Cortland County, New York Building Permit Guide

Cortland County does not issue building permits. Each of its 19 municipalities, the City of Cortland, 15 towns and 3 villages, has its own code officer, and several small towns share one. The county’s Environmental Health office issues the construction permit for any septic system (an engineer’s design is required for new and replacement systems), the Highway Department permits work on county roads, and County Planning reviews the zoning actions that General Municipal Law 239 sends it.

What requires a building permit in Cortland County?

The same state code applies everywhere, so new houses, additions, structural alterations, garages, decks, pools, wood stoves and demolitions need a local permit throughout the county. What changes from place to place is the local layer around it. The county’s own summary of each municipality shows how uneven that layer is: Cortlandville has site plan review, subdivision control and a mobile home ordinance; Cuyler has no comprehensive plan or zoning; Freetown has no zoning; and Lapeer has no comprehensive plan, mobile home ordinance, site plan review, subdivision control or zoning at all.

Some towns spell out jobs that owners often assume are exempt. The Town of Virgil states that all fences, pools and roof projects need a permit, and its code officer works by appointment; Virgil also has a separate zoning officer on the same line (607-835-6174 ext. 3) and takes code and zoning fees online by card, with a service fee.

What the municipalities decide and what the state holds

Building, fire and energy standards come from the state Uniform Code and Energy Code, and no city, town or village may make them stricter without Code Council approval. Each municipality decides whether to have zoning, site plan review or subdivision rules, sets its own fees and forms, and appoints its code officer. In a town with no zoning, a building permit is mainly a code compliance check, but septic, road access and any flood rule still apply.

Cortland County building department: who handles permitting

The table lists every city, town and village the Census Bureau counts in the county, with the code officer contact printed in the County Clerk’s 2025 municipal roster (updated February 24, 2025). A town office covers land outside its villages; the City of Cortland is separate from the Town of Cortlandville that surrounds it.

Sharing is common. The roster shows one officer serving the Town and Village of Homer, one serving Freetown and Lapeer, one serving Scott, Taylor and Truxton, and one serving Solon and the Village of McGraw; the Village of Marathon and the Town of Virgil list the same phone. Sharing does not merge the jurisdictions: the Town of Homer’s page says its officer enforces the building code and the town zoning law for the town outside the Village of Homer, and the village keeps its own zoning law and permits. Because many of these officers work part time, call ahead. The web addresses the county lists for Cincinnatus, Solon and McGraw do not lead to those governments’ own sites, so use the roster numbers there.

What Cortland County itself does

• Environmental Health (607-753-5035): construction permits and certificates of completion for onsite wastewater systems and wells; plan review of the engineer’s design; inspection of tank-only replacements. Applications must include payment, by check to Cortland County.
• Highway Department (4267 Traction Drive, Cortland; mailing 60 Central Avenue; 607-753-9377): Section 136 permits for work on the 247-mile county road system, standard driveway and road-crossing details, contractor insurance requirements and overweight load permits.
• County Planning: General Municipal Law 239 reviews, with a March 2025 guidebook and a September 2024 referral form for municipal boards.

Cortland County permit types and applications

Residential permits

Residential applications are made to the town or village code officer on the local form, or in the City of Cortland on the city’s paper building application, filed at City Hall or by email. The city also issues separate plumbing and heating permits. Any house on its own septic system needs the county wastewater permit as part of the package, and a new well needs the county well application.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial projects need plans by a New York licensed architect or engineer, and in municipalities with site plan review (the city, Cortlandville, Cincinnatus, Harford, Marathon and others on the county list) the planning board acts before the building permit. Several officers are also fire code officers, which matters for businesses: the roster lists the Towns of Homer, Lapeer and Marathon and the Village of Marathon that way.

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

• Zoning and site plan: the local zoning board of appeals and planning board where the municipality has them.
• County referral: conditional or special use permits, site plans, area and use variances and subdivision proposals that meet General Municipal Law 239 triggers (near a municipal line, a county or state road, county or state land, or a farm in an agricultural district) go to County Planning before the local board decides.
• Septic: under the County Sanitary Code (last amended April 1, 2026), you need the county permit before building any house that will use a septic system, and before enlarging one in a way that could change the volume or character of its wastewater, such as adding bedrooms. The lot must leave room for a complete replacement system. An engineer conducts percolation and deep-hole tests, designs the system and later inspects it; Environmental Health reviews and approves the design before construction.
• County road access: a Section 136 permit from the Highway Department for a driveway onto a county road, built to the county’s standard driveway details.

Building permit fees in Cortland County

There is no county building fee. Each municipality adopts its own schedule. The most detailed published schedule is the City of Cortland’s, adopted by the Common Council on August 4, 2026: $100 for the first $5,000 of project cost plus $10 for each additional $1,000, with separate inspection and certificate fees. Under that rule a $45,000 renovation in the city costs $100 plus 40 times $10, or $500 before inspection fees.

County health charges are separate and are paid with the application. Under the Health Department fee schedule effective April 1, 2026, a sewage disposal permit costs $200 and a septic tank replacement or repair in kind costs $65; a realty subdivision of more than five lots is charged $50 per lot. Town fees are on each town’s own schedule; the Town of Homer, for example, posts its building permit fee schedule on its Code Department page.

Trade permits and who may pull them

The county itself licenses no trades. Licensing exists in the City of Cortland: only city-licensed master plumbers, with their registered journeymen and apprentices, may do new plumbing, house drains and sewers there, and heating, ventilation and gas piping are limited to city master plumbers and licensed mechanical technicians. An owner working personally on a primary residence in the city is the one exception for plumbing. The city does not license electricians; wiring there needs an inspection application with an approved inspection firm. Outside the city, the town and village pages show no plumbing or electrical license, and electrical inspections go through third-party agencies the local officer accepts. Every office asks for workers’ compensation and disability proof or the state exemption form.

How to get a building permit in Cortland County

Review, corrections and what causes delay

No county-wide review time is published. The usual delays are a part-time officer’s schedule, waiting on the engineer’s septic design or the county’s approval of it, and a site plan or variance that must go through the local board and, where triggered, County Planning first.

Inspections and certificates

Book inspections with the local officer who issued the permit. In the Town of Homer, whose officer covers the town outside the village, the Code Department (607-745-0004) is open Monday to Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday until 1 p.m. A county septic construction permit is valid for 12 months and can be renewed for 12 more at a time, but after five years the county may require a new application. For septic work, the owner must make sure the contractor or engineer records final measurements, such as the tank and distribution box locations from the house, and gives them to the county at the final inspection; the county keeps them on file. After a tank-only replacement, the county inspects the new tank itself and gives the owner a rough sketch with the completion certificate. The local certificate of occupancy or compliance follows the final building inspection.

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

Cortland County permit FAQ

Does Cortland County issue building permits?

No. Each city, town and village has its own code officer; the county handles septic and well permits, county road permits and planning referrals.

Who issues permits in the City of Cortland versus Cortlandville?

The city’s Fire Department Code Enforcement Division at 25 Court Street covers the city; the Town of Cortlandville’s code officers (607-756-7490) cover the town around it, except the Village of McGraw.

Do I need an engineer for a septic system?

Yes for any new system and any full or leach-field replacement. A septic tank replacement alone needs no engineer; the county reviews it and inspects the new tank.

Are there towns without zoning?

Yes. The county lists Cuyler and Freetown without a zoning ordinance, and Lapeer without zoning, site plan review or subdivision control. A building permit is still required there.

Do I need a permit for a driveway onto a county road?

Yes. The Highway Department issues Section 136 permits for work in the county right-of-way and publishes standard driveway details.

Do I need a permit for a roof, fence or pool?

Ask the local officer, because the rule is set town by town. In the Town of Virgil the answer is yes for all three, and the code officer there issues those permits by appointment.

What does a county septic permit cost?

$200 for a sewage disposal permit and $65 for a tank replacement or repair in kind, under the Health Department fee schedule effective April 1, 2026, paid when you apply.

Is my town in the flood insurance program?

Eighteen of the county’s communities are. FEMA lists the Town of Marathon among communities not in the National Flood Insurance Program.

Cortland County permit search and official resources

Building permit and certificate files are held by the municipality that issued them: ask its code officer or file a Freedom of Information Law request with the town, village or city clerk. Septic permits and the as-built measurements are on file with county Environmental Health.

• Municipalities of Cortland County (regulations and websites)
• Cortland County 2025 municipal roster
• Cortland County Environmental Health sewage systems
• Cortland County Health Department fee schedule (April 1, 2026)
• Cortland County Sanitary Code (amended April 1, 2026)
• Town of Homer Code Department
• Cortland County Highway Department permits
• Cortland County guide to General Municipal Law 239
• City of Cortland Code Enforcement Division
• FEMA Community Status Book, New York
• NYS code adoption and enforcement updates

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