Barrington, Rhode Island Building Permit Guide

In Barrington the Town’s Building and Zoning Office issues building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical and zoning permits, and applications and plans go only through the Town’s OpenGov portal: the office takes no paper. The Town asks you to allow up to 15 business days for review and issuance. Building permit fees follow the state’s Barrington schedule, starting at $8 per $1,000 of project value with a $40 minimum.

What requires a building permit in Barrington?

The Building and Zoning Office says most projects need a permit; the exceptions it names are paint, wallcoverings, flooring and fencing. Projects the Town’s fee schedule and forms deal with include:

Sheds: the department page gives two different cut-offs. Its permit notice sends sheds of 64 sq ft or less to the Zoning Permit application and requires a building permit above 64 sq ft, while its FAQ uses 200 sq ft as the dividing line. Either way a shed must meet the zoning setbacks for an accessory structure.

What Barrington handles and what the state keeps

Town Hall’s Building and Zoning Office reviews the plans, issues the building, trade, solar, sign, demolition and moving permits, signs off certificates of occupancy and enforces the Zoning Ordinance. Three approvals are never the Town’s to give: a coastal assent from CRMC, septic and freshwater wetlands permits from RIDEM, and a contractor’s registration with the state Contractors’ Registration and Licensing Board. Fire plan review, where a project needs it, is requested on the same OpenGov submission as the building or trade permit, and the Fire Department books its own life safety inspections through the portal.

Barrington building department: who handles permitting

The Building and Zoning Office administers the state building code and the Town’s Zoning Ordinance in one office. Walter Brueckner is the Building Official. The Zoning Board of Review hears requests for dimensional relief, special-use permits, relief from the merger rules for substandard lots and appeals from the Building Official’s decisions; it meets on the third Thursday of the month at 7:00 PM. Barrington’s fee schedule also lists a Building Board of Review that meets as needed.

Barrington applications and forms

Every application goes into OpenGov, including building and trade permits, the Zoning Permit, zoning certificates, citizen complaints and chicken registrations. Paper applications and hard-copy plans are not accepted, so upload the plans with the application. Messages about approval, payment and inspections go to the email address used to file, and OpenGov’s Search for Records shows Barrington permits from 2018 onwards.

• Homeowner affidavit: a homeowner may work on their own house and pull the permit, after signing an affidavit taking responsibility for the work and its inspections.
• Contractors: the Town says contractors must be licensed in Rhode Island.
• Fire Chief: where it applies, deliver a copy of the building plans to the Fire Chief.
• Flood Zone Affidavit: the office links this form for work in a flood zone.
• Zoning Board applications: extra letters or exhibits are due by 4:00 PM on the Thursday before the meeting.

Residential permits

The Town’s OpenGov category, Planning, Building, and Resilience, lists a separate application for each piece of a house project: building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits, solar, demolition (which starts with an initial notice of demolition), moving a building, and a stand-alone certificate of occupancy. Sheds of 64 sq ft or less go on the Zoning Permit form. Upload the full plan set with the application; an owner-builder adds the homeowner affidavit, and a house in a flood zone the Flood Zone Affidavit.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial building and trade work uses the same OpenGov forms, with fire plan review requested on the same submission. Chapter A225 adds a commercial plan review charge on the cost of construction: $25 up to $500, $35 up to $1,000, $45 up to $2,000, then $45 plus $6 per $1,000 up to $500,000, and $3,033 plus $4 per $1,000 above $500,000. Non-residential design and site plan review costs $100 to alter or expand an existing building or for a non-residential site review, and a flat $300 for a new building. Business sign review is $35 for a business under 5,000 sq ft and $70 at 5,000 sq ft or more, an A-frame sign permit is $25, and a commercial variance or special use permit is $300.

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

Looking up a Barrington permit

OpenGov’s Search for Records covers Barrington permits from 2018 onwards, and the Town’s records request form for Planning, Building, and Resilience sends anyone looking for those permits back to that search. For older building files, use the same online request form, which is the office’s route under the state Access to Public Records Act.

Barrington permit fees

Rhode Island sets each town’s building permit fee in a state regulation (510-RICR-00-00-21, last amended effective December 10, 2023), and the regulation says town fees must be computed from it. Barrington’s schedule:

For example, a $100,000 addition comes to $320 plus 50 × $4, or $520. The state levy in R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-27.3-108.2 is charged on top: 0.1% of the construction cost on each permit, no more than $50 a permit for a one- or two-family house.

The Town’s own Fee and Fine Schedule (Code Chapter A225) adds these charges:

Chapter A225 still prints an older building fee of $6 per $1,000 of value, with minimum valuations for new structures of $80 per sq ft for a first floor, $70 for a second floor and $50 for a garage. The state schedule above is the one the regulation requires towns to use.

Electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits in Barrington

Electrical, plumbing and mechanical work each needs its own permit from the Building and Zoning Office, filed in OpenGov. The Town’s trade fee sheet charges $35 for work up to $1,000 and $15 for each further $1,000 (so $170 for $9,001 to $10,000 of work and $620 for $39,001 to $40,000).

The trade sheet notes that its figures leave out the state fees, and the office gives the total for a permit on 401-247-1900 ext. 326.

Alliance handles electrical permit expediting for contractors here. More on this: who pulls the electrical permit.

Who may pull trade permits

Barrington’s page puts it simply: contractors must be licensed in Rhode Island. For the trades that means a licence from the Department of Labor and Training, whose Professional Regulation unit examines electricians, plumbers, pipefitters, refrigeration technicians, sheet metal workers and sprinkler fitters. A builder or remodeler also needs a current registration with the Contractors’ Registration and Licensing Board, and R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-65-3 bars any town from issuing a building permit to someone who needs that registration and does not have it. The homeowner route is the affidavit: an owner may pull the permit for work on their own house and takes responsibility for the work and its inspections.

How to get a Barrington building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The Town allows up to 15 business days for review and issuance. Approval, payment and inspection messages all go to the email address used to file, so that inbox is where correction requests arrive. Because the office refuses hard copies, a paper-only plan set has to be scanned and uploaded before review can begin. Zoning comes before the building permit: the Zoning Board of Review sits once a month, on the third Thursday, and any extra exhibits are due at 4:00 PM the Thursday before. Coastal, wetlands and septic approvals are separate state files that the application relies on.

Barrington inspections

Every Barrington permit needs inspection. Request inspections through OpenGov’s inspection request feature or by calling the Building and Zoning Office, at least one day ahead; same-day requests are usually not possible. The office gives you an appointment window when you book and cannot promise a specific time. Inspection results and other permit notices come by email to the address on the application. Refundable deposits on decks, porches, pools, renovations, additions and trade permits are returned after the final inspection.

Barrington local rules

Coastal and flood areas: Barrington takes part in the National Flood Insurance Program, and its current FEMA flood maps took effect on July 7, 2014. The Town’s GIS map shows flood zones, and the office links a Flood Zone Affidavit form. Work on the shoreline needs an assent from the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC), the state agency that permits work in the coastal zone, and the office links CRMC’s application forms.

Wetlands: work in or near freshwater wetlands needs a RIDEM permit under the Freshwater Wetlands Rules (250-RICR-150-15-3), adopted with CRMC and in effect since July 1, 2022.

Sewer or septic: a sewer connection permit costs $60 for outside and inside work or $50 for outside work only. A lot without a sewer connection needs an onsite wastewater (septic) permit from RIDEM’s OWTS Program, which typically reviews new construction or alteration designs in 3 weeks and repairs in 1 to 2 weeks.

Accessory dwelling units: the office posts the Town’s summary of the 2024 state legislative changes, including those on accessory dwelling units.

Building code in Barrington

Barrington enforces the Rhode Island State Building Code. Since December 1, 2025 that has meant the 2021 International Codes with Rhode Island amendments, the 2023 National Electrical Code and the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code.

Rhode Island has one state building code, kept by the State Building Code Office and enforced by each city or town’s building official; there is no county layer, and appeals go first to the town’s board of appeals, then to the state Building Code Board of Standards and Appeals. Rhode Island rules

Barrington permit FAQ

Who issues building permits in Barrington?

The Town’s Building and Zoning Office, Town Hall lower level, 283 County Road (401-247-1900 ext. 325).

How much is a building permit in Barrington?

$8 per $1,000 of value up to $10,000, $80 plus $6 per $1,000 from $10,001 to $50,000, and $320 plus $4 per $1,000 above that, with a $40 minimum. A $100,000 project is $520, plus the state levy and a $5 processing fee.

Can I file a paper application?

No. Applications and plans are accepted only through OpenGov.

How long does a permit take?

The Town asks applicants to allow up to 15 business days for review and issuance.

Do I need a permit for a shed or fence?

Fences need no building permit but must meet the zoning height limits. Small sheds take a Zoning Permit; larger ones need a building permit, with the cut-off given as 64 sq ft in one place on the Town page and 200 sq ft in its FAQ.

Can a homeowner pull their own permit?

Yes, for work on their own house, after signing an affidavit taking responsibility for the work and the inspections.

How do I find an old permit for a Barrington house?

Search OpenGov’s Search for Records for permits from 2018 onwards; for anything older, file the Town’s online records request for Planning, Building, and Resilience.

Who reviews fire safety on a Barrington project?

Fire plan review is requested on the same OpenGov submission as the permit where it applies, and the Building and Zoning Office may ask for a plan set delivered to the Fire Chief.

Barrington permit search and official resources

These are the primary sources behind this guide. Codes, fee schedules and procedures change — confirm the position for your filing date.

• Barrington Building and Zoning Office
• Barrington OpenGov permit portal
• Barrington Code Chapter A225, Fee and Fine Schedule
• Barrington electrical, mechanical and plumbing fee schedule (PDF)
• Barrington Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 185)
• Barrington Zoning Board of Review
• Barrington Town Hall hours
• Statewide building permit fee schedules (510-RICR-00-00-21)
• Rhode Island Building Code Commission: laws, rules and regulations
• Coastal Resources Management Council
• RIDEM onsite wastewater (septic) permits
• RIDEM freshwater wetlands permits
• Barrington OpenGov: Planning, Building, and Resilience applications
• Barrington records request, Planning, Building, and Resilience
• Contractors’ Registration and Licensing Board: who must register

Simplify Barrington permitting with Alliance Permitting

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