Montgomery County, New York Building Permit Guide

In Montgomery County building permits come from the City of Amsterdam, the ten towns and the villages, each with its own code officer; the county has no building department. Its Department of Public Works in Fultonville permits driveways, utility lines and other work in county road rights-of-way, the County Planning Board in Fonda reviews referred zoning actions, and septic systems are permitted by the town or village code office; the Town of Amsterdam, for one, requires a building permit for any new, replaced or repaired system.

What requires a building permit in Montgomery County?

The local lists are short and practical. The Town of Amsterdam requires a permit for new homes, garages and carports, additions and alterations, storage buildings including prefabricated ones delivered to the site, decks and porches and their enclosure, roofs extended over decks, structural rebuilding, wood stoves, fireplaces and chimneys, demolition, changes of occupancy, and any new, replaced or repaired septic system. It needs no permit for siding, same-size replacement windows, non-structural repairs or fences. Neighboring villages draw the line differently: Fultonville’s application lists roofs, windows (with energy efficiency papers), fences and pools, and Nelliston charges for re-roofing, re-siding and fences.

What the municipalities decide and what the state holds

Construction is governed by the state’s 2025 Uniform Code and Energy Code, which no municipality may tighten without Code Council approval. Each city, town and village sets its own fees, zoning and local laws; the Town of Florida, for instance, posts a zoning ordinance dated November 18, 2025. One village is gone: the county records that the Village of Fort Johnson dissolved on December 31, 2023, and the Census no longer lists it.

Montgomery County building department: who handles permitting

A town officer covers the town outside its villages, and the City of Amsterdam is separate from the Town of Amsterdam that surrounds it. Officers are often shared: the same building inspector’s name appears on the City of Amsterdam’s, the Town of Amsterdam’s and the Village of Fultonville’s pages, and the Town of St. Johnsville and Village of Nelliston list the same code officer, but each municipality keeps its own office, forms and fees.

Fort Plain lies almost entirely in the Town of Minden, with a handful of residents in Canajoharie; the village office covers all of it. Several offices keep short or appointment-only hours, so call before visiting, and for Hagaman, Ames, Root and St. Johnsville village start with the clerk. The county’s municipalities directory lists the main town hall address and phone for each town, such as Minden’s at 134 State Highway 80, Fort Plain (518-993-3443) and Mohawk’s in the Richard A. Papa building in Fonda (518-853-3031).

What Montgomery County itself does

• Department of Public Works, 113 Park Drive, Fultonville (518-853-3814): permits for residential, farm, commercial and temporary driveways onto county roads under its driveway policy and standards, and for water, sewer and gas mains, underground electric and telephone lines, utility poles, traffic lights, miscellaneous structures and special hauling. Fees are paid with the application.
• County Planning Board, Old County Courthouse, Fonda (518-853-8334): reviews site plans, special permits, variances, zone changes and new or amended local laws and plans that towns and villages refer under General Municipal Law 239-l and 239-m. Its form covers sites within 500 feet of a municipal boundary, a state or county road, a state or county park, a county-owned stream or drainage channel, a state or county parcel with a public building, or a farm in an agricultural district (that last one not for area variances). Referrals must arrive seven calendar days before the meeting, with three copies of the full statement of the action; site plans go as one full-size set and twelve 11 by 17 packets, or digitally.
• Sanitary District No. 1: the county sewer district that Nelliston and Palatine Bridge list beside their code office for sewer connections.

Public drinking water systems in Montgomery County are overseen by the state Health Department’s Herkimer District Office (315-866-6879); the county posts no septic program of its own.

Montgomery County permit types and applications

Residential permits

Fort Plain, Nelliston and Palatine Bridge post their paper applications, sewer connection permits and complaint forms online, and Fort Plain adds an owner and agent designation form and vacant property registration. The Village of Canajoharie takes applications through Cloudpermit. Fultonville asks for a drawing of the lot with street frontage, lot lines and every existing and proposed structure.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial buildings need sealed drawings, and site plan or special use approval from the local planning board, which refers qualifying projects to the County Planning Board. In the City of Amsterdam the Fire Division inspects for fire safety, and villages such as Nelliston issue operating permits for vendors.

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

• Zoning: the local zoning officer, ZBA or planning board.
• County referral: actions inside the County Planning Board’s jurisdiction, filed by the local board.
• Septic or sewer: a septic permit from the local code office, or a sewer connection permit from the village or sewer district.
• County road access: a DPW driveway permit before any new entrance onto a county road.

Building permit fees in Montgomery County

Each city, town and village charges its own building fees. The county’s road permit fees took effect on January 1, 2024. The Village of Nelliston’s posted price list, which carries no date, shows how simple small-village schedules can be.

The county wants payment with every road permit application, and the driveway form binds the applicant to the department’s written policy and standards for driveways, so read those before staking an entrance. Village price lists like Nelliston’s also mark what needs no permit at all: adding to an existing driveway is listed as free of any permit, while a new driveway is $50.

Worked example: a 1,500 sq ft new house in Nelliston costs 1,500 × $0.10 = $150 for the building permit, plus $50 if it needs a new septic system; a new driveway onto a county road adds the county’s $50. The City of Amsterdam prices permits by its own schedule, set out in this site’s Amsterdam guide.

Trade permits and who may pull them

The county itself licenses no trades. The City of Amsterdam is the exception among the municipalities: it publishes lists of Class A licensed electricians and master plumbers, issues separate electrical and plumbing permits, and authorizes only The Inspector, LLC to make electrical inspections in the city. Town and village pages read here show no local trade license. Contractors file proof of workers’ compensation and disability coverage, or a state exemption, with the application.

How to get a building permit in Montgomery County

Review, corrections and what causes delay

No office here posts a review time. In the City of Amsterdam permits are handed out only in two short windows each weekday, which shapes when you can pick one up. Short office hours, missing lot drawings and county planning referrals that must wait for the next meeting can all slow an application. Where someone other than the owner files, Fort Plain wants its owner and agent designation form signed first, and a vacant building there must also be on the village’s vacant property registration. In the Town of Amsterdam, swapping windows is exempt only for same-size units, and the office reminds owners that bedroom egress rules still apply, so a window that changes size goes through the permit process.

Inspections and certificates

Inspections are scheduled with the officer who issued the permit; the City of Amsterdam asks for 48 hours’ notice. Septic work is inspected by the same local office under its septic permit. In Fonda the Code Enforcement Office handles building safety, property standards, permits and inspections together, and it advises contractors and owners on what applies before work begins. The officer issues a certificate of occupancy or compliance at the end, and in the city the electrical certificate comes from The Inspector, LLC.

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

In Montgomery County it is enforced by about twenty separate local code offices.

Montgomery County permit FAQ

Does Montgomery County issue building permits?

No. The City of Amsterdam, the towns and the villages do. The county permits work in county road rights-of-way and reviews referred zoning actions.

Who handles permits in the former Village of Fort Johnson?

The village dissolved on December 31, 2023, so the area now falls under the town it lies in; check with that town’s code office.

How much is a county driveway permit?

$50 for a residential driveway, $25 for a field or temporary drive and $100 for a commercial one, paid with the application.

Who issues a septic permit?

The town or village code office; the Town of Amsterdam, for example, requires a building permit for any new, replaced or repaired on-site wastewater system, and Nelliston charges $50.

Is the City of Amsterdam the same office as the Town of Amsterdam?

No. The city’s Building Department is at 61 Church Street; the town’s Codes & Zoning Office is at Town Hall on Manny’s Corners Road and covers the town outside the city and the Village of Hagaman, which is a separate village.

Do I need a permit for a fence?

Not in the Town of Amsterdam. Nelliston and Fultonville do permit fences, so check the village list.

Do electricians need a license?

In the City of Amsterdam, yes: it lists Class A licensed electricians and master plumbers. No town or village page read here sets a trade license.

Can I get flood insurance in Nelliston?

FEMA lists the Village of Nelliston among communities not in the National Flood Insurance Program, suspended since November 4, 1992; every other listed Montgomery County community participates.

Montgomery County permit search and official resources

Permit files are held by the city, town or village that issued them; ask that clerk, or file a Freedom of Information Law request there. County road permits are on file with the Department of Public Works.

• Montgomery County DPW permits
• DPW schedule of fees, January 1, 2024
• County driveway permit application
• Policy and standards for driveways
• Montgomery County municipalities directory
• County Planning Board referral form
• Town of Amsterdam Codes & Zoning
• Village of Nelliston building permit price list
• NYS Department of Health district offices
• FEMA Community Status Book, New York
• NYS code adoption and enforcement updates

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