Town of Victor, New York Building Permit Guide

For property in the Town of Victor outside the village, building permits come from the Planning & Building Department at Town Hall, 85 East Main Street (585-742-5035), open 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays. The town’s online portal is out of service, so applications are filed on its PDF forms at Town Hall. Inside the Village of Victor, the village’s own building department at Village Hall issues permits.

What requires a building permit in the Town of Victor?

The town’s FAQ names new construction, remodeling, sheds, pools, decks, pole barns and fences, and sometimes driveways. Its application forms fill in the rest:

Victor’s Chapter 83 drops the usual small-shed exemption, so even a prefabricated shed needs a permit. Chapter 83 exempts other retaining walls; the town’s forms page still describes the accessory structures application as including walls 4 feet or taller, so ask the department before building a tall wall.

What the town decides and what the state sets

The Uniform Code and Energy Code set the construction rules; the town enforces them through Chapter 83 and Chapter 96, its electrical code, and adds zoning in Chapter 211. Chapter 83 also carries a local fire rule: every structure must have an approved sprinkler system unless it is a detached house, duplex or townhouse or one of their accessory buildings, or a detached accessory building under 1,000 square feet, one story, 100 feet from other structures and with no electric service, fuel gas or heat. An alteration or addition larger than half an existing building brings the whole building under the sprinkler rule. Every property has setbacks set by its zoning district, which the department or the Assessment office (585-742-5010) can identify.

Town of Victor building department: who handles permitting

The Planning & Building Department has four divisions: building, planning, stormwater management and construction inspection. It provides code enforcement, building inspection and fire marshal services, issues fire safety information and seasonal burn ban notices, keeps property permit histories, and staffs the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals and Conservation Board. Its code enforcement officers inspect construction sites, and department staff carry out fire inspections on a regular schedule.

The Village of Victor

Victor has two separate code enforcement agencies, and the parcel’s location decides which one you use. About 2,900 of the town’s 16,400 residents live in the Village of Victor, which has its own Code Enforcement Officer, building inspector and fire marshal at Village Hall, 60 East Main Street (585-924-3311), its own zoning and its own flood insurance community number. The village asks for ten days to review an application, calls when the permit is ready and collects the fee at pickup. The town’s electrical code and fee schedule apply only outside the village limits.

Town of Victor permit types and filing rules

Residential permits

The forms page posts a separate PDF for each job: the residential building application for new homes, renovations and additions; the accessory structures application for sheds, decks, porches, pool decks and pole barns; the mechanical or systems application for generators, HVAC, water heaters, septic, solar, electrical work, window replacement, roofing, fences, fireplaces and chimneys; and the pool, hot tub, spa and sauna application. Others cover demolition, manufactured homes, field changes to an issued permit, compliance inspections of work already done, wind systems and the state unified solar permit with a photovoltaic supplement. The town says its online submission portal is not working and asks applicants not to use it; bring the forms to Town Hall instead.

Plans must be prepared by a New York architect or engineer where the Education Law requires a seal, and must show the scope, the work’s code compliance, a site plan with any well or septic system, and whether the lot is in a flood zone. Homeowners doing their own work file a CE-200 exemption from the Workers’ Compensation Board, naming the Town of Victor as the issuing agency.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial forms cover new buildings and additions, tenant move-ins, renovations, signs, mechanical systems and temporary mall kiosks. New commercial space is $0.25 per square foot with a $250 minimum, and a tenant moving in without changes pays $150. The department’s business brochure explains preparing a space, and annual operating permits cover places of assembly, hazardous activities, high-piled storage, hot work, tents, fireworks and mobile food vehicles. An outdoor event of 2,000 people or more needs a mass gathering permit from the Town Clerk instead.

Operating permit fees in the 2026 schedule run from $300 a year for a place of assembly and $250 a year for a hazardous activity to $200 a year for high-piled storage, $100 a year each for welding and flammable finishes, $100 per event for tents or temporary structures, $100 per fireworks display, and $25 per event or $200 a year for a mobile food vehicle. Tax-exempt properties may apply for a waiver of operating permit fees, and a nonprofit can ask to waive the $150 kiosk fee with its 501(c)(3) certificate.

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 and zoning: area variance $100, use variance $200, special use permit $100, site plan $100 plus $0.05 per square foot over 3,000 square feet, filed on the town’s planning and zoning forms; engineering review deposits are added and billed monthly if the review costs more: $200 for a single- or two-family site plan, $75 for an accessory structure site plan, $200 or $700 for a commercial site plan under or over five acres, $75 per lot for a minor subdivision, and $25, $50 and $25 per lot for the sketch, preliminary and final stages of a major subdivision.
• Stormwater: the department’s stormwater management division runs the town’s MS4 stormwater program alongside the building, planning and construction inspection divisions.
• Highway work permit: any driveway, sewer, water, storm or utility work in the town right-of-way needs a Highway Superintendent permit under Section 149 of the Highway Law, $25 per utility connection or curb cut.
• Flood plain: the town takes part in the National Flood Insurance Program; a flood damage permit carries a $200 engineering review fee.
• Parks and recreation: each new dwelling unit pays $3,000.

Town of Victor permit fees

Fees are set in Chapter 27 by the Town Board. The current fee schedule was adopted by Resolution 478-19 in December 2019 and last amended on July 27, 2026 by Resolution 166-2026.

For example, a 2,000 sq ft new house works out to 2,000 × $0.15 = $300, so the $400 minimum applies; a 3,000 sq ft house pays $450. A new house also owes the $3,000 parks and recreation fee. A 200 sq ft shed is $20 at $0.10 per square foot, so it pays the $75 minimum.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical. Chapter 96, the town’s electrical code for land outside the village, requires wiring to follow the current National Electrical Code except where the Uniform Code or Energy Code governs. Under it, the Code Enforcement Officer serves as electrical inspector and authorizes certificates of compliance. Inspections are made by authorized agencies, which bill the customer directly, must keep an office in the Monroe–Ontario County area with at least two qualified inspectors, must be approved by Rochester Gas and Electric, leave an approval or rejection sticker on site, and mail reports to the owner and the Building Department within 24 hours. An agency may not accept an inspection request until the town has issued a permit for the work, which is filed on the $75 mechanical or systems application.

Plumbing, heating and septic. Water heaters, HVAC, gas appliances and septic systems use the same mechanical or systems form. The Town Code has no chapter licensing plumbers, electricians or home-improvement contractors; the town’s FAQ says you may hire any contractor or person, provided whoever does the work supplies the insurance paperwork the application requires.

How to apply for a Town of Victor building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Town staff check each application for completeness and for compliance with the codes and zoning before a permit issues. A change after approval needs a field change request. Permits are valid for up to a year depending on the job, and construction must start within six months of issue or the permit lapses; the first extension costs $100 and the second $300.

Town of Victor inspections and certificates

Book inspections with the Building Department secretary at 585-742-5035 or by email to codes@townofvictorny.gov; requests received by 3 p.m. get a next-day appointment. Each permit lists the inspections it needs, and inspectors add requirements in the field as they appear. Anyone who wants to meet an inspector or code enforcement officer should make an appointment. Work that is not ready or is covered before inspection costs $150 per visit. Electrical inspections are made by the authorized agency, whose report reaches the department within a day. The department’s compliance inspection application handles older work done without a permit, and its fire damage packet guides owners rebuilding after a fire.

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 Victor permit FAQ

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

$0.15 per square foot with a $400 minimum outside the village, plus a $3,000 parks and recreation fee per new dwelling unit.

I live in the Village of Victor. Where do I apply?

At Village Hall, 60 East Main Street (585-924-3311). The village’s own building department handles permits there, allows about ten days for review and takes payment when you collect the permit.

Do I need a permit for a small shed?

Yes. The town code has no shed size exemption; sheds go on the accessory structure form at $0.10 per square foot, $75 minimum.

Can I apply online?

Not at present. The town says its portal is not working and asks applicants to file the PDF forms at Town Hall.

How do I schedule an inspection?

Call 585-742-5035 or email the Building Department by 3 p.m. for a next-day appointment.

Does replacing windows need a permit?

Yes. Window replacement is on the mechanical or systems form; a single window with no change to living space is a $50 minor alteration.

Do I need a permit for a new driveway?

A driveway cut onto a town road needs a highway work permit from the Highway Superintendent, $25 per curb cut; the town’s FAQ notes that some driveway construction also needs a building permit.

Who inspects electrical work?

An authorized electrical inspection agency, after the town issues the permit; the agency bills you directly.

Permit search and official resources

The town has no public online permit search. For the permit history of a property, call the Planning & Building Department at 585-742-5035; copies of records can also be requested under the Freedom of Information Law.

• Planning & Building
• About Planning & Building (hours and inspections)
• Building permit forms and applications
• Fee schedule, amended July 27, 2026
• Planning and zoning application forms
• Highway work permit
• Town Code Chapter 83, Uniform Construction Codes
• Town Code Chapter 96, Electrical Code
• Code of the Town of Victor
• Village of Victor Building Department
• FEMA Community Status Book, New York
• NYS code adoption notice

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