Lower Macungie Township, Pennsylvania Building Permit Guide

In Lower Macungie Township the Permit Department, part of Community and Economic Development and directed by Building Code Official Vince Tranguch, reviews plans, issues building, trade, zoning and sign permits and sends its own code specialists to residential jobs. Keycodes Inspection Agency inspects residential electrical work and commercial projects. Fees follow the 2026 schedule, Resolution 2025-60 as updated by Resolution 2026-12, where a new house costs 70 cents per square foot of gross floor area with an $850 minimum, and every plumber or electrician working in the township needs a township business license.

What requires a building permit in Lower Macungie Township?

The township sorts residential work into over-the-counter permits, which need no drawings, and plan review permits, which need two identical scaled drawings and a site plan for anything added to the house or lot. Small yard projects take a zoning permit instead of a building permit.

Moving into, out of or within the township also needs a moving permit, which is free. Oil tanks, grading and timber clearing are on the township’s zoning permit list too.

What Lower Macungie decides and what the state holds

The township opted in to enforce the UCC on April 22, 2004, and L&I records local amendments. Its permits page says the 2021 International Codes as amended took effect on January 1, 2026, with ICC A117.1-2009 for accessibility. The Board of Commissioners sets fees by resolution and adopts the local layers the state code leaves to it: the zoning code, the floodplain ordinance, three stormwater chapters, the building sewer inspection rule and the township’s own licensing of plumbers and electricians.

Lower Macungie Township building department: who handles permitting

Lower Macungie runs its own code office rather than handing permits to an outside agency. Vince Tranguch, the Director of Community Development, is the designated Building Code Official; two code specialists inspect residential construction, a fire inspector covers commercial fire and life safety, and the Zoning Officer enforces the zoning code and the floodplain ordinance. Keycodes Inspection Agency is listed as the residential electrical inspector, and the general requirements sheet assigns commercial inspections to it as well.

Lower Macungie permit types

Applications are paper forms, many of them fillable; the township asks that they not be printed double-sided. They can be dropped off or mailed with a check after the office calculates the fee by phone, and payment is due when the permit is issued, by cash, check or card (cards add $1.50 plus 3%).

Residential permits

One residential application covers the building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical and sewer connection parts of a job. The submission checklist asks for two plot plans with setbacks and easements, two sets of plans with the REScheck, plumbing schematic and electrical layout, a workers’ compensation certificate naming the township as holder or a notarized waiver, and the contractor’s Attorney General home improvement registration. New homes and in-ground pools also need four sets of sealed on-lot grading plans by a Pennsylvania engineer, and a new house needs either a fire code permit with two sprinkler designs or the signed sprinkler waiver. The site keeps separate guides for decks, ramps, generators, demolition, in-ground and above-ground pools and hot tubs.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial and industrial filings need three sealed site plans where required, three sets of engineered sealed plans, a special inspections form when needed and the review fee up front. Sprinkler, suppression and fire alarm systems are separate fire code permits with a $400 review fee. Every commercial property also needs business use approval; the business use form prints a $75 fee and a $175 occupancy inspection, and a certificate of occupancy waits for the final land development inspection and every construction approval.

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

What comes before the building permit

• Zoning Hearing Board. Variances, special exceptions and appeals from the Zoning Officer. A residential setback or height appeal is $500, a use matter $1,000, and floodplain or impervious cover cases needing the township engineer $500, plus advertising and half the stenographer.
• Wastewater allocation. Projects that add sewage flow apply for an allocation, with payment in before the 1st or 15th of a month, and need a DEP-approved sewage planning module or waiver to apply; the building permit is not issued until the allocation is approved.
• On-lot septic. The township’s Sewage Enforcement Officer must issue the septic permit before the building permit is released ($525 for a new or replacement system, $300 for an observed perc test).
• Stormwater. Chapter 23A (Little Lehigh basin), Chapter 23B (Perkiomen Creek headwaters, an Act 167 ordinance) and Chapter 23C (the MS4 rules) apply; a residential grading plan review is $300 and earth disturbance permits start at $25.
• Driveways and road work. New or extended driveways take a $150 zoning permit; work in a township road needs a road occupancy permit ($525 application plus escrows).
• Land development. New homes in a subdivision pay a recreation fee of $3,800 per dwelling unit, and the schedule lists traffic impact fees of $2,560 in the west Act 209 study area and $2,512 in the east.

Lower Macungie permit costs and fees

The Board of Commissioners adopted the 2026 fee schedule by Resolution 2025-60, effective December 18, 2025, and updated it by Resolution 2026-12 in April 2026. Residential permits include stated numbers of inspections, and starting work before the permit raises the fee by 100%. Zoning permits carry no state fee and no administrative fee.

Worked examples: a 1,800-square-foot new house is 1,800 × $0.70, or $1,260, which clears the $850 minimum. A 400-square-foot addition works out to $180 at 45 cents a foot, so the $400 minimum applies.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Lower Macungie licenses its own trades: every plumbing and electrical contractor needs a township business license, renewed each year for $65, and a permit is not issued until the plumber and electrician on the job are licensed. New applicants show proof of master’s or journeyman’s qualifications, a workers’ compensation certificate naming the township, and, for residential work, their state home improvement number; the application goes in by mail or in person. The township gives no plumbing exam and accepts a license from a municipality that does. Homeowners doing their own work need no license, and the active plumber and electrician lists are posted monthly.

• Electrical: rough, final and service inspections; a service hook-up or upgrade needs the PPL job number. Keycodes inspects residential electrical work.
• Plumbing: underground, rough (lines under test) and final inspections including the water meter; residential sprinklers are $170.
• Mechanical: furnaces, ductwork and other heating, cooking or refrigeration equipment get rough and final inspections; appliance replacements are $85.
• Annual permit: a $1,500 plumbing, electrical or mechanical annual permit covers up to 20 inspections.

How to apply for a Lower Macungie building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Review starts only with a complete submission. The general requirements sheet allows 15 business days for residential plans and 30 for commercial, while the FAQ puts residential review at up to 10 days; over-the-counter permits usually issue within 24 hours of payment. A missing wastewater allocation, septic permit or trade license holds the permit even after the plans pass, and plan review beyond what the fee includes is billed at $75 an hour for houses.

Inspections in Lower Macungie Township

The fee schedule and requirements sheets ask for at least 48 hours’ notice, while the FAQ says a call to 610-966-4343, ext. 134, before noon can get a next-business-day visit; you may ask for morning or afternoon but not a set time. Inspectors work 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and from 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday and Thursday. A new house runs through footing (36-inch frost depth), foundation before backfill with a foundation as-built for the township engineer, framing with rough trades under test, insulation with the REScheck on site, wallboard, and final. On-lot grading is signed off by the township engineer, CKS Engineers (215-340-0600), after an as-built plan and pin certification are filed a week ahead. The UCC certificate of occupancy must be issued before anyone moves in; a temporary certificate before the driveway reaches binder course needs a $500 escrow.

Selling a property brings its own check: the building sewer and its lateral connection must be video-inspected by a licensed journeyman or master plumber before sale or transfer, with the report and a physical copy of the video (a USB drive is preferred) sent to the township. Repairs are the owner’s job before the sale, and a pass stays valid for up to two years. Permits are valid for 180 days after issuance; call to renew a longer job.

Pennsylvania building code in Lower Macungie Township

FEMA’s Community Status Book lists Lower Macungie Township (community 420589) as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program, with flood maps effective July 16, 2004. The Zoning Officer enforces the township floodplain ordinance, and appeals involving floodplain calculations carry their own Zoning Hearing Board fee.

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

Lower Macungie permit search and official resources

Permit and property records are requested from the township’s Open Records Officer on its Right to Know form, mailed to 3400 Brookside Road; certifications cost $5 and copies 25 cents a page. The township treats commercial building documents as exempt under the UCC, so requesters may look at them but may not copy or photograph them. A zoning certification for a parcel is $150, and current subdivision projects are listed on the permits page. County offices are covered in the Lehigh County permit guide.

• Lower Macungie Permit Department
• Permit information and applications
• 2026 fee schedule (Resolutions 2025-60 and 2026-12)
• General permit application requirements
• Residential permit requirements and inspections
• Residential permit submission checklist
• Electrician and plumber license application
• Backyard pool guide
• Business use application
• Permit FAQs
• Building sewer inspection program
• Zoning and Zoning Hearing Board
• Stormwater ordinances
• Right to Know requests
• Pennsylvania L&I municipal UCC elections list
• FEMA Community Status Book, Pennsylvania

Lower Macungie building permit FAQs

How much is a permit for a new house in Lower Macungie?

70 cents per square foot of gross floor area with an $850 minimum, covering plan review, all trades, the sewer connection and up to 12 inspections.

Can I do my own plumbing or electrical work?

Yes. Homeowners working on their own property need no license; any contractor doing that work must hold the township’s $65 annual license.

Do I need a permit for a shed or fence?

A shed under 250 square feet or a fence without a pool needs a $50 zoning permit. Fences over 6 feet and larger accessory buildings need a plan review building permit.

Does my pool need a permit?

Only if it can hold 24 inches of water or more. An above-ground pool is $250 and an in-ground pool $900, including the building, electrical and fence permits.

How do I book an inspection?

Call the Permit Department at 610-966-4343, ext. 134. The township’s sheets ask for 48 hours’ notice, and its FAQ says calls before noon can be booked for the next business day.

What is needed before I sell my home?

A building sewer video inspection by a licensed plumber, submitted to the township and passed; a passing result is good for up to two years.

How long is a permit good for?

The township says 180 days after issuance; call the Permit Department to renew if the work will take longer.

Simplify Lower Macungie Township 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 Lower Macungie Township permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.