Town of East Hampton, New York Building Permit Guide

In the Town of East Hampton, the Building Department at 300 Pantigo Place issues building permits and certificates of occupancy everywhere except the incorporated Villages of East Hampton and Sag Harbor. Every application is filed and paid online through OpenGov, and the Town Board’s fee is 0.5% of the estimated construction cost plus a $300 certificate of occupancy fee.

What requires a building permit in East Hampton?

Chapter 102 of the Town Code requires a building permit before anyone erects, enlarges, improves, moves or demolishes a building or structure, unless a provision of the code expressly exempts the work, and before a building or lot changes from one use category in the zoning use table to another. The department’s own answers set the small-project lines:

Any permit that involves clearing needs a staked survey by a New York licensed surveyor showing the clearing envelope and the elevations at the four corners of the lot; if those elevations differ by more than four feet, the survey must add two-foot contours. Since July 1, 2025 the gross floor area of a single-family house is capped at 7% of the lot area plus 1,500 square feet, or 10,000 square feet, whichever is less.

What the town decides and what the state holds

The Uniform Code and the Energy Code set the construction standards, and Chapter 102 is the local law that administers them in the town. East Hampton’s own rules sit beside the state code: the zoning chapter (floor area, coverage, clearing and the natural resources rules), the HERS energy rating with blower-door and duct tests that the department requires for new houses, the rental registry and the updated certificate of occupancy on a sale. Construction standards stricter than the state code would need Code Council approval.

Town of East Hampton building department: who handles permitting

The town Building Department, part of the Division of Public Safety, reviews plans, issues permits and certificates of occupancy, and inspects building work in the unincorporated hamlets, which the Census puts at 26,482 of the town’s 29,400 residents. Its building inspectors do not inspect wiring: that is done by the private electrical agencies the Town Board approves. The two villages each permit their own land, and Sag Harbor’s office also covers the part of the village that lies in the Town of Southampton.

The town counter hours changed on October 26, 2026. Drawings and documents can be dropped off from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on weekdays; between 8:30 and 9 a.m. only licensed contractors may speak with a building inspector at the counter, and the public may do so from 9 to 10:30 a.m. The East Hampton Village department takes paper applications by hand during its hours or by mail. Sag Harbor issues building, electrical work, sign and demolition permits and certificates of occupancy or compliance, rejects ACORD insurance forms, and expects the workers’ compensation certificate to show the village’s P.O. Box 660 address rather than 55 Main Street.

East Hampton permit types and filing

Create an OpenGov account before applying; the portal takes building permits, rental registrations, updated certificate of occupancy requests and letters of buildability. The counter does not take payments: pay online by credit card (2.99% plus 99 cents) or e-check ($2.25 flat).

Residential permits

A house application needs two sets of plans at 1/4-inch scale showing square footage and the gross floor area allowed and proposed, the signed and notarized application, a licensed contractor, workers’ compensation proof, the survey, and a HERS rating or REScheck. New houses and additions need plans stamped by an engineer or architect; other residential work is stamped at the inspector’s discretion. The forms page adds an agent letter, setback and clearing forms, a smoke alarm affidavit, a plumbers’ solder certification, a third-party energy testing affidavit and a solar fast-track application. Owners who rent must register, and file a notarized update every time the tenancy changes.

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

Commercial permits

All commercial work needs engineer- or architect-stamped plans. Commercial projects usually start in the Planning Department, which handles site plan and special permit applications for the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals and serves the Architectural Review Board; its applications also go through OpenGov.

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

What comes before the building permit

Work on or within 150 feet of a freshwater or tidal wetland or a beach, or near a bluff or dune (150 feet along the ocean east of Montauk Map 174, 100 feet elsewhere), needs a natural resources special permit first, and the building permit cannot issue until it is granted. Work on beaches, bluffs or underwater lands also needs a Town Trustees permit or a letter saying none is required. In the Flood Hazard Overlay District, plans must show the lowest-floor elevation; the Planning Department warns that the higher flood elevations in the 2025 state codes apply to applications filed from December 31, 2025, before the town code is updated. A letter of buildability costs $150.

East Hampton building permit fees

The Town Board sets fees by resolution. The current schedule is Resolution 2024-1310, adopted on October 17, 2024, which amended the May 2024 increase (Resolution 2024-680) to add the updated certificate of occupancy fee.

For example, an addition with an estimated cost of $200,000 pays 0.5%, or $1,000, plus $300 for the certificate of occupancy: $1,300 before the card or e-check charge. If a permit is refused before any construction starts, Chapter 102 refunds half the fee; once work has begun, nothing is refunded. On complex designs the inspector may hire an outside architect or engineer and add the part of that cost that exceeds half the permit fee. Village permits follow village fee schedules, not this one.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical. Under Chapter 125 the town’s building inspectors never inspect wiring. An approved inspection agency does, and the town will not issue a certificate of occupancy until it has the agency’s certificate of compliance. The list revised on November 25, 2024 names Suffolk Bureau of Electrical Inspectors, East End Inspection Agency, Electrical Inspectors Inc., Electrical Inspection Service Inc., Nassau-Suffolk Electrical Inspectors, NYS Electrical Inspections, Certified Electrical Inspections, L.I. Electrical Inspectors and Prestige Electrical Inspections. An electrical disconnect affidavit is on the forms page.

Contractor licenses. Chapter 156 requires a Town of East Hampton home improvement license, issued by the Town Clerk, for anyone doing new home construction or repairs and improvements to houses, condos or co-op units. The checklist asks for a notarized application, ten hours of continuing education, liability insurance naming the town, workers’ compensation or a CE-200 exemption, vehicle registrations and $250 for a two-year license. Owners working on their own home are exempt, as are electrical contractors doing only electrical work under a Suffolk County electrical license. Suffolk County’s Department of Labor, Licensing and Consumer Affairs also licenses home improvement contractors countywide, and a contractor based in Suffolk who holds the county license is entitled to the town license on filing proof of it. The Town Code has no electrician or plumber licensing chapter, and Suffolk County’s electrician and plumber licensing article (County Code Chapter 563, Article XI) applies in towns and villages that have not passed their own licensing law.

Septic and plumbing. A new house, an added bedroom, an accessory apartment or a sanitary upgrade on a private system needs Suffolk County Department of Health Services approval from the Office of Wastewater Management (631-852-5700), using form WWM-059, WWM-057 or WWM-105 with the WWM-202 checklist and WWM-041 for final approval. The town charges no building fee for an I/A septic system, and its forms page carries a limited septic registry form and a sanitary system certificate of compliance. Rough plumbing gets a water test at inspection.

How to apply for an East Hampton building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Chapter 102 tells the Building Inspector to approve or disapprove an application within 15 days, and to return refused plans with written reasons on request; the department’s own March 2026 notice describes a backlog of updated certificate of occupancy files, about six in ten of which involve work done without a permit. A permit authorizes work for one year, and the inspector may allow at most two extensions of six months or one year each. Surveys must show clearing calculations, lot coverage, building coverage and every structure, with elevations taken from natural grade.

East Hampton inspections and certificates

A typical house is inspected at footing and foundation (after waterproofing), strapping, rough plumbing with a water test on waste and vents, framing once roof, siding and windows are on, fireplace or stove, insulation, pool drywells, rebar in gunite pools, and final. In the Flood Hazard Overlay District an elevation certificate by a surveyor or engineer is due once the lowest floor is placed. Contractors may work from 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., seven days a week.

A new building cannot be used, and an altered one cannot stay in use more than 30 days after the work ends, without a certificate of occupancy; the code gives the inspector 30 days to act on the application. A temporary certificate, good for 90 days, is allowed only when paving, sidewalks or landscaping are held up by the season. Since January 1, 2024 a sale also requires an updated certificate of occupancy ($600, survey no more than 10 years old), but the Town Board has paused enforcement through December 31, 2026 while the department clears its backlog; applications are still processed.

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

Town of East Hampton permit FAQ

How much is a building permit in East Hampton?

0.5% of the estimated construction cost plus a $300 certificate of occupancy fee, under Resolution 2024-1310. A $200,000 addition costs $1,300.

Can I drop off a paper application at Pantigo Place?

No. Every Building Department application goes through OpenGov and is paid online; the counter takes drop-offs of documents and answers questions.

I live in Sag Harbor. Which office do I use?

The Village of Sag Harbor Building Department at 55 Main Street (631-725-0224), whether your house is on the East Hampton or the Southampton side of the village.

Do I need a permit for a fence or a small shed?

Not for a fence up to 4 feet in front and along the sides, or 6 feet along the sides and rear of the house, or for a structure no larger than 6 by 6 by 6 feet that meets setbacks. Anything larger needs a permit.

Does my contractor need a town license?

Yes. Home improvement contractors need the Town of East Hampton license from the Town Clerk ($250 for two years); owners working on their own house are exempt.

Do I still need an updated certificate of occupancy to sell?

The law still requires it, but the town will not issue violations for missing ones until December 31, 2026, and keeps processing applications.

Is East Hampton in FEMA’s flood insurance program?

Yes. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists the Town of East Hampton as participating, with a current flood map dated September 25, 2009; both villages also participate.

East Hampton permit search and official resources

Building Department files go back to September 1957. To see permits, certificates or surveys for a property, file the Building Department Research Request Form from the forms page. Rental registrations and updated certificate requests also go through OpenGov.

• Town of East Hampton Building Department
• East Hampton OpenGov permit portal
• Building Department forms
• Building Department FAQs
• Fee Resolution 2024-1310 (October 17, 2024)
• Updated certificate of occupancy stay FAQ (March 2026)
• Approved electrical inspection agencies
• Home improvement contractor license checklist
• Town Planning Department
• Code of the Town of East Hampton (eCode360)
• Village of East Hampton Building Department
• Village of Sag Harbor Building Department
• Suffolk County residential sanitary permits
• Suffolk County Consumer Affairs licensing
• NYS Uniform Code adoption notice

Simplify Town of East Hampton 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 Town of East Hampton permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.