Bartlesville, Oklahoma Building Permit Guide

Bartlesville’s Building and Construction Services division, part of Community Development at City Hall (401 S. Johnstone Ave., 918-338-4244), issues building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, roofing and other construction permits inside the city limits, and you apply and pay through the City’s online Self-Service portal. A new house costs 8 cents per square foot ($100 minimum), and that fee already includes the first plan review, the floodplain determination and the certificate of occupancy.

What needs a permit in Bartlesville?

The City requires a building permit for structural construction, alteration, demolition, remodeling or reconstruction. That includes new homes and commercial or industrial buildings, room additions, interior remodels that change the structure, re-roofs that alter the roof framing, garages, carports, storage sheds, roofed patios and other accessory buildings, wireless towers, fences over 7 feet high and walls over 4 feet.

Some small projects need a Zoning Clearance Permit instead of a building permit: one-story residential sheds or playhouses of 200 sq ft or less, commercial accessory structures of 120 sq ft or less, fences up to 7 feet, walls up to 4 feet, uncovered patios and decks, gravel drives and parking, RV, boat or trailer storage, portable storage units and wireless towers under 50 feet.

Who issues permits in Bartlesville?

Community Development handles planning, zoning, building permits and code enforcement for the City. Its Building and Construction Services division reviews construction plans, issues permits and inspects residential and commercial projects within the city limits. Bartlesville lies almost entirely in Washington County; a small part of the city extends into Osage County.

Restaurants, hotels and motels, and dispensaries also send their application and plans to the Washington County Health Department, which has its own plan review form on the City’s applications page.

Bartlesville applications and contractor registration

The City’s Applications, Forms & Fee Schedule page carries a separate form for each permit type: Building Permit, Demolition, Electrical, Mechanical and Plumbing Permit Requests, Roofing, Storm Shelter, Pool/Spa/Hot Tub, Sign, Fire Alarm, Fire Suppression, Floodplain Development and Right-of-Way Construction. Applications and fee payments can be made online through the Self-Service portal.

• Building Permit application (revised December 15, 2022): asks for the legal description, zoning district, flood zone, square footage of new construction, estimated cost, number of stories, frame type, heating fuel and whether an architect’s seal is needed. A site on rural water needs documentation from the rural water district, and a private sewer system needs an Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) permit.
• Contractor State License Registration: electrical, mechanical and plumbing contractors register their state licence with the City and re-register every year when the state licence renews. The form lists a $100 initial registration and a $25 renewal. Roofers file a separate state registration form with the City.
• Storm shelters: the City issues storm shelter permits only to the licensed contractor hired to install the shelter.

Bartlesville permit fees

Community Development posts its fee schedule online. Most building permit fees are charged by floor area (remodels and mobile homes have flat fees), and they include the first plan review, the floodplain determination and the certificate of occupancy, so there is no separate upfront plan review fee. Fees required by the county, state or federal government are collected on top of each permit.

For example, a new 2,000 sq ft house has a building permit fee of $160 (2,000 × 8 cents), above the $100 minimum, before trade permits and any state fee.

The schedule lists garages and storage buildings with no plumbing at 4 cents per sq ft ($20 minimum), but a note under accessory structures says garages and storage buildings are assessed as regular residential or commercial buildings depending on their use; ask the permit office which rate applies. The posted fee schedule lists storm shelters at $20, while the City’s storm shelter permit form lists $50 for a shelter below the slab, $20 above the slab and a $4 state fee; ask the permit office which applies before you pay.

Electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits in Bartlesville

Each trade has its own permit request form, which names the contractor doing the work. The electrical form covers new and replacement meter loops and services, breaker panels, generator systems and transfer switches, up to 5 new circuits in an existing building, pool bonding, solar panel systems and temporary service.

Plans and site plan for a Bartlesville permit

A building permit application comes with a site or plot plan. The City’s Plot Plan Guidelines ask for a drawing to scale showing:

• The address and legal description, with a north arrow
• All property lines and dimensions, easements and adjacent streets
• All existing and proposed structures, with their dimensions
• Distances between structures and from each structure to the property lines

The City suggests starting from a copy of the mortgage loan survey from your closing papers and drawing the new work onto it at the same scale. By signing the application you confirm that recorded easements, dedications and rights-of-way are shown on the site plan; a permit does not allow a permanent structure on any of them.

For a storm shelter, the contractor submits the signed application, a site or floor plan with measurements from walls or property lines, and the shelter’s specifications (ICC/NSSA 500, FEMA 320 or an equivalent engineered and stamped design). The zoning technician’s review can take up to 3 business days.

How to get a building permit in Bartlesville

Inspections in Bartlesville

Building and Construction Services inspects permitted residential and commercial work. Inspections that have to be repeated are billed at $20 per hour with a 1 hour minimum, and inspections outside normal business hours at $30 per hour with a 2 hour minimum.

For storm shelters, the licensed contractor calls the inspector’s direct line (918-214-4778), or the permit office (918-338-4244) if the inspector is not available. Most shelters need a pre-site inspection after excavation, carried out on the day it is requested, and a final inspection once the installation is complete; the inspector must be able to get into the shelter, or the inspection fails.

Right-of-way work needs at least two full workdays for site verification and permit review, and the permit form lists a $1,000 bond. The contractor must notify the inspector whenever work is being done, no work is allowed on weekends or after hours except in an emergency, a copy of the permit must be on site, and the City Inspector must approve preparatory work before concrete or asphalt is placed.

Local Bartlesville details

Floodplains: parts of Bartlesville along the Caney River and its major tributaries are subject to flooding. Building or enlarging a structure, placing a manufactured home, filling, grading, excavating, landscaping, installing a fence, storing materials, placing a fuel tank or parking a recreational vehicle in the floodplain all need a floodplain development permit from the City’s Engineering Department (918-338-4251).

National Zinc Overlay District: soil disturbance inside the district boundary needs an NZOD permit, and soil testing may be required. The City’s applications page gives the threshold as “greater than 5 Cubic Yards” in its planning section and “greater than 5 Cubic Feet” in its building section.

Downtown: projects in the Downtown Redevelopment District go through the City’s Downtown Design Review application.

Storm shelter registration: after installation, homeowners can register a shelter’s location with Washington County Emergency Management (918-331-2710).

Outside help for reviews: on September 8, 2026 the City Council approved an as-needed contract with an outside safety consultant for plan reviews and inspections; the Fire Chief told the Council it is used when extra help is needed or for a second opinion on a disputed inspection.

Development code: a draft Unified Development Code was presented to the City Council for discussion on August 3, 2026; no adoption vote appears in the Council agendas posted through October 2026.

Oklahoma building code

Oklahoma sets statewide minimum codes (the 2024 editions since September 14, 2026) that cities enforce and may strengthen; most counties issue no building permits for unincorporated land, though a few do. Oklahoma rules

Official Bartlesville permit resources

• Bartlesville Building and Construction Services
• Bartlesville applications, forms and fee schedule
• Bartlesville building permit fee schedule
• Bartlesville Self-Service permit portal
• Bartlesville building permit application (revised December 2022)
• Bartlesville plot plan guidelines
• Bartlesville contractor state licence registration form
• Bartlesville storm shelter permit and inspection process
• Bartlesville right-of-way construction permit (February 2026)
• Bartlesville floodplain development permits
• City of Bartlesville department directory
• Bartlesville City Council minutes, September 8, 2026

Bartlesville permit FAQs

Who issues building permits in Bartlesville?

The City’s Building and Construction Services division, part of Community Development at 401 S. Johnstone Ave. (918-338-4244), issues building and trade permits and inspects the work inside the city limits.

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

8 cents per square foot with a $100 minimum, so $160 for a 2,000 sq ft house. The fee includes the first plan review, the floodplain determination and the certificate of occupancy; trade permits are extra.

Do I need a permit for a shed or fence in Bartlesville?

A one-story residential shed of 200 sq ft or less and a fence up to 7 feet need a Zoning Clearance Permit. Larger sheds, and fences over 7 feet, need a building permit.

Do I need a permit to re-roof in Bartlesville?

Yes. Roofing contractors file the City’s Roofing and Storm Shelter Permit Request for a re-roof or new roof, after registering their state roofing registration with the City; a building permit is also needed when the roof structure or framing changes.

Can I apply online?

Yes. Permits, licences and plans can be applied for and paid through the City’s Self-Service portal.

What happens if I start work without a permit?

The fee schedule adds a penalty of 100% of the usual permit fee on top of the permit fee itself.

Who issues floodplain permits in Bartlesville?

The City’s Engineering Department (918-338-4251). Work on a structure in the floodplain also needs an elevation certificate.

Simplify Bartlesville permitting with Alliance Permitting

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in Oklahoma. 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 Bartlesville permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.