How building permits work in Pennsylvania
These rules apply across Pennsylvania. Each local guide above covers what is specific to that city, township or county: its building department and contacts, local rules, fees and inspections.
The Uniform Construction Code and who enforces it
Pennsylvania builds on a single statewide code — the Uniform Construction Code (UCC) — adopted under the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act (Act 45 of 1999) and maintained by the Department of Labor and Industry with its Uniform Construction Code Review and Advisory Council. Since January 1, 2026 the UCC has been based on the 2021 International Code Council codes, with Pennsylvania exclusions and changes; a six-month grace period for projects contracted before that date has ended. More than nine in 10 of Pennsylvania’s municipalities administer and enforce the UCC locally — through their own code officials or a certified third-party agency. Counties are not municipalities under the Act and do not issue building permits. So the first question on any Pennsylvania project is which municipality the parcel is in, who enforces the code there and how they take a submission.
The statewide layers that apply everywhere
Two Pennsylvania features catch projects owners assume are simple. First, enforcement is a local choice: a minority of municipalities have opted out of local enforcement. There, the Department of Labor and Industry enforces the code on commercial work, and owners of homes must hire a certified third-party agency for plan review and inspections — and zoning and other permits still apply. Second, the 2021 accessibility provisions of the International Codes remain enjoined statewide by the Commonwealth Court, so the 2018 accessibility standards still apply. Floodplain administration applies along the state’s rivers, and snow loading is a live structural constraint.
Confirm the authority having jurisdiction first. Pennsylvania enforces one statewide Uniform Construction Code, but each municipality administers it with its own amendments, fee schedule and enforcement route — local staff, a third-party agency, or opt-out — so the requirements that apply vary by parcel. Confirm current requirements, fees and review turnaround for your filing date.
Contractor licensing and trade permits
Pennsylvania does not license general contractors at state level — there is no state contractor licence, exam or board. Instead, under the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act (HICPA), any contractor doing at least $5,000 of home improvement work a year (new-home construction is not covered) must register with the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. Registration is administrative, not a skills licence, and by itself it does not grant permit-pulling authority.
The Attorney General’s online registration system has been working again since April 24, 2026 after an outage, and the grace period that followed ended on June 8, 2026. Registration costs $100 every two years and has no examination. Municipalities may not add their own registration or licence for home improvement contractors, apart from tested trade licences that already existed.
Trade permits are separate from the building permit and, on projects that require one, generally cannot be issued until the building permit is in place. Each trade follows its book within the Uniform Construction Code, and is tied to a contractor holding whatever trade licence the municipality issues — which is not portable across municipal lines.
Pennsylvania runs the trades on local licences. Electrical, plumbing and HVAC credentials are issued by municipalities and, in some cases, counties rather than the state, so a licence recognised in one jurisdiction may carry no weight in the next and the permit may have to be pulled by a differently licensed contractor. Confirm both the permit and the licence with the authority that issues it.
- Electrical work follows the UCC and the referenced National Electrical Code, under a locally licensed electrician where required.
- Plumbing work follows the UCC plumbing provisions, under a locally licensed plumber where required.
- Mechanical work follows the UCC mechanical and energy provisions.
How permit fees are structured
| Fee component | How it works |
|---|---|
| Building permit | Based on project valuation or square footage; set by the municipality or its third-party agency |
| Plan review | A percentage of the permit fee or a flat charge, at submittal or by the third-party agency |
| Trade permits | Separate electrical, plumbing and mechanical fees under the local schedule |
| UCC state surcharge | A flat $4.50 state Uniform Construction Code fee on every permit, mainly funding training for code officials and contractors |
| Zoning and use | Zoning, use-and-occupancy and, in some places, contractor-licence fees |
| Re-inspections and revisions | Additional fees for failed inspections, revisions and expired permits |
Permit validity
Approvals do not stay live indefinitely. A Pennsylvania building permit becomes invalid if work does not start within 180 days of issue or stops for 180 days; extensions can be granted in writing, and no permit is valid for more than 5 years (34 Pa. Code 403.43 and 403.63). On phased or financed work, keep the permit active with periodic progress inspections.
Review has statewide deadlines: a residential application must be granted or denied within 15 business days (5 if a design professional certifies the plans) or it is deemed approved, and commercial applications within 30 business days, unless both sides agree in writing to extend.