Stonington, Connecticut Building Permit Guide

In Stonington, the Town’s Building Official issues building, electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling, solar, pool and demolition permits from the third floor of Town Hall at 152 Elm Street, and every application goes through the Town’s OpenGov online portal. The portal’s fee rule is $25 for the first $1,000 of labor and materials and $12 for each further $1,000, rounded up to the next thousand, plus the state education fee of 26 cents per $1,000. The same office covers the Borough of Stonington, where the Borough’s own zoning approval must come first.

Christopher Tehan is the Building Official, working with an assistant building official. The office is open Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and takes inspection requests by phone at 860-535-5075. Zoning, wetlands, coastal and flood plain questions go to the Planning Department in the same building, and septic reviews to the Ledge Light Health District, which the Town joined on May 1, 2017.

The town includes Pawcatuck and the Borough of Stonington; both file with the Town Building Official.

What requires a building permit in Stonington?

The portal’s permit types show what the office regulates: residential and commercial building work, demolition, temporary tents, generators, gas and fuel oil tanks and piping, electrical, plumbing and sprinklers, heating and cooling, roofs, windows, doors and siding, pools, solar arrays, signs and fences. The residential building permit covers single-family homes, two-family homes and townhouses, for new work, renovations, additions and alterations.

The portal also carries a fence permit described as covering any fence, standing alone or attached to a structure, while the state code exempts fences not over 7 feet unless they are pool barriers. Ask the office which applies before building a fence.

What the town decides and what the state holds

The building rules are the 2022 Connecticut State Building Code for applications filed since October 1, 2022; a delayed 2026 edition will follow, applied by filing date. Stonington’s own choices are the online-only filing, the fee rule printed in the portal, a 2022 demolition delay ordinance for historic buildings, a 2007 ordinance setting planning and zoning fees, and its zoning regulations, now going through a comprehensive rewrite by the Planning and Zoning Commission. In the Borough, the Borough’s own zoning regulations, last revised September 18, 2026, apply.

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

Stonington building department: who handles permitting

The Building Official reviews and issues every permit, and commercial plans are reviewed by the building office and the fire marshal’s office together under the building and fire safety codes. The Planning Department supports the Planning and Zoning Commission, the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Inland Wetland and Watercourses Commission and the Architectural Design Review Board, and handles coastal area management reviews, flood plain determinations and zoning permits. The Building Official cannot release a certificate of occupancy until the zoning enforcement officer issues a certificate of zoning compliance.

In the Borough of Stonington, the Borough says a property owner who wants to change the outside of a building or build a new one must first get Borough zoning approval. Building permits still come from the Town Building Official and will not issue without that approval, and the Town will not issue a certificate of occupancy until the Borough has issued its certificate of zoning compliance.

Permit types

Each portal permit type opens with the Town’s own guidance on what to upload and which inspections will follow. You create an account with an email address and password, choose Explore beside the Building Department, Select the permit type and Start; drafts can be saved and finished later from your profile.

Residential permits

A residential building application needs architectural plans showing elevations, floor plans, structural design and elevation grades, and the plans should also cover the electrical, plumbing, heating and sprinkler work; plans without these may be rejected as incomplete. The Town’s checklist asks for footing size and depth, anchor bolts, damp-proofing and footing drains, wall bracing called out on the plans, beam, joist, rafter and stud sizes and spacing, header sizes, stair dimensions, egress windows, smoke detector locations, insulation values and roof ventilation. A basement finish needs existing and proposed floor plans showing ceiling heights, wall build-up, insulation, pressure-treated plates, combustion air for the furnace and the stair details. A pool takes its own pool permit, linked to the building permit, with the pool contractor’s license and insurance and the alarm and barrier specifications.

Smaller jobs have short forms. A generator permit needs a site plan showing the generator and any new propane tank. A tank or gas piping permit needs a sketch of the location plus the contractor’s license and insurance binder. Roof, window, door and siding permits need the contractor’s license and insurance, and the Town lists no inspection for them. Solar needs an engineer’s structural letter and the electrical drawings, and no separate electrical permit.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial applications use the same plan checklist, and the uploaded plans are reviewed by the building department and the fire marshal’s office under section 111.5 of the State Building Code and section 1-5.10 of the State Fire Safety Code. Plans for some building types must be prepared by a registered architect or licensed professional engineer. A temporary tent is inspected by the Fire Marshal before anyone occupies it, and its certificate of occupancy waits for the zoning enforcement officer’s certificate of zoning compliance. Ground-mounted signs need construction drawings and a footing inspection.

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 permit: the Planning Department issues it. Under the 2007 fee ordinance a new single-family house is $250 plus $25 per 100 sq ft of gross floor area, an addition up to 1,000 sq ft $50 plus $10 per 100 sq ft, a pool $25, a detached garage $100 and a shed over 200 sq ft $100.
• Coastal area management: the Planning Department runs coastal reviews; a single-family house is $150.
• Wetlands: the Inland Wetland and Watercourses Commission meets on the first Thursday of the month.
• Septic: Ledge Light’s B100a review for additions and accessory structures on septic lots, initial fee $25.
• Borough properties: Borough zoning approval from the Borough office on Church Street.

Stonington permit costs and fees

The fee rule is printed in the portal’s help page on applying and paying: $25 for the first $1,000 of estimated labor and materials and $12 for each further $1,000, with the system rounding up to the nearest thousand, and the state education fee of 26 cents per $1,000 added on. The demolition delay ordinance points to the Building Department’s permit fee schedule as amended, which is the rule the portal applies.

Worked example from the Town’s own help page. A $500,000 project pays $25 for the first thousand plus 499 × $12, or $5,988, for the remaining thousands, and a state education fee of 500 × 26 cents, or $130: $6,143 in all.

You pay after the Building Official approves the application and the portal emails you. Card payments are made online. Checks can be paid in person, mailed, or left in the drop box on Town Hall’s front porch; cash is taken in person only. No inspection is scheduled until the fees are paid in full.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical, plumbing (including sprinklers), heating and cooling, and tank and gas piping work each have their own portal permit, and the Town asks for copies of the contractor’s license and insurance with each one. The electrical permit is not used for solar, which has its own permit covering the wiring. Heating and cooling applications give the equipment make and model, and may add load calculations and installation instructions.

The demolition permit spells out one owner rule: an owner may act as demolition contractor for a single-family house or outbuilding not over 30 feet high, must be on site while it is torn down and is personally liable for injury or damage.

How to apply for a Stonington building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Plans that leave out required details may be rejected as incomplete and must be resubmitted. A missing zoning permit, Borough zoning approval or Ledge Light review holds the file, and unpaid fees hold the inspections. Under state law a permit must be issued or refused within 30 days of the application date.

Demolition carries the longest wait. Under the ordinance in force since July 19, 2022, a building of 500 sq ft or more that is 70 years old, or one in a national or state historic district or on a register, is a historic structure. Within 14 days of applying, the owner publishes a notice of intent to demolish, sends it by certified mail to abutters within 100 feet, to the Stonington Historical Society (and the Mystic River Historical Society for ZIP code 06355), the Planning Department and the First Selectman, and posts a sign at least 24 by 36 inches. If anyone files a written objection within 14 days of the notice, the permit waits 90 days from the application; if not, it may issue once the other requirements are met. The ordinance does not apply in the Borough, which has its own demolition notice ordinance. Every demolition also needs utility disconnection notices, certified letters to adjoining owners, hazardous material clearances and the state health department’s demolition notification.

Inspections in Stonington

Inspections are booked by phone only: call 860-535-5075 and give the permit number, at least 48 hours ahead, more in busy periods. Work must stay exposed until approved, and the approved plans and installation manuals must be on site. The Town’s list runs through footings, foundations, under-slab work including radon parts, backfill, rough-in, framing, underground piping and conduit, insulation, temporary and permanent electrical service, wood and pellet stoves, and the final.

Before the final, a house in a flood hazard area may need an elevation certificate, and the file needs the concrete supplier and installer certificate and the blower door or duct leakage reports. Pools are inspected for bonding, rough plumbing and electrical, then for the certificate of occupancy; generators and solar arrays for their trenches and a final.

Stonington permit search and official resources

Your permits, inspections and issued documents sit under Active and Complete Records in your OpenGov profile, and issued permits and certificates are emailed for printing. For older building files, ask the Building Official’s office; flood plain determinations come from the Planning Department. The Town is in the National Flood Insurance Program with flood maps dated April 3, 2020, while the Borough takes part separately with maps dated August 5, 2013.

• Stonington Building Official: portal, payments and contacts
• Stonington OpenGov permit portal
• Stonington Building Official FAQ: scheduling inspections
• Stonington demolition delay ordinance (2022)
• Stonington Planning Department
• Stonington planning and zoning fee ordinance
• Stonington comprehensive zoning rewrite
• Borough of Stonington Planning and Zoning
• Stonington and the Ledge Light Health District
• Ledge Light Health District: septic and B100a reviews
• FEMA Community Status Book for Connecticut
• Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection: licenses and registrations

Stonington building permit FAQ

Who issues building permits in Stonington?

The Town Building Official at 152 Elm Street, third floor; call 860-535-5075. That includes properties in the Borough of Stonington.

How much is a building permit in Stonington?

$25 for the first $1,000 and $12 for each further $1,000, plus 26 cents per $1,000 for the state. The Town’s example: a $500,000 project pays $6,143.

Can I file a paper application?

The Town says it stopped taking paper permits on May 3, 2021 and uses its online portal; call the office if you cannot use it.

I live in the Borough. What is different?

Get Borough zoning approval first; the Town will not issue the building permit without it, or the certificate of occupancy without the Borough’s zoning certificate.

Does an inflatable pool need a permit?

Yes, if it holds water more than 24 inches deep; the Town says inflatable and metal pools count.

How do I book an inspection?

Call 860-535-5075 with the permit number at least 48 hours ahead, after the fees are paid.

Simplify Stonington 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 Stonington permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.