Ulster County, New York Building Permit Guide

Ulster County has no countywide building permit. The City of Kingston, each of the 20 towns and the Villages of New Paltz, Saugerties and Ellenville run their own code offices, and a town office stops at the edge of any village inside it. The county still shapes most projects: under County Code Chapter 185 anyone in business as an electrician must hold an Ulster County license or be employed and supervised by a license holder, the Department of Health approves septic systems, Public Works permits driveways and other work on county roads, and the County Planning Board reviews referred zoning actions.

What requires a building permit in Ulster County?

Each municipality sets its own list through its code and forms, and they are broad. The Town of Lloyd separates a long-form application for new construction from a short form for everything else, with separate driveway and floodplain permits. New Paltz asks for plot plans for heat pumps and mini-splits and for electric vehicle chargers as well as additions, sheds, decks, pools and fences. Wawarsing defines a pool as anything more than 24 inches deep, hot tubs and spas included. Kingston publishes separate guides for decks, pools, solar and residential demolition.

What the municipalities decide and what the state holds

The building rules are the state’s 2025 Uniform Code and Energy Code everywhere in the county. Ulster County is not on the Department of State’s list of twelve counties that have opted out of the enforcement of the Uniform and Energy codes, and every city, town and village here runs its own program. What differs is local: zoning and steep slope rules, wetlands and tree laws, short-term rental registration, plan-stamp thresholds and fees. The county itself adds one rule no town can waive, the electrical license.

Ulster County building department: who handles permitting

The table lists every city, town and village the Census Bureau counts in the county. Linked guides give that office’s fees, forms and inspections.

Two pairs of places need care. The City of Kingston and the Town of Kingston are separate governments, and the Town of Ulster, whose office is on East Chester Street in Kingston, covers land to the north, west and south of the city. The Village of Ellenville sits inside Wawarsing, and both offices are in Ellenville, so the parcel’s side of the village line decides which one handles it.

What Ulster County itself does

• Electrical Licensing Board: licenses electricians and electrical contractors under Chapter 185, first adopted by Local Law 3 of 2019 and last amended by Local Law 16 of 2025; (845) 340-3537.
• Department of Health, Environmental Health: reviews septic designs, issues the construction permit, checks the installed laterals and receives the engineer’s completion certificate; it also handles well logs and realty subdivision sanitary approvals, at 239 Golden Hill Lane, Kingston, (845) 340-3010.
• Public Works: road permits for driveways and roadside work on county roads ((845) 340-3119), plus special event and special hauling permits, under its posted permit policy standards and fee schedule.
• Planning Board: reviews comprehensive plans, zoning changes, site plans, subdivisions, special permits and variances that municipalities refer under General Municipal Law 239-l, m and n.

Ulster County permit types and applications

Residential permits

Applications are made on the issuing office’s own forms and portals. Wawarsing files through MuniCollab, Kingston links an online permit portal, Lloyd asks applicants to book an appointment to drop off a new-construction packet, and Olive strongly suggests an appointment. Most want a survey or plot plan, two plan sets and insurance certificates; New Paltz, Shawangunk and Wawarsing refuse ACORD forms as proof of workers’ compensation, and owners doing their own work file the state exemption. A new house on a well and septic system also needs the county Health approval in hand, which several town checklists list as a condition of the building permit.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial projects need a design professional’s seal and usually a planning board site plan approval before the building permit; Lloyd, for example, requires the planning board chairman’s signed site plan for commercial work over $10,000. Many of those site plans are referred to the County Planning Board, which needs the materials at least 12 calendar days before its meeting on the first Wednesday of each month.

For tenant improvements and new commercial builds, Alliance handles commercial permit filing through issuance. More on this: commercial building permits explained.

What comes before the building permit

• Zoning and boards: zoning approval, the zoning board of appeals and the planning board, plus historic or heritage review in Kingston and Saugerties village.
• County referral: sent by the local board, never by the applicant, by mail or the county’s file-drop system; email and fax are not accepted.
• Septic and well: a Health Department septic permit based on deep-hole and percolation tests, which the county says can take up to six months for a small residential property.
• NYC watershed: Wawarsing’s application also asks for New York City approval of sewage systems for properties within the city watershed.
• Driveway: a county road permit for access to a county road, and town or state permits for their roads.

Building permit fees in Ulster County

The county charges no building permit fee; each office adopts its own. The rules below come from each office’s adopted schedule; the linked guides give the full tables and conditions.

Worked comparison for a new 2,000-square-foot house: Kingston charges $100 plus 2,000 × $0.50, or $1,100; Lloyd charges 2,000 × $0.40, or $800, if all the space is finished; Saugerties charges $75 plus 2,000 × $0.75, or $1,575; New Paltz charges $50 plus $1,500, or $1,550. County septic, road and electrical fees are separate.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Section 185-4 bars anyone from carrying on the business of, or holding themselves out as, a licensed electrician or electrical contractor in Ulster County unless licensed under the chapter or employed and supervised by a license holder. Town forms enforce it: Plattekill wants electricians to apply in person with their county license, and Shawangunk and New Paltz ask for a copy of it. Section 185-9F exempts homeowners working in their primary unattached single-family residence that is more than one year old. Replacement may not include the entire electrical service and is limited to one existing branch circuit of up to 20 amps at 120 volts that is powered down, locked and tagged out of service and poses no electrical hazard; the work must meet local building permit requirements and, where a permit is required, be inspected by an approved certified electrical inspector or the municipality’s code enforcement officer. Wiring for pools, hot tubs and spas, generators grounded or bonded through a standby or manual transfer switch, and violations found during the sale of the home are excluded, unless a homeowner with at least 20 consecutive years of experience satisfies the Board and receives its written permission. The City of Kingston also licenses its own electricians and plumbers, as its guide explains, and Lloyd, New Paltz, Plattekill, Saugerties, Shawangunk and Wawarsing all require electrical work to be inspected by an approved third-party agency.

How to get a building permit in Ulster County

Review, corrections and what causes delay

New Paltz says applications generally take 15 business days, and several towns hold the permit until the county septic approval arrives, which on its own can take months. Other common causes are a missing electrician’s license copy, insurance on an ACORD form, plans without a seal above the local threshold and a pending planning board decision.

Inspections and certificates

Inspections are booked with the office that issued the permit, under its own notice rules: 24 hours in Kingston and the Town of Ulster, 48 hours in Saugerties, and Plattekill’s inspector works Monday to Wednesday. Where a town requires a third-party electrical agency, the agency’s rough and final certificates go to the code office. For a new house, the county Health Department’s final septic paperwork and the well log are usually needed before the certificate of occupancy is issued.

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 Ulster County that code is administered by 24 local programs, with the county licensing electricians and approving septic systems across all of them.

Ulster County permit FAQ

Does Ulster County issue building permits?

No. The City of Kingston, each town and the Villages of New Paltz, Saugerties and Ellenville issue them; the county licenses electricians, approves septic systems, permits county road work and reviews referrals.

Does my electrician need an Ulster County license?

Yes. Chapter 185 requires a county license, or employment and supervision by a license holder, to carry on business as, or hold yourself out as, a licensed electrician or electrical contractor in the county, and towns ask for a copy with the permit.

Can I do my own electrical work?

Only within the Chapter 185 homeowner exemption for your own primary unattached single-family home more than a year old, limited to one existing circuit of up to 20 amps at 120 volts, with a permit and inspection where required; pool wiring, transfer-switch generators and sale-related violations are excluded.

Who approves a septic system?

The Ulster County Department of Health, 239 Golden Hill Lane, Kingston, (845) 340-3010, from plans prepared by a licensed design professional.

Who handles a Town of Kingston address?

The Town of Kingston, which is separate from the City of Kingston; city parcels go to the city’s Building Safety office on Garraghan Drive.

Who issues permits in the Villages of New Paltz, Saugerties and Ellenville?

Each village’s own building inspector or code enforcement officer, not the town around it.

Is my community in the flood insurance program?

Yes. All 24 Ulster County entries in FEMA’s Community Status Book are in the participating section, and Shandaken earns a 10% insurance discount through the Community Rating System.

Ulster County permit search and official resources

Permit files are kept by the city, town or village that issued them; ask its code office or clerk, or file a Freedom of Information Law request. Septic records are held by the county Health Department, and Saugerties offers a certificate of occupancy and records search, as its guide explains.

• Ulster County Code Chapter 185, Electrical Standards
• Ulster County Electrical Licensing Board
• Ulster County Health sewage disposal systems
• Ulster County Public Works permit applications
• Ulster County Planning Board land use referrals
• NYS Department of State Code Inspection Unit (opted-out counties)
• Town of Esopus Building Department
• Town of Gardiner Building Department
• Town of Marlborough Building Department
• Town of Rochester Buildings and Code Enforcement
• Town of Woodstock Building Department
• Village of Ellenville Building Department
• FEMA Community Status Book, New York

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