Allegany County, New York Building Permit Guide

Allegany County has no county building department. Its 29 towns and 10 villages issue their own permits, and most of them do it through a shared office: the Municipal Alliance of Code Enforcement (MACE), which serves 14 towns and 7 villages from 31 Main Street in Belfast (585-628-1046). The other towns appoint their own code officers, several of whom cover more than one town. The county’s own permits are the Health Department’s septic permit and the Public Works highway work permit for county roads.

What requires a building permit in Allegany County?

MACE publishes the most common list for its member towns and villages. It covers new houses, garages and pole-style buildings; additions and structural work, including any change to the size of window or door openings; interior renovations other than paint, trim and flooring; replacing large sections of roofing; and new or altered electrical, plumbing and heating systems, standby generators and roof- or ground-mounted solar arrays.

Towns outside MACE keep their own lists, so ask the town code officer before relying on the shed or fence limits above. MACE warns that a building permit fee is tripled when work starts without one.

What the towns and villages decide and what the state holds

The 2025 Uniform Code and Energy Code apply in every municipality, with the same technical rules in a hamlet of a few hundred people as in Wellsville; what each board decides is whether to have zoning, which local laws to adopt and how to staff and pay for enforcement. Allegany County is one of twelve counties the Department of State lists as having opted out of the enforcement of the Uniform and Energy codes. That means the county does not enforce the code in a town or village that has also opted out; there, the Department of State’s Code Inspection Unit provides code enforcement and administration in place of the local government and charges fees for it.

Allegany County building department: who handles permitting

The tables cover every town and village the Census Bureau counts in the county, using the county’s 2026 directory (revised August 26, 2026) and MACE’s member list. A village is part of its town but has its own board, so the two tables are read together.

MACE’s November 2025 contact sheet, the Town of Caneadea page and most town entries in the August 2026 county directory still show an office at 8911 State Route 19, Caneadea (585-365-2928), while the Village of Wellsville page and the directory’s Caneadea entry give 31 Main Street, Belfast and 585-628-1046; use the Belfast details and expect older forms to carry the Caneadea address. The Seneca Nation’s Oil Springs territory, which the Census also places partly in the county, is listed by FEMA as a flood-program community of its own.

What Allegany County itself does

• Department of Health, Environmental Health: permits new and replacement individual sewage treatment systems, with staff designing, overseeing and approving the final construction; it also runs sanitary surveys of septic and water at property sales. County Office Building, 7 Court Street, Belmont; 585-268-9250.
• Planning: processes General Municipal Law 239 referrals for the Allegany County Planning Board, from the Crossroads Center on State Route 19N (585-268-7472).
• Public Works: highway work permits for the county right-of-way, driveway agreements with or without a pipe, road closures and special hauling permits (585-268-9230).

Allegany County permit types and applications

Residential permits

In a MACE town or village, the application goes to the MACE office, which also handles that municipality’s inspections; the Village of Wellsville posts fence, sign, zoning, special event and operating permit forms alongside the MACE contact sheet. In the other towns, contact the town code officer through the town clerk; most rural offices here keep short or appointment-only hours, and several officers serve two to four towns.

Building or remodeling a home here? Alliance handles home building permits, so the crew isn't waiting on the counter.

Commercial permits

MACE asks for a call before any commercial project and prices commercial permits on a separate schedule effective September 18, 2026, which does not include third-party plan review or special inspections. Commercial plans need a New York licensed design professional, and site plans or special permits go to the local planning board first.

For tenant improvements and new commercial builds, Alliance handles commercial permit filing through issuance. More on this: commercial building permits explained.

What comes before the building permit

• Septic: the county septic permit for any new or replacement system; the permit itself says it does not replace local zoning or building approval.
• County road access: a driveway agreement or highway work permit from Public Works for frontage on a county road.
• Zoning and referrals: where a town has zoning, its zoning officer and boards act first, and certain actions are referred to the county planning board under General Municipal Law 239.
• Flood zones: building in a mapped floodplain needs the town or village floodplain permit; all but one municipality take part in the National Flood Insurance Program.

Building permit fees in Allegany County

Each town or village sets its own residential fees; MACE’s posted schedule covers commercial construction for its members and was approved effective September 18, 2026.

The schedule’s first two bands overlap as printed (“up to $250,000” and “up to $500,000”), so ask MACE how a job between those values is priced before budgeting. If an application is refused before work begins, half the fee is refunded; nothing is refunded once work has started. Permits expire one year after issue. Septic permits are charged by the county Health Department, and payment can be made online once the application is filed.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Neither the county’s website nor MACE’s pages describe a local electrician, plumber or contractor license; in MACE territory, new or altered electrical, plumbing and heating work is part of the building permit. Septic work is different: independent contractors who want to perform sanitary surveys for property sales must first complete the Health Department’s training and pass its test (585-268-9717). Before any permit is issued, the applicant shows workers’ compensation and disability coverage or the state exemption form.

How to get a building permit in Allegany County

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Many officers here serve several towns and keep short hours, so the first delay is often reaching the right person; leave contact details with the town clerk. Applications also stall when the septic design is not settled, when a driveway on a county road has no agreement, or when a commercial job needs a third-party plan review that MACE’s fee does not cover.

Inspections and certificates

Building inspections are booked with the office that issued the permit: MACE for its members, the town code officer elsewhere. The septic system has its own inspection by the Health Department, which must see the installation when it is nearly finished and before it is covered, with at least 24 hours’ notice. A septic permit lapses if the work is not finished within one year, and only four extensions are allowed after it expires.

The local office closes the job with a certificate of occupancy or compliance once the final inspection passes.

New York building code

New York builds on one statewide code, the Uniform Code, outside New York City; the 2025 edition and 2025 Energy Code took effect on 31 December 2025 (the all-electric provisions remain suspended by court order). Cities, towns and villages administer it, and local standards stricter than the code need Code Council approval. The Uniform Code in New York

Because Allegany County opted out of enforcement, a town or village that has itself opted out is served by the Department of State, not by the county.

Allegany County permit FAQ

Does Allegany County issue building permits?

No. Towns and villages issue them, many through MACE; the county issues septic permits and county highway work permits only.

What is MACE?

The Municipal Alliance of Code Enforcement, a shared office of building inspectors serving 14 towns and 7 villages, based at 31 Main Street, Belfast (585-628-1046).

Do I need a permit for a shed?

In MACE towns and villages, residential storage sheds over 144 square feet need one. Other towns may set different limits, so ask the town code officer.

Who approves my septic system?

The Allegany County Department of Health, which issues the construction permit, can design the system with you or review an engineer’s plan, and inspects it before it is covered.

What happens if I build without a permit?

Under MACE’s schedule the permit fee for unauthorized work is multiplied by three, and the work still has to be inspected.

Who permits in the Village of Richburg?

MACE, which lists Richburg as a member village; the village lies partly in the Town of Bolivar and partly in the Town of Wirt.

Is my town in the flood insurance program?

Almost certainly. FEMA’s November 2026 status book lists every Allegany County town and village, and the Seneca Nation, as participating, except the Town of Centerville, which does not appear in the book.

Allegany County permit search and official resources

Building permits and certificates are kept by the town or village that issued them; for a MACE municipality, ask MACE or the town clerk. Copies of county records, including septic permits, can be requested through the county’s Freedom of Information Law page, and local records through the town or village clerk.

• Allegany County 2026 directory of town and village officials (revised 08/26/2026)
• Allegany County towns and villages
• MACE code enforcement page and forms (Village of Wellsville)
• MACE commercial building permit fees, effective 9/18/2026
• MACE contact sheet, November 2025
• Allegany County Environmental Health
• Onsite wastewater treatment system construction permit
• Allegany County Planning
• Public Works permits and applications
• Allegany County FOIL requests
• NYS Department of State Code Inspection Unit
• FEMA Community Status Book, New York
• NYS code adoption and enforcement updates

Simplify Allegany County permitting with Alliance Permitting

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in New York. 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 Allegany County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.