Town of Malone, New York Building Permit Guide

Outside the Village of Malone, building permits come from the Town of Malone Code Enforcement office at Town Hall, 27 Airport Road (518-483-0048), which also permits septic installations and repairs. Under the fee schedule the Town Board adopted on September 14, 2022 and modified on May 24, 2023, a new house or manufactured home costs $0.15 per square foot, and every contractor must file 2026 workers’ compensation and liability insurance with the office.

What requires a building permit in Malone?

The town’s code office requires a permit for any new building, specific renovations, swimming pools, woodstoves and chimneys, and the installation or repair of a septic tank. Its application covers new buildings, additions, renovations, alterations, repairs, decks, garages, barns, roofs, septic systems, solar, electrical work and signs, and the fee schedule fills in the detail.

The fee schedule charges nothing for sheds under 144 sq ft or covered porches and decks under 64 sq ft, but it does not list them as exempt from a permit. Burning also needs a town permit: burn permits are applied for online and must be renewed by March 31 each year.

What the town decides and what the state holds

Construction standards are those of the Uniform Code and Energy Code; stricter local rules would need state Code Council approval. The town sets its own permit list and fee schedule by Town Board resolution, runs site plan review for commercial projects under its site plan local law, regulates solar installations under its Solar Energy Law, Local Law 2 of 2018, written to protect farmland and scenic resources such as the Adirondack Scenic Byway (with separate applications for roof-mounted arrays and ground-mounted arrays up to and over 2,000 sq ft), and keeps a zoning map; its Planning and Zoning page posts a proposed Chapter 79 zoning text. The town takes part in the National Flood Insurance Program, and its FEMA map dates from September 4, 1985.

Malone building department: who handles permitting

The town’s Code Enforcement office, where Mike McMahon serves as Code Officer, reviews and approves building, pool and septic applications, decides whether a use or area variance is needed, collects fees and inspects. It is at Malone Town Hall on Airport Road.

Village of Malone. The village sits inside the town and runs its own Code Enforcement Office with a code officer and clerk. It requires permits for building projects, rental properties, signs, heating appliances, demolition and fence construction, publishes its own fee schedule and list of approved electrical inspectors, and keeps its own fence, swimming pool, electrical and zoning chapters. Village applications are printed, completed and brought to 343 West Main Street, and fees are paid when the permit is approved. The village’s FEMA flood map dates from April 3, 1978. If your property pays village taxes, start there rather than at Airport Road.

The village prices work differently from the town. Its Building Inspector & Fire Code Enforcement Office charges residential building, fence and demolition permits by project cost: $30 up to $1,000, $40 to $5,000, $50 to $10,000, $65 to $20,000, $90 to $30,000, $160 to $100,000, $260 to $300,000, $760 to $400,000 and $1,100 above that. Non-residential construction is $0.20 per square foot, commercial repairs start at $70, a wood-burning appliance or chimney permit is $40, renewals cost 25% of the original fee, Planning Board and Zoning Board applications are $100 each, minor site plan review $150 and major site plan review (disturbing more than an acre) $250, and the fee doubles for work found under way without a permit. The village also inspects rental dwellings ($40 per unit) and charges for re-inspections that double with each return visit.

Village fences need a permit under Chapter 19 of the village code: no fence over 6 feet (posts 7 feet), no more than 3 feet within 20 feet of the curb or street edge except around pools, at least 6 inches inside any property line and a foot back from the front line or right-of-way, finished side and gates facing the right way (gates open into the property, posts on the inside), and no barbed wire, canvas, cloth, electric, poultry or turkey-wire fencing. Fences 18 inches high or less, and porch and deck railings, are exempt.

Malone permit types and filing

The town posts one building permit application, revised in July 2026, used for everything from a new house to a roof, sign or septic system, plus a swimming pool application, a commercial site plan review application, and three solar applications. Contractors must also send their current workers’ compensation and general liability certificates for the 2026 calendar year to code@townofmaloneny.gov.

Residential permits

The application asks for the owner, mailing and site addresses, tax map number, lot size, zone, occupancy and estimated cost; the contractor and any architect or engineer; the building’s use, construction, exterior, roof, heat source, foundation, basement, dimensions, height, stories and square footage; and its distances from the center of the road and from the side and rear lines. A sketch drawn roughly to scale must show property lines, setbacks, existing and proposed structures, driveways, roads, easements, the well, the septic system, utilities and a north arrow. A pool application is attached to the building application and records the pool’s volume, depth, filtration and drainage, water source, barrier type and location, setbacks, the cost including the fence, and the name and signature of the electrician wiring it; pools must have ground-fault protection.

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

Commercial permits

New commercial buildings cost $150 up to 1,500 sq ft and $150 plus $1.00 for every added square foot above that, and commercial repairs and renovations from $100 to $225 plus $2.00 per added $1,000 of cost. Commercial uses go through site plan review first, which takes two separate payments: a $500 non-refundable application fee and a $1,000 professional services escrow under Section 79-33 of the site plan local law, with unused escrow returned. Commercial buildings, day care and foster homes and multiple dwellings also pay for fire and safety inspections.

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

The code officer marks on each application whether a use or area variance is required; a variance application costs $500 since January 1, 2026. Septic systems are permitted by the same town office ($40 residential, $50 commercial), so the septic layout belongs on the site sketch. Commercial site plans and subdivisions are filed with the town before any building permit.

Malone building permit fees

The Town of Malone building code fees were adopted by Board resolution on September 14, 2022 and modified on May 24, 2023; the variance fee was raised to $500 as of January 1, 2026. The files are labeled 2026 on the town website.

A 2,000 sq ft house therefore costs $300 at $0.15 per square foot, with $30 more where the schedule’s basement charge applies. A 200 sq ft shed is $30 and a 300 sq ft deck $45.

The commercial schedule adds $75 for demolition, $50 each for a septic permit and a sign, $200 for commercial solar, $75 for an industrial, storage or assembly inspection, $45 for a family day care or foster care inspection, and $30 per unit for multiple dwellings and adult residential homes. A commercial basement is $50, and the same double fee applies to work started without a permit.

Trade permits and who may pull them

The Town of Malone’s posted materials contain no electrician or plumber licensing rule; electrical work appears as a project type on the building application, a heating permit costs $25, and the pool application must name and be signed by the electrician wiring the pool. In the village, by contrast, the code office keeps an electrical standards chapter in the village code and publishes a list of approved electrical inspectors (updated December 17, 2025): The Inspector LLC, Commonwealth Electrical Inspection Services and New York Atlantic-Inland.

The town’s pool rules also require ground-fault interruption on pool wiring, and an EV charger installation is permitted at $60 and residential solar at $75 under the building fee schedule, both permitted through the same code office.

Septic. Malone’s own code office requires a permit for installing or repairing a septic tank, at $40 for a home or $50 for a commercial property. The well and septic locations go on the building application’s site sketch.

How to apply for a Malone building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The code officer reviews each application and records whether it is approved or disapproved and whether a use or area variance is needed; a needed variance must be granted, at a $500 application fee, before the permit can be approved. Starting without a permit doubles the building or demolition fee.

Malone inspections and certificates

Inspections are arranged with the town code office at 518-483-0048 or code@townofmaloneny.gov. For pools, the code officer certifies on the pool application whether it is in accordance with the local and state pool rules, approving it or recording the reason for refusal; the homeowner and the electrician both sign the form. Commercial buildings, multiple dwellings and day care or foster homes get fire and safety inspections; the annual fire and safety inspection fee is $30 if paid within 30 days and rises in steps to $110 if left unpaid for 91 to 120 days.

Because the town code office issues both the building permit and the septic permit, a new house on a septic lot deals with one office for both. The same office handles burn permits and fireworks display permits ($30 on the commercial schedule).

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

Malone permit FAQ

Does the town issue permits in the Village of Malone?

No. The village has its own Code Enforcement Office at 343 West Main Street (518-483-4570), with its own forms, fees and approved electrical inspectors.

How much is a permit for a new house in the town?

$0.15 per square foot, so $300 for a 2,000 sq ft house, plus $30 where the basement charge applies.

Do I need a permit for a shed?

The fee is $0 under 144 square feet and $0.15 per square foot from 145 square feet; check with the code office before building either size.

Who issues septic permits in Malone?

The Town of Malone code office: $40 for a residential septic permit and $50 for commercial.

What does commercial site plan review cost?

$500 for the application plus a separate $1,000 escrow for professional review services.

Do I need a permit for solar panels in the town?

Yes. Residential solar is $75 and commercial $200, and the town’s Solar Energy Law (Local Law 2 of 2018) has separate applications for roof-mounted systems and for ground-mounted systems up to and over 2,000 square feet.

How much does a variance cost in the town?

$500 for an area or use variance, the rate in force since January 1, 2026; the code officer notes on the building application when one is needed.

What if I build without a permit?

The building or demolition permit fee is doubled.

Malone permit search and official resources

Permit and inspection files are kept by the town code office; copies of other records can be requested with the town’s Freedom of Information Law request form, linked from the town website. Village permit records are held by the Village of Malone Code Office.

• Town of Malone Code Enforcement
• Building permit application
• Residential code fees
• Commercial code fees
• Swimming pool application
• Commercial site plan review application
• Town of Malone Solar Energy Law
• Planning and zoning documents
• Village of Malone Code Enforcement
• Code of the Village of Malone (eCode360)
• NYS Uniform Code adoption notice

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