Building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits in Goochland County are issued by the county’s Department of Building Inspection at 1800 Sandy Hook Road. All applications are filed electronically through the county’s EnerGov-based online permitting system, and the county quotes an average turnaround of 4 weeks for residential permits and 6 to 8 weeks for commercial ones. Fees are based on construction value: a residential building permit is $30 plus $4.50 per $1,000 of value over $4,000, plus a 2% state levy.
What requires a permit in Goochland County?
The department explains its permit triggers in three parts, and its property development FAQ adds the everyday examples.
- Construction and equipment: building, altering, demolishing or moving any building, installing or altering equipment the building code regulates, and any change in occupancy.
- Moving a lot line: a permit is needed because the distance from a building to the property line affects its fire-resistance requirements.
- Asbestos: removing or disturbing it during alterations, remodeling or demolition.
In practice that covers additions, accessory structures over 256 sq ft, swimming pools, some interior remodeling, and most electrical, mechanical and plumbing work other than basic repairs. The permit has to be in place before any work begins. An inground pool also needs a plumbing permit, because the county inspects the pressure test on the circulation piping.
The county’s Permit Exemptions page lists work that needs no permit: detached one-story tool and storage sheds of 256 sq ft or less, and wiring or equipment under 50 volts (but not fire alarm or suppression systems, work in a plenum ceiling, door-locking systems or wiring through a fire-rated wall, floor or ceiling). Farm buildings need no building permit as long as no part of the building is used for anything but farming, yet they still need a Zoning Compliance permit.
Who issues permits in Goochland County?
Goochland County has no incorporated towns, so the Department of Building Inspection, part of Community Development, is the building official’s office for every address in the county. Casey Littlefield is the Building Official. Planning & Zoning, Environmental and the Health Department review the same application where they are needed.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Office | 1800 Sandy Hook Road, Goochland, VA 23063 (P.O. Box 119) |
| Phone and inspection line | 804-556-5815 |
| Hours | Weekdays, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. |
| Permit applications accepted | 8 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; later arrivals are not accepted |
| Inspection requests | By 3 p.m. at least 1 business day ahead |
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Get a free quote →Goochland County permit types and online filing
The county moved to its current permitting software on November 14, 2022, and since then every permit application has had to be made electronically; paper plans are not accepted for review. Create a Citizen Self Service account (the county suggests a shared company email address for firms with several users, and Google Chrome as the browser), then choose Apply.
- Building permits are filed as residential or commercial applications.
- Trade permits for electrical, plumbing, mechanical and gas work can be stand-alone, or opened from the building permit’s sub-records so that they are linked to it.
- Zoning permits are reviewed by Planning & Zoning as part of the same submittal.
- Permit numbers: the software is parcel driven, so a project gets a separate number for each permit issued.
Anyone can look up permits without applying: through the Parcel Viewer, the portal’s Search tool or its Map. Property owners can ask to be added as a contact on their contractor’s permit to receive inspection notices.
Goochland County permit costs and fees
Fees are in Appendix C of the County Code, the county fee schedule, last amended by ordinance on April 14, 2026. Building and trade permits are priced on construction value, which the county works out itself from floor area, and a 2% state levy is added.
| Project | Fee |
|---|---|
| Residential building permit, work valued up to $4,000 | $30 |
| Residential building permit, work valued above $4,000 | $30 + $4.50 per $1,000 or part of value over $4,000 |
| Commercial or industrial building permit, up to $4,000 | $30 |
| Commercial or industrial building permit, above $4,000 | $30 + $7.50 per $1,000 or part |
| Permit renewal | $50 per permit |
| Plan re-review, commercial or residential | $250 |
| Second and each later re-inspection | $100 (the first re-inspection is free) |
| 30-day extension of a temporary certificate of occupancy | $50 |
| Zoning permit | $50 residential; $100 commercial; $25 for a residential accessory structure |
| Health department processing | $40 well and septic; $25 septic only |
| Agreement in lieu of a plan, single-family house | $100 for 10,000 sq ft to under 1 acre; $200 where state permit coverage is required |
Not sure this scope needs a permit?
Get a free quote →How value is set: for a house, the county multiplies the building area by a construction value per square foot that depends on the size of the building: $55 for 1,500 sq ft or less, $65 for 1,501 to 3,000 sq ft, $75 for 3,001 to 5,000 sq ft and $85 above that. Unfinished space such as garages, basements, decks and porches is valued at half those figures. These are valuations, not fees. For example, a 2,000 sq ft house with no unfinished space is valued at 2,000 × $65 = $130,000; the fee is $30 plus $4.50 × 126 = $597, or $608.94 with the 2% levy. Commercial work uses a value-per-square-foot table by occupancy type, and the county has an online permit fee calculator.
The county’s residential fee sheet (revised January 2024) also lists a $50 code modification request, a $100 temporary certificate of occupancy, and a charge for working without a permit of $100 or 25% of the applicable permit fee if that is greater, capped at $500 in total.
Fees can be paid online or in person at the county administration building by cash, check or card. Card payments carry a 2.95% fee, with a $2.95 minimum. A permit expires if work has not begun within 6 months of issue, or if work is suspended or abandoned for 6 months.
Electrical, plumbing, mechanical and gas permits
Trade permits are separate records in the permitting system and are priced on the value of the trade work.
| Permit | Fee |
|---|---|
| Residential electrical, plumbing or mechanical, work valued up to $10,000 | $100 |
| Residential, above $10,000 | $100 + $4.50 per $1,000 or part |
| Commercial or industrial, up to $2,000 | $30 |
| Commercial or industrial, above $2,000 | $30 + $7.50 per $1,000 or part |
At rough-in and final, the county inspects electrical, mechanical and plumbing work together with the building work in one visit. On an inground pool, the circulation piping is pressure tested at 25 psi for at least 15 minutes, and each trade on the job has to be licensed for that trade. If a generator is installed, both the electrician and the gas contractor must show it in their scope of work, and someone has to be on site to start it for the final inspection.
Rather talk it over?
Call 1-855-478-4290 →Construction documents and application requirements
The county’s process flow chart for a new single-family dwelling lists what to upload:
Every new house
- Shrink/swell soil report
- Plat showing the proposed building and driveway, with setback distances from the property lines clearly marked
- Drawings
- A named Responsible Land Disturber if more than 10,000 sq ft is disturbed, counting the house site, driveway and drain field
- Single-family stormwater documents, which may be required if the lot is in a neighborhood or was platted after 2004
Depending on the lot
- Private well and septic: the Septic/Well Application for Construction, reviewed by the Health Department
- Contract value over $25,000: the contractor needs a Goochland County business licence from the Commissioner of the Revenue before the permit is issued
An engineered soil report is required for all new single-family homes, duplexes and townhomes, for attached additions such as screen porches and sunrooms, for detached structures over 400 sq ft and for all commercial construction. Before staff take in a permit, they check that every contractor holds a county business licence and the state licence for the work.
Reviews run through Planning & Zoning, the Health Department (on well and septic lots), Building Inspection and Environmental (when stormwater applies).
How to apply for a Goochland County permit
Register in the county’s online permitting system and search for existing contacts before adding new ones.
Choose Apply, pick the residential or commercial application and upload the soil report, plat and drawings.
Open each trade from the building permit’s sub-records so the electrical, plumbing, mechanical and gas permits are linked to it.
Zoning, Health, Building Inspection and Environmental review as needed. The county’s typical turnaround for a new house is 4 weeks.
Pay online by Mastercard or Visa, or in person at the county administration building.
Use the portal, email bi-emails@goochlandva.us or leave a message on 804-556-5815 by 3 p.m. the business day before.
Rather not deal with the Goochland County building department?
Get a free quote →Goochland County inspections
Inspections can be requested through the customer portal, by email or on the inspection line, 804-556-5815, which takes voice messages 24 hours a day; staff answer between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Requests must be in by 3 p.m. at least 1 business day ahead and must include the permit number, without which the inspection is not scheduled, plus the site address and the type of inspection. Commercial requests should say where in the building the work is.
Work has to be ready at 8:00 a.m. on the day. Inspectors plan their routes each morning and leave the office at about 9:00 a.m., so specific times are not honored; call after 8:00 a.m. to learn whether your visit is in the morning or the afternoon. To cancel, use the inspection line before 8:00 a.m., or phone a permit technician after that so the inspector can be told.
The first re-inspection is free. When an inspection fails twice for the same task, a $100 re-inspection fee is charged, and no further inspections are scheduled until it is paid; inspectors do not take payment in the field.
Before the final on a new house, the county wants the duct test report, the blower door test report, the health operation permit for a private well or septic system, and a backflow test report if irrigation backflow protection was installed. The certificate of occupancy also needs Environmental approval where single-family stormwater applied.
Important local requirements in Goochland County
Shrink-swell soils: Goochland updated its shrink-swell soil policy in 2019, and the soil report is the first item on the county’s new-house checklist.
Design overlay districts: along River Road West, River Road, Broad Street Road and Ashland Road, and in the Centerville, Goochland Courthouse and Oilville villages, a Certificate of Approval from Planning & Zoning is required for exterior improvements, signs and new construction.
Plan of development: all non-residential development, including commercial, industrial, multi-family, church and institutional uses, needs an approved site plan, reviewed by Environmental, Planning, Public Utilities, Building Inspection, the Fire Marshal and VDOT.
Want this handled start to finish?
Get a free quote →Wells and septic: Goochland is served by the Virginia Department of Health’s Chickahominy Health District. The county charges its own processing fee of $40 for a well and septic application and $25 for septic only.
Commercial occupancy: a commercial certificate of occupancy needs sign-off from Building Inspection, Environmental, the Health Department, Transportation, Planning and Zoning, Fire-Rescue and Public Utilities.
Design criteria: the county publishes a 115 mph design wind speed, seismic category B and an 18-inch frost depth.
Virginia building code
Every Virginia locality enforces the 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
Official Goochland County permit resources
- Goochland County Building Inspection
- Goochland County online permitting system
- New Single-Family Dwellings: Process Flow Chart
- Permit Fees and fee calculator
- How to Calculate Residential Construction Value
- Permit Exemptions
- County Code Appendix C: Fee Schedule
- Online Permitting Software FAQs
- Building Inspection FAQs
- Develop Property FAQs
- Shrink-Swell FAQs
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →Goochland County building permit FAQs
Who issues building permits in Goochland County?
The county’s Department of Building Inspection, 1800 Sandy Hook Road, Goochland, phone 804-556-5815. There are no incorporated towns in the county with their own permit office.
How much is a building permit in Goochland County?
Residential building permits are $30 for work valued up to $4,000, and $30 plus $4.50 per $1,000 of value over $4,000 above that, plus a 2% state levy. The county sets the value from floor area: a 2,000 sq ft house comes to $608.94. Each residential trade permit is $100 for work valued up to $10,000.
How long does it take to get a permit?
The county gives average turnaround times of 4 weeks for residential permits and 6 to 8 weeks for commercial permits.
Can I submit paper plans?
No. All permit applications must be made electronically through the county’s permitting software.
Do I need a permit for a shed in Goochland County?
Not a building permit for a detached one-story tool or storage shed of 256 sq ft or less. Larger accessory structures need one, and the zoning permit for a residential accessory structure is $25.
How do I schedule an inspection?
Through the portal, by email to bi-emails@goochlandva.us, or on the inspection line at 804-556-5815, by 3 p.m. at least 1 business day ahead. The permit number is mandatory.
Is there a re-inspection fee?
Not for the first re-inspection. If the same item fails twice, the fee is $100 and it must be paid before another inspection is scheduled.
Does my permit expire?
Yes, if work has not started within 6 months of issue or stops for 6 months. Renewal is $50 per permit.
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More Virginia permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Goochland County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.