Building permits in every township of Montgomery County, and in the cities and villages that contract with the county, come from Montgomery County Building Regulations on the 10th floor at 451 West Third Street in Dayton. The Ohio Board of Building Standards certifies it for commercial and residential work. The county had 539,598 people in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
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 county Building Regulations: all townships, plus the cities and villages that contract with the county for all or some building code enforcement. Dayton and other municipalities with their own certified departments issue their own permits.
The county serves every township and some cities and villages, but not all of them. All townships in the county are under the jurisdiction of Building Regulations, and some cities and villages contract with it for all or some building code enforcement. Dayton, Kettering, Centerville, Miamisburg and other municipalities run their own certified departments, and the county stopped serving Clayton in January 2023. Confirm the address against the Board’s lookup rather than assuming the county covers it.
What requires a building permit in Montgomery County?
Under the Ohio Building Code and the Residential Code of Ohio, a permit is required for most construction activity.
Permit required
- New residential and commercial construction, additions, alterations and conversions
- Structural and load-bearing work, foundations, decks, porches, ramps and stairs
- Finishing basements and attics, and any change of occupancy or use
- Electrical service changes, panel work, new circuits, solar and EV charging equipment
- Plumbing alterations, repipes, water heaters, backflow and sewer or gas connections
- HVAC installation and change-out, ductwork and venting; reroofing, siding, windows, pools and signs
Typically exempt
- Painting, wallpapering, tiling, carpeting and cabinet installation
- Minor repairs that do not cut away walls, touch structural supports or change the means of egress
- Fences up to 6 feet at houses (7 feet under the Ohio Building Code) and retaining walls up to 4 feet that support no surcharge
- One-story detached sheds and playhouses up to 200 square feet at houses (120 square feet under the Ohio Building Code)
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.
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Get a free quote →Which code edition applies
Montgomery County Building Regulations enforces the statewide Ohio codes across the communities it serves, as do the municipal departments elsewhere in the county. The fee schedule, submittal process, zoning framework and inspection scheduling vary with the issuing department, and zoning permits come from the township, city or village rather than from the county building department.
Permits in Montgomery 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 Montgomery County?
Montgomery County Building Regulations issues permits and inspects work in all townships and in the cities and villages that contract with it; its inspector assignments list Brookville, Farmersville, Huber Heights, New Lebanon, Phillipsburg, Riverside, Trotwood and Union. All commercial and residential submissions go through the county’s online portal. Dayton and other municipalities with their own certification issue their own permits.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Authority | Montgomery County Building Regulations |
| Offices | 451 West Third Street, 10th Floor, Dayton, Ohio 45422-1070 |
| Phone | 937-225-4622 |
| Counter hours | Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm |
| Serves | All townships in the county, plus cities and villages that contract with the county for all or some building code enforcement |
| Separate departments | Dayton (371 West Second Street, 937-333-3911), Kettering, Centerville, Miamisburg and other municipalities with their own certification; Clayton since January 2023 |
| Confirm the department | Use the BBS building-department lookup before filing |
| Code | Ohio Building Code on the 2021 International Codes (since 1 March 2024); Residential Code of Ohio, 2019 edition on the 2018 IRC; 2023 NEC |
Zoning permits are needed for all new work and most changes of use. They come from the township, city or village where the building is, and the county says they should be obtained before applying for the building permit, though exceptions may be made in specific instances.
Not sure this scope needs a permit?
Get a free quote →In 2025, building permits issued in unincorporated Montgomery County authorized 432 new privately owned housing units, 339 of them single-family homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey.
Airport zoning near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
An airport zoning overlay district applies to construction close to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and Building Regulations checks compliance with it as part of the building review.
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 charges residential permits by floor area under its fee schedule, and a residential temporary certificate of occupancy costs $250. Get the zoning permit from the township, city or village before applying for the building permit.
Commercial permits
Commercial buildings and multifamily buildings of four or more units follow the Ohio Building Code. The county charges commercial permits by floor area under its fee schedule; a certificate of occupancy for continuing use of an existing space, with no change of use, costs $325.
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
Montgomery County permit costs and fees
Montgomery County Building Regulations charges fees under its updated fee schedule, mostly by floor area. Revisions that significantly change the work cost half the original permit fee. A Board of Building Standards assessment of 3 percent of nonresidential and 1 percent of residential fees is added (ORC 3781.102). Dayton and the other municipal departments publish their own schedules.
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Call 1-855-478-4290 →| Fee component | How it works |
|---|---|
| Plan review | Minor resubmittals $150 (residential) or $200 (commercial); major revisions half the cost of the original permit |
| Building permit | By floor area under the county’s commercial (Schedule 1) and residential (Schedule 2) tables |
| Trade permits | Mechanical and electrical work by floor area; a dwelling-unit furnace, air conditioner or water heater replacement is $150 |
| State BBS assessment | Collected on top of local fees for the Board of Building Standards: 3% of nonresidential and 1% of residential fees (ORC 3781.102) |
| Certificate of Occupancy | $325 for a commercial certificate for continuing use of an existing space; temporary certificates $400 (commercial) or $250 (residential) |
| Work without a permit | Double fee penalty, minimum $600, maximum $6,000 |
Need a real number for a specific Montgomery County project? Send us the scope, address and valuation and we will identify the filing path, the reviews it will trigger and the fee categories that will apply.
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
Permit required
- Service installations, panel upgrades, new circuits, solar PV and EV chargers
- New plumbing, repipes, water heater change-outs, fixtures, backflow and gas piping
- HVAC installation and change-out, ductwork, venting and commercial kitchen exhaust
- Sprinkler, standpipe and fire alarm work under the OBC fire-protection provisions
Typically exempt
- Replacing lamps, reinstalling plug receptacles and replacing circuit breakers of the same capacity and type in the same location
- Clearing stoppages and repairing leaks, where no more than one fixture is replaced and no pipes are rearranged
- Replacing a mechanical-equipment part that does not alter the equipment’s approval or make it unsafe
- Replacing a minor gas-appliance part that does not alter the equipment’s approval or make it unsafe
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
Rather not deal with the Montgomery County building department?
Get a free quote →How to apply for a Montgomery County building permit
The county serves all townships and some contracted cities and villages.
Zoning permits come from the township, city or village.
Building Regulations checks flood damage prevention standards; Conservancy District land needs the District’s approval.
Ohio's residential code reaches three-family dwellings, not two.
The OCILB licenses commercial trade contractors; the county dropped its mechanical contractor registration on 1 July 2017.
Use the BBS lookup; certification does not follow from the type of local government.
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 Montgomery County
Schedule inspections with the department that issued the permit. The building official lists the required inspections when the plans are approved (OBC and RCO 108.2), and a Certificate of Occupancy is required before new or changed-use space is occupied.
Since 1 July 2026 the county charges $125 for an inspection cancelled after 2:00pm on the day before it, and $125 for a reinspection or lock-out.
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
Montgomery 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 Montgomery County Building Regulations what it holds for the parcel (its approval drawings are archived on microfiche back to the 1970s and open to public research during business hours) and whether earlier records may sit elsewhere.
Want this handled start to finish?
Get a free quote →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.
Confirm two things before you file: the code, and the department. The Ohio Building Code has been based on the 2021 International Codes since 1 March 2024, the Residential Code of Ohio is the 2019 edition based on the 2018 International Residential Code, and both use the 2023 National Electrical Code — but the department with authority over your address, and the scope of its certification, is the answer that changes from parcel to parcel. Use the Board's building-department lookup, then confirm fees, submittal requirements and review turnaround with that department for your filing date.
These are the primary sources behind this guide. Codes, fee schedules and portal procedures change. Confirm the position for your filing date.
- Montgomery County Building Regulations
- 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
Does the county issue permits everywhere in Montgomery County?
No. Building Regulations serves all townships and the cities and villages that contract with it, but Dayton and other municipalities operate their own certified departments. Confirm the address against the Board’s lookup.
Who handles zoning?
The township, city or village where the building is. Zoning permits are needed for all new work and most changes of use, and the county says they should be obtained before applying for the building permit, though exceptions may be made in specific instances.
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →What is the Miami Valley flood system?
The Miami Conservancy District’s five dams and storage basins and 55 miles of levee, which have protected cities along the Great Miami River since 1922. Floodplain rules are checked inside the county’s building review; using land the District owns or controls needs the District’s prior approval.
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.
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.
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 Montgomery County permitting with Alliance Permitting
Montgomery County Building Regulations serves every township and a set of contracted cities and villages, so the first question is whether it serves the address. Zoning comes from the township, city or village.
Trusted by leading builders, developers, and national contractors — 21+ years of filing in the jurisdictions we write about.
Contractors and builders choose Alliance for Montgomery County because the work is done by people who have stood at the counter:
- We confirm whether the county or a municipal department serves the address.
- We clear zoning with the township or municipality separately.
- We establish flood and conservancy position on river-adjacent parcels.
- We confirm inspection routing for the specific community.
- We check OCILB commercial licences and local registration.
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.
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More Ohio permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Montgomery County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.