Grenada, Mississippi Building Permit Guide

Inside the City of Grenada, a building permit from the City is needed before clearing, earthwork, construction, moving or most repairs, and no building may be used, or connected to utilities, until the City issues a certificate of occupancy. Grenada enforces the 2012 International Building Code, and new buildings in a flood zone must sit at least 1 foot above the base flood elevation.

Who issues building permits in Grenada?

Two parts of the City code describe who handles permits. Chapter 8 adopts the 2012 International Building Code, which is administered by the City’s building official; the building official also directs the license examining board and can suspend a contractor’s licence for three months after a second permit violation within three years. Article VIII of the zoning ordinance says the zoning administrator issues building permits after checking the plans against the zoning rules, refuses them in writing, makes the final inspection and issues the certificate of occupancy. Electrical work is permitted through the office of the electrical inspector, the code enforcement officer issues sign permits, and the city engineer is the floodplain administrator.

The City’s building and zoning rules apply inside the city limits. Its subdivision regulations also reach one mile beyond them, so dividing land just outside the city goes through the City’s planning process. Other land outside the city lies in Grenada County.

What needs a permit in Grenada

Chapter 19 lists those trade repairs as needing no licence, permit or inspection, but replacing wiring, panel boxes, house sewers, water heaters, condensing units or furnaces is not exempt.

Electrical wiring and additions or changes to it need a separate electrical permit, and work in a flood hazard area needs a floodplain development permit. Historic landmarks and properties in a historic district also need a certificate of appropriateness.

Grenada permit fees

The online code, codified through July 13, 2015, has no building permit fee table, and the site plan review fee is charged under an “adopted fee schedule” that is not posted, so ask the City for the building permit fee on your project. The code itself sets these fees:

• Signs: $15 plus $0.10 per square foot of sign face, paid to the code enforcement officer’s office
• Demolition or removal: the permit runs 60 days and the building official may add 30 days for good cause; after that a second permit costs $25 and lasts up to 60 days
• Subdivision preliminary plat: a filing fee of at least $50 plus $1 a lot
• Contractor licences: $75 to apply for a master licence or $50 for a journeyman licence, renewing at $30 or $20 each December
• Work started without a permit: automatically charged double the regular fee

Electrical, plumbing and mechanical work in Grenada

Licensed trades: under Chapter 19 of the City code, plumbers, electricians, general contractors, HVAC contractors and gas fitters must hold a City master licence before permits are issued for work regulated by the building, gas, electrical or mechanical codes. Applicants pass the Grenada license examining board’s written exam ($75 master or $50 journeyman application) and show four years’ experience (two for a journeyman); a master licence also needs a $5,000 bond to the City, as do general contractors and in-ground pool contractors. Licences expire at the end of December; renewal costs $30 for a master and $20 for a journeyman, doubled if late. The master who takes out the permit must at least supervise the job.

Electrical: before wiring, file written notice at the electrical inspector’s office describing the work, the owner and the location, and obtain a permit; wiring may not be covered or connected until it is inspected and approved. The older electrical chapter (Chapter 12) still lets a property owner do his or her own wiring subject to inspection; ask the City how that applies alongside the Chapter 19 licence rule.

Plumbing: the City’s cross-connection rules require backflow preventers approved by the Mississippi State Department of Health wherever a cross connection exists, tested after installation, after any repair and every year by a state-certified tester. New water meter applications are reviewed for cross connections, and home wells may not be connected to the City system without an approved backflow preventer.

Mechanical: the online code still adopts the 1985 Southern Standard Mechanical Code.

What a Grenada permit application needs

The zoning ordinance requires every application for excavation, construction, use of land, moving or alteration to include a map or plat showing:

• The actual shape, proportions and dimensions of the lot
• The shape, size and location of every building to be built, altered or moved, and of the buildings already on the lot
• The existing and intended use of each building
• The setback and side lines of buildings on the neighboring lots, and anything else needed to check the zoning rules

Large projects also go through the City’s site plan review, in which a committee certifies to the zoning administrator whether the plan complies with City ordinances.

How to get a Grenada building permit

Inspections and certificate of occupancy

No new, moved or altered building or land may be used until the zoning administrator issues a certificate of occupancy confirming it complies with the zoning ordinance. Within 3 days of being told the building is ready, the administrator must make the final inspection and issue the certificate if the work conforms. It is unlawful for any utility to serve a house, business, industry or mobile home before the certificate is issued. Electrical wiring must be inspected before it is covered or switched on, though the electrical inspector may allow temporary service for up to 30 days. Violating the zoning ordinance carries a fine of at least $10 plus court costs for each day.

Grenada rules that shape a project

Flood zones: parts of the city along the Yalobusha River, Bogue Bayou and their tributaries flood. A floodplain development permit from the city engineer is required before building in a special flood hazard area, and new or substantially improved homes, commercial buildings and manufactured homes must have the lowest floor at least 1 foot above the base flood elevation. No construction except approved underground utilities is allowed in the designated floodway.

Historic preservation: the Grenada Historic Preservation Commission oversees landmarks and historic districts, and work on them needs a certificate of appropriateness. Building on, altering or moving a resource without one leads to revocation of the licence of whoever did the work, and demolishing one without it blocks any permit for the property for three years.

Fire district: section 8-1 sets the downtown fire limits, an area bounded by Spring, Kershaw, Second, Church, Third, Green and Line Streets, plus the land east of Kershaw Street out to the Illinois Central Railroad tracks.

Accessory buildings: they may not stand in a required front or side yard, must be at least 5 feet from any lot line and are limited to one story except where Article IV of the zoning ordinance allows more.

Codes Grenada enforces

An ordinance of April 8, 2013 adopted the 2012 International Building Code as Grenada’s building code. The other technical chapters of the online code are older: the 1978 National Electrical Code, and the 1985 Southern Standard Plumbing and Mechanical Codes. The online code is codified only through July 2015, so ask the City whether later editions have been adopted.

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

Grenada permit FAQs

Who issues building permits in Grenada, MS?

The City, for property inside the city limits: the zoning ordinance has the zoning administrator issue building permits and certificates of occupancy, and the adopted building code is run by the building official.

Do I need a permit for small repairs in Grenada?

Not for repairs that do not change the character of the structure and cost $500 or less, for painting and wallpapering, or for the minor electrical, plumbing and mechanical repairs listed in Chapter 19. Most other construction, moving and repair work needs one.

Do contractors need a Grenada licence?

Yes. Plumbers, electricians, general contractors, HVAC contractors and gas fitters need a City master licence, which takes an exam and a $5,000 bond, before permits are issued.

Can I do my own electrical work?

Chapter 12 of the code lets a property owner wire his or her own property subject to inspection, but the 1993 licensing rules in Chapter 19 require a City master licence before electrical permits are issued; ask the City how the two apply to your job. Minor electrical repairs with no added wiring need no permit.

How high must a new building be in a Grenada flood zone?

The lowest floor must be at least 1 foot above the base flood elevation.

Can the power be turned on before the final inspection?

No utility may serve the building until the certificate of occupancy is issued; the electrical inspector can allow temporary service for up to 30 days.

Official Grenada permit resources

• Grenada Code of Ordinances (Municode)
• Grenada Code, Chapter 8: building code and flood damage prevention
• Grenada Code, Chapter 19: contractor licensing
• Grenada Code, Chapter 12: electrical permits
• Grenada subdivision regulations (Appendix B)
• Grenada zoning ordinance: building permits and certificates of occupancy (Appendix A)
• Grenada Code, Chapter 17.5: historic preservation
• Grenada Code, Chapter 24: plumbing and cross connection control

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