- Bryant planning applications, checklists and maps
- Bryant contractor inspection checklist
- Bryant special flood hazard development permit application
- Bryant water and wastewater connection and impact fees
- Bryant Municipal Code, Title 11 Buildings and Construction
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More Arkansas permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Bryant permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.