Building permits in Norman are issued by the Development Services Division of the Planning and Community Development Department at 225 North Webster Avenue (405-366-5339, review@normanok.gov). The city’s online portal takes the application, plan review, fees, permit, inspections and certificate of occupancy; the building permit is $0.14 per square foot of project area, with 20% of that, at least $50, paid as the plan review fee when you apply.
Norman amends the residential code’s shed exemption: a shed, playhouse or similar one-story building needs no permit only if it is 120 square feet or smaller, is not built on or attached to a concrete slab, foundation or permanent base, and has no electric, plumbing or gas service. Fences up to 10 feet high are exempt, and the city does not issue roofing permits, though roofs must still meet the code.
Norman permits inside its city limits. Moore, Noble, Slaughterville and Oklahoma City’s Cleveland County area are separate jurisdictions, and the city does not permit unincorporated county land.
A slab changes the answer. A storage shed over 120 square feet, or a shed of any size placed on a concrete slab or permanent base, needs a building permit in Norman. Carports of 108 square feet or more need one too, at the accessory-building rate, and the city allows one carport per dwelling, 7 feet back from the front property line and over a paved driveway.
What requires a building permit in Norman?
Development Services permits building work, the electrical, mechanical and plumbing trades and a range of site items; the fee schedule and the department’s FAQ sheets show where the lines fall.
Permit required
- New homes, additions, alterations, interior finish, shells and manufactured homes
- Accessory buildings, barns, carports (108 sq ft or more) and lean-tos
- Storm shelters and swimming pools
- Retaining walls (fees start at 2 feet high)
- Demolition, structure moving and foundation-only permits
- Electrical, mechanical, plumbing and solar work
- Sidewalks and drive approaches (Public Works right-of-way permit) and earth change permits
No permit needed
- Sheds up to 120 sq ft with no slab, foundation, permanent base or utilities
- Fences up to 10 feet high
- Roofing work (it must still comply with the code; one layer of asphalt shingles only)
Local residential rules
Norman’s amendments to the residential code add two No. 4 rebar to all footings and tie footings to stem walls with rebar at every corner. Under the zoning code (chapter 36), in the Central Core Area a duplex with four or more bedrooms per unit must have a fire sprinkler system. Accessory dwelling units have been allowed since Ordinance O-2324-40 (March 2024) in the A-1, A-2, RE, R-1 and R-1-A districts and pay the same permit fees as a new one- or two-family dwelling.
Short on time to read all of this?
Get a free quote →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
Norman building department: who handles permitting
Development Services does plan review, permitting and field inspections through to the certificate of occupancy or certificate of completion. Zoning and site plan review sit with Planning, floodplain and earth change permits with Public Works stormwater staff, and sidewalks and drive approaches with Public Works right-of-way permits.
| Office | Contact |
|---|---|
| Development Services (permits and plan review) | 225 North Webster Avenue, Norman, OK 73069 · 405-366-5339 · review@normanok.gov |
| Automated inspection line | 405-366-5333 |
| Online portal | devnorman.normanok.gov |
| Floodplain permits (Public Works) | 405-366-5455 |
| Erosion control and earth change permits | 405-366-5435 |
| Zoning and site plan review | 405-366-5434 |
| Public Works | 225 North Webster Avenue · 405-366-5453 |
In 2025, building permits issued in Norman authorized 408 new privately owned housing units, 323 of them single-family homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey.
Permit types
Residential permits
House permits are applied for in the portal; only contractors licensed with the State of Oklahoma and the City of Norman can take out the trade permits, and the general contractor shares the building permit with them in the portal. The department publishes a residential site plan checklist, an energy code compliance report, Manual J and S values and a slab-on-grade footing detail for house submittals. A storm shelter needs an engineer’s drawing referencing the current code and ICC 500 (2014 or newer) plus a site plan.
Building or remodeling a home here? Alliance handles residential permit filing, so the crew isn't waiting on the counter.
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Get a free quote →Commercial permits
Commercial applications pay the same $0.14 per square foot and 20% plan review fee, with engineering fees under the Engineering Design Criteria and a wastewater excise tax worked out from the expected flow. The department publishes a commercial plan review contact list, a certificate of occupancy checklist, a statement of special inspections form and a commercial cooking questionnaire.
For tenant improvements and new commercial builds, Alliance handles commercial permit expediting through issuance. More on this: commercial building permits explained.
Which code edition Norman applies
Norman adopted the 2018 International Building, Residential, Existing Building, Plumbing, Mechanical, Fuel Gas, Fire and Property Maintenance Codes, the 2006 energy code and the 2020 National Electrical Code, all with state and local amendments, effective June 22, 2023. That is still the list on the city’s Adopted Building Codes sheet. The state minimum moved to the 2024 editions on September 14, 2026; no ordinance adopting them was on the council’s agendas from June to October 2026.
Oklahoma has no general contractor licence: the Construction Industries Board licenses the trades and registers roofers, and cities may require contractors to register locally. Oklahoma rules
Norman permit costs and fees
The Development Services fee schedule (August 2026) applies $0.14 per square foot of project area to every building permit, residential or commercial, and lists the site and utility charges that go with a new home.
Rather talk it over?
Call 1-855-478-4290 →| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Building permit: new homes, additions, alterations, accessory buildings, commercial | $0.14 per sq ft of project area |
| Plan examination fee | 20% of the building permit fee, $50 minimum (the code’s Appendix A caps it at $4,000), paid at application and applied to the permit |
| State fee | $4.50 on most building permits |
| Erosion control (lots under 2 acres adding more than 500 sq ft of impervious surface; larger lots adding over 5,000 sq ft) | $80 |
| Wastewater excise tax, new house | $850 for the first 1,200 sq ft of living area plus $2 per sq ft over that |
| Wastewater excise tax, addition with plumbing | $1 per sq ft added |
| Park fees, new dwelling | $75 community; $75 neighborhood where a public park is within a mile |
| Water meter and connections, 5/8 or 3/4 inch meter | $250 meter; $1,500 water connection; $275 sewer connection |
| Sidewalk or drive approach | $30 |
| Carport (108 sq ft or more) | $0.14 per sq ft like other accessory buildings, $50 minimum plan check, plus the $4.50 state fee (the April 2026 carport FAQ quotes $54.50) |
| Storm shelter | $54.50 including the state fee |
| Swimming pool | $50 plus $4.50, and the $80 erosion control fee where it applies |
| Retaining wall | $65 for 2 to 3 feet; $90 over 3 feet |
| Demolition | $20 first story, $12.50 each additional story |
| Electrical service | $35 up to 125 amps; $58 for 126 to 200 amps; $58 plus $0.25 per amp over 200 |
| Re-inspection | $35 |
| Temporary certificate of occupancy | $100 residential; $250 non-residential |
| Foundation-only permit | $1,000 |
Example: a house with 2,000 square feet of project area pays a $280 building permit, of which the $56 plan review fee is paid at application. If 1,600 square feet of it is living area, the wastewater excise tax is $850 plus $800, or $1,650, and the $4.50 state fee, $80 erosion control fee, park fees and meter charges are added.
Fees follow the city’s own schedule, with the trades permitted separately. Oklahoma rules
Trade permits and who may pull them
Norman licenses electrical, mechanical and plumbing contractors itself. A new licence needs an active Oklahoma Construction Industries Board licence shown as active on the board’s site and a current driver’s licence or state ID; applications and renewals go through the portal.
Rather not deal with the building department?
Get a free quote →| Licence | Rule |
|---|---|
| Electrical, mechanical or plumbing contractor | Active state licence required; renewal $25 per category, March 1–31 each year |
| Sign contractor | $2,000 surety bond, renewed each year with the licence |
| Structure mover | Casualty insurance of at least $100,000 and carrier registration |
| Roofing contractor | No city permit; state roofing registration with the Construction Industries Board |
The trades are permitted separately and done by Construction Industries Board licensees. Oklahoma rules
How to apply for a Norman building permit
Ask Planning about zoning and setbacks, and Public Works about floodplain permits if the lot is in a flood zone.
Create an account on the city portal; contact Development Services if the registration email does not arrive.
Use the residential site plan checklist, energy compliance report and footing detail, or the commercial contact list and forms.
The 20% plan examination fee, at least $50, is charged at application.
After approval the rest of the fees are paid in the portal and the builder shares the permit with the trade contractors.
Book each stage in the portal or on the automated line, 405-366-5333, in the order the inspection guide sets.
Programs that change the fee
Norman offers two incentive programs: the Visitability Building Permit Credit for new homes, townhouses and accessory dwelling units built as Type C visitable dwellings, and a Home Energy Rating System program. A visitability final inspection must be approved before the certificate of occupancy.
Want this handled start to finish?
Get a free quote →Inspections in Norman
The Inspection Guide for New Single-Family Construction (August 2026) sets the order. Ground stage: a pad inspection by Public Works for drainage, the footing inspection before concrete, plumbing ground, water and sewer service, buried conduit and under-slab duct, then the slab pre-pour or monolithic foundation inspection. Rough stage: exterior sheathing, plumbing, mechanical and electrical rough-in and permanent service, fireplace, framing after the trade rough-ins, and wall insulation before sheetrock. Final stage: plumbing, mechanical and electrical finals, the tree final, the engineering approach, sidewalk and final grading inspections, the building final, and an occupancy request that tells the office the project is ready for its certificate of occupancy.
Inspections are requested in the portal or on 405-366-5333, and results are posted there. Re-inspections are $35. A pool usually needs four inspections, three of them called by the electrical contractor, before its certificate of completion.
Norman permit search and official resources
- Norman Development Services
- Norman online permit portal
- Development Services fee schedule (August 2026)
- Supporting documents and FAQs: checklists, contact lists, carport, shelter, pool and roofing FAQs
- Inspection guide for new single-family homes and additions
- Norman adopted building codes and code history
- Contractor licence applications and renewals
- Norman Code of Ordinances (Chapter 6 building code amendments)
- Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission: adopted codes and rules
- Oklahoma Construction Industries Board: trade licences and roofer registration
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →Frequently asked questions
How much is a building permit in Norman?
$0.14 per square foot of project area, with a plan examination fee of 20% of that (at least $50) paid at application and applied to the permit, plus the $4.50 state fee. New homes also pay the wastewater excise tax, park fees, an $80 erosion control fee and meter charges.
Does my shed need a permit in Norman?
Yes if it is over 120 square feet, sits on a concrete slab, foundation or permanent base, or has electric, plumbing or gas service. A smaller shed with none of those needs no permit.
Do I need a permit to replace my roof in Norman?
No. Norman does not issue roofing permits, but the work must meet the adopted code, and roofing contractors must be registered with the Construction Industries Board.
Do I need a permit for a carport or storm shelter in Norman?
Yes. A carport of 108 square feet or more is charged at the accessory-building rate of $0.14 per square foot; a storm shelter permit is $54.50.
How do I schedule an inspection in Norman?
In the online portal or on the automated inspection line, 405-366-5333.
Which code edition does Norman use?
The 2018 International Codes and the 2020 electrical code, with state and local amendments, effective June 22, 2023. The state minimum changed to the 2024 editions on September 14, 2026.
Simplify Norman permitting with Alliance Permitting
Norman runs permits through its online portal and publishes checklists, fee summaries and an inspection guide. We assemble the submittal those documents describe, file it in the portal and follow it through review.
Ready to break ground in Norman sooner?
Send us the scope and the parcel. We confirm the review path with the City of Norman Development Services Division, assemble the submittal, file it, and track it through issuance — corrections included.
More Oklahoma permitting guides
More Oklahoma permitting guides
Oklahoma City
Read guide →Edmond
Read guide →Tulsa
Read guide →Okfuskee County Building Permit Guide
Read guide →Oklahoma County Building Permit Guide
Read guide →Okmulgee Building Permit Guide
Read guide →This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Norman permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.