Greene County, New York Building Permit Guide

Greene County does not issue building permits. Each town issues its own permits, and the Villages of Athens, Catskill and Hunter run separate offices inside their towns. Greene is one of the 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. Environmental health work in the county, including septic and well matters, is done by the state Health Department’s Oneonta district office.

What requires a building permit in Greene County?

Each town’s local law decides, within the Uniform Code. Coxsackie’s fee schedule, adopted May 12, 2026, shows the range of work it permits: new houses and additions, roof replacements, carports and sheds, woodstoves and boilers, septic systems, pools, solar arrays, storage containers, signs and sprinkler systems. Catskill’s town code, described in its guide, exempts fences that are not part of a pool enclosure, but the zoning chapter the Town Board rewrote by Local Law 4 of 2025 sets fence heights by location, so a fence still has to meet zoning even without a building permit.

What the towns decide and what the state holds

The construction rules are the state’s 2025 Uniform Code and Energy Code; towns and villages set zoning, fees and staffing, and stricter local building standards need state Code Council approval. The Department of State’s Code Inspection Unit lists Greene with Schoharie under one code compliance specialist. It enforces only where a town or village has itself opted out, and it tells owners and contractors on private projects to contact their town, city or village office.

Greene County building department: who handles permitting

The table covers every town and village in the county’s own municipal list and the Census count. The Town of Catskill has a full guide on this site; the Village of Catskill inside it is a separate office.

Tannersville and the Village of Hunter both lie in the Town of Hunter, and the town’s own building inspector covers the parts of the town outside the two villages. Zoning is not universal: the county Planning Department lists Ashland, Durham, Hunter and Prattsville as towns without zoning, although Ashland’s own site posts interim zoning documents, so ask that town which rules apply.

What Greene County itself does

• Planning, 411 Main Street, Suite 419, Catskill (518-719-3290): the county Planning Board reviews General Municipal Law 239 referrals at its meeting on the third Wednesday of each month; a complete referral, with a full statement of the application and the SEQR forms, must arrive by noon 12 days before the meeting. Referrals cover comprehensive plans, zoning laws and maps, site plans, area and use variances, special use permits and moratoria on land within 500 ft of a village or town line, a county or state park, road or drainage channel, state or county land with a public building, or a farm in an agricultural district. The board has 30 days to recommend approval, modification or disapproval, and the town files a notice of final action within 30 days of deciding. Subdivisions are left entirely to the local planning board, though new lots along a county road need access that meets current highway standards.
• Public Health, 411 Main Street, Suite 300 (518-719-3600): a partial-service department; it sends environmental questions to the NYSDOH Oneonta District Office, 28 Hill Street, Oneonta (607-432-3911).
• Highway Department, 240 West Main Street, Catskill (518-943-4600): maintains county roads from the main office and substations in Ashland, Hunter, Coxsackie and Freehold; call it before any driveway or utility work in a county road.

Greene County permit types and applications

Residential permits

Applications are mostly paper forms filed with the town officer, and many officers work by appointment: Windham and Prattsville say so outright, the Village of Hunter’s inspector keeps Friday hours and Athens’ town officer works Wednesday to Friday mornings. Greenville routes every building permit through its Building Department first so the officer can review it with the applicant. Prattsville and Ashland post their building permit applications online, and the Town of Catskill takes applications through Cloudpermit as well as on printable forms, with plan review normally taking two to four weeks. In the Village of Catskill, zoning questions are answered from the village’s Zoning Regulations as revised May 10, 2023.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial work usually needs site plan review by the local planning board, and those actions are referred to the county when General Municipal Law 239 requires. Coxsackie charges site plan review fees by the area disturbed, from $300 up to 10,000 sq ft to $1,500 above 50,000 sq ft, plus $15 per parking space, and prices commercial construction at $0.65 per sq ft.

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

What comes before the building permit

• Zoning and boards: zoning permits, ZBA variances, site plans and special use permits; Coxsackie’s variance fee is $75 and its special use permit $75.
• Septic: the town septic permit where the town issues one; Catskill requires engineer-designed plans.
• Subdivision: Coxsackie charges $100 plus $75 per lot for a minor subdivision of four lots or fewer and $200 plus $100 per lot for a major one; its Planning Board meets on the first Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 56 Bailey Street.
• Flood zones: every Greene town and village is in the flood insurance program, so mapped flood areas need the local floodplain review.

Building permit fees in Greene County

There is no county building fee. The Town of Coxsackie’s revised schedule, adopted by the town on May 12, 2026, is shown below; the Catskill guide covers that town’s fees.

The same schedule charges $100 for a storage container, $200 for a small wind energy system, $1,000 for a telecommunications permit and $50 to $200 for signs by size. The Town of Catskill, by comparison, charges 50 cents per sq ft for a new owner-occupied home with a $125 minimum, as its guide sets out.

Worked example: a new 2,000 sq ft house in Coxsackie is 2,000 × $0.45 = $900; a 1,500 sq ft residential roof replacement there is 1,500 × $0.15 = $225. Applicants also pay for any legal notices the town must publish in the newspaper.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Greene County has no county trade licensing, and the town pages listed here describe none. In Catskill, as its guide explains, electrical and plumbing work is shown on the building permit plans and inspected under it, and pools need an electrical inspection; Coxsackie permits commercial sprinkler systems by head count, from $200 for 1 to 10 heads to $600 above 100. Workers’ compensation and disability coverage, or the state exemption, must be on file before a permit issues.

How to get a building permit in Greene County

Review, corrections and what causes delay

A county referral adds at least one Planning Board cycle, and the 12-day deadline means a late file waits a month. Appointment-only offices such as Windham and Prattsville, missing septic designs and incomplete plan sets are the other common holdups; Catskill’s septic plan review alone normally takes two to four weeks.

Inspections and certificates

Inspections are scheduled with the issuing officer, and in the Village of Athens the code office is open Tuesday to Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or by appointment, with fire inspections of short-term rental units, required every year, held on the third Thursday of each month; the Village of Hunter offers inspections on request with 24 hours’ notice when possible, and Catskill’s town office also asks for 24 hours. Certificates of occupancy are issued by the same office after the final inspection, and Coxsackie charges $100 to search its records for an existing certificate.

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

All 14 towns and the 5 villages are listed by FEMA as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program.

Greene County permit FAQ

Does Greene County issue building permits?

No. Towns and villages do. Greene is on the Department of State’s list of counties that opted out of the enforcement of the Uniform and Energy codes; where a town or village has also opted out, the state’s Code Inspection Unit enforces the code there and charges fees.

Who handles septic systems in Greene County?

Environmental health work is done by the NYSDOH Oneonta District Office (607-432-3911), and several towns, including Catskill and Coxsackie, issue their own septic permits.

Which office covers land in the Town of Hunter?

The Village of Hunter has its own building inspector at 7955 Main Street; Tannersville is a separate village; the rest of the town is served by the Town of Hunter’s building inspector.

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

$0.45 per sq ft with a $100 minimum, so $900 for 2,000 sq ft, under the schedule adopted May 12, 2026.

When is the county Planning Board referral deadline?

Noon, 12 days before the board’s third-Wednesday meeting.

Do I need a permit to replace a roof?

In Coxsackie, yes: $0.15 per sq ft for a house and $0.30 for commercial buildings.

Which Greene County towns have no zoning?

The county Planning Department lists Ashland, Durham, Hunter and Prattsville as towns without zoning. A building permit is still required there under the Uniform Code, and Ashland posts interim zoning documents of its own.

How do I get records of an old permit?

Ask the town or village that issued it; Coxsackie charges $100 for a certificate of occupancy search.

Greene County permit search and official resources

Permit and certificate records stay with the issuing town or village; request copies from its clerk under the Freedom of Information Law. The county Planning Department keeps referral files and GIS maps.

• Greene County towns and villages
• Greene County Planning: 239 referrals and Planning Board
• Greene County Public Health
• NYSDOH district offices (Oneonta serves Greene County)
• Greene County Highway Department
• NYS Department of State Code Inspection Unit
• Town of Coxsackie fee schedule (adopted May 12, 2026)
• Town of Catskill Code Enforcement
• Village of Catskill Code Enforcement & Planning
• Village of Hunter Building Inspector
• FEMA Community Status Book, New York
• NYS code adoption and enforcement updates

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