Town of Stillwater, New York Building Permit Guide

In the Town of Stillwater, building permits come from the Department of Building, Planning & Development at 881 Hudson Avenue (518-664-6148 ext. 215), which serves the whole town outside the Village of Stillwater. Each kind of work has its own paper application with the fee printed on it: a house or addition is $100 plus $0.25 per square foot, and since April 27, 2026 every inspection needs 48 hours’ notice.

What requires a building permit in Stillwater?

Chapter 81 of the Town Code requires a permit for work that must meet the Uniform Code or Energy Code, and the department’s forms show what that means in practice: separate applications exist for new buildings and additions, commercial construction, multi-family buildings, decks, sheds, swimming pools, mechanical equipment and solar, re-roofing, demolition, new or replacement septic systems, driveways, blasting, open burning and operating permits.

An exempt shed still has rules: the shed form says it must sit at least 5 feet from property lines and 10 feet from any dwelling, never in a front yard, and planned development districts may add their own limits. Fences need no building permit but must follow Section 210-114: at least 2 feet off every property line, no more than 4 feet tall in the yard facing the main entrance and no more than 8 feet in side and rear yards.

Pools are the one place the two chapters differ. Chapter 81 (2007) exempts above-ground pools designed for less than 24 inches of water, while Section 210-115 of the 2025 zoning law says every swimming pool, hot tub and spa needs a building permit. Both are adopted; the zoning rule is the newer one, so expect to file for any pool.

What Stillwater decides and what the state sets

The construction standards themselves are the state Uniform Code and Energy Code. The town sets its own permit fees by Town Board resolution, decides how long permits last, runs zoning under Chapter 210 (replaced in full in June 2025), administers flood damage prevention under Chapter 103 and solar rules under Chapter 170, and enforces it all through Chapter 81.

Stillwater building department: who handles permitting

The Department of Building, Planning & Development reviews plans, issues permits, inspects work and carries out yearly fire safety inspections of businesses, apartment buildings and places of assembly. Under Chapter 81 its Director, Town Engineer Paul Male, PE, is the town’s Building Official and also its electrical and plumbing inspector and floodplain administrator; two code enforcement officers work under him. The office asks for appointments for any meeting and says email is preferred.

Village of Stillwater. The village is the only incorporated village in the town (1,751 of the town’s 10,198 residents, Census 2025 estimate). It has its own Department of Code Enforcement, led by its chief of fire services, and its own zoning and fee schedule; the village asks applicants to get its fees from the Village Clerk. Town permits do not cover land inside the village.

Stillwater permit types and filing rules

Residential permits

Every application must be complete, signed and filed with its matching checklist; anything missing sends it to what the department calls the waiting-for-information file, and review does not start until the gap is filled. For a house or addition the checklist asks for two sets of plans and two site plans, an approval box 3.5 by 4 inches on the drawings for the town’s stamp, installation instructions for the heating equipment, water heater or fireplace, and an Energy Code compliance statement such as REScheck.

Since December 2021 the department will not issue a permit without a plot plan drawn by a licensed surveyor showing the lot, the new structure, setbacks and anything on the subdivision plat, plus the well and septic where there are any. Before framing starts, a licensed professional must submit an as-built foundation location plan for the department to approve. Other papers the town lists: a curb cut permit from the Stillwater Highway Department, NYS DOT or Saratoga County DPW, depending on whose road it is; a Saratoga County Sewer District lateral permit before the town will issue the building permit where the house joins the county sewer; and water meter fees, paid by separate check, for lots in a town water district.

Insurance goes on the checklist too: liability insurance naming the town as certificate holder and one of the workers’ compensation forms the state accepts (C-105.2, U-26.3, SI-12, GSI-12, GSI-105.2, the CE-200 exemption or the BP-1 owner affidavit). Owners installing their own above-ground pool supply homeowner’s liability coverage instead.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial work uses its own application at $200 plus $0.25 per square foot, and multi-family buildings have a separate form. Plans must come from a New York registered architect or licensed engineer where the Education Law requires it, and the checklist asks for a digital copy for two-family and multi-family projects. Operating permits, which Chapter 81 requires for hazardous materials and processes, pyrotechnics and assembly spaces holding 100 people or more, cost $250, and businesses, apartment buildings and assembly spaces receive yearly fire inspections billed by size: $75 under 5,000 sq ft, $150 up to 10,000 sq ft and $250 above that, with $100 for a third visit.

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

• Planning Board site plan, subdivision and special use review; deadlines are on the board’s 2026 meeting schedule.
• Zoning Board of Appeals for variances and interpretations of the 2025 zoning law.
• Flood zones: a parcel in a mapped FEMA floodplain or floodway needs a town floodplain permit and an elevation certificate filed with the building application. Both the town and the village take part in the National Flood Insurance Program, with flood maps dated August 16, 1995.
• Wetlands: if work would disturb a federal wetland or come within 100 feet of a state wetland, the state or federal permit must be in hand before the town issues the building permit.
• Septic: new and replacement systems take the town’s sewage disposal permit, designed by a professional engineer, exempt licensed surveyor or architect.

Stillwater building permit fees

Chapter 81 leaves the fee schedule to Town Board resolution, and the town publishes each fee on the form for that kind of work. The code says the fee is paid in full when the application is submitted, by certified funds.

Worked from the printed rates, a 2,000 sq ft house costs $100 plus 2,000 × $0.25, or $600, and a 160 sq ft enclosed deck is $100 plus $40, or $140. The shed form does not say whether its $0.10 rate applies to the whole shed or only the area over 144 sq ft, so ask before budgeting. Renewals carry a renewal fee that is not printed on the forms. Water meter charges are set separately by the Town Water Department and vary by water district. Work found without a permit can bring a civil penalty of up to $200 a day under Section 81-17.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical. Section 81-7 sends electrical inspections first to an independent inspector certified by, or meeting the standards of, the New York Board of Fire Underwriters. The inspector’s approval seal goes on the work, which must stay uncovered until town code enforcement staff confirm it. The pool application repeats the rule: an electrical underwriter inspector must inspect every pool.

Mechanical and plumbing. Furnaces, boilers, wood stoves, outdoor furnaces, air conditioning, water heaters, chimney work, generators and electrical panel work go on the $50 mechanical permit with the maker’s specifications, and the Director acts as the town’s plumbing inspector. Solid-fuel appliances, chimneys and gas vents are a listed inspection stage.

Septic and health. The town permits and inspects on-site sewage systems itself, and the septic checklist asks for the design professional and the installer by name. Stillwater also has a Consolidated Health District, shared by the town and village, whose Board of Health keeps a local public health code covering sewage disposal; county sewer laterals are inspected by the Saratoga County Sewer District.

Contractors. Neither the Town Code nor the department’s pages set up a contractor, electrician or plumber license. What the town requires is the insurance paperwork above, filed for each permit.

How to apply for a Stillwater building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The department publishes no review time. Its own notices name the usual hold-ups: missing materials (an incomplete package is not reviewed at all) and plot plans not prepared by a licensed surveyor. Changes made after the permit issues that depart from the approved drawings may need written approval and revised stamped plans from the designer before the work or the certificate of occupancy can go ahead. A permit lapses if work does not start within six months and expires after 12 months; pool permits expire after six.

Stillwater inspections and certificates

Since April 27, 2026, until further notice, every building inspection must be requested at least 48 hours ahead, by phone at ext. 215 or by email. Section 81-7 lists the stages: the site before the permit issues, footings and foundation before concrete, slab preparation, framing, underground and rough-in electrical, HVAC and plumbing, fire-resistant construction and penetrations, solid-fuel appliances, chimneys and vents, insulation for the Energy Code, and the final. Work stays exposed until it is accepted.

A finished project ends with a certificate of occupancy when the space will be occupied by people, or a certificate of compliance when it will not, such as a garage or shed. The Director or a code officer inspects before either certificate issues, and the department may ask for outside reports, such as the electrical inspector’s certificate, at the owner’s expense.

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

Stillwater permit FAQ

Does the town issue permits in the Village of Stillwater?

No. The village has its own code enforcement officer (518-788-6042) and fee schedule, available from the Village Clerk.

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

$100 plus $0.25 per square foot, so $600 for a 2,000 sq ft house, paid by certified funds when you apply.

Do I need a permit for a shed?

Not for a one-story shed of 144 sq ft or less at a house, but it must sit 5 feet from lot lines and 10 feet from the house and never in the front yard. Larger sheds, up to 200 sq ft, cost $60 plus $0.10 per sq ft.

Do I need a permit for a fence?

No building permit unless the fence encloses a pool, but zoning keeps fences 2 feet off property lines and limits height to 4 feet in the front yard facing the main entrance and 8 feet at the sides and rear.

How much is a pool permit?

$100 for an in-ground pool and $50 for an above-ground pool, with the pool at least 10 feet from property lines and an electrical underwriter inspection.

Who inspects electrical work?

An independent electrical inspector meeting New York Board of Fire Underwriters standards inspects first, then town staff confirm it.

How long is a Stillwater building permit good for?

Work must begin within six months and the permit expires after 12; pool permits expire after six months. Renewals need an application and a fee.

Can I apply online?

Not yet: the department’s online portal page reads “Coming Soon”, so applications are filed on the town’s paper forms.

Permit search and official resources

Stillwater has no public online permit search. Chapter 81 requires the department to keep permanent records of applications, permits, certificates and inspections; for copies, ask the department or file a Freedom of Information request with the Town Clerk, the town’s records management officer (Monday to Wednesday, 8 am to 3 pm).

• Building, Planning & Development Department
• Building and code enforcement notices
• Applications and checklists for building permits
• Building permit application ($100 plus $0.25 per sq ft)
• Building permit checklist
• Sewage disposal system application
• Fire safety inspection fees
• Town Code Chapter 81, Construction Codes, Uniform
• Town Code Chapter 210, Zoning (2025)
• Planning Board
• Zoning Board of Appeals
• Consolidated Health District of Stillwater
• Town Clerk
• Village of Stillwater code enforcement
• NYS code adoption notice

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