Town of Fallsburg, New York Building Permit Guide

In the Town of Fallsburg, building permits come from the Building Department at 5250 Main Street, South Fallsburg (845-434-8811), which covers the whole town except the Village of Woodridge. You file the form for your type of work, on paper or through the town’s BAS online submission site, and pay by check or money order: a new house costs $0.40 per square foot plus a $50 filing fee under the schedule the Town Board adopted on June 28, 2021.

What requires a building permit in Fallsburg?

Chapter 96 of the Town Code, rewritten by Local Law 13 of 2022, requires a permit for any work that must meet the Uniform Code or Energy Code: building, enlarging, altering, moving or demolishing a structure, and installing a wood stove, chimney or flue in a home. The department’s form list shows how that plays out, with separate applications for new buildings and additions, accessory structures, decks, pools, home heating equipment, electrical work, demolition, signs, wells, septic repairs and driveways.

At 80 square feet, even an ordinary 8 by 12 foot shed needs a permit. Fences are not on the exemption list, so ask the department before building one; the zoning rules for them are in Section 310-5.5 (no more than 4 feet in a residential front yard, 8 feet at the sides and rear, finished side facing the neighbor).

What Fallsburg decides and what the state sets

The building standards come from the state Uniform Code and Energy Code. Fallsburg sets the rest: its fees by Town Board resolution under Chapter 135, permit time limits in Chapter 96, electrical permits and licensing rules in Chapter 117, zoning and site plan review in Chapter 310, flood damage prevention in Chapter 137, and short-term rental inspections.

Fallsburg building department: who handles permitting

The Building Department, also called the Code Enforcement Office, reviews applications, issues building and electrical permits, inspects construction and issues certificates of occupancy and compliance. It also runs fire safety inspections of assembly spaces, camps and apartment buildings, and the yearly short-term rental inspection. Thomas (TJ) Brawley is the department head.

Village of Woodridge. Woodridge is the only incorporated village inside the town (736 of its 15,156 residents, Census 2025 estimate). Its zoning law, Chapter 400 of the Village Code, gives permits and enforcement to a building inspector appointed by the Village Board, and village fees are set by Village Board resolution, so town permits stop at the village line.

Village of Ateres. A 2023 petition to incorporate the Village of Ateres took in voters in both Thompson and Fallsburg, and the Fallsburg Supervisor found it legally sufficient on September 7, 2023. Thompson’s 2026 Town Board minutes refer to the Village of Ateres issuing its own building permits, and on October 20, 2026 that board approved a highway-services agreement among Thompson, Fallsburg and the village. If your parcel may lie inside Ateres, ask the department which office has jurisdiction.

Fallsburg permit types and filing rules

Residential permits

Every town application starts with a one-page checklist that the applicant signs, and the office says it will not accept an incomplete package. For a house or addition you supply two complete sets of plans and specifications and a plot plan of the lot; Chapter 96 adds that the site plan must be drawn from an accurate boundary survey and that plans be sealed by a New York architect or engineer where the Education Law requires it. The checklist also asks for workers’ compensation proof or the CE-200 exemption, an owner’s proxy if someone else applies, the electrician’s verification and a posted 911 address number.

Accessory structures have their own form with the zoning distances printed on it. A garage or barn over 576 square feet must sit 30 feet from side and rear lot lines; smaller ones 10 feet. None may stand closer to the street than the house, they must be 10 feet from the house unless fire-protected, they may cover no more than 20% of the rear yard, and a residential accessory building of 1,000 square feet or more falls under the site plan review provisions of Section 310-7.2.

Pools go only in the rear yard, at least 20 feet from the rear line, 10 feet from side lines and the house, and 50 feet from the front lot line, covering no more than 35% of what is left of the rear yard. The pool form adds a pool alarm, a 48-inch barrier and a GFCI-protected pump circuit. Where the house is on a town water district, the Water Superintendent’s separate pool permit and filling authorization also apply.

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

Commercial permits

New commercial buildings carry a $100 filing fee instead of $50, multi-family buildings and camps use their own applications, and businesses need operating permits and periodic fire safety inspections: assembly spaces every 12 months, buildings with three or more apartments every 24 months, and seasonal camps every 24 months.

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. Check the parcel’s district on the town zoning map and the Schedule of use and bulk requirements. Variances and interpretations go to the Zoning Board of Appeals ($100 application plus a $50 refundable sign deposit).
• Planning Board. One- and two-family homes and their accessory structures are exempt from site plan review; most other new buildings, subdivisions and special permit uses are not. Site plans cost $100 plus $100 per dwelling or per 1,000 square feet, the schedule lists a $750-per-unit recreation fee, and the town can require an escrow for its consultants’ review.
• Driveways and land clearing. A town driveway permit ($50) is issued after the staked location is inspected; land disturbance permits cost $50, and clearing over 5 acres also involves the state DEC.
• Wells and septic. The town issues well permits ($20) and septic repair or replacement permits; the state Health Department must approve wells serving five or more apartments or more than 25 people before the town will.
• Flood zones. Both the town and the Village of Woodridge take part in the National Flood Insurance Program; the town’s current flood map is dated August 17, 2015, and development in a mapped flood zone follows Chapter 137.

Fallsburg building permit fees

Fees come from Resolution 150 of 2021, which the Town Board adopted on June 28, 2021, and Chapter 96 says they are paid when you apply and are not refunded unless the Town Board agrees. The forms accept only checks or money orders made out to the Town of Fallsburg.

Worked from those rates, a 2,000 sq ft house is 2,000 × $0.40, or $800, plus the $50 filing fee: $850. A 300 sq ft deck is a flat $100. Penalties are on the same schedule, listed under its commercial new construction heading: a re-inspection costs $75 per unit (up to three units, then $10 more for each), a missed inspection appointment $50 and failure to display the permit $100 (page 3 also lists a $10 display fine; the forms say $50). Work begun without a permit is fined by offense, up to $500 for the first, $501 to $1,500 for the second and $1,501 or more for the third.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electricians. Sullivan County licenses electricians through its Board of Electrical Licensing, and electrical work in the county must be done by a county-licensed electrician; the county charges $200 a year for a master license, and an electrician licensed in a city or county with a reciprocal agreement can buy a one-time job license for $300. Chapter 117 requires a town electrical permit ($50) for new or replacement panels, added circuits, pool and spa wiring, lighting repairs, standby generators and solar systems on apartment, commercial and rented homes and on the single-family work it lists. The contractor signs the town’s verification form, and walls may not be closed until it is back in the office.

Homeowners. Section 117-1E lets an owner do the electrical work on an owner-occupied single-family home if they will occupy it for at least a year after the certificate of compliance; the work still needs an independent inspection.

Electrical inspections. All electrical work must be independently inspected, and the town issues its certificate of compliance only on a final certificate from an agency it accepts. Its March 2024 list names Commonwealth Electrical Inspection Agency, Electrical Underwriters, Inspections On Time, NY Electrical Inspectors, NYEIC, SAS Electrical Inspection, Swanson Consulting & Associates and Tri-County Inspection Agency.

Heating, plumbing and septic. Furnaces, boilers, water heaters, wood and pellet stoves, outdoor wood boilers and fireplaces go on the town’s home heating application. Neither the Town Code nor the department’s forms set up a plumber or general contractor license. Septic repairs and replacements need a town septic permit, $20 for a repair or partial replacement and $50 for replacing the whole system, designed by a professional engineer, and the system may not be covered until the department inspects it.

How to apply for a Fallsburg building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The town publishes no review time. The usual hold-up is an incomplete package, which the office will refuse, and a missing plot plan or survey-based site plan. Any change to the approved plans must be reported, and the department may require an amended permit before the change is built. Under Section 96-4I a permit lapses if work has not started within 12 months and expires 18 months after issue; both can be renewed for a fee.

Fallsburg inspections and certificates

Call the Building Department at least 24 hours ahead for each inspection. Section 96-5 lists the stages: the site before the permit issues, footings and foundation, slab preparation, framing, building systems, fire-resistant construction, solid-fuel appliances and chimneys, the Energy Code items such as insulation, manufactured home set-up, and the final. The department may accept a remote inspection by video when it shows the work as well as a site visit would.

No building may be used or occupied before the certificate of occupancy is issued; the town’s forms warn of a $1,500-a-day fine for occupying without one and remind owners that obtaining it is their responsibility. Electrical work needs the inspection agency’s final certificate first. The schedule also lists a $50 certificate of occupancy inspection fee where the permit is five years old.

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

Fallsburg permit FAQ

Does the town issue permits in Woodridge?

No. The Village of Woodridge has its own building inspector under its zoning law and sets its own fees.

How much is a building permit for a new house in Fallsburg?

$0.40 per square foot plus a $50 filing fee, so $850 for a 2,000 sq ft house, paid by check or money order.

Do I need a permit for a shed?

Yes, if it is larger than 80 sq ft. Sheds cost $0.20 per sq ft plus $50 and must be at least 10 feet from side and rear lot lines and from the house.

Can I do my own electrical work?

Only in a single-family home you own and will live in for at least a year after the certificate of compliance, and it still needs an independent inspection. Otherwise a Sullivan County licensed electrician must do it.

How much does a pool permit cost?

$100 for an above-ground pool; an in-ground pool is $0.40 per sq ft plus a $100 filing fee. Pools go in the rear yard with an alarm and a 48-inch barrier.

How long is a permit valid?

Work must start within 12 months, and the permit expires 18 months after it was issued unless renewed.

Can I apply online?

Yes. The town’s BAS online submission site lets you look up the parcel and submit an application; paper forms are on the Code Enforcement & Applications page.

Do short-term rentals need a town inspection?

Yes. Fallsburg inspects short-term rentals before they are first rented and every year after, for $100, and owners must notify neighbors within 300 feet.

Permit search and official resources

The BAS site’s Go To Transaction search shows the status of an application filed there. Chapter 96 makes the department’s permit, inspection and certificate records public; for copies of older files, use the town’s FOIL request form with the Town Clerk, the town’s records management officer.

• Fallsburg Building Department
• Code enforcement forms and applications
• BAS online submission and permit lookup
• Building department fees, Resolution 150 of 2021
• Building permit application
• Accessory structure application
• Pool application
• Electrical permit application
• Accepted electrical inspection agencies (March 2024)
• Septic permit application
• Short-term rental inspection application
• FOIL request form
• Town Code Chapter 96, Building Code Enforcement
• Town Code Chapter 117, Electrical Standards
• Town Code Chapter 310, Zoning
• Planning Board
• Zoning Board of Appeals
• Sullivan County Electrical Licensing Board
• Village of Woodridge Code
• NYS code adoption notice

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