The City of Manchester’s Building Division, part of Planning and Community Development at One City Hall Plaza, handles building code administration, plan review, permit approval, field inspections and record keeping, and also administers the zoning ordinance, for a city of around 117,000 on the Merrimack — about a quarter larger than Nashua, the next city. Building permit applications are available online, and the department will post an application to anyone who prefers to work on paper. Demolition permits are not online: they need a demolition sign-off form signed by all the utilities before issue.
Manchester is unambiguously a municipality that has adopted an enforcement mechanism under RSA 155-A:3, so the state building code is administered here by the city's own officials rather than by the State Fire Marshal. That matters more in New Hampshire than it sounds: a good number of the state's smaller towns have adopted nothing at all, and a contractor moving between jobs can find the process changes completely across a town line. In Manchester the process is structured, the plan review is in-house, and the record keeping is the department's own.
This guide covers the City of Manchester in Hillsborough County. Bedford, Goffstown, Hooksett, Auburn and Londonderry are separate municipalities with their own building officials, and no New Hampshire county issues building permits in practice.
Decks and porches carry their own construction detail. Manchester's application guidance singles out decks and porches: a permit to build, repair or replace one must carry the construction information the division specifies, not a sketch. On the city's older housing stock — much of it triple-decker and much of it with a rear porch structure that has been rebuilt more than once — that detail is where the review actually happens.
What requires a building permit in Manchester?
In Manchester the questions are whether the municipality enforces, what it has amended, and the division's in-house plan review and the deck and porch detail it requires.
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- New construction, alteration, addition, demolition and change of occupancy, on a permit obtained before work begins
- Decks and porches built, repaired or replaced, with the construction information the division requires
- Electrical, plumbing and mechanical work, each on its own permit by a state-licensed tradesperson
- 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 gas work, by tradespeople licensed by the state
Often exempt
- Ordinary repairs that do not alter structure, egress, fire protection or building systems
- Painting, papering, flooring, cabinets and similar finish work
- 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
Locally, what stands out is the division's own plan review and record keeping, the mill and triple-decker stock that dominates the existing building work, and the deck and porch detail the department insists on.
Every building in New Hampshire must meet the state building and fire codes (the 2024 codes since July 2026). Only towns that have adopted an enforcement mechanism issue local permits, and any local amendment must be administrative and confirmed by the state. New Hampshire rules
Who handles permitting in Manchester?
The Building Division of Planning and Community Development is the permitting authority inside the city, administering the New Hampshire State Building Code through the enforcement mechanism the city has adopted, with plan review, permit approval, field inspection and record keeping in-house. The State Fire Marshal permits state, university and community college buildings wherever they stand, the environmental department issues shoreland, wetlands and sewage approvals, and the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification licenses electricians, plumbers and gas fitters statewide.
Not sure this scope needs a permit?
Get a free quote →| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Department | Manchester Building Division, Planning and Community Development |
| Office | One City Hall Plaza, Manchester, NH 03101 |
| Phone | (603) 624-6475 — Planning and Community Development (603) 624-6450 |
| Filing | Applications online; the department will post one on request |
| Enforcement | The city has adopted its own enforcement mechanism |
| Trade licences | Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, statewide |
Permit types
Residential permits
A Manchester house project files with the Building Division with the trades on their own permits, and brings the construction detail the department asks for on a deck or porch. The city's dense multi-family stock makes a change in the number of units a zoning question before it is a building one, and on any project the statute is worth remembering: the contractor carries the duty to meet the state building code and fire code, and the city cannot be held liable for their failure to do so.
Commercial permits
Commercial work in Manchester — the Millyard and its conversions, the downtown along Elm Street, the hospital campuses, the airport and the industrial parcels south of the city — runs through the division's plan review with the state fire code alongside. A mill conversion is a change of occupancy under the code and the existing building provisions carry most of the weight; the edition lock in RSA 155-A means a multi-year Millyard project keeps the code that was in force when its application was received.
The state permits that sit outside the town
In Manchester the Merrimack River and the Piscataquog put shoreland and flood questions on the low ground and the mill frontage, the airport approach surfaces reach the parcels south of the city, and the Millyard's scale keeps existing building work at the centre of the commercial file.
New Hampshire has no general contractor licence; the contractor carries the duty to meet the state codes, and the trades hold state licences. New Hampshire rules
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Call 1-855-478-4290 →Manchester permit costs and fees
Manchester charges building and trade permit fees on the declared construction value under the city's schedule, with separate electrical, plumbing and mechanical fees and planning fees where the project reaches site plan or the boards.
| Item | Fee or rule |
|---|---|
| Building permit | On the declared construction value, per the city's schedule |
| Trade permits | Separate electrical, plumbing and mechanical fees |
| Plan review | Carried out in-house by the Building Division |
| Planning and zoning | Site plan, variance and board application fees where the project reaches them |
| State permits | Shoreland, wetlands and sewage approvals through the environmental department |
| Records | The division keeps its own permit and inspection records |
The code is fixed at the date of application. Under RSA 155-A the state building code in effect when the application is received by the governing authority remains in effect for the whole of the work under that permit. On a phased Millyard conversion that is a real financial protection — the design is not overtaken mid-build — and it makes the filing date something to plan rather than let happen.
Trade permits and who may pull them
Permit required
- Electrical — by an electrician licensed by the state electricians' board
- Plumbing — by a plumber licensed by the state mechanical licensing board
- Gas fitting — by a gas fitter licensed by the state mechanical licensing board
- Fire protection — under the state fire code, with the fire marshal's review where it applies
Typically exempt
- Arc-fault protection beyond the 2014 electrical requirements, which is not enforced in New Hampshire
- Like-for-like replacement the adopted code places below the permit threshold
Rather not deal with the building department?
Get a free quote →Trade work follows the town’s permit process where the town enforces, and is done by tradespeople holding the state licence their trade requires. New Hampshire rules
How to apply for a Manchester building permit
Permitting exists locally only where an enforcement mechanism has been adopted under RSA 155-A:3; the code applies either way.
A local amendment may cover only administrative matters, 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 trade inspections as the town requires, then the certificate of occupancy where the town issues one.
Review, corrections and what actually causes delay
The Building Division reviews plans for code compliance in-house, with the state fire code applying alongside. What delays a Manchester project is a deck or porch application without the construction information the department specifies, a unit-count change treated as a building question, and a trade permit pulled by someone without the state licence.
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Get a free quote →Inspections in Manchester
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 48 hours ahead, non-compliant work draws a written order to correct, and the re-inspection carries its own fee. Manchester inspections are field inspections by the division's own inspectors against the permit number, with the trades inspected on their own permits, and a certificate of occupancy at the close.
Manchester permit search and official resources
- Manchester Building Division — code administration, plan review, permits, inspections and records
- Manchester permit applications — the forms, the online route and the deck and porch requirements
- New Hampshire State Building Code — the adopted editions and the statewide amendments
- 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
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →Frequently asked questions
Who issues building permits in Manchester?
The city's Building Division within Planning and Community Development at One City Hall Plaza. No New Hampshire county issues building permits in practice.
Which code applies?
Manchester enforces the 2024 international codes, part of the state building code since July 1, 2026, together with the 2018 energy code, the 2023 National Electrical Code and the state amendments. A Millyard or house application received by December 31, 2026 can be designed wholly to the 2021 editions instead; the New Hampshire codes section explains the switch.
Can the code change during my project?
No. The code in effect when your application is received remains in effect for the duration of the work covered by that permit.
Do I need a licensed contractor?
New Hampshire issues no general contractor licence, but electricians, plumbers and gas fitters are licensed by the state, and the contractor is responsible by statute for meeting the code.
Is the city liable if my contractor gets it wrong?
No. The statute places the compliance duty on the contractor and provides that no municipality may be held liable for a contractor's failure to comply.
Do I need a permit for a deck?
Yes, and the application must carry the construction information the Building Division specifies for decks and porches.
Simplify Manchester permitting with Alliance Permitting
Manchester’s Building Division rewards a complete file. We bring the deck and porch detail and the trade licences to the first submission and fix the code edition with the filing date.
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Send us the scope and the parcel. We confirm the review path with the Manchester Building Division, assemble the submittal, file it, and track it through issuance — corrections included.
More New Hampshire permitting guides
More New Hampshire permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Manchester permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.