Rockland County, New York Building Permit Guide

Building permits in Rockland County come from the five towns, Clarkstown, Haverstraw, Orangetown, Ramapo and Stony Point, for land outside their villages, and from the 18 incorporated villages for land inside them. Twelve of those villages lie wholly or partly in Ramapo, so a Ramapo mailing address often belongs to a village office rather than Town Hall. The exception is the Village of Spring Valley, where the state has directed Rockland County’s Office of Buildings and Codes to enforce the building and fire codes. Countywide, Rockland licenses electricians, plumbers, heating and cooling contractors and home-improvement contractors.

What requires a building permit in Rockland County?

Each town and village sets its list. Clarkstown requires permits for every pool, in-ground or above-ground, over 24 inches deep, and for decks, sheds, heating units and wood stoves, but not for fences, which its zoning limits instead. Ramapo’s fee schedule prices pools, solar panels, generators, re-roofing, decks and patios, fireplaces and stoves, heating and air conditioning, and demolition. Stony Point exempts unwired sheds up to 120 sq ft; Orangetown’s code exempts portable sheds of 144 sq ft or less, though its web list still says 100 sq ft; Haverstraw exempts fences that do not surround a pool.

What the towns and villages decide and what the state holds

Every municipality enforces the 2025 Uniform Code and Energy Code; local law adds zoning, architectural and historic review, exemption lists, fees and permit terms. Rockland County is not among the twelve counties the Department of State lists as having opted out of the enforcement of the Uniform and Energy codes. Instead, its Office of Buildings and Codes, created by county law, stepped in where the state found a village failing: Chapter 23 says the state directed the county to take over building and fire safety enforcement in Spring Valley.

Rockland County building department: who handles permitting

All 23 municipalities are listed. Three villages cross town lines: Nyack (Clarkstown and Orangetown), Spring Valley (Ramapo and Clarkstown) and Pomona (Haverstraw and Ramapo); Upper Nyack lies wholly in Clarkstown. A town office never permits inside a village.

What Rockland County itself does

• Office of Buildings and Codes: issues building permits, inspects, and grants certificates of occupancy and compliance in the Village of Spring Valley under Chapter 23, for as long as the state keeps that arrangement.
• Consumer Protection licensing: electrical contractors and electrical inspectors under Chapter 250, plumbers and heating and cooling contractors under Chapter 319, and home-improvement contractors under Chapter 286, replaced by Local Law 4 of 2026 on April 14, 2026.
• Drainage Agency: enforces the Stream Conservation Act (Chapter 353) in the 100-year floodplain of designated county streams and votes on written waiver requests.
• Department of Health: sets the private well standards behind the sale-and-rental testing law (Chapter 389).

Rockland County permit types and applications

Residential permits

Applications are local and mostly on paper. Orangetown wants its legal-size form with two plan sets and a PDF; Stony Point refuses incomplete files and asks for each contractor’s current Rockland County license; Haverstraw uses a paper application with an affidavit. Nyack offers an online portal, Sloatsburg posts a 2023 application, and Suffern’s Building Department works from the top floor of Village Hall on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. In Ramapo the $50 application fee is non-refundable, and one- and two-family homes need a surveyor’s foundation location plan before framing inspection and a certified as-built plot plan before the certificate of occupancy.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial work adds sealed plans, local planning board site plan review and, in several places, architectural review. Stony Point requires plans sealed by a New York architect or engineer once construction value passes $20,000, a rule that covers houses too.

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 boards and architectural review: town and village ZBAs, planning boards and review boards (Orangetown’s ACABOR, Haverstraw’s ARB).
• County streams: filling, building or anything that obstructs flow in the 100-year floodplain of a designated county stream breaches Chapter 353 unless the Drainage Agency grants a waiver; penalties run up to $1,000 a day.
• Moratoria: Stony Point adopted a one-year residential moratorium and an eight-month battery-storage moratorium on July 14, 2026; its guide gives the exemptions.
• Sewer: Ramapo issues its own sewer permits through the Town Clerk.
• Flood zones: every Rockland municipality participates in the National Flood Insurance Program.

Building permit fees in Rockland County

There is no county building fee outside Spring Valley; each town and village adopts its own. The main rules for the five towns are below; village fees are set by each village board.

For a $25,000 home renovation, Clarkstown’s rule gives $150 plus 24 times $18, or $582. Orangetown uses the same formula and adds its $20 database fee, $602 in all. In Stony Point the same job costs $50 plus 25 times $15, or $425. Starting that job without a permit adds a $500 administrative fee in Stony Point.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Rockland licenses trades at the county level. Chapter 250 bars anyone from carrying on the business of an electrical contractor in the county without a license and also licenses electrical inspectors; Chapter 319 does the same for plumbers and for heating and cooling contractors; and Chapter 286, rewritten in full by Local Law 4 of 2026 on April 14, 2026, requires home-improvement contractors to be licensed, as the chapter it replaced did. Local offices enforce those licenses: Clarkstown requires county-licensed plumbers (an owner-occupant of a single-family home may do his or her own plumbing with a permit) and county-licensed electricians, with wiring inspected by an approved third-party agency; Stony Point wants copies of each contractor’s current county license; and in Ramapo the licensed plumber calls for every plumbing inspection. Proof of workers’ compensation and disability insurance goes in with every application, and Stony Point accepts only the state forms, not ACORD certificates.

How to get a building permit in Rockland County

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Incomplete packages are the main cause: Stony Point will not accept an application with any document missing, and Orangetown wants its October 2024 form. Expired county licenses, ACORD insurance certificates where state forms are required, missing as-built surveys in Ramapo and unresolved stream or zoning approvals also hold permits back.

Inspections and certificates

Each town and village books its own inspections, and electrical work is inspected by an approved third-party agency where the local office requires one. In Spring Valley the county office handles construction inspections and issues certificates of occupancy and compliance. Ramapo’s fee schedule charges $100 for each required inspection beyond two, and Stony Point permits run 24 months.

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

Rockland County permit FAQ

Does Rockland County issue building permits?

Only in the Village of Spring Valley, where the state directed the county’s Office of Buildings and Codes to take over code enforcement. Everywhere else the town or village issues them.

Who issues permits in Spring Valley after 2026?

The county law ends no later than December 31, 2026, or 30 days after the Secretary of State sends a letter declaring that the village can resume enforcement, whichever is sooner. Check with both the county office and the village Building Department before filing.

Does my contractor need a Rockland County license?

Yes for electrical contractors, plumbers, heating and cooling contractors and home-improvement contractors (Chapter 286, rewritten in 2026). Town offices such as Stony Point ask for copies with the application.

My address says Suffern or Spring Valley; which office do I use?

The tax parcel decides. Suffern, Airmont, Montebello and Hillburn are separate villages inside Ramapo, and Spring Valley straddles Ramapo and Clarkstown; land outside the villages goes to the town.

Do I need to test my well when I sell?

Yes. Under Chapter 389 the seller of a home on a private well must have the water tested by a state-approved laboratory and confirm to the buyer within 10 days of the contract that the test has been ordered; landlords have testing duties too.

Can I build near a stream?

Not in the 100-year floodplain of a designated county stream without the Drainage Agency’s waiver, in addition to local floodplain and wetland approvals.

How much does a permit cost in Clarkstown or Orangetown?

Both charge $150 for the first $1,000 of cost plus $18 per further $1,000; Orangetown adds a $20 residential database fee.

Rockland County permit search and official resources

Permit records are held by the town or village that issued them, and by the county Office of Buildings and Codes for Spring Valley files during its tenure; request copies under the Freedom of Information Law.

• Rockland County Code Ch. 23, Office of Buildings and Codes (Spring Valley)
• Rockland County Code Ch. 250, electricians and electrical inspections
• Rockland County Code Ch. 286, home improvement contractors
• Rockland County Code Ch. 319, plumbers and heating and cooling contractors
• Rockland County Code Ch. 389, private well testing
• Rockland County Code Ch. 353, stream conservation
• Village of Spring Valley Building Department page
• NYS Department of State Code Inspection Unit (opted-out counties)
• FEMA Community Status Book, New York
• NYS code adoption and enforcement updates

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