Gautier, Mississippi Building Permit Guide

In Gautier, the city’s Planning and Building Department at City Hall, 3330 Highway 90, issues building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits; Scott Ankerson is the Planning Director and Building Official (228-497-1878). Permit fees run on construction valuation under the Comprehensive Fee Schedule revised September 14, 2023, from $25 for the first $1,000, and new floors in the flood zone must sit 2 feet above the base flood elevation.

Who handles permits in Gautier?

One department covers planning, zoning, building and code enforcement inside Gautier city limits. Under the Unified Development Ordinance no building may be put up, moved, added to or structurally altered without a permit from the Building Official, and the Planning Director must review and approve the application first; in Gautier one person, Scott Ankerson, holds both posts and is also a certified floodplain manager.

Completed applications can be emailed to the department. Its web page gives 228-497-8000 for questions; the permit applications and the Building Official’s listing use 228-497-1878.

Gautier permit types and forms

The department posts its applications as PDFs on its web page:

• Application A, Residential Building Permit, for new homes, additions, alterations, repairs and accessory buildings, with a Construction Site Runoff Controls Checklist attached.
• Application C, Commercial Building Permit, for commercial work.
• Mobile Home Permit (Application B) and Permit Form D.
• Residential Building Permit Affidavit, which a homeowner acting as builder signs before a notary.
• Contractor License Application.
• Power Release Application, used only when power is restored to a building without a separate building, mechanical, plumbing or electrical permit.
• Flood Determination request, which returns the flood zone and minimum base flood elevation for a parcel.

Separate permits cover site clearing and land disturbance (mowing or bush hogging alone needs none), removal of protected trees such as live oaks and magnolias, bulkheads, commercial signs, temporary uses and construction trailers. Paving a lot or adding impervious cover needs a building permit approved by the Public Works Director.

Gautier permit fees

The Comprehensive Fee Schedule, revised September 14, 2023, prices building, mechanical, electrical and plumbing permits on construction valuation. The valuation is set by the Building and Zoning Administrator from the latest ICC Building Valuation Data or a certified bid tabulation. Each fee carries a $1 filing fee. Council agendas from July to October 2026 included an amendment to the schedule’s public works and utilities section only.

A house valued at $200,000 therefore pays $520 plus 100 × $4, or $920, plus the $1 filing fee, and $51 for new-house plan review.

Swimming pools are priced on valuation like other construction. City projects need a permit but pay no fee.

Trade permits and contractor licences

Electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits use the same valuation table as building permits. The city enforces the 2024 International Mechanical, Fuel Gas and Plumbing Codes and the 2023 National Electrical Code.

Contractors register with the department before pulling permits. A general contractor needs a Mississippi contractor’s licence and pays no city fee. Remodelers pay $100 and electrical, mechanical and plumbing contractors $50 (plus the $1 filing fee) for a Gautier licence, and the fee is waived for those holding a current state licence. Every applicant files a certificate of general liability insurance of at least $100,000 naming the city as certificate holder. Applicants without a state licence provide a letter or copy of a current licence for the same work from another Mississippi city, and the form may also call for client references from the last three years.

Homeowners can pull permits only for a home they own and live in. The notarized Homeowner Building Permit Affidavit lists the permits the owner is responsible for and notes the state rule that the owner must occupy the house for 2 years after it is finished.

What to submit

Lots of any size must use stormwater and drainage controls during clearing and site work, and no fill may be hauled in until those measures are in place.

How to apply in Gautier

Inspections in Gautier

The department inspects permitted work, and each re-inspection costs $25 plus the filing fee. Where power is connected, reconnected or put in a new name without an active permit, the Power Release Application leads to a power release inspection; a nonconforming building vacant for more than 60 days must be brought up to current standards first. Under an active permit, power release is handled through that permit’s inspections. Singing River Power is the electric provider named on the form.

In the flood zone, the elevation of the lowest floor (or, in Coastal AE and VE zones, of the lowest horizontal structural member) is certified and kept on file by the floodplain administrator.

Gautier flood and coastal rules

The city’s Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance (the version posted with a cover date of October 4, 2018) and its flood determination form set a 2-foot freeboard. In A zones the lowest floor of a new or substantially improved home or commercial building must be 2 feet above the base flood elevation; a non-residential building may instead be floodproofed to that height. The flood maps in use are the Jackson County panels dated March 16, 2009.

Coastal AE and VE zones: the ordinance treats the area between the limit of moderate wave action and the V zone as a V zone. Buildings there go on pilings or columns, with the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member 2 feet above the base flood elevation or 1 foot above the street centerline, whichever is higher, and an engineer or architect certifies the design. The space below must be open or enclosed with breakaway walls of 10 to 20 pounds per square foot, with enclosures limited to 299 sq ft and used only for parking, access or storage. Fill may not be used to support a building.

Substantial improvement: Gautier counts improvements cumulatively over 10 years. Once their total cost reaches 50% of the building’s market value, the building must meet the rules for new construction.

Construction trailers: the City Manager can permit a construction trailer on a lot for up to 12 months while a permanent building is under way; it must be removed within two weeks of completion.

Mississippi building code

Some work is exempt statewide: farm structures once the owner files an affidavit (Mississippi Code §17-2-7), and manufactured housing built to federal standards, certain industrial and utility facilities, buildings on non-public fairgrounds and hunting or fishing camps with an owner’s affidavit (§17-2-9). None of these exemptions reaches floodplain rules. The state minimum codes are the Mississippi Building Code and Mississippi Residential Code, the residential code drawn from the 2021 International Residential Code. How building codes apply in Mississippi

Gautier permit FAQs

Who issues building permits in Gautier?

The Planning and Building Department at City Hall, 3330 Highway 90 (228-497-1878). Scott Ankerson is the Planning Director and Building Official.

How much does a building permit cost in Gautier?

$25 for the first $1,000 of valuation plus $5 per additional $1,000 up to $100,000, with lower rates above that and a $1 filing fee. A $200,000 house pays $921, plus $51 for plan review.

Can a homeowner pull a permit in Gautier?

Only for a home the owner lives in, using the notarized Homeowner Building Permit Affidavit. Otherwise permits go to licensed contractors.

How high must I build in a Gautier flood zone?

Two feet above the base flood elevation. In Coastal AE and VE zones that applies to the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member, or 1 foot above the street centerline if that is higher.

Do contractors need a Gautier licence?

They must register. The city fee is waived for contractors with a current Mississippi licence; others pay $100 (remodelers) or $50 (electrical, mechanical, plumbing), plus $1.

How long is a Gautier building permit valid?

It expires if work has not started within six months of issue.

Official Gautier permitting resources

These are the primary sources behind this guide. Codes, fee schedules and procedures change — confirm the position for your filing date.

• Mississippi Insurance Department: Mississippi uniform building codes
• Gautier Planning and Building Department
• Gautier Comprehensive Fee Schedule (revised September 14, 2023)
• Gautier Residential Building Permit Application
• Gautier Commercial Building Permit Application
• Gautier Homeowner Building Permit Affidavit
• Gautier Contractor License Application
• Gautier Flood Determination form
• Gautier Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance
• Gautier Unified Development Ordinance

Simplify Gautier permitting with Alliance Permitting

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