The City of Bellevue’s Permits and Inspections Division at 1510 Wall Street issues permits for Nebraska’s third largest city and its oldest settlement, on the Missouri River south of Omaha, and for the city’s two-mile jurisdiction beyond its limits. Offutt Air Force Base occupies a large area on the city’s edge as federal land outside municipal permitting jurisdiction — construction on the installation does not go through the city, while the housing and commercial development serving it does.
Bellevue enforces the codes it has adopted with its own amendments, as Nebraska’s default framework allows; the city has adopted the 2023 National Electrical Code. Permits are requested online through the city’s GovWell portal, and separate plumbing, mechanical and electrical permits are required unless the work is exempt.
This guide covers the City of Bellevue and its two-mile jurisdiction. Offutt Air Force Base is federal land outside city jurisdiction; Papillion, La Vista and Omaha are separate cities, and Sarpy County permits only outside the cities’ extraterritorial areas.
The base is not the city's to permit. Offutt Air Force Base is federal land outside municipal permitting jurisdiction — construction on the installation does not go through the city building department. The development serving it inside the city limits does, and on a site near the fence line the boundary question comes before the code question.
What requires a building permit in Bellevue?
In Bellevue the questions are which code edition has been adopted, what has been amended, and the city's amendments and the federal boundary at Offutt.
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Get a free quote →Typically permit required
- Construction, alteration, repair, demolition or change of occupancy of a building or structure
- Electrical, plumbing and mechanical work, each on its own permit
- Zoning and site development approval from the city ahead of the building permit
- New buildings, additions and any structural work on an existing building
- Alterations, repairs and renovations, and any change of occupancy
- Decks, accessory structures above the local threshold, retaining walls, storm shelters and swimming pools
Often exempt
- Ordinary repairs and small accessory work below the city's own published thresholds
- Ordinary repairs that do not alter structure, egress or systems
- Painting, papering, flooring, cabinets and similar finish work
- Small accessory structures below the locally adopted threshold — zoning still applies
- Work a property owner performs on a home they own and occupy, who is not a contractor for registration purposes
What is local, and what the state still reaches
Locally, what stands out is the federal boundary at Offutt and the older housing stock the base has shaped.
Nebraska's state building code applies by default where a city, village or county has adopted none; local codes must conform generally, and the energy code is mandatory statewide. Nebraska rules
Who handles permitting in Bellevue?
The city’s Permits and Inspections Division is the building authority for Bellevue and its two-mile jurisdiction, enforcing the codes the city has adopted with its amendments, alongside the city's planning function for zoning. Contractors register with the state Department of Labor, electrical licensing runs through the State Electrical Division, the State Fire Marshal reviews within its own jurisdiction, and Offutt is federal ground outside all of it.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Department | City of Bellevue Permits and Inspections Division |
| Office | 1510 Wall Street, Bellevue, NE 68005 (City Hall is at 1500 Wall Street) |
| Phone | (402) 293-3014 |
| Hours | Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm |
| Online | GovWell permit portal (app.govwell.com/bellevue-ne) |
| Federal land | Offutt Air Force Base, outside city jurisdiction |
| Contractor registration | State Department of Labor |
Not sure this scope needs a permit?
Get a free quote →In 2025, building permits issued in Bellevue authorized 146 new privately owned housing units, 116 of them single-family homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey.
Permit types
Residential permits
A Bellevue house project files with the city's building department against the adopted residential code as amended, with the city's own thresholds deciding what needs a permit. Much of the housing dates from the base's post-war expansion, so alteration work regularly meets the same era of framing, wiring and systems, and the existing building provisions govern more of it than the new-construction chapters do.
Commercial permits
Commercial work in Bellevue — the Highway 370 and Fort Crook Road corridors and the businesses serving the base — clears zoning and site development, then plan review against the adopted code as amended, with the State Fire Marshal reviewing within its jurisdiction. A site adjoining Offutt should be checked against the federal boundary and any operational constraints first.
Establishing the authority and the edition
In Bellevue the Missouri River floodplain reaches the eastern edge of the city and has flooded within recent memory, the Papillion Creek system carries drainage review, and Offutt Air Force Base sits outside municipal jurisdiction.
Nebraska contractors register with the state Department of Labor, and electricians are licensed by the State Electrical Division. Nebraska rules
Bellevue permit costs and fees
Fees follow the city's schedule, with contractor registration handled by the state and electrical licensing by the State Electrical Division.
Rather talk it over?
Call 1-855-478-4290 →| Item | Fee or rule |
|---|---|
| Building permit | The city's fee schedule, by project type and construction value |
| Trade permits | Electrical, plumbing and mechanical, each separately |
| Contractor registration | State Department of Labor, under the Contractor Registration Act |
| Zoning and site development | City approval ahead of the building permit |
| Re-inspection | Charged where an inspection has to be repeated |
| Federal land | Offutt construction outside city permitting entirely |
The permit area reaches two miles out. Bellevue’s building permit requirement covers the city and its two-mile jurisdiction, so a parcel outside the city limits may still be the city’s file rather than Sarpy County’s. Sarpy County permits only outside the cities’ extraterritorial areas. Confirm the parcel on the county’s jurisdiction map before filing.
Trade permits and who may pull them
Permit required
- Sites adjoining Offutt — confirm the federal boundary before assuming city jurisdiction
- Electrical — separate permit, with licensing through the State Electrical Division
- Plumbing — separate permit under the adopted plumbing code
- Mechanical — separate permit under the adopted mechanical code
- Fire protection — under the State Fire Marshal's jurisdiction where it applies
Typically exempt
- Work a property owner performs on a home they own and occupy, where the jurisdiction allows it
- Like-for-like replacement the adopted codes place below the permit threshold
Rather not deal with the building department?
Get a free quote →Trade work is permitted separately under the codes the jurisdiction has adopted. Nebraska rules
How to apply for a Bellevue building permit
Inside a city or village, that municipality; just outside it, the city or village where it controls building in its extraterritorial zone; otherwise the county.
The adopting ordinance is the governing document; editions differ between neighbouring jurisdictions.
Snow load, wind speed and frost depth come from the jurisdiction’s adopted code; Nebraska has no statewide table.
State contractor registration, state electrical licensing, and any local trade licence, such as a city plumbing licence.
Reviewed against the locally adopted code, with the state energy code applying throughout.
Footing to final, with the trades on their own permits, then the certificate of occupancy.
Review, corrections and what actually causes delay
Bellevue reviews against its adopted code as amended. What delays a project here is a parcel filed with the wrong office near the two-mile line, a site whose relationship to the base was not established, and an alteration on post-war housing designed without checking the existing structure.
Want this handled start to finish?
Get a free quote →Inspections in Bellevue
Inspections follow the sequence of the code the jurisdiction has adopted — footing, foundation, framing, rough trades, insulation and final — requested from the local department by permit number, with the trades inspected on their own permits. Work that passes final receives a certificate of occupancy for new buildings and changes of occupancy. Bellevue inspects in the sequence its adopted code sets, with the trades inspected on their own permits; the division answers questions on 402-293-3014.
Bellevue permit search and official resources
- City of Bellevue Permits and Inspections — the division, its online permit portal and contacts
- Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-6403 — state building code — the codes the Legislature adopts by reference and their exceptions
- Nebraska Department of Labor — contractor registration under the Contractor Registration Act
- Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-6403 — state building code — the codes the Legislature adopts by reference and their exceptions
- Nebraska State Fire Marshal — fire prevention, life safety and elevator review within its jurisdiction
- Nebraska Department of Labor — contractor registration under the Contractor Registration Act
Frequently asked questions
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →Does the city permit work on Offutt Air Force Base?
No. The base is federal land outside municipal permitting jurisdiction; the development serving it inside the city limits is permitted by the city.
Which code does Bellevue enforce?
The codes the city has adopted with its own amendments, including the 2023 National Electrical Code — confirm the current building code edition and the amendment list with the division before design.
Does Bellevue permit outside the city limits?
Yes, within its two-mile jurisdiction. Bellevue’s permit requirement covers the city and the two-mile jurisdiction; Sarpy County permits only outside the cities’ extraterritorial areas.
Do I need to register as a contractor?
Contractors register with the state Department of Labor; a person working on property they own is not a contractor for that purpose.
Who licenses electricians?
The State Electrical Division, separately from the building permit.
Does Sarpy County permit inside the city?
No. The city permits inside its limits and its two-mile jurisdiction; Sarpy County permits only outside the cities’ extraterritorial areas.
Simplify Bellevue permitting with Alliance Permitting
Bellevue’s boundary with the base and the edge of its two-mile jurisdiction are the two things to settle first here. We confirm both rather than assuming either.
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Send us the scope and the parcel. We confirm the review path with the City of Bellevue Permits and Inspections Division, assemble the submittal, file it, and track it through issuance — corrections included.
More Nebraska permitting guides
More Nebraska permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Bellevue permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.