The Town of Derry's Code Enforcement and Building Department at 14 Manning Street serves a Rockingham County town of around thirty-four thousand on the interstate corridor south of Manchester, staffed by a code enforcement director who is also the building inspector and an assistant who doubles as the electrical inspector. Permit applications are accepted online only, with plot plans, documents and materials uploaded and correspondence with inspectors and office staff running through the same system; the town notes this reduces turnaround.
Two Derry rules do real work. The first is the proofs-before-filing rule: since the first of January twenty twenty-two the town has required an applicant to have all required proofs before submitting, and asks that anyone whose project is several months away simply hold off — the stated purpose is to let the inspectors process complete applications rather than chase incomplete ones. The second is the split: mechanical, gas piping and oil burner permits are handled by Fire Administration, not by the building department, and the town asks applicants not to submit a building permit application for them. New houses, additions with added sleeping rooms and all commercial applications need a separate plan review application to the Fire Prevention Bureau as well.
This guide covers the Town of Derry in Rockingham County. Londonderry, Windham, Chester, Hampstead and Auburn are separate municipalities with their own building officials, and no New Hampshire county issues building permits in practice.
Do not file until you have everything. Derry requires all required proofs to be in hand before an application is submitted, and asks applicants whose project is months out to wait rather than file early. An application is also deemed abandoned a hundred and eighty days after filing unless pursued in good faith or a permit has issued, though the building official may grant extensions of up to a further hundred and eighty days each.
What requires a building permit in Derry?
New Hampshire applies one code everywhere and leaves the enforcing to the town. Under RSA 155-A all buildings, building components and structures constructed in New Hampshire must comply with the state building code and the state fire code — there is no opting out of the standard. What varies is who administers it: a municipality takes on permitting and inspection only by adopting an enforcement mechanism under RSA 674:51, and a good number of New Hampshire towns never have. The code itself is the twenty twenty-one international building, residential, existing building, plumbing, mechanical and swimming pool codes with the twenty eighteen energy code and the twenty twenty-three National Electrical Code, all with New Hampshire amendments, in force since the first of July twenty twenty-four. So in Derry the questions are whether the municipality enforces, what it has amended, and the proofs-before-filing rule and the fire permits handled separately.
Two statutory rules shape every New Hampshire project and neither is in the model code. The first is a lock on the edition: the state building code in effect when the permit application is received by the governing authority remains in effect for the duration of the work covered by that permit, so a long project is not overtaken mid-build by a new code. The second is the concurrency period: for six months after a new edition takes effect an applicant may elect to show compliance under either the old code or the new one — but not a combination of the two. Beyond that, the code draws the ordinary permit line: construction, alteration, renovation, repair, removal and demolition are covered; ordinary repairs are not.
Typically permit required
- Building work, filed online with all required proofs and plot plans in hand
- A separate Fire Prevention Bureau plan review for new houses, additions with added sleeping rooms and all commercial applications
- Electrical work of any kind, new or repair, with the permit taken out by a New Hampshire licensed master electrician
- New construction and renovation, on a permit obtained before work begins under RSA 155-A:4
- Alteration, renovation, rehabilitation, repair, removal and demolition of buildings previously erected
- Electrical, plumbing and mechanical work, by tradespeople licensed by the state
Often exempt
- Fencing, which needs no permit and which the town does not regulate, though it advises setting a fence inside the boundary
- Ordinary repairs that do not alter structure, egress, fire protection or building systems
- Ordinary repairs that do not alter structure, egress, fire protection or building systems
- A tent of any size erected as an accessory structure at an owner-occupied one or two-family dwelling
- Painting, papering, flooring, cabinets and similar finish work
What the municipality may change, and what it may not
New Hampshire lets a municipality amend the state building code, and then puts a check on it. Local amendments are adopted by the legislative body under RSA 674:51, but since the twenty twenty-two amendment to that statute a local ordinance amending the code may not be enforced unless it has been confirmed by the state Building Code Review Board, which publishes the amendments it confirms. Issuing permits and collecting fees are not themselves amendments and need no confirmation. A municipality that has adopted an enforcement mechanism may contract the work to a local enforcement agency or a qualified third party rather than employ its own building official, and that contractor holds the same authority as a building inspector. Appeals from a local official go to the municipality's own building code board of appeals; appeals from the State Fire Marshal go to the Building Code Review Board. Beyond that, the online-only filing with proofs in hand, the fire permits handled by Fire Administration, and the master electrician requirement on any electrical work.
Who handles permitting in Derry?
The Code Enforcement and Building Department is the permitting authority inside the town, administering the New Hampshire State Building Code through the enforcement mechanism Derry has adopted, with a code enforcement director who is also the building inspector and an assistant building inspector who is the electrical inspector. Fire Administration handles mechanical, gas piping and oil burner permits, the Fire Prevention Bureau takes plan review on new houses and commercial work, and the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification licenses the trades statewide.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Department | Derry Code Enforcement and Building Department |
| Office | 14 Manning Street, Derry, NH 03038 |
| Phone | (603) 432-6148 — Fire Administration (603) 432-6751 |
| Filing | Online only; card payment through the portal, cheque or exact cash in person |
| Fire permits | Mechanical, gas piping and oil burner, through Fire Administration |
| Inspections | Booked by telephone, typically next business day |
Permit types
Residential permits
A Derry house project assembles every proof first, files online, and sends the mechanical, gas piping and oil burner work to Fire Administration rather than to the building department. A new house or an addition with added sleeping rooms needs a Fire Prevention Bureau plan review alongside. Any electrical work, new or repair, requires a New Hampshire licensed master electrician to take out the permit. A fence needs nothing at all, though the town advises setting it a couple of feet inside the line so it can be maintained without trespassing.
How New Hampshire contractor credentials work
New Hampshire issues no general contractor licence. A builder needs no state credential to take on a house, and the statute puts the duty squarely on them anyway: the contractor is responsible for meeting the minimum requirements of the state building code and state fire code, and no municipality may be held liable for a contractor's failure to comply. The trades are licensed through the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification: electricians under the electricians' board, plumbers under the plumbers' board, and gas fitters and mechanical trades under the licensing required by RSA 153:27. In Derry the credential is checked at permit issue where the municipality enforces, and where it does not the licence requirement still applies to the tradesperson doing the work.
Commercial permits
Commercial work in Derry — the Broadway downtown, the retail and light industrial frontage along the interstate corridor and the airport parcels — requires a Fire Prevention Bureau plan review application on top of the building permit in every case. The town publishes its permit reports by year, which makes the volume and pattern of local development a matter of public record rather than an enquiry.
The state permits that sit outside the town
Several New Hampshire approvals come from the state rather than the municipality, and they are the ones most often missed. The Shoreland Water Quality Protection Act requires a permit from the Department of Environmental Services for construction, excavation and filling within two hundred and fifty feet of a protected water body — a state permit, not a local ordinance. Wetlands work and subsurface sewage approval run through the same department. The State Fire Marshal permits, inspects and certifies buildings owned by the state, the university system and the community college system wherever they stand, and operates the State Building Permit Program for municipalities without a code enforcement mechanism that have asked for help in writing. In Derry the ponds and the wetlands through the town bring the state environmental department's shoreland and wetlands approvals ahead of the local permit on affected parcels, and the interstate corridor drives a commercial and multi-family pipeline larger than the town's size suggests.
Derry permit costs and fees
Derry charges permit fees under the town's schedule, payable by card only through the online system, or by cheque or exact cash in person — the office keeps no cash register.
| Item | Fee or rule |
|---|---|
| Building permit | Per the town's schedule, paid by card online |
| In-person payment | Cheque payable to the town, or cash in exact change |
| Fire permits | Mechanical, gas piping and oil burner, through Fire Administration |
| Fire Prevention plan review | A separate application on new houses, added sleeping rooms and all commercial work |
| Electrical permit | Taken out by a New Hampshire licensed master electrician |
| Fence | No permit and no fee; the town does not regulate fences |
An application expires at a hundred and eighty days. Derry applies the code's own time limit: an application is deemed abandoned a hundred and eighty days after filing unless it has been pursued in good faith or a permit has issued. The building official may grant one or more extensions of up to a hundred and eighty days each — but they are granted, not automatic, and an abandoned application means starting again.
Trade permits and who may pull them
Trade work is permitted separately where the municipality enforces, and carried out by tradespeople holding the state licence their trade requires. New Hampshire declines to enforce arc-fault protection beyond the twenty fourteen electrical requirements, whichever edition of the electrical code the state has adopted.
Permit required
- Electrical — by an electrician licensed by the state electricians' board
- Plumbing — by a plumber licensed by the state plumbers' board
- Gas fitting and mechanical — under the state licensing required by RSA 153:27
- Fire protection — under the state fire code, with the fire marshal's review where it applies
Typically exempt
- Arc-fault protection beyond the twenty fourteen electrical requirements, which is not enforced in New Hampshire
- Like-for-like replacement the adopted code places below the permit threshold
How to apply for a Derry building permit
Permitting exists locally only where an enforcement mechanism has been adopted under RSA 674:51; the code applies either way.
A local amendment is unenforceable unless the Building Code Review Board has confirmed it, and the board publishes what it confirms.
Shoreland, wetlands and subsurface sewage approvals come from the environmental department, not from the town.
Electricians, plumbers and gas fitters are licensed by the state; there is no general contractor licence, and the contractor carries the compliance duty.
The code in effect when the application is received governs the whole of the work; during a concurrency period elect one edition, not a blend.
Footing to final with the trades on their own permits, then the certificate of occupancy.
Review, corrections and what actually causes delay
The building department reviews the online application once it is complete, with the Fire Prevention Bureau reviewing in parallel where its application is required. What delays a Derry project is filing before the proofs are assembled, sending mechanical or gas work to the wrong department, and an electrical permit attempted by anyone other than a licensed master electrician.
Inspections in Derry
Where the municipality enforces, inspections follow the code's sequence — footing, foundation, framing, rough trades, insulation and final — requested from the building official by permit number, with the trades inspected on their own permits and a certificate of occupancy at the end. Where the State Building Permit Program covers the work instead, inspections are booked with the State Fire Marshal's office at least forty-eight hours ahead, non-compliant work draws a written order to correct, and the re-inspection carries its own fee. Derry inspections are booked by telephone with the department against the permit number and are typically scheduled for the next business day, though the town warns scheduling can take up to a week in busy periods.
Derry permit search and official resources
- Derry Code Enforcement and Building — the department, its staff and the Fire Prevention requirement
- Derry online permits — the online-only rule, the proofs requirement and payment methods
- Items that require a permit in Derry — what needs a permit, and what Fire Administration handles instead
- New Hampshire State Building Code — the adopted editions, the amendments and RSA 155-A
- State Building Permit Program — the fire marshal's permits, inspections and certificates where a municipality does not enforce
- RSA chapter 155-A — the statute on the code, permits, enforcement and appeals
Frequently asked questions
Who issues building permits in Derry?
The town's Code Enforcement and Building Department at 14 Manning Street, online only. No New Hampshire county issues building permits in practice.
Can I file before I have my plans?
The town asks you not to. Since twenty twenty-two all required proofs must be in hand before submitting, and applicants with projects months away are asked to wait.
Where do mechanical and gas permits go?
To Fire Administration, not the building department. The town asks that no building permit application be submitted for mechanical, gas piping or oil burner work.
Who can pull an electrical permit?
A New Hampshire licensed master electrician, for any electrical work whether new or a repair.
Do I need a permit for a fence?
No. Derry requires no permit and has no fence regulations, though it recommends setting the fence inside your boundary so you can maintain it.
How long does my application stay live?
A hundred and eighty days from filing, unless pursued in good faith or a permit has issued; the building official may grant further extensions of up to a hundred and eighty days each.
Simplify Derry permitting with Alliance Permitting
Derry asks for a complete file and means it. We assemble every proof before the portal sees the application, route the fire permits to Fire Administration, and keep the hundred and eighty day clock in view.
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More New Hampshire permitting guides
More New Hampshire permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Derry permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.