Somers, Connecticut Building Permit Guide

In Somers, the Building Department at Town Hall oversees all building construction in town and enforces the State Building Code, issuing building and trade permits through the Town’s PermitLink online permitting site. Since July 1, 2024 the fee has been $42 for the first $1,000 of estimated construction cost and $18 for each further $1,000, and the Town states that its fees include the state education surcharge.

Town Hall is at 600 Main Street, Somers, CT 06071, and is open Monday to Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Thursday until 6:30 p.m., closed on Fridays. The Building Official answers on 860-763-8215, and the Land Use Technician on 860-763-8213. Somers had about 10,900 residents in the Census estimate for 2025. Somers runs its own Health Department with a town sanitarian, so septic and well approvals are also handled at Town Hall.

What requires a building permit in Somers?

The department’s page tells owners to contact the office about the permit process for their particular project, and its required-inspection lists show the kinds of jobs that need one. Questions about additions, alterations and renovations go to the Building Department, which also keeps the records for the structures on every property.

What the town decides and what the state holds

The State Building Code decides what needs a permit and how it is built, and appeals of the Building Official’s decisions go to the Town’s Building Code Board of Appeals under section 29-266 of the General Statutes. The Board of Selectmen sets the fees: Article III of Chapter 114 adopts the Building Official’s and Fire Marshal’s schedules, last amended for the Building Official on June 6, 2024, and any amended schedule takes effect 30 days after the Selectmen adopt it. Zoning is set by the Zoning Commission, wetlands by the Conservation Commission, and septic and well permits by the Town’s Health Department under the state Public Health Code; trade licenses are the state’s.

Connecticut has one State Building Code: the code itself sets which work needs a permit and which is exempt, every town’s building official is licensed by the State Building Inspector, and there is no county government. Connecticut rules

Somers building department: who handles permitting

The Building Department, part of the Land Use and Development offices at Town Hall, reviews plans, issues permits, inspects and issues certificates of occupancy. The Planning and Zoning Department supports the Conservation, Planning and Zoning Commissions and encourages developers and landowners to meet staff early to go over the regulations and the order of approvals. The Wetlands Agent works for the Conservation Commission, which administers the inland wetlands regulations, and the Health Department’s sanitarian permits septic systems and wells. For questions about which edition of the state codes applies, the department’s page sends owners either to the Building Department or to the Office of the State Building Inspector.

Permit types

Somers issues the building permit and a separate permit for each trade, and under the fee schedule every trade permit carries its own cost and its own fee. The process on the department’s page has five steps: contact the department about the project, submit the application with plans and specifications where required, get approval after plan review or a consultation with the inspector, schedule an inspection at each phase, and receive the certificate of occupancy once the final inspection finds the work compliant.

Residential permits

The owner or contractor gives the Building Official an estimate of the total job. For new houses and major additions the value accepted can be no lower than the Connecticut figures in the International Code Council’s latest building valuation data, and before the certificate of occupancy the Building Official may require a sworn affidavit of the actual final cost, signed by the owner, agent or contractor, with the fee adjusted to match. A pool or any other structure adds the $25 certificate fee and the $50 zoning review. The department posts a basement construction guide, a pool information packet, a concrete form and the state workers’ compensation waivers, 7A, 7B and 7C.

Building or remodeling a home here? Alliance handles residential permit expediting, so the crew isn't waiting on the counter.

Commercial permits

Commercial work uses the same fee schedule and PermitLink filing, with the same floor on valuations and the same right to call for a final cost affidavit on new structures and major additions. The Fire Marshal’s office has its own permit and fee schedule in Chapter 114, and those fees are also due before its permits are issued. Land use applications for technically complex projects can carry a deposit of up to $10,000 for outside engineering or consulting review, and an affordable housing application under section 8-30g of the General Statutes is $250.

For tenant improvements and new commercial builds, Alliance handles commercial permit applications through issuance. More on this: commercial building permits explained.

What comes before the building permit

• Zoning: the $50 zoning review is part of the permit for structures, and the zoning regulations were last revised on January 27, 2025. Questions go to the Zoning Enforcement Officer on 860-763-8220.
• Wetlands: the Conservation Commission reviews activities likely to affect wetlands and watercourses, and the wetlands agent may approve minor work near them that is not expected to affect the resource.
• Septic and wells: the Somers Health Department charges $50 for a B100a review of an addition or other change on a septic lot, $200 for a new or repaired septic permit, $200 a lot for soil testing and $150 for a well permit.
• Demolition: letters from each utility confirming disconnection go to the Building Official before the demolition permit is issued.

Somers permit costs and fees

The Building Official’s schedule of fees, adopted by the Board of Selectmen and most recently amended on June 6, 2024 with effect from July 1, 2024, sets one rate for building and trade permits. The department’s page adds that every cost is rounded up to the next $1,000, and the schedule states that construction and alteration fees include the state education fee.

Worked example. A $19,500 pool is rounded up to $20,000. The building permit is $42 for the first $1,000 plus 19 × $18 = $342, or $384, with the education fee included; the $25 certificate fee and $50 zoning review bring the Town total to $459, and the pool’s electrical permit is priced separately on its own cost. The Town, Board of Education, library and fire and ambulance services are exempt from these fees except the state education fee, and the Building Official may waive Town fees for replacing a crumbling foundation, though never the state’s fee.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical, plumbing, heating and other trade work each gets its own permit, with its own cost and fee at the same $42 and $18 rate. The trade has to be present for several inspections: the electrician stays on site with the panel cover off for a service upgrade or generator final, and a technician must be there for a solar final. Gas piping is pressure tested, and plumbing gets water and air tests.

The department posts the state’s 7A, 7B and 7C workers’ compensation waivers and their directions for owners and contractors who are not submitting an insurance certificate. Electricians, plumbers and heating contractors are licensed by the Department of Consumer Protection, which also registers home improvement and new home construction contractors; its online lookup will confirm a license or registration.

How to apply for a Somers building permit

Somers takes applications through PermitLink. State law lets an applicant file in person, by mail or by email in the manner the building official sets, so call 860-763-8215 if the online site does not work for you.

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Section 29-263 of the General Statutes gives the building official 30 days from the date of an application to issue or refuse the permit. In Somers approval follows plan review or a consultation with the inspector. A value below the ICC guideline figures, a missing zoning review, wetlands or health sign-off, and unpaid fees are what hold a permit back, since nothing is issued until every fee is paid.

Inspections in Somers

All inspections require 24 hours’ notice. The department’s lists are typical sequences, and wetlands, zoning and sanitarian inspections come on top of them. A new house moves from footings and foundation reinforcing before concrete, through damp-proofing, footing drains, the vapor barrier and under-slab plumbing, to framing, roof underlayment before shingles, electrical trench and rough wiring, rough plumbing, gas piping, insulation and the final. A residential renovation needs rough framing, electrical and plumbing, a gas test where there is gas, insulation and a final for the certificate of compliance.

Single-system jobs are shorter: a panel upgrade or mechanical replacement needs only a final, a generator adds a trench and gas test before its final transfer test, and solar needs any trench plus the final. Pools are inspected for bonding, the trench and, for in-ground pools, the patio mesh or rebar, then a final with alarms and barrier or ladder in place. A new roof is checked for ice and water shield and seam tape before shingles; a deck at the piers, the framing and the final.

Somers permit search and official resources

The Building Department keeps all records on the structures on each property, so ask there for past permits and certificates. Somers takes part in the National Flood Insurance Program, and FEMA lists its current flood map as dated August 16, 2006; the Planning and Zoning page links the Town’s GIS and the state’s map viewer. The same page posts the zoning regulations revised January 27, 2025, the zoning map, the subdivision regulations and the Plan of Conservation and Development adopted for 2026 to 2029.

• Somers Building Department: fees, process and inspection lists
• Somers PermitLink online permitting
• Schedule of fees, Building Official (amended June 6, 2024)
• Town Code Chapter 114: fees
• Health Department and sanitarian fee schedule
• Somers Health Department
• Somers wetlands agent
• Somers Planning and Zoning: regulations and plans
• FEMA Community Status Book for Connecticut
• Office of the State Building Inspector
• Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection: licenses and registrations

Somers building permit FAQ

Who issues building permits in Somers?

The Town’s Building Department at Town Hall, 600 Main Street; call the Building Official on 860-763-8215.

How much is a building permit in Somers?

$42 for the first $1,000 of construction cost and $18 for each further $1,000, with costs rounded up to the next $1,000 and the state education fee included. A $20,000 job pays $384.

What extra fees come with a pool?

A $25 certificate of occupancy or compliance fee and a $50 zoning review fee, plus a separate electrical permit.

Can I get my money back if I cancel?

In full if you ask in writing before the permit is reviewed and issued; afterwards no more than 50% of the total fee.

Who approves septic systems and wells?

The Town’s own Health Department at Town Hall, 860-763-8216; a new or repaired septic permit is $200 and a well permit $150.

How much notice does an inspection need?

24 hours for every inspection.

Are permit fees waived for a crumbling foundation?

The Building Official may waive the Town’s fees for directly replacing a crumbling foundation, and at his or her discretion related electrical, plumbing and restoration permits; the state’s fee is still charged.

How do I appeal a decision of the Building Official?

File an appeal with the Somers Building Code Board of Appeals under section 29-266 of the General Statutes.

Simplify Somers permitting with Alliance Permitting

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in Connecticut. 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 Somers permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.