Madison, Mississippi Building Permit Guide

Madison the City issues its own building permits through the Building & Permits Department, 1239 Highway 51 North (601-856-6336). A residential builder must be bonded with the City for $5,000 or 0.5% of the job, whichever is greater, file two sets of plans and pay all fees when the permit is issued; the department then makes ten inspections, each done the day after it is called in.

Who issues building permits in Madison?

The Building & Permits Department handles permits for work inside the city limits. It issues the permits, enforces the City’s adopted codes and inspects construction, and its inspectors are certified through the International Code Council. The department also issues gas and electric permits when utilities have been off for more than six months, and it handles the City’s rental property permits.

Zoning, site plans, subdivisions and floodplain management sit with the separate Community Development Department at City Hall, 120 Montgomery Street (601-856-7116), led by Community Development Director Kianca Guyton. Under the City’s flood ordinance the Director of Community Development is also the floodplain administrator.

Land outside the city limits is not part of this process. Unincorporated Madison County is permitted by the Madison County Planning and Zoning Department in Canton, and neighboring Ridgeland, Gluckstadt and Canton run their own building departments.

What needs a permit in Madison

The Building & Permits page lists the work that needs a City permit:

The application form itself is a single sheet for new residential, new commercial, commercial build-out and other work, with boxes for sewer, gas, electric, boring, addition and miscellaneous permits. A renovation, addition or accessory structure must be permitted before work starts. Commercial plans must carry a registered architect’s stamp.

Madison permit fees and bonds

Building & Permits prices each job on the application: a building fee, a plumbing fee by fixture count, a mechanical (HVAC) fee, an electrical fee by circuit count and an inspection fee. Water and sewer tie-on and tap fees, any grinder pump and any road bore are added on the same form. The department’s fee amounts are given by the office when the application is priced (601-856-6336), and all fees are due when the permit is issued.

Charges that arise during the job, such as re-inspections, plan alterations, damage to curbs, water meters or boxes, and professional review fees, are billed and must be paid before the Certificate of Occupancy is issued. The planning fees come from the City’s Planning and Zoning Submittal and Permit Fees chart. Board of Aldermen minutes from July to October 2026 contain no change to permit fees.

Electrical, plumbing and HVAC work

Trade work is listed on the building permit application rather than through a separate office: the general contractor names the electrical, plumbing, mechanical and boring subcontractors, and the fees for plumbing fixtures, HVAC and electrical circuits are added to the same permit. Each electrical, plumbing and HVAC subcontractor must be licensed in Mississippi and give the City a copy of its Master’s licence.

A stand-alone gas or electric permit is issued when service has been off for more than six months. Gas piping is pressure-tested at a separate gas inspection with an air gauge installed. Under the City’s 1996 sprinkler ordinance, sprinkler plans go to the Building Official, and the drawings must remind the contractor to call the Madison Fire Department at least 24 hours before any required test.

What to submit with a Madison application

For a new home, the City’s Obtaining a Permit page lists:

• Proof that the builder is bonded with the City and holds a state licence where state law requires one
• Two sets of plans: front, rear and side elevations; foundation plan and details; floor plan with door and window schedule; electrical floor plan and schedule; rafter and joist span table; HVAC layout; and a gutter detail for zero-lot-line houses
• A plot plan showing setbacks, drainage, sidewalks, finished floor elevation, erosion and silt control, and planned fences, pools or antennas
• Homeowners’ association approval of the plans where the covenants require it
• Copies of the electrical, plumbing and HVAC subcontractors’ Master’s licences
• Bedrooms, bathrooms, heated square footage and the construction cost, not including the lot

The form asks staff to confirm that a land disturbance plan has been approved and a site grading permit issued before the building permit, and to record the flood zone. For commercial work, staff review a site plan the week after it is submitted, the Planning and Zoning Commission considers it at its meeting on the second Monday of the month, and the Mayor and Board of Aldermen give final approval, about 5–6 weeks in all. The Board’s minutes show it granting architectural or site plan approval together with permission to issue the building permit.

How to get a Madison building permit

The ten Madison inspections

Building & Permits performs each inspection the day after it is called in, at no set time. If the work is not ready when the inspector arrives, or it fails a second time, a $200 re-inspection fee applies.

• Setback and site: erosion controls must already protect downhill lots.
• Rough plumbing: building sewer lines before they are covered.
• Sewer: connections to City taps must use a Fernco adaptor.
• Foundation: after rough grading for lot drainage and before concrete is poured.
• Gas: with an air gauge installed.
• Framing: before insulation or wall coverings.
• Insulation: before sheetrock.
• Electrical: when circuits are terminated, trim-out is installed and the air conditioner compressor is connected.
• Drainage: once yard grading is finished and must match the approved plot plan.
• Final: after the building, landscaping, sidewalks and fencing are complete, followed by the Certificate of Occupancy.

Occupying a building before the final inspection and Certificate of Occupancy can be prosecuted as a misdemeanor.

Local Madison rules to plan for

Flood zones: the City’s posted Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance requires the lowest floor of new or substantially improved homes and commercial buildings to sit at least 2 feet above the base flood elevation, and the permit form records the flood zone and “BFE (+2 ft)”. The City asks owners to get a permit before they build, add fill or make substantial improvements in a flood area. Madison takes part in FEMA’s Community Rating System, and Community Development (601-856-7116) may already hold an elevation certificate for your property.

Erosion and stormwater: silt fences, hay bales or detention must control runoff from the start of work until the final inspection, under the City’s land disturbance, stormwater, subdivision and landscape ordinances and the MDEQ erosion manual it adopted in 2004. Builders must supply trash containers and clean mud off the street at once; burning construction debris is not allowed.

Street work: culverts in the right-of-way must be concrete, sidewalks are 48 inches wide with joints every 5 feet and a 24-inch grass strip, and concrete trucks may carry no more than 8 cubic yards on City streets.

Sprinklers: the 1996 sprinkler ordinance requires automatic sprinklers in every educational, hazardous and institutional building, in apartments, hotels and dormitories of any size, in assembly buildings for 300 or more people, and in business, factory, mercantile, storage and mixed-use buildings over 10,000 sq ft. Section 5 adds basements other than in single-family homes, windowless buildings or buildings without suitable access, and enclosed parking or repair garages over 1,000 sq ft, and Section 6 applies the ordinance on a change of occupancy, an addition that takes a building over a threshold, or remodeling worth 25% of the current construction cost.

Codes Madison enforces

The Building & Permits page says the City enforces the 2018 family of International Codes and lists the 2018 International Building, Residential and Fire Codes, the 2012 International Plumbing, Mechanical and Fuel Gas Codes, the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code, the 2011 National Electrical Code and ICC/ANSI A117.1-2003. The building permit application in use is footed “2018 ICODE” and “2009 NEC”, so ask the department which electrical edition applies to your job.

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

Madison permit FAQs

Who issues building permits in Madison, MS?

The City’s Building & Permits Department, 1239 Highway 51 North (601-856-6336, permits@madisonthecity.com), for property inside the city limits.

Do I need a permit for a fence, roof or shed in Madison?

Yes. Fences and roofs are on the City’s list of permitted work, and accessory structures, including ready-to-install storage sheds, need a permit before work begins.

What bond does a builder need?

A residential builder must be bonded with the City for $5,000 or 0.5% of the job, whichever is greater, and hold a state licence where state law requires one.

How are inspections scheduled?

Call Building & Permits; the inspection is made the following day at no set time. A new home gets ten inspections, from setback and site through the final.

What happens if I fail an inspection?

Work that is not ready, or that is rejected a second time, costs $200 for each re-inspection, and lifting a stop work order costs $500.

How high must a house be built in a Madison flood zone?

The City’s flood ordinance sets the lowest floor at least 2 feet above the base flood elevation for new homes and substantial improvements.

Does a commercial building need city council approval?

Commercial site plans go to the Planning and Zoning Commission and then the Mayor and Board of Aldermen, who approve the plan and give permission to issue the building permit; the process takes about 5–6 weeks.

Official Madison permit resources

• Madison Building & Permits Department and adopted codes
• Madison: Obtaining a Permit (requirements and inspections)
• Madison building permit application
• Madison site grade permit
• Madison pool permit owner’s letter
• Madison Community Development (site plans and zoning)
• Madison Planning and Zoning submittal and permit fees
• Madison flood management
• Madison Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance
• Madison automatic sprinkler ordinance
• Madison Board of Aldermen agendas and minutes
• Mississippi Insurance Department: Mississippi Uniform Building Codes

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