Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania Building Permit Guide

In Jefferson Hills the Borough’s Building Inspector (412-655-7760) at 925 Old Clairton Road handles building permits under the state construction code, collecting the zoning, structural and occupancy fees, while the Borough’s designated third-party agency bills plan review and trade inspections on commercial jobs. Under the codified fee schedule revised through Resolution 43-2025, a new house is $0.35 per square foot of floor area plus a $30 zoning permit, a $30 certificate of occupancy and the $4.50 state fee.

What requires a building permit in Jefferson Hills?

The Borough’s fee schedule is the clearest published list of what it permits. New homes, commercial and industrial buildings, alterations and repairs, exterior remodeling, accessory structures over 300 square feet, pools and hot tubs all take a building permit priced through the Building Inspector, and demolition has its own permit. Smaller accessory structures and fences take a flat $30 permit.

Grading permits are measured by disturbed area, counting both cut-and-fill land and the ground under new buildings, driveways or parking: more than 1,000 square feet is a minor earth disturbance, and more than 5,000 or 10,000 square feet a major one, with an extra fee when the Borough Engineer requires stormwater management.

What Jefferson Hills decides and what the state holds

The Borough opted in to the Uniform Construction Code on April 9, 2004 with no local amendments, as the Department of Labor and Industry’s list shows, so the construction standards are the state’s. Jefferson Hills controls zoning (its codified zoning ordinance and map), floodplain and grading rules, its sewer system and dye-test ordinance, and the fees in its codified fee schedule.

Jefferson Hills building department: who handles permitting

Permits are handled at the Borough building. The Building Inspector reviews the construction cost on residential jobs, performs the structural inspections the Borough bills, and inspects any corrections found in a point-of-sale dye test. On commercial and industrial projects the plan review and the inspections of the non-structural disciplines are carried out by the Borough’s designated third-party agency, which invoices the owner at its own rates; the Borough office has those rates. Zoning is enforced by the Borough Zoning Officer.

Jefferson Hills permit types

The Borough’s online forms page carries the planning and closing paperwork: Zoning Hearing Board applications, conditional use and subdivision or land development applications (Borough and county versions), time-extension agreements, waiver requests, lien letter requests, the report of closing, the dye test evidence-of-compliance form and the buyers’ residential occupancy application. No building permit application is posted with them; it comes from the Borough office or the Building Inspector.

Residential permits

A new house is charged by floor area: $0.35 for every square foot on all stories, plus the $30 zoning permit, the $30 certificate of occupancy and the $4.50 state fee. Everything else on a house, from an addition or exterior remodel to a large shed, pool or hot tub, is charged on the construction cost the owner states and the Building Inspector reviews: $50 for the first $1,000 and $5 for each further $1,000 or part of $1,000, plus the zoning permit and state fee. If approved plans are changed and need another review, the Borough adds a $100 processing fee.

Building or remodeling a home here? Alliance handles residential permit filing, so the crew isn't waiting on the counter.

Commercial permits

Commercial and industrial projects pay the Borough a structural inspection fee by floor area ($0.35 per square foot for new buildings, $0.30 for alterations or repairs), the $30 zoning review, the $30 certificate of occupancy and the $4.50 state fee. Alterations also carry a non-structural inspection fee on construction cost, and plan review plus the non-structural discipline inspections are billed separately by the third-party agency. Extra trips caused by uncorrected work cost $50 each.

For tenant improvements and new commercial builds, Alliance handles commercial permit expediting through issuance. More on this: commercial building permits explained.

What comes before the building permit

• Zoning. Each building permit includes a $30 zoning permit. Appeals of the Zoning Officer’s decisions, variances and special exceptions go to the Zoning Hearing Board, five members and two alternates on five-year terms, which meets as needed.
• Land development. Subdivision and land development plans are filed on the Borough’s application (the county version is posted alongside it), with filing fees and review escrows set in the fee schedule.
• Grading and stormwater. Earth disturbance over 1,000 square feet needs a grading permit and escrow; the Borough holds an MS4 stormwater permit and adds a $400 fee where its engineer requires stormwater management.
• Sewer connection. A sanitary sewer connection costs $1,325.40 per equivalent dwelling unit plus a $102.60 administrative fee. Wastewater goes mostly to the Clairton Municipal Authority plant, some areas to the West Elizabeth Sanitary Authority and 27 customers to Pleasant Hills. Council approved new sewer rates on October 12, 2026, first billed in December 2026, after the Clairton authority raised its treatment charge from $2.00 to $2.75 per 1,000 gallons in March 2026.
• Driveways on Route 51. State Route 51 is a PennDOT highway, so access onto it is a PennDOT highway occupancy matter; Borough streets need the Borough’s opening permit.

Jefferson Hills permit costs and fees

Jefferson Hills keeps its fees in a codified fee schedule, revised through Resolution 43-2025 and posted as the Borough’s 2026 fee resolution. Building fees are payable to the Borough; on commercial work the third-party agency’s plan review and trade inspection invoices come on top.

Two worked examples. A $20,000 residential remodel costs $50 for the first $1,000 plus 19 × $5, or $145, plus the $30 zoning permit and $4.50 state fee: $179.50 in all. A new 2,400-square-foot house costs 2,400 × $0.35, or $840, plus $30, $30 and $4.50, for $904.50. The buyers’ occupancy form on the website still shows a $30 fee; the adopted schedule sets $150 for the sale or transfer of a home, and the schedule governs.

Trade permits and who may pull them

• Trade disciplines on commercial jobs: the fee schedule groups them as the non-structural individual disciplines, inspected by the Borough’s third-party agency and invoiced at its current rates.
• Houses: the schedule lists no separate residential trade fees, so the Building Inspector at 412-655-7760 is the contact for how electrical work on a house permit is inspected.
• Plumbing: plumbing permits and plumbing inspections throughout Allegheny County come from the county Health Department, which must approve a plumbing plan before work begins.
• Dye tests: performed or supervised by a registered, licensed plumber, who certifies the downspouts, area drains and fresh air vent on the Borough’s form.

Jefferson Hills posts a guide to the state Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, including the buyer’s right to cancel a home improvement contract within three business days; contractors register with the Attorney General under that law, and the Borough’s pages show no local trade license.

How to apply for a Jefferson Hills building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Changing approved plans adds a $100 processing fee and a second review, and work that fails an inspection because corrections were not finished costs $50 per extra trip. Commercial projects wait on the third-party agency’s plan review, and grading applications carry an escrow deposit as well as the application fee paid at submission; the Borough can ask for more escrow if the first deposit does not cover its review and inspection, and returns any unused amount when the project is complete. Under the state code a residential application is decided within 15 business days and a commercial one within 30. If work has not begun within a six-month period, the Borough charges $50 to extend the permit for another six months.

Inspections in Jefferson Hills

The Borough’s inspection fee covers all the initial inspections for each phase of construction and the re-inspections for each phase when corrections are needed; only additional trips caused by uncompleted corrections cost $50 each. New buildings end with a certificate of occupancy, priced at $30 within the building permit.

Occupancy and dye tests when a home sells

Selling or transferring a home in Jefferson Hills requires a residential occupancy permit and inspection, $150 under the codified schedule including one re-inspection; a new tenant in a rental unit triggers the same $150 change-of-occupancy inspection. Commercial sales and changes of occupancy are $150 plus $0.01 per square foot of occupied space. The Borough’s dye test evidence-of-compliance form, issued under Ordinance 685 and naming both seller and purchaser, is completed by a registered, licensed plumber who checks that roof leaders, area drains and the fresh air vent do not feed the sanitary sewer; the schedule sets a $35 evidence-of-compliance fee and a $200 security fee. Corrections are inspected by the Building Inspector’s office after a call to 412-655-7760.

Pennsylvania building code

Jefferson Hills chose to administer the Uniform Construction Code itself in April 2004, adopting no local amendments. FEMA’s Community Status Book shows Jefferson Hills (community 420046) as a participating community in the National Flood Insurance Program, with a current flood map dated September 26, 2014.

Pennsylvania has one Uniform Construction Code for the whole state, based on the 2021 International Codes since January 1, 2026. Most municipalities enforce it themselves or through a certified third-party agency; where a municipality has opted out, the Department of Labor and Industry handles commercial work and home owners hire a certified agency. Counties do not issue building permits. Pennsylvania rules

Jefferson Hills permit search and official resources

Jefferson Hills has no online permit search. Records requests other than police records are filed through the Jefferson Hills Request Portal, which emails the requester status updates; the Borough Manager is the administrative right-to-know officer. Certified copies of records cost $10 each, and photocopies start at $0.25 a page.

• Borough of Jefferson Hills official website
• Borough contacts (Building Inspector)
• Codified fee schedule archive
• Codified fee schedule through Resolution 43-2025
• Borough forms
• Dye test evidence of compliance form
• Residential occupancy application (buyers)
• Zoning ordinance and map
• Zoning Hearing Board
• Council minutes, August 10, 2026 (data center amendment)
• Sanitary sewer system information
• Stormwater (MS4) program
• Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act guide
• Right-to-Know
• Allegheny County Health Department plumbing permits
• L&I municipal UCC elections list
• FEMA Community Status Book, Pennsylvania

Jefferson Hills building permit FAQs

How much is a building permit for a new house in Jefferson Hills?

$0.35 per square foot of floor area on all stories, plus a $30 zoning permit, a $30 certificate of occupancy and the $4.50 state fee.

How are remodeling permits priced?

On the construction cost: $50 for the first $1,000 and $5 for each additional $1,000, plus the $30 zoning permit and $4.50 state fee.

Do I need a permit for a shed or fence?

Yes. A residential accessory structure under 300 square feet or a fence takes a $30 permit; larger structures take a full building permit.

Who reviews commercial plans?

The Borough’s designated third-party agency, which also inspects the non-structural disciplines and bills at its own rates.

What do I need to sell a house in Jefferson Hills?

A $150 residential occupancy inspection and a dye test by a licensed plumber with the Borough’s $35 evidence of compliance.

Can a Jefferson Hills permit be extended?

Yes. If no work was started during the previous six months, the Borough charges $50 for each six-month extension.

Is a data center ordinance coming?

Council has a public hearing set for 6:00 p.m. on November 9, 2026 on a zoning amendment regulating data centers (proposed Ordinance No. 930). It is not adopted yet; check the Borough’s agendas and minutes for the outcome.

Simplify Jefferson Hills permitting with Alliance Permitting

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