Broome County, New York Building Permit Guide

Broome County does not issue building permits. The City of Binghamton, the 16 towns and the 7 villages each run a code office for land inside their own lines, and the county’s role is advisory or health-related: its planning department reviews zoning actions that municipalities refer to it, and its Health Department on Front Street in Binghamton is the county’s public health office. The biggest recent change is in the Town of Union, where the Village of Johnson City now issues its own building, plumbing and electrical permits.

What requires a building permit in Broome County?

New homes, additions, structural alterations, demolition and changes of use need a permit everywhere, but the small-project lists differ by municipality. The Town of Dickinson prices permits for sheds, garages, patios, decks, pools, siding, roofing, fences, driveways, signs, temporary storage containers, solar projects and electric vehicle charging stations. Vestal lists every deck or porch, every re-roof and pools 24 inches deep or more, and exempts only small unconnected sheds. Chenango sets its own rule for accessory structures, with no permit under 144 square feet.

What the municipalities decide and what the state holds

All 24 municipalities enforce the same 2025 Uniform Code and Energy Code, and a stricter local building standard needs state approval. The local choices are the ones owners notice: Binghamton and Johnson City license or permit the trades themselves, Vestal registers every contractor, each town sets its own fee basis, and zoning, site plan and floodplain rules are written locally. Broome County is not among the twelve counties the Department of State lists as having opted out of the enforcement of the Uniform and Energy codes.

Broome County building department: who handles permitting

Every city, town and village the Census counts in Broome County is listed below. A village is inside a town but runs its own government; a town office covers only the land outside its villages, and the City of Binghamton is separate from the Town of Binghamton.

The two Binghamtons are the most common mix-up: the city’s office is at City Hall on Hawley Street, while the Town of Binghamton’s code officer sees people by appointment only. In the Town of Union, the town office in Endwell no longer covers Johnson City, whose code department moved to Village Hall at 60 Lester Avenue, and Endicott has its own Code Enforcement Office. The Village of Deposit straddles the county line, with the Broome part in the Town of Sanford.

What Broome County itself does

• Planning and Economic Development: receives General Municipal Law 239 referrals from town, village and city boards and comments within 30 days of a complete application. The referral form flags projects within 500 feet of a municipal boundary, a state or county road or park, a county drainage channel or a farm in an agricultural district.
• Health Department: 225 Front Street, Binghamton (607-778-3930), the county office to ask about septic systems and private wells on lots without public sewer or water.
• No county building or trade license: licensing and contractor registration are set by individual municipalities, as the next sections show.

Broome County permit types and applications

Residential permits

Homeowners file with the town, village or city code office on its own application. Several town offices work by appointment rather than set counter hours: the Town of Binghamton (weekdays 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., by appointment), Fenton (call for an appointment) and Kirkwood (call first, as hours are limited). Dickinson’s code officer, who doubles as constable, keeps weekday hours from 7:00 to 3:30. Port Dickinson posts its building permit application on its downloadable forms page.

Useful numbers from the municipalities’ own pages: the Town of Binghamton code office at 607-772-0357 (option 014 for the code officer), Kirkwood’s Building and Code Enforcement Office at 607-775-4313, and Endicott’s Code Enforcement Office at 607-757-2465, staffed weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Johnson City’s code department takes complaints at 607-797-1021 or through an online portal. Sanford’s code officer also administers the town’s mobile home and park rules, so a manufactured home placement there starts with the same person.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial projects need stamped plans and usually a planning board site plan approval first; Dickinson charges $100 plus $0.50 per square foot for new commercial or industrial buildings and $30 plus $0.50 per square foot for commercial additions. The same town charges $50 for a sign, $10 for a temporary sign and $200 per megawatt for solar projects. Large projects near a municipal boundary or county road also go to county planning for comment before the local board can act.

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

What comes before the building permit

• Zoning approvals: zoning board of appeals variances and planning board site plans, special permits and subdivisions.
• County 239 review: up to 30 days for county comments on a referred action.
• Floodplain permits: every municipality is in the flood insurance program, so work in a mapped flood zone needs the local floodplain permit; in Sanford the code officer is also the floodplain administrator.
• Septic and water: approval of an on-site system before building on an unsewered lot.
• Driveways: Dickinson issues a $25 driveway permit; other towns have their own road-cut rules.

Building permit fees in Broome County

Fees follow each municipality’s own schedule. Some charge by floor area, some by construction cost, and a few use flat amounts for small work, as the rows below show.

Worked comparison for a 2,000-square-foot single-family house: Dickinson charges $100 plus 2,000 times $0.15, or $400; Chenango’s area rate gives $300. Vestal counts basements and garages in its building area, so the same house with a 600-square-foot garage measures 2,600 square feet there and pays $450. In the City of Binghamton the fee follows construction cost rather than area. Work started without a permit is charged extra in several places; Vestal, for one, doubles the fee.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Trade rules change at municipal lines. The City of Binghamton licenses its own plumbers and electricians: a city-licensed master plumber must do plumbing work, and a master electrician is required except for owner-occupied homes. Johnson City issues its own plumbing and electrical permits from Village Hall, open weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. In the Town of Union, electrical work is inspected by approved private agencies, and the town will not issue a certificate of occupancy until an agency has passed it.

Vestal takes a different approach: every business that builds, repairs or alters buildings there needs a yearly town operating permit, from $75 for most trades to $300 for a commercial general contractor. Across the county, an application is not complete until it carries proof of workers’ compensation and disability coverage or the state exemption form.

How to get a building permit in Broome County

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Chenango allows a minimum of 10 business days to review a complete application, and Vestal quotes two to four weeks once plans and fee are in. Delays most often come from filing with the wrong office, a missing contractor license or registration, an unanswered zoning question or a county referral that has not yet run its 30 days.

Inspections and certificates

Inspections are scheduled with the office that issued the permit. Vestal wants two business days’ notice and does not accept voicemail requests; offices that work by appointment, such as Fenton, or keep limited hours, such as Kirkwood, should be called well ahead. Electrical inspections in Union are done by the approved agency, while Binghamton and Johnson City inspect the trades under their own permits.

The job ends with a certificate of occupancy for new buildings and changes of use, or a certificate of compliance for smaller work, issued by the same local office.

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

Broome County’s 24 code programs all apply that one standard; their differences are in fees, forms and local licensing.

Broome County permit FAQ

Does Broome County issue building permits?

No. The city, the towns and the villages issue them; the county reviews referred zoning actions and runs the Health Department.

Who issues permits in Johnson City now?

The Village of Johnson City. Its code department was transferred from the Town of Union and now issues building, plumbing, electrical, sign and vehicle storage permits from Village Hall, 60 Lester Avenue.

Is Endwell its own municipality?

No. Endwell is not on the Census list of Broome cities, towns and villages; it is where the Town of Union’s Permits/Code Enforcement Department has its office, on East Main Street.

Do contractors need a license in Broome County?

Only where a municipality requires one: Binghamton licenses master plumbers and electricians, and Vestal requires a yearly operating permit for construction businesses.

How long does the county take on a 239 referral?

Broome County Planning comments within 30 days of receiving a complete referral from the local board.

Do I need a permit for a fence?

Rules vary. Dickinson charges $15 for a fence permit, while Vestal requires one only for fences over 8 feet 6 inches.

Is my town in the flood insurance program?

Yes. All 24 Broome County communities, including the Village of Deposit, are on FEMA’s participating list.

Broome County permit search and official resources

To find an existing permit or certificate of occupancy, ask the code office or clerk of the city, town or village that issued it; records requests go to that municipality under the Freedom of Information Law.

• Broome County Health Department
• Broome County 239 review submission form (Town of Conklin copy)
• City of Binghamton building and code enforcement
• Village of Johnson City Buildings & Codes
• Town of Dickinson building permit fees
• NYS Department of State Code Inspection Unit
• FEMA Community Status Book, New York
• NYS code adoption and enforcement updates

Simplify Broome 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 Broome County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.