Medina County, Ohio Building Permit Guide

Building permits across most of Medina County come from the Medina County Building Department at 791 West Smith Road, which the Ohio Board of Building Standards certifies for commercial and residential work. It serves the townships, every village and the City of Wadsworth; only Brunswick and the City of Medina run their own departments. Medina County is part of the Census Bureau’s Cleveland metropolitan area and had 185,025 people in 2025.

This guide covers the department and how to reach it, the local conditions that shape a filing here, what permits cost and who may pull them, and how inspections are booked. Rules that apply everywhere in Ohio are summarized in each section, with a link to the full statewide explanation.

This guide covers the areas served by the county department: the townships, the villages of Chippewa Lake, Gloria Glens Park, Lodi, Seville, Spencer and Westfield Center, and the City of Wadsworth. Brunswick and the City of Medina issue their own permits, and the small Medina County parts of Rittman and Creston are served by the Wayne County department.

What requires a building permit in Medina County?

Under the Ohio Building Code and the Residential Code of Ohio, a permit is required for most construction activity.

The exempt list is set statewide in Section 102.10 of the Ohio Building Code and the Residential Code of Ohio, and an exemption from a building permit is not an exemption from zoning, setbacks, floodplain rules, utility approval or a fire authority review. Confirm scope with the department before work starts rather than after.

Which code edition applies

The county's certified departments enforce the statewide Ohio codes, so the technical standard is constant across the county. Fees, the submittal process, zoning frameworks, inspection scheduling and any additional local regulations are what differ between the county department and the municipal ones.

Permits in Medina County are governed by Ohio’s statewide codes: the Ohio Building Code for commercial and other nonresidential buildings, and the Residential Code of Ohio for detached one-, two- and three-family dwellings. The Ohio Building, Mechanical and Plumbing Codes in force since 1 March 2024 are based on the 2021 International Codes; the Residential Code of Ohio is the 2019 edition, based on the 2018 International Residential Code; both use the 2023 National Electrical Code. Only departments certified by the Ohio Board of Building Standards may approve plans, and residential rules are uniform statewide. How Ohio’s statewide code works

Who handles permitting in Medina County?

Permits are issued by the certified department with authority over the address. Zoning is administered by the townships, villages and cities, not by the county building department, which lists township and village zoning contacts in its permit portal.

The county publishes guides on its Building Department page, including cold-weather concrete inspections, required inspections, residential plan review requirements and a guide for new home builders.

One further point applies across every Ohio jurisdiction and is worth confirming here rather than assuming. Residential rules are uniform statewide: a local code may differ from the Residential Code of Ohio only on subject matter the state code does not address, or after review by the Board of Building Standards (ORC 3781.10, 3781.01). Municipalities may add nonresidential regulations that do not conflict with the state rules. Ask the issuing department whether any local regulation affects your project type.

In 2025, building permits issued in unincorporated Medina County authorized 376 new privately owned housing units, all of them single-family homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey.

What the state decides, and what Medina County decides

The county department decides the local side — its fee schedule, submittal requirements, review and inspection scheduling, and any additional local regulations. Zoning and land use are decided by the township, village or city. Contractor registration is left to local government, since the state does not license general contractors, but the Medina County Building Department no longer registers contractors.

Zoning is a separate approval, and often a separate office

Zoning is a separate approval from the township, village or city. In Wadsworth, the county will not issue a building permit until the city’s zoning approval is provided; ask the township or village zoning contact what it needs for your project.

The Ohio Board of Building Standards certifies which departments may enforce the code, and for which buildings; the certified department’s political subdivision sets fees, and zoning is a separate approval. Where no certified department has jurisdiction, nonresidential plans go to the state, while houses need no plan submission. The Board’s building-department look-up shows which department has authority over an address. Who has authority in Ohio

Permit types

Residential permits

One-, two- and three-family dwellings follow the Residential Code of Ohio. The county publishes its requirements for residential plan review and guides for new homes, additions, decks, accessory buildings and post-frame accessory structures. Confirm which department serves the address before preparing the submission.

Commercial permits

Commercial buildings and residential buildings of four or more units follow the Ohio Building Code. The county publishes a Guide for Commercial Builders, an updated commercial application and an Existing Building Certificate of Occupancy guide.

Two statewide topics shape most Ohio submittals: energy compliance (the 2021 IECC or ASHRAE 90.1-2019 for commercial buildings, Chapter 11 of the Residential Code of Ohio for houses) and work on existing buildings, where alteration, repair, addition and change of occupancy each carry their own requirements. Energy and existing buildings in Ohio

Medina County permit costs and fees

Fees are set by whichever certified department issues the permit; the county department publishes its current fee schedule on its website. A Board of Building Standards assessment of 3 percent of nonresidential and 1 percent of residential fees is added (ORC 3781.102).

Fee schedules are revised on each jurisdiction’s own cycle, so ask the issuing department for the schedule in force on your filing date, and ask separately about plan review, trade, re-inspection and revision charges. A Board of Building Standards assessment of 3 percent (nonresidential) or 1 percent (residential) is added to local fees. How Ohio permit fees work

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical and mechanical permits are separate from the building permit. The Medina County Building Department no longer registers contractors, but HVAC and electrical contractors must still provide a state licence when applying for a permit, and the county has an electric and mechanical homeowner affidavit form for owners. Confirm the credentials before filing.

• Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board, within the Division of Industrial Compliance, issues statewide commercial licences in five trades: electrical, HVAC, hydronics, plumbing and refrigeration, under ORC 4740. No one may act as one of those contractors without the licence (ORC 4740.13), and licensees must carry at least $500,000 of contractor liability insurance.
• There is no statewide general-contractor licence in Ohio. General contracting is not licensed by the state at all.
• Residential contractors are regulated locally. Each city or county sets its own requirements — the Medina County Building Department no longer registers contractors — so the answer changes as you cross jurisdictional lines.
• Separately, home construction and improvement contracts of $25,000 or more on one-, two- and three-family dwellings must be in writing under ORC 4722, and the supplier must carry at least $250,000 of general liability insurance.

The practical check before signing a contract is therefore the state trade licence where the scope requires one — the county asks HVAC and electrical contractors to provide it with the application — plus any registration a municipal department requires where the work is inside its limits. The county department itself no longer registers contractors.

Ohio licenses five commercial trades statewide through the Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board: electrical, HVAC, hydronics, plumbing and refrigeration. The state does not license general or residential contractors, so those are licensed or registered locally, if at all. Home construction contracts of $25,000 or more must be in writing under ORC 4722. Contractor licensing in Ohio

How to apply for a Medina County building permit

Approved plans become invalid if work has not started within twelve months, with one twelve-month extension available. Before filing, confirm the department has authority over the address for the work, whether the Ohio Building Code or the Residential Code of Ohio governs, and which approvals must be in hand first. Review and corrections in Ohio

Inspections in Medina County

Schedule inspections with the certified department that issued the permit. The building official lists the required inspections when the plans are approved (OBC and RCO 108.2); they include foundation, framing, rough-in trades, insulation and energy, and final, with a Certificate of Occupancy required before legal occupancy of new or changed-use space.

Next-day inspections cannot be requested after 3 p.m. The county publishes a required-inspections list and an inspection quick-start guide for its portal.

No building may be occupied until a certificate of occupancy or completion is issued, and a change of occupancy needs approved construction documents even without other work. Address correction notices before requesting a re-inspection, and do not cover work before it has been inspected and approved. Inspections and occupancy in Ohio

Medina County permit search and official resources

Permit records sit with the department that issued them, which in Ohio makes record research a certification question first. A property may have records with a municipal department, a county department, a township department or the state, depending on who held authority at the time the work was done — and that can have changed if a department gained or gave up certification, or if the property was annexed. If you are buying, refinancing or renovating, ask the Medina County Building Department what it holds for the parcel and whether earlier records may sit elsewhere.

The Board's building-department lookup helps here too: it establishes who has authority today, which is the right starting point even when the history is more complicated.

These are the primary sources behind this guide. Codes, fee schedules and portal procedures change. Confirm the position for your filing date.

• Medina County Building Department
• Ohio Board of Building Standards
• BBS — find the building department for your address
• Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board
• ORC Chapter 4722, home construction service contracts

Frequently asked questions

Can I file online?

Yes. All permit applications are now digital: the county’s PCS Permit Portal is used to submit permits, track progress, make payments and search permit data.

How do I know which department issues my permit?

Use the Board of Building Standards building-department lookup, which maps an address to the department with authority over it. Only a BBS-certified department, or the state, may approve plans and issue permits, and certification does not follow automatically from being a city, county or township.

Who handles zoning?

The township, village or city, not the county building department; the county lists township and village zoning contacts in its portal. In Wadsworth the county will not issue a building permit until the city’s zoning approval is provided.

Does my project fall under the OBC or the RCO?

Commercial, industrial and public buildings follow the Ohio Building Code. One-, two- and three-family dwellings follow the Residential Code of Ohio. Ohio’s residential code reaches three-family dwellings, where the International Residential Code stops at two.

What if no certified department serves the area?

The Division of Industrial Compliance performs commercial plan review and inspection where no certified department serves. Residential code enforcement, however, is carried out only by certified local departments, so the fallback is commercial-only.

Does my general contractor need an Ohio licence?

There is no statewide general-contractor licence in Ohio. The state licenses five commercial trades through the OCILB — electrical, HVAC, hydronics, plumbing and refrigeration — while general contractors, and trade contractors on residential work, are licensed or registered only where a local government requires it. Home construction and improvement contracts of $25,000 or more on one-, two- and three-family dwellings must be in writing under ORC 4722, and the supplier must carry at least $250,000 of general liability insurance.

Simplify Medina County permitting with Alliance Permitting

In Medina County we first confirm whether the address is served by the county, Brunswick or the City of Medina, then settle zoning with the township, village or city.

Trusted by leading builders, developers, and national contractors — 21+ years of filing in the jurisdictions we write about.

Contractors and builders choose Alliance for Medina County because the work is done by people who have stood at the counter:

• We configure online permit accounts and credentials in advance.
• We confirm the certified department by address.
• We clear zoning with the township, village or city separately.
• We settle sewage and well approvals on unsewered parcels early.
• We keep the online record current so inspections run against the approved set.

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in Ohio. We prepare your paperwork, file it correctly and coordinate with the building department 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 Medina County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.