How building permits work in New York
These rules apply across New York outside New York City. Each local guide above covers what is specific to that city, town, village or county: its building department and contacts, local conditions, fees and inspections.
The Uniform Code and local administration
New York builds on a single statewide code — the Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code, known as the Uniform Code — written by the State Fire Prevention and Building Code Council and administered through the Department of State, Division of Building Standards and Codes. The 2025 Uniform Code and 2025 Energy Conservation Construction Code took effect on 31 December 2025, built on the 2024 International Code Council model codes with New York changes. Their provisions banning fossil-fuel equipment in most new buildings remain suspended by court order, according to the Department of State. The Uniform Code applies everywhere except New York City, which keeps its own construction codes (Executive Law 383).
Cities, towns (outside their villages) and villages administer and enforce the code; a county takes over where a municipality opts out, and the Department of State where the county does too (Executive Law 381). Code enforcement officials must be state-certified. Under Executive Law 379 a city, town or village may adopt standards more restrictive than the Uniform Code, but they take effect only after the Code Council approves them; Nassau County may also adopt them. So the first question on any New York project is which authority has jurisdiction — and in New York that is usually a town, village or city rather than a county.
Contractor licensing: a local matter
New York does not license general contractors, home-improvement contractors, electricians or plumbers at state level. Licensing is local: New York City and Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Putnam and Rockland counties require home-improvement contractor licences, and many cities and towns license electricians and plumbers, while others license neither. The state does license some specialties, including alarm installers (Department of State) and asbestos workers and crane operators (Department of Labor). For home-improvement work the state sets contract rules: a signed written contract is required where the work totals more than $500 (General Business Law Article 36-A).
In New York the licence lives with the locality. A licence issued by one county or city does not authorise work in the next, so confirm which licence the permitting authority requires for the parcel. Before a permit issues, the applicant must also show workers’ compensation and disability benefits coverage, or an exemption (Workers’ Compensation Law 57 and 220).
Where a municipality issues separate trade permits, they generally follow the building permit. Electrical work follows the Uniform Code and the referenced National Electrical Code, plumbing the Plumbing Code of New York State and mechanical work the Mechanical and Energy codes, done by whatever trade licence the local jurisdiction requires.
Permit validity and expiry
Approvals do not stay live indefinitely. Every New York building permit carries an expiration date set by the issuing authority, which may also void a permit if work does not start in time (19 NYCRR 1203.3). On phased or financed work, confirm the expiry date and how to renew before it passes.