Building permits in Campbell County are issued by the county’s Building Inspections Office at 85 Carden Lane, Suite A, in Rustburg, the county seat. The county enforces the building code in its two towns, Altavista and Brookneal, and borders the City of Lynchburg, which was created from Campbell County land in 1786. Applications are filed in the county’s online permit portal, and new construction pays a comprehensive fee of $0.18 per square foot that includes the trade work.
This guide covers the department and how to reach it, the local conditions that survive state preemption, what permits cost and who may pull them, and how inspections are booked. Rules that apply everywhere in Virginia are summarized in each section, with a link to the full statewide explanation.
This guide covers work inside Campbell County.
Lynchburg is not part of Campbell County. It was created from Campbell County land in 1786 and is now an independent city in no county, with its own building department. Lynchburg mailing addresses also reach into Campbell County, so check the parcel record.
What requires a permit in Campbell County?
The Campbell County Building Inspections Office issues building permits for work inside Campbell County, including the towns of Altavista and Brookneal.
Permit required
- New residential and commercial construction, additions and remodels
- Structural alterations, relocation and demolition
- Electrical service changes, panel work and new circuits
- Plumbing, gas piping, water heaters and fixture work
- Mechanical installations and equipment replacements
- Solar photovoltaic systems and battery storage
- Re-roofing and re-siding, except on houses and townhouses where the design wind speed is 100 mph or less
- Renovation or demolition of a pre-1985 building, with asbestos certification first
Typically exempt
- Purely cosmetic finish work that alters no regulated system
- Ordinary repairs the USBC lists: same-size window and door replacement, replacing plumbing fixtures without altering the piping, and replacing switches, receptacles, light fixtures and ceiling fans in homes
- One-story sheds and playhouses of 256 square feet or less, fences other than pool barriers, and retaining walls holding back less than 3 feet of fill
- Farm buildings and structures, which § 36-99 exempts from the code
- Other work the building official deems minor and ordinary that does not affect public health or safety
Campbell’s local conditions that survive state preemption under § 36-98 include proffered conditions on rezoned land, the county’s floodplain management ordinance (Chapter 11 of the county code), and its Airport Zoning District around Lynchburg Regional Airport.
The county’s own examples of work that needs a permit include adding or replacing a deck, repairing roof sheathing or trusses, any roof work on a commercial building, finishing a basement, replacing water or sewer lines, setting up a pool more than 24 inches deep, new electrical circuits, gas heaters or fireplace logs, and a storage building or detached garage over 256 square feet. Its exempt examples include a residential re-roof, residential siding, replacement windows and doors outside fire-rated assemblies, cabinets, floor coverings and fences.
Campbell County enforces Virginia’s Uniform Statewide Building Code, 2021 edition, in effect since 18 January 2024. No Virginia locality can adopt its own building code or amendments, so what varies locally is zoning conditions, historic districts and flood plain rules. How Virginia’s statewide code works
Who handles permitting in Campbell County?
Campbell County’s northern boundary runs directly against the City of Lynchburg, which was formerly part of the county and is now an independent city — in no county at all. Lynchburg mailing addresses reach into the county, so work from the parcel record rather than the address.
Short on time to read all of this?
Get a free quote →Danville, beside Pittsylvania County, and Roanoke, beside Roanoke County, also became independent cities: a Virginia city is independent of any county, while a town remains within its county. The county does not retain any building jurisdiction inside the city, and the city has none inside the county.
The county seat is Rustburg, which is an unincorporated community rather than a town — so the county administers directly there. The incorporated towns in Campbell are Altavista and Brookneal, and both remain part of the county. Neither runs its own building department: Campbell County enforces the building code in both, and the state’s online directory of building officials lists each under Campbell County. Zoning inside the towns stays with the towns: Altavista’s Community Development office takes zoning and sign permit applications through its Cloudpermit portal (434-369-5001), and Brookneal keeps its own zoning ordinance and map at the town office (434-376-3124).
The county’s comprehensive plan places its rural areas, with active agriculture and forestry, in the southern part of the county. The § 36-99 farm building exemption has limits around licensed restaurants and flood-proofing, and conditions attach when the public is invited into a farm building for agritourism where farm products are displayed, sampled or sold.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Authority | Campbell County Building Inspections Office |
| Building Official | Jamie Mallow |
| Phone | 434-332-9596 |
| buildinginspections@campbellcountyva.gov | |
| Applications and inspection requests | Campbell County Community Development online permit portal |
| Offices | 85 Carden Lane, Suite A, Rustburg, Virginia 24588 |
| Bordering independent city | Lynchburg, a separate authority |
| Towns inside the county | Altavista and Brookneal, both enforced by the county |
| Wells and septic systems | Campbell County environmental health office (Virginia Department of Health), 116 Kabler Avenue, Rustburg, 434-592-9550 |
| Governing code | 2021 Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code |
| Appeals | Local Board of Building Code Appeals, then the state Review Board |
In 2025, building permits issued by Campbell County authorized 350 new privately owned housing units, 252 of them single-family homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey.
State-owned buildings, and buildings on state-owned property, are permitted by the Virginia Department of General Services rather than Campbell County (§ 36-98.1). State-owned projects in Virginia
Permit types
Residential permits
| Work | Permit |
|---|---|
| New single-family dwelling | Building permit, plus trade permits for each system |
| Addition or structural alteration | Building permit; existing building code provisions apply |
| Interior remodel touching a system | Building permit plus the relevant trade permits |
| Deck, porch or accessory structure | Building permit, except one-story sheds and playhouses of 256 square feet or less; zoning setbacks checked separately |
| Re-roofing and re-siding | No permit on houses and townhouses where the design wind speed is 100 mph or less; otherwise a building permit (in a historic district the building official may require one) |
| Solar photovoltaic and battery storage | Building and electrical permits |
| Demolition | Demolition permit; asbestos certification first on pre-1985 buildings |
The permit is a lien document in Virginia
On a one- or two-family dwelling, Campbell County’s building department prints the mechanics’ lien agent on the permit itself. Virginia Code § 36-98.01 requires that a building permit issued for any one- or two-family residential dwelling unit contain, at the time of issuance and at the applicant’s request, the name, mailing address and telephone number of the mechanics’ lien agent as defined in § 43-1. If the applicant does not request a designation, the permit must state, in those words, “None Designated.”
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Get a free quote →Commercial permits
| Work | Permit |
|---|---|
| New commercial construction | Building permit with full plan review |
| Tenant fit-out or change of use | Building permit; occupancy classification drives scope |
| Structural or facade alteration | Building permit under the existing building code |
| Fire protection and sprinkler systems | Permit required |
| Mechanical, electrical and plumbing | Trade permits by classification-licensed firms |
| Elevators and conveyances | Inspected and enforced by the locality (§ 36-105) |
| Signage | Building permit unless exempt under Appendix H of the construction code; zoning approval is separate |
Pre-1985 buildings: a hard permit prerequisite
Statewide rules also shape every Campbell County filing: the permit records the mechanics’ lien agent designation on one- and two-family dwellings, buildings first permitted before 1985 need asbestos certification before renovation or demolition, annual permits and code modifications are available, and single-family construction drawings are exempt from FOIA disclosure. Virginia rules that shape a submittal
Campbell County permit costs and fees
Campbell County sets its permit fees in an appendix to the County Code rather than on the Permits & Inspections pages. Plan review is included in the permit fee, unless the Building Official sends the drawings to an outside review service at the applicant’s cost.
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Call 1-855-478-4290 →| Permit | Fee |
|---|---|
| Comprehensive construction fee, all use groups: a new building from the ground up, with its electrical, plumbing and mechanical systems, porches and decks | $0.18 per square foot of gross floor area |
| Unfinished basements, garages, carports, sheds, decks and porches | $0.12 per square foot (detached accessory structures pay for trades in addition) |
| Residential addition, alteration or renovation | $0.12 per square foot of gross floor area plus trades; $25 minimum |
| Commercial addition, alteration or renovation | $0.12 per square foot of gross floor area plus trades; $50 minimum |
| Mechanical permit | $30 per system or appliance installed (residential); $40 (commercial) |
| Plumbing permit | $30 residential; $40 commercial |
| Electrical permit | $30 residential or $40 commercial base fee; a new service or upgrade over 200 amps adds $5 per 100 amps |
| Manufactured home | $125 single-wide; $200 double-wide; $200 industrialized building on frame |
| Swimming pool | $50 plus trades |
| Demolition | $50, residential or commercial |
| Sign | $25 under 50 square feet; $35 over 50 square feet |
| Sprinkler system | $50 for 20 heads or fewer; $100 for 21 to 100 heads; $150 for 101 or more |
| Tower or antenna | $150 plus trades |
| Tank, above or in ground | $50 plus trades |
| Relocating a building | $200, plus $10 for each utility hookup |
| Re-inspection | $50 |
| Work begun before the permit | $50 added to the permit fee |
| State levy | 2% added to every permit |
Worked example: a new house with 2,000 square feet of finished floor area, a 400-square-foot garage and a 200-square-foot deck pays (2,000 × $0.18) + (600 × $0.12) = $432, and the 2% levy of $8.64 brings it to $440.64, with the trade work inside that comprehensive fee.
The $50 re-inspection fee applies when the 911 address is wrong or missing, the premises are locked, corrections have not been made, or the work is not ready. Refunds on active permits are reduced by 25% of the fee if no inspection has been made, 50% after one inspection and 75% after two; nothing is refunded after three.
Permit fees in Campbell County are set locally and may fund only the building department (§ 36-105). A 2.0 percent state levy is collected on local permit fees (USBC Section 107.2), and inspection may be waived on work costing under $2,500. Take plan review charges from the current adopted fee schedule for Campbell County. How Virginia permit fees work
Trade permits and who may pull them
Trade permit required
- Electrical work, by a firm holding the electrical classification
- Plumbing and gas piping, by a firm holding the plumbing classification
- Mechanical and HVAC work, including equipment changeouts
- Fire protection and sprinkler work
Usually no trade permit
- Replacing plumbing fixtures without altering the supply, drainage or vent piping
- Replacing a mechanical appliance that does not burn gas or oil, in a home
- Wiring under 50 volts, such as thermostats, unless it is part of a fire alarm or other life-safety system
- Replacing switches, receptacles, light fixtures and ceiling fans in homes
Rather not deal with the Campbell County building department?
Get a free quote →Campbell County charges trade fees separately only when the comprehensive construction fee is not used: on additions, alterations, detached accessory structures and stand-alone trade jobs. Those are $30 for each residential mechanical system or appliance, $30 for a residential plumbing permit and a $30 residential electrical base fee, with $40 for the commercial equivalents. An elevator, escalator or lift permit is $50 plus trades.
Virginia’s contractor licence is held by the business: the Board for Contractors issues Class A, B or C licences with trade classifications, individual tradesmen hold separate tradesman licences, and a permit cannot issue without the required state licence or a written statement of exemption (§ 54.1-1111), plus proof that the locality’s license taxes are paid. Virginia contractor licensing
How to apply for a Campbell County building permit
Lynchburg mailing addresses reach into the county.
Both towns remain part of the county, and the county issues building permits there.
The county’s floodplain ordinance and Airport Zoning District apply where mapped.
Licensed restaurants are not exempt and flood-proofing still applies in the relevant areas.
These survive state preemption under § 36-98 and are administered locally.
The applicant is contacted when the permit is ready to be picked up. Request each inspection in the portal or by phone, since a permit with no inspection for six months can be suspended.
Filing through the Community Development portal
Applications must be submitted in the county’s online permit portal. The owner or lessee may apply, as may the Virginia-licensed engineer, architect, contractor or subcontractor employed on the job. The county says most permits can be issued while you wait when the information and fees are complete, that permits involving plan review may take several days, and that permits are not written after 4:30 p.m. The portal’s forms page carries a checklist for each project type, and these forms:
- Site Sketch/Setbacks, required for every addition, accessory building, new dwelling and swimming pool
- Deck Plan Worksheet for decks, and Porch Roof Specifications for a covered porch
- Owner/Builder Statement where the owner acts as contractor
- Asbestos Form, required for demolition and some alterations
- Statement of Special Inspections for commercial work
- Residential Plan Review Checklist based on the 2021 residential code
Designers work to the county’s published criteria: a 25-pound-per-square-foot ground snow load, 110-mile-per-hour wind speed, Seismic Design Category B and an 18-inch frost line. A Land Disturbance Permit has to be in hand before any construction where a single-family project disturbs more than 10,000 square feet (driveway, septic field and yard counted) or sits in a common plan of development, meaning a parcel created on or after 1 July 2004. The single-family fee is $50, or $209 inside a common plan; a project disturbing less than 10,000 square feet outside one files the no-fee Agreement in Lieu of Erosion and Sediment Control. Commercial sites disturbing more than 10,000 square feet but under 1 acre pay $400 and need engineered erosion and stormwater plans.
Want this handled start to finish?
Get a free quote →If Campbell County denies an application it must explain the reasons in writing (§ 36-105), and a full re-review of the resubmission is lawful. Appeals go to the local Board of Building Code Appeals before the State Building Code Technical Review Board. Denials, corrections and appeals in Virginia
Inspections in Campbell County
Building Inspections schedules building and trade inspections across the county from Rustburg. That includes Altavista and Brookneal. Inspections are booked through the county’s online portal or by calling 434-332-9596.
Have the permit number ready when you call. A Campbell County permit stays valid for six months from issue and each inspection extends it for another six; if no inspection is requested in that time the permit may be suspended, and reactivating it can mean re-applying and paying again.
Campbell County enforces the Statewide Fire Prevention Code itself; the state’s directory of local fire officials lists its fire official’s number as 434-332-9640.
Statewide rules also apply: the permit must be posted and the approved plans kept on site, a stop work order must state the violations and the conditions for resuming work (§ 36-97), and code violations carry penalties under § 36-106. Inspections and enforcement in Virginia
Campbell County permit search and official resources
These are the primary sources behind this guide. Codes, fee schedules and portal procedures change, so confirm the position for your filing date.
- Campbell County building inspections
- Campbell County Community Development online permit portal
- Campbell County permit forms, checklists and resources
- Campbell County building permit requirements
- Campbell County Code, Appendix of Fees
- Campbell County single-family land disturbance permits
- Campbell County design criteria
- Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (DHCD)
- Virginia DHCD building codes and regulations
- Code of Virginia § 36-98, statewide code supersedes local codes
- Code of Virginia § 36-98.01, mechanics’ lien agent on the permit
- Code of Virginia § 36-105, enforcement, appeals and permits
- Code of Virginia § 36-99.7, asbestos inspection before renovation or demolition
- Virginia DPOR Board for Contractors
- Virginia DHCD building officials directory, every locality and town
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →Frequently asked questions
Is Lynchburg part of Campbell County?
No. Lynchburg was formerly part of the county and is now an independent city, which means it sits in no county at all and runs its own building department. Campbell has no building authority inside the city limits.
Does a Lynchburg address mean the city?
Not always. Lynchburg mailing addresses reach into Campbell County, so check the parcel record to see which department holds the work.
Who enforces the code in Altavista and Brookneal?
Campbell County. Both are towns and remain part of the county, and neither runs its own building department; the state’s online directory of building officials lists both under Campbell County.
How much is a building permit in Campbell County?
New construction is charged a comprehensive fee of $0.18 per square foot of gross floor area that includes the electrical, plumbing and mechanical work, with garages, decks, porches and unfinished basements at $0.12. Additions and alterations are $0.12 per square foot plus trades. A 2% state levy is added.
How long does a Campbell County permit take?
The county says most permits can be issued while you wait if the application and fee are complete, and that those needing plan review may take several days. Permits are not written after 4:30 p.m.
Do I need a permit for a deck, shed or re-roof in Campbell County?
Adding or replacing a deck needs a permit, as does a storage building or detached garage over 256 square feet. A residential re-roof is on the county’s exempt list, but replacing roof sheathing or trusses, or any roof work on a commercial building, is not.
Which building code applies in Campbell County?
The 2021 Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code, effective since 18 January 2024 and required for every application submitted from 18 January 2025. Under § 36-98 the statewide code supersedes local building codes, so the county does not adopt its own edition.
Are farm buildings exempt from the code?
Under § 36-99, yes, with limits defined by the use of the building. A farm building operated as a licensed restaurant is not exempt, exempt buildings in a flood plain remain subject to flood-proofing regulations, and a building where the public is invited in for agritourism and farm products are displayed, sampled or sold must have extinguishers, an emergency plan and a posted sign.
What happens if my application is denied?
Section 36-105 requires the department to give a written explanation detailing the reasons. On a revised application the department is encouraged, but not required, to limit its review to the portions previously found inadequate, so a full re-review remains lawful.
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- We test farm building exemptions against the actual limits in § 36-99.
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Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and expediting service in Virginia. We are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice, and we are not the permitting authority.
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More Virginia permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Campbell County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.