Town of Montgomery, New York Building Permit Guide

For land in the Town of Montgomery outside the Villages of Montgomery, Walden and Maybrook, permits come from the Building Department at Town Hall, 110 Bracken Road (845-457-2600, option 6, then 1), open 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until 12:15 p.m. on Fridays. A new house or addition costs $500 plus $0.50 per square foot under the fee schedule amended May 7, 2026, and septic systems need a town permit.

What requires a building permit in the Town of Montgomery?

The town’s one-page permit notice keeps it short: a permit is needed to erect, build, enlarge, alter, improve, move, remove or demolish any building or structure, and the only exception it names is a non-residential farm building. The fee schedule shows how that plays out: houses and additions, sheds, solar arrays, decks, agricultural buildings, demolition and any other work that needs a building permit each have a fee line.

Two plan triggers matter at the start: structural work needs plans or reports from a New York architect or engineer, and so does any project over $20,000 or one that creates new occupied space, such as a finished basement or attic.

What the town decides and what the state sets

The Uniform Code and Energy Code set the construction standards; non-residential farm buildings are the one exemption the town’s notice names. The town sets its zoning (Chapter 235, with a zoning map adopted in 2022), its fee schedule, its freshwater wetlands authority under the state wetlands act (Chapter 120), driveway permits (Chapter 103), stormwater rules (Chapter 193) and a landmarks law (Chapter 157) under which the Historic Preservation Commission must issue a certificate of appropriateness before a designated landmark or a building in a historic district is altered, demolished or newly built.

Town of Montgomery building department: who handles permitting

The Building Department reviews applications, issues permits, carries out inspections and fire inspections, and issues certificates of occupancy and compliance for the town outside the villages. James M. Farr, P.E., is the department head and Building Inspector. Besides the permit forms, the department posts the zoning use tables for the residential, agricultural, business and industrial districts, an outline of what plans must show, a soil erosion plan for single-lot minor subdivisions, subdivision requirements and the smoke and carbon monoxide detector affidavit.

The three villages

The Village of Montgomery’s Building and Fire Inspector issues building, demolition and floodplain development permits and carries out fire inspections from 133 Clinton Street. Maybrook posts its own building permit application and fee schedule; a sliver of the village, home to 49 people, lies in the Town of Hamptonburgh. Walden, the largest at 6,935 residents, lists its own Building Inspector among its departments. All four communities take part in the National Flood Insurance Program separately.

Town of Montgomery permit types and filing rules

Residential permits

The application for building permit is submitted to the Building Department with the $100 residential pre-application fee, which is credited against the permit fee charged when the permit is approved. It asks for lot dimensions and area, distances to every lot line, the number of bedrooms, whether any part is in a flood zone, the water and sewage source and any fuel-fired appliances. The package needs two plot plans showing all buildings, septic components and underground utilities with setbacks; two sets of plans; proof of homeowner’s and liability insurance; the contractor’s liability and workers’ compensation certificates naming the town; a road access permit from the town Highway Department, Orange County DPW or the state DOT for any new or improved access; the town sanitary permit or proof of sewer; and a site-specific stormwater plan or acknowledgement of the town’s standard one. Incomplete applications are not accepted.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial and other non-residential work pays a $2,500 application fee under the 2026 schedule, credited to the permit; the older application form still prints $1,000 for new commercial work and $500 for renovations, so budget on the adopted schedule. New commercial buildings cost $1,000 plus $0.60 per square foot for the first 100,000 square feet and $0.45 beyond, and renovations, re-roofing, sprinklers, racking and similar work $500 plus 1% of the signed contract price. The Building Inspector may send large or complex plans to an outside engineer or architect, with an escrow of 0.5% of the documented cost.

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 Board of Appeals: area and use variances and interpretations, $150 each.
• Planning Board: subdivisions from $500 plus $150 per lot, residential site plans from $500 plus $150 per dwelling, commercial site plans $500 plus $0.07 per square foot, special permits and solar site plans $500, with consultant escrows and a $2,000 recreation fee per new lot.
• Wetlands and historic sites: Chapter 120 wetland permits and Chapter 157 certificates of appropriateness.
• Septic, driveway and stormwater: the town sanitary permit, a highway road permit and the stormwater plan named on the application.

Town of Montgomery permit fees

The Town of Montgomery Fee Schedule, set by Town Board resolution under Local Law 2 of 1987 and amended effective May 7, 2026, is posted on the Town Clerk’s fee page. Residential building fees:

Worked examples: a 2,000 sq ft house pays $500 + (2,000 × $0.50) = $1,500, of which the $100 application fee is already paid, plus $250 for the certificate of occupancy. A 300 sq ft deck is $150 + $60 = $210, and a $10,000 job with no fee line of its own is $75 + (9 × $15) = $210.

Other charges on the same schedule: an accessory dwelling unit review costs $500 on top of the residential permit fees; a short-term rental $250 for the first bedroom and $100 for each additional one, renewed yearly at $150 plus $50 a bedroom; fire inspections $100 for buildings under 5,000 square feet rising to $300 over 100,000; and a sewer or water meter application with the Town Engineer $75, including one site visit. Commercial demolition is $175 and a commercial temporary certificate $500.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical. The town’s building page posts Orange County’s Local Law 1 of 2024, which set up the county Electrical Licensing Board, requires electricians to hold a county license and, from Section 3B, requires electrical inspectors to be licensed too. It exempts an owner’s work in his or her own unattached single-family home more than a year old, short of replacing the whole service, as long as a certified inspector checks it. A county master electrician license costs $500 for Orange County residents and is renewed each year for $150, and the town also posts the county’s notice on licensing electrical inspectors. Under the town’s Chapter 110, the Code Enforcement Officer accepts inspections from qualified inspectors who carry $1 million in liability insurance, hold IAEI or comparable certification, keep an office within reasonable distance and file their charges with the town; their certificate of compliance must be filed and accepted before a certificate of occupancy is granted.

Plumbing and heating. Orange County licenses no trade other than electricians, and the Town Code has no plumber licensing chapter. Fuel-fired appliances are listed on the application and inspected under the building permit.

Septic. The town issues the septic system permit itself. The owner obtains stamped and signed plans from a design engineer, files the application and $125 fee, and may be asked to let the department witness a percolation test or deep hole. The engineer stakes out the field, which must stay free of vehicles and keep its topsoil, the department makes a courtesy inspection before backfill, and no certificate of occupancy issues until an engineer other than the Town Engineer certifies the system and a record sketch of the tank, boxes and trenches is filed. Orange County Environmental Health (845-862-6201) reviews realty subdivisions of five or more lots under 5 acres.

How to apply for a Town of Montgomery building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The department rejects incomplete applications outright, and inadequate plans hold approval until corrected. Large or complex projects can be sent to an outside reviewer at the applicant’s cost. Expired permits can be extended for up to 12 months at $7 a month for residential work; after that the original fee is charged again for each year.

Town of Montgomery inspections and certificates

With the permit the owner receives an inspection sheet listing the stages to call in and a permit card that must be displayed on site; the approved plans stay on site for the inspector. The second visit to recheck incomplete work is free, the third costs $100 and the fourth $200.

No building may be used until the department issues a certificate of occupancy ($250) or, for work in an existing building, a certificate of compliance ($150). A temporary certificate costs $200 for up to four months and the same amount each month after that. Septic systems also need the engineer’s certification letter and the electrical work an accepted inspection certificate before the final 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

Town of Montgomery permit FAQ

How much is a building permit for a new house in the Town of Montgomery?

$500 plus $0.50 per square foot; a 2,000 sq ft house pays $1,500, plus $250 for the certificate of occupancy.

Does the town handle permits in Walden, Maybrook or Montgomery village?

No. Each village has its own building office; the town covers the area outside them.

Who issues septic permits?

The town Building Department, for $125, on an engineer’s stamped design.

When do I need an architect or engineer?

For structural work, any project over $20,000 and any new living space such as a finished basement or attic.

Can I do my own electrical work?

Only in your own single-family home more than a year old, under the Orange County exemption, and a certified inspector must still check it.

Do farm buildings need a permit?

Non-residential farm buildings are exempt from the building permit; agricultural buildings that do need one pay $150 plus $0.10 per square foot.

What if I already built without a permit?

The fee doubles, and the town requires an architect’s or engineer’s report showing the work met the code in force when it was built.

How do I get records of an old permit?

Ask the Town Clerk under the town’s public records law (Chapter 175); a municipal search costs $150 for a home.

Permit search and official resources

The town has no online permit lookup. Building files are public records requested from the Town Clerk under Chapter 175 and the Freedom of Information Law, and a municipal search for a sale costs $150 (residential) or $200 (commercial). Town Hall’s main line is 845-457-2660.

• Town of Montgomery Building Department and forms
• When do I need a building permit?
• Application for building permit
• Septic system permit application and instructions
• Town fee schedule page
• Fee schedule as amended May 7, 2026
• Town Code Chapter 110, Electrical Inspections
• Town Code Chapter 157, Landmarks and Historic Districts
• Code of the Town of Montgomery
• Orange County Local Law 1 of 2024, electrical licensing
• Orange County licensed electricians and inspectors
• Village of Montgomery Building Inspector
• Village of Maybrook building permits
• Village of Walden
• Orange County Environmental Health
• FEMA Community Status Book, New York
• NYS code adoption notice

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