Every building permit in St. John the Baptist Parish comes from the parish’s Planning and Zoning Permit Division at 1811 W. Airline Hwy., LaPlace (985-651-5565), because the parish has no incorporated towns. Applications are filed in MGO Connect or at the counter, the South Central Planning & Development Commission (SCPDC) reviews plans and carries out building and trade inspections, and a new house costs $0.45 per square foot plus $60 in inspection and technology fees.
What needs a permit in St. John the Baptist Parish?
The Permit Division handles both construction and non-construction permits. Its forms page lists these groups:
Homes
- New houses, additions and renovations
- Accessory buildings and patio covers
- Pools, generators and solar panels
- Re-roofs, elevations and relocations
- Demolition
- Gas, mechanical, plumbing and electrical work
- Mobile home placement
Commercial and site work
- New buildings, additions, renovations and modular buildings
- Parking lots, signs and cell towers
- Land disturbance, dirt pits and ponds
- Culverts and excavation in parish rights of way
- Wastewater (sewer) user applications
- Change of use or occupancy, conditional uses and variances
Small storage buildings: the parish fee sheet still prices an accessory building under 200 sq ft with no utilities at $60. Separately, R.S. 37:3738 bars a parish from enforcing the construction code on a detached residential accessory structure of 200 sq ft or less unless it stands in a hurricane-prone region with a design wind speed of 130 mph or more, so ask the Permit Division which applies to your lot. Because the parish issues permits, R.S. 37:3737(I), re-enacted by Act 881 of 2026, also requires it to permit and inspect roofing.
Who issues building permits in St. John the Baptist Parish?
The Permit Clerks receive each application, check that it is complete, collect payment and issue the permit, but review only starts once every document and fee is in. Depending on the job, the review can involve other parish departments, building plan review, engineering and stormwater review. Building-code questions, plan review and the building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical and sewer inspections go to SCPDC, the regional planning commission named on the parish forms. Planning and Zoning itself is the floodplain administrator and carries out the zoning inspections.
| Office | Role and contact |
|---|---|
| Permit Division, Planning and Zoning | Applications, fees, permits, zoning checks; 1811 W. Airline Hwy., LaPlace, 1st floor; 985-651-5565; weekdays 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. |
| South Central Planning & Development Commission | Plan review questions and inspection requests, 985-655-1070; after-hours emergency inspections, 985-851-2900, option 1 |
| Code Enforcement Division | Complaints and violation records, 985-359-1195 |
| Floodplain manager (Planning and Zoning) | Flood zone determinations, 985-651-5565 or StJohnFloodplain@stjohn-la.gov |
Short on time to read all of this?
Get a free quote →The Census lists no incorporated city, town or village in the parish (estimated population 39,875 in 2025); every community, including LaPlace, is served by the parish office.
St. John the Baptist Parish permit fees
The Permit Division’s fee sheet lists a base fee, a $50 inspection fee for most permit types and a $10 technology fee on every permit; the residential amounts are the same on the Residential Permit Application revised March 9, 2026. Fees are paid by credit card, check or money order made out to the St. John Parish Council, are non-refundable, and are doubled for after-the-fact permits or applications with false information.
| Work | Base fee | Total with inspection and technology fees |
|---|---|---|
| New construction or addition | $0.45 per sq ft | Base fee + $60 |
| Minor renovation, up to $5,000 / $5,000–$10,000 | $25 / $100 | $85 / $160 |
| Major renovation, $10,001 and above | $200 | $260 |
| Accessory building under 200 sq ft, no utilities | $0 | $60 |
| Accessory building of 200 sq ft or more with one or more walls | $0.23 per sq ft ($75 minimum, $500 maximum) | Base fee + $60 |
| Open-sided accessory, 200–500 sq ft / over 500 sq ft | $75 / $200, plus trade fees | $135 / $260 |
| Attached patio cover | $75 | $135 |
| Re-roof | $50 | $110 |
| In-ground pool | $200 | $260 |
| Above-ground pool, by cost ($0–$5,000 / to $10,000 / over) | $25 / $100 / $200 | $85 / $160 / $260 |
| Generator / solar panels | $200 / $125 (no inspection fee) | $210 / $135 |
| Structure elevation / relocation | $500 / $250 plus trade fees | $560 / $310 |
| Mobile home placement | $150 | $210 |
| Demolition | $50 | $110 |
| Trade permit | $125 (no inspection fee) | $135 |
| Land disturbance | $150 | $210 |
Not sure this scope needs a permit?
Get a free quote →| Work | Base fee | Total with inspection and technology fees |
|---|---|---|
| New construction, accessory building or addition | $0.50 per sq ft ($500 minimum) | Base fee + $60 |
| Renovation | $0.25 per sq ft ($500 minimum) | Base fee + $60 |
| Re-roof / solar installation | $500 each | $560 |
| Generator | $1,000 (no inspection fee) | $1,010 |
| Structure elevation | $750 | $810 |
| Monument or pole sign / other sign | $300 / $100 | $360 / $160 |
| New telecommunications tower / co-location or antenna change | $4,000 / $1,500 | $4,060 / $1,560 |
| Trade permit | $125 (no inspection fee) | $135 |
The fee sheet also lists $50 for a historic district application, $20 for a zoning verification and $100 for a change of use or occupancy, each plus the $10 technology fee. Culvert permits are estimated by Public Works (985-652-4815).
Trade permits, sewer and septic
A trade permit costs $125 plus the $10 technology fee. On the residential and commercial applications, the main permit includes the sub-permits when every subcontractor qualifier signs the application and the plans show their work; if that information is missing, each trade gets its own permit and fee.
Rather talk it over?
Call 1-855-478-4290 →Where a house ties into the parish sewer, SCPDC makes two sewer inspections: one of the uncovered line after it is connected and one after backfill, to check the sewer boxes at final grade. The parish specification calls for a 4-inch check valve within 3 feet of the house and a boxed 6-inch cleanout marked “sewer”, and any old septic tank must be pumped out and filled with river sand within 90 days. Where no sewer is available, the application asks for approval from the Louisiana Department of Health (985-444-5639), which permits individual sewage systems. Commercial projects also file a Wastewater User Application.
Documents for a St. John the Baptist Parish permit
New house
- Signed application listing every owner, with the parcel number
- Recorded act of sale, judgment of possession or deed
- Land survey
- One complete set of plans on 11x17 paper with a site plan showing setbacks, 2 parking spaces and the driveway
- A note on the plans of the codes used and the 120 mph wind design
- Copy of the contractor’s licence
- Assessor’s information form and Public Works inspection form
- Construction-drawing elevation certificate before the permit
Commercial
- Application, deed or lease and signed contract
- Land survey and Assessor’s form
- One hard copy of complete plans (and a digital copy if available), with utilities, setbacks, landscaping and parking
- State Fire Marshal life-safety approval
- Wastewater User Application and Public Works inspection form
- Elevation certificates at the drawing, under-construction and final stages
- SWPPP or stormwater plans, and DOTD approval on a state highway, where they apply
Other items depend on the site: a letter of no objection from the Pontchartrain or Lafourche Basin levee district, the Corps of Engineers and the state coastal authority for work within 1,500 feet of the Mississippi River levee; a drainage plan and post-construction survey when more than 4 cubic yards of fill is brought in; and a form survey and final as-built survey for a residential accessory building over 600 sq ft.
Rather not deal with the St. John the Baptist Parish building department?
Get a free quote →How to get a permit in St. John the Baptist Parish
The parish strongly recommends one with the Permit Staff before new houses and commercial buildings.
Ask the floodplain manager for a flood zone determination, and use a Joint Permit Application if the work involves fill, clearing or dredging.
Apply online, or bring the application to the LaPlace counter.
Upload every required document and pay the fees; the Permit Clerk then accepts the application as complete.
Parish departments and SCPDC check the plans, engineering and stormwater; the permit is issued only after the review finds the work compliant.
Keep the placard visible from the road and the approved plans on site, and book each inspection in order.
Inspections and the certificate of occupancy
The parish inspection guidelines split the work between two offices. SCPDC (985-655-1070) inspects the temporary pole, in-ground plumbing and site de-grassing, and the foundation before the pour. Planning and Zoning then needs the under-construction elevation certificate and form survey, stamped by a licensed land surveyor, and makes its first zoning inspection of setbacks, the port-o-let and the dumpster. All of this must be approved before the foundation is poured.
SCPDC then inspects electrical, plumbing and mechanical rough-ins, framing, roof, insulation, attic insulation, the electrical, gas and plumbing finals, the two sewer inspections and the final building inspection for the Certificate of Compliance. Planning and Zoning closes the job with the finished-construction elevation certificate, the final as-built survey and a second zoning inspection that checks the port-o-let and debris are gone, the street and curb are undamaged and the driveway and sidewalk are in. The certificate of occupancy is not issued until all of the flood documents have been approved.
SCPDC says its plan reviews average about three days and that it offers next-day inspections. For an electrical emergency in an occupied building, such as storm, fire or vehicle damage, its on-call inspector can inspect and call the utility for reconnection; a permit is still needed, on the next business day if it happens after hours.
Flood, coastal and site rules in St. John the Baptist Parish
Flood elevation: the parish says more than 87% of its land is in a Special Flood Hazard Area, in Zones AE and VE. Chapter 107 of the parish code, last amended in November 2024, sets the lowest floor (which here includes mechanical equipment, utility equipment and ductwork) in Zone AE at the most restrictive of the base flood elevation plus 1 foot of freeboard, 12 inches above the centerline of the street, or the state construction code’s elevation rule; in Zone X it must be at least 12 inches above the street centerline. The code adopts the flood maps dated November 4, 2010 and their revisions, and the parish publishes flood data for each property on its Forerunner site.
Want this handled start to finish?
Get a free quote →Coastal zone: the whole parish is inside Louisiana’s coastal zone, so fill, slabs, clearing and dredging need a Coastal Use Permit or an exemption; the Office of Coastal Management (225-342-0884) helps with the Joint Permit Application.
Job site: each site needs a port-o-let and a dumpster or screened trash enclosure, though adjacent sites of one builder may share them at the inspector’s discretion. House numbers must be at least 4 inches tall near the front entrance; a number on a distant mailbox does not count.
Zoning and history: the Permit Division also takes historic district, variance, conditional use, subdivision and zoning verification applications, and checks each permit against the zoning district, historic district and design review corridor.
Louisiana building code
Every Louisiana parish and municipality enforces the state’s Uniform Construction Code (R.S. 37:3737), adopted by the Louisiana Uniform Construction Code Commission: the 2021 International Codes with Louisiana amendments, in force since 1 January 2023, and the 2020 National Electrical Code, with the 2024 codes taking effect on 1 January 2027. A local government may set more stringent requirements only with the Commission’s approval, and the State Fire Marshal reviews plans for fire and life safety on all but one- and two-family dwellings. How the LSUCC works
Official St. John the Baptist Parish permit resources
- St. John the Baptist Parish building permits and zoning forms
- Permit Division fee sheet
- Residential new construction permit application (revised December 2025)
- Residential permit application (revised March 2026)
- Commercial new construction permit application (revised March 2026)
- MGO Connect permit portal
- St. John the Baptist Parish flood protection information
- Parish Code, chapter 107: floodplain regulations
- South Central Planning & Development Commission code enforcement
- Act 881 of 2026 (HB 1186): R.S. 37:3737 and 37:3738
- Louisiana Uniform Construction Code Council
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →St. John the Baptist Parish permit FAQs
Who issues building permits in LaPlace?
LaPlace is not incorporated, so permits come from the parish Permit Division at 1811 W. Airline Hwy., LaPlace (985-651-5565). The same office covers the rest of the parish.
How much is a building permit for a new house?
The base fee is $0.45 per square foot, plus a $50 zoning inspection fee and a $10 technology fee. Trade permits that are not covered by the main permit cost $135 each.
Can I apply online?
Yes. Create an account in MGO Connect and submit there, or apply in person. Review starts only when all documents and fees are in.
Who does the inspections?
The South Central Planning & Development Commission inspects building and trade work (985-655-1070), and Planning and Zoning makes the two zoning inspections and checks the elevation certificates.
How high does a new house have to be?
In Zone AE, at the most restrictive of the base flood elevation plus 1 foot, 12 inches above the street centerline, or the state code’s elevation rule; in Zone X, at least 12 inches above the street centerline.
Do I need a permit for a new roof?
Yes. A residential re-roof is $50 plus inspection and technology fees ($110 in total), and a commercial re-roof $560.
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More Louisiana permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about St. John the Baptist Parish permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.