Hot Springs, Arkansas Building Permit Guide

Inside Hot Springs, Building Safety (Planning & Development Department, City Hall first floor, 133 Convention Boulevard, 501-321-6851) enforces the building, electrical, mechanical, gas and plumbing codes, and permits are applied for and inspections scheduled online through BSA Online. Building permit fees follow the construction valuation, while house electrical and plumbing permits are $0.10 per square foot with a $40 minimum.

Who issues building permits in Hot Springs?

Building Safety, part of the City’s Planning & Development Department, administers the building, electrical, mechanical, gas and plumbing codes inside the city. Mike Scott is the Chief Building Official and Community Development Administrator. The same department handles zoning, subdivisions, manufactured homes, signs and the historic districts; Kathy Sellman is its Director.

No permit is issued without proof that the applicant has paid any required occupation tax and any other fees or costs owed to the City.

What needs a permit in Hot Springs?

Building, electrical, mechanical, gas and plumbing work needs a permit unless the City’s list exempts it. The City publishes this list of work that needs no building permit:

Emergency equipment replacements and repairs may go ahead first, provided the permit application reaches the building official within the next working day. Ordinary repairs need no permit, but cutting walls, structural members or exits, or altering piping, wiring or mechanical systems, is not an ordinary repair.

Hot Springs permit fees

Building permit fees are set in Section 15-7-2.1 of the City Code (Ordinance 6459, February 7, 2023). The valuation is figured from the latest RS Means Square Foot Costs for the Hot Springs area.

For example, a house valued at $250,000 pays $342 plus 150 × $2.25, a $679.50 building permit. The bands do not run exactly into each other (the $50,001 band reaches $345 at $100,000, the next starts at $342), so each fee is worked inside its own band. Nonresidential permits add a state craft-training surcharge of $0.50 per $1,000 of construction, up to $1,000. Work started without a permit pays triple fees, and paid fees are not refunded.

Utility connections: new water and wastewater service is applied for through the City Engineering Department. Under Ordinance 6571 (March 18, 2026) the non-refundable application fee is $150 for a single-family home or accessory dwelling unit and $250 for multi-family or commercial service; if the application is approved, the fee is credited toward the cost of the service installation, and an approval expires after one year.

Electrical, plumbing, gas and mechanical permits

Who may pull trade permits: electrical permits are taken out by a licensed electrical contractor with an established place of business, showing the occupation tax, liability and workers’ compensation insurance and a current master’s licence from the Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners. Plumbing must be done by or under a licensed master plumber registered with the City, or by a homeowner in the home they own and live in, who may not hire unlicensed help. Mechanical permit fees are set in Section 15-4-5 of the City Code.

Local trade rules: CPVC is not allowed on any piping connected to the municipal water system, gas meters may not sit on or intrude into public walkways, and a house that is rewired or gets a new panel or service, or is reconnected after its power has been off 60 days or more, needs at least a 100 A service with the main disconnect outside.

Plans and fire review

• Construction valuation: the basis of the building permit fee, figured from RS Means square-foot costs.
• Plans: technically complex projects submit plans and pay the plan checking fee when they do.
• Fire Department review: sprinkler and fire alarm plans are reviewed at $0.05 per square foot each.
• Wall bracing: Building Safety publishes a Residential Wall Bracing Guide for house plans.
• Utilities: the utility connection application, with heated square footage and meter size, and a septic approval letter where city sewer is not available.

How to get a permit in Hot Springs

Hot Springs inspections

Owners and contractors schedule inspections through separate BSA Online links. Plumbing inspection requests must be made 48 hours before the work is to be covered or connected, the City inspects within 48 hours of notice whenever possible, and no plumbing inspection is made unless the street number is posted in plain view. For electrical and plumbing finals the contractor must arrange access, and inspectors do not enter occupied buildings unless the owner or the owner’s representative is present. Plumbing defects must be corrected within 15 days of notice. The first re-inspection after a failed building, electrical or plumbing inspection is free; later ones cost $50.

Local details that matter in Hot Springs

Historic districts: the Central Avenue and Pleasant Street historic districts are regulated by Chapter 16-7 of the City Code. Nothing in them, including windows, awnings, doors, signs, light fixtures, steps and paving, may be erected, altered, restored, moved or demolished without a certificate of appropriateness from the Historic District Commission, which must be issued before the building permit and is needed even where no permit is. A tenant needs the owner’s written consent to apply. The commission hears applications within 30 days, after notices at least five days ahead, and an application other than demolition is treated as approved if there is no decision within 30 days of the first hearing. A denied application cannot be refiled for a year, and appeals go to the Garland County chancery court within 30 days. The commission meets at 8:30 a.m. on the third Thursday of the month in the Board Chambers at City Hall.

Floodplain: the City’s stormwater coordinator is the floodplain administrator. In zones A and AE, new houses must have the lowest floor, including mechanical equipment, at least 2 ft above the base flood elevation, shown on an elevation certificate, and in zone AE new nonresidential buildings must be elevated 2 ft above it or floodproofed to that height. Hot Springs takes part in FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program and its Community Rating System at class 8.

Fire code amendments: Hot Springs lowers the sprinkler and standpipe height trigger from 30 ft to 20 ft, requires fire department connections within 50 ft of a hydrant, allows wood-frame (Type V) construction in the Fire District only when sprinklered and at least 20 ft from other structures and property lines, and treats any habitable room with a closet as a bedroom.

Codes in force: the 2021 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code (adopted locally as the Hot Springs Fire Prevention and Building Code, 2023 Edition), the 2020 National Electrical Code, the 2018 Arkansas Plumbing and Fuel Gas Codes, the 2021 Arkansas Mechanical Code, the 2014 Arkansas Energy Code and the 2010 ADA Standards.

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

Frequently asked questions about Hot Springs permits

Who issues building permits in Hot Springs?

Building Safety in the Planning & Development Department, City Hall first floor, 133 Convention Boulevard, 501-321-6851.

How do I apply for a permit?

Online through BSA Online, where inspections are also scheduled.

How much is a building permit in Hot Springs?

It depends on valuation: a $250,000 house pays $679.50, and its electrical and plumbing permits are each $0.10 per square foot with a $40 minimum.

Do I need a permit for a shed or fence?

Not for a one-story detached shed of 200 sq ft or less or a fence up to 7 ft high.

Can a homeowner do their own plumbing?

Yes, in a home they own and live in, without hiring unlicensed help.

How high must a new house be built in a flood zone?

In zones A and AE, the lowest floor, including mechanical equipment, must be at least 2 ft above the base flood elevation.

Official Hot Springs permit resources

• Hot Springs Permits & Inspections
• When a building permit is required in Hot Springs
• Hot Springs current codes
• Hot Springs BSA Online permits and inspections
• Hot Springs building permit fee schedule (City Code 15-7)
• Hot Springs Historic District Commission
• Hot Springs utility connections for new construction

Simplify Hot Springs permitting with Alliance Permitting

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in Arkansas. We prepare your paperwork, file it correctly and coordinate with the permitting authority through issuance. We are not a contractor and we do not perform licensed plan review or inspections; that work stays with your licensed team and the jurisdiction.

This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Hot Springs permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.