Tazewell County Building Inspections (276-385-1215) issues building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical and gas permits for the unincorporated county and for the towns of Richlands, Cedar Bluff and Pocahontas. Work in the Town of Bluefield or the Town of Tazewell is permitted by that town’s own building office. Applications go in on paper, by mail or by email, plan review takes 3 to 10 business days, and the County Code sets a $20 minimum permit fee.
What needs a permit in Tazewell County?
The County publishes a “Do I Need a Permit?” list for houses. It covers residential projects only, so call the office about any commercial job.
Permit required
- A new house, an addition or an attached garage
- Any deck, porch, screened porch, steps or ramp, attached or not, including structural repairs to one
- A detached garage or carport
- A one-story shed, playhouse or storage building of 257 sq ft or more
- Finishing an attic, a basement or a room over a garage, or converting a garage to living space
- Moving, adding or removing a load-bearing wall, or enlarging a door or window opening
- A pool, hot tub or spa over 150 sq ft, 5,000 gallons and 24 inches deep
- A retaining wall over 24 inches high, or one that carries load from a structure
- Changing the use of a building, for example from a home to a business
No permit (single-family homes)
- Painting, drywall and plaster repair, siding, and re-roofing with shingles only
- Floor coverings, cabinets, gutters and downspouts
- Deck or porch floor boards and handrails (joists and girders do need a permit)
- Doors and windows replaced with no structural change
- Driveways and sidewalks
- A shed or playhouse of 256 sq ft or less
- A fence up to 6 ft that is not a pool barrier
- Retaining walls built only for landscaping
- Swapping plumbing fixtures, switches, receptacles, an electric water heater or an electric range
The exempt list applies to single-family dwellings only, not to apartments, condominiums or townhouses. A demolition permit is needed whenever a structure is razed and the site returned to grade, for houses, outbuildings, decks and commercial buildings alike. It is not needed for interior tear-out, or when the old building is coming down to make way for a new one covered by its own permit.
Who issues building permits in Tazewell County?
The County office, which heads its forms “Department of Building Safety”, takes applications, reviews plans and inspects. Gary Jackson is the Building Official. The County has enforced the Uniform Statewide Building Code since September 1, 1973.
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Get a free quote →| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Office | Tazewell County Building Inspections (Department of Building Safety) |
| Address | 173 Main Street, Tazewell, VA 24651 |
| Phone | 276-385-1215 (fax 276-988-0811) |
| Hours | Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except holidays |
| Building Official | Gary Jackson |
The five incorporated towns split into two groups:
- Richlands, Cedar Bluff and Pocahontas: the County issues the building permit, and the town issues a zoning permit that you need as well. Richlands says to get its zoning permit first; applications go to Town Hall at 200 Washington Square (276-964-2566) or to zoningpermit@richlands-va.gov. Cedar Bluff’s town office is at 115 Central Avenue (276-964-4889) and Pocahontas Town Hall is at 300 Centre Street (276-945-9522).
- Town of Bluefield: the Town has its own Building Department under Building Official John Mills (276-322-4626, ext. 1014). Its Zoning Department issues zoning permits and runs erosion and sediment control inside the town.
- Town of Tazewell: the Town’s Zoning, Building & Property Maintenance Official issues both permits for all work inside the corporate limits (276-988-2501). A zoning permit is $20 and a combined zoning and building permit starts at $51.
Tazewell County applications and how to file
There is no online permit portal. Every application can be handed in at 173 Main Street, mailed there, or emailed to the County’s permit technician. The forms on the Building Inspections page are:
- New Construction Application, for new buildings and additions, residential or commercial, including single-wide, double-wide and modular homes. Its second page is the Contractor Information Form.
- Miscellaneous Building Permit Application, for remodels, decks and porches, outbuildings, signs and stand-alone HVAC, electrical or plumbing work.
- Electrical Permit Application and Solar Installation Permit Application.
- Written Statement, the affidavit an owner signs when doing the work without a licensed contractor. It limits the owner to one residential dwelling in any 24-month period.
- Cross Section, a wall-section sheet that must go in with the application for any new house or addition when no plans are available.
- Farm Exemption Statement and Amusement Ride Application.
The same page carries the County’s Climate and Geographic Design Criteria, a wiring schematic, a manufactured home checklist, a typical monolithic slab layout and a Residential Wood Deck Construction Guide.
Permit costs and fees in Tazewell County
Tazewell County does not post a fee sheet with its applications. The fee rules are in section 4-29 of the County Code, and the office writes the fee on the application when it is approved.
Not sure this scope needs a permit?
Get a free quote →| Work | Fee |
|---|---|
| Minimum permit fee | $20 |
| Heating stoves, fireplaces and chimneys, a change of electric service, and any work valued under $5,000 | The $20 minimum |
| New construction valued over $5,000 | Square footage × square-foot cost × regional modifier × local fee multiplier |
| Other work valued over $5,000 | The same formula, using the owner’s, engineer’s or building official’s valuation in place of area and square-foot cost |
| Manufactured (mobile) home | $35 up to $15,000 in value; 0.3% of the cost above that |
| Signs | $0.40 per sq ft |
| Demolition | $20 |
| Moving a building | 0.45% of the cost, plus the permit fee for the new foundation |
| Work started before the permit | Fees doubled |
The square-foot cost comes from a published valuation table by use group and construction type, and the Board of Supervisors sets the local fee multiplier each year. The multiplier is not printed in the code, so the exact fee for a larger job is worked out by the office from the area or the estimated cost you put on the application.
Erosion and sediment control has its own charges through the Engineering Department: a $50 non-refundable application fee for plan review, plus $10 per acre disturbed.
Electrical, plumbing, mechanical and gas permits
Building Inspections issues all four trade permits. Electrical work has its own application; plumbing and HVAC are ticked on the Miscellaneous Building Permit Application when they are not part of a new-construction permit. The County lists these as needing a permit at a house:
- Electrical: new service or wiring, a service upgrade, a permanent generator tied into the panel, and any new or replaced wiring, panel board or disconnect. New services for outbuildings and storage buildings have to be detached from the structure.
- Plumbing: new piping or fixtures, replacement of supply, drainage, well, septic or public water and sewer connection piping, and a lawn irrigation backflow preventer. Every water heater needs an expansion tank.
- Mechanical: a new air conditioner, heat pump or furnace, a replacement furnace or its ductwork, hydronic piping, a new flue or vent, and a change of fuel. A like-for-like electric heat pump of the same size with no new ductwork is exempt.
- Gas: gas appliances and piping, including gas logs, water heaters and furnaces, and a new propane tank or one of a different size or location. Replacing a cooktop, stove, range or dryer is exempt.
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Call 1-855-478-4290 →Every contractor and subcontractor has to give a valid Virginia contractor’s licence number on the application, and individual tradesman licence numbers are also required.
Septic systems and private wells are permitted by the Tazewell County Health Department, part of the Virginia Department of Health’s Cumberland Plateau Health District, at 253 Chamber Drive, Tazewell (276-988-5585).
Application documents for Tazewell County
The County will not issue a permit until everything on its list is in hand:
Every application
- The right application form, completed and signed
- The County tax map (parcel) number; staff will look it up if you do not have it
- The project’s physical address and estimated cost of construction
- Building plans, blueprints or detailed drawings; the office keeps a copy
- Virginia licence numbers for the contractor and every subcontractor, or the owner’s Written Statement
When it applies
- The town zoning permit number, for a site in Richlands, Cedar Bluff or Pocahontas
- Health Department approval and permit number, for a private well or septic system, including additions and repairs that could affect the septic system
- The Cross Section sheet, for a house or addition with no drawn plans
- An Erosion and Sediment Screening Form, for a tank removal or installation, a tower, a pool or 10,000 sq ft or more of disturbed ground
- A plat showing the building, and possibly an asbestos report, for a demolition
The permit waits for plan review, which takes 3 to 10 business days depending on the plans, and longer for extensive sets. A permit is good for 6 months, and the Building Official can grant 90-day extensions while work continues.
The County sets its own minimum foundation for all projects: an 18-inch frost depth, an 8-inch footer and at least 2 runs of #4 rebar placed 3 inches above the bottom of the footing. Larger structures may have to exceed it.
Rather not deal with the Tazewell County building department?
Get a free quote →How to apply: 6 steps in Tazewell County
Bluefield and the Town of Tazewell permit their own work. Everywhere else in the county, including Richlands, Cedar Bluff and Pocahontas, the County does.
In Richlands, Cedar Bluff or Pocahontas, apply to the town first and carry the zoning permit number to the County application.
See the Health Department about a well or septic system, and send a Screening Form to Engineering if 10,000 sq ft or more will be disturbed.
Submit the New Construction or Miscellaneous application with plans, the tax map number and licence numbers at 173 Main Street, by mail or by email.
Allow 3 to 10 business days. The permit is issued and the fee set once the Building Official approves the plans.
Phone 276-385-1215 a day ahead for each inspection through to the final.
Inspections and completion in Tazewell County
Inspections are requested by phone at 276-385-1215, and the office asks for 24 hours’ notice. If you call between 8:00 and 9:30 a.m. on the day you need the inspector, you can be added to that day’s schedule when there is room. Calls after 9:30 a.m. go on the next day’s schedule.
A demolition permit ends with an inspection that checks the structure is gone, the debris is removed and the ground is graded so it drains.
The County Code ties electric service to the permit. The power company must refuse temporary construction service unless you show a building permit, and must refuse permanent service to the meter until you show a certificate of occupancy.
Local Tazewell County details that matter
Erosion and sediment control: the Engineering Department at 135 Court Street, Suite 318, Tazewell (276-385-1254) runs the program outside Bluefield. Disturbing 10,000 sq ft or more, roughly 100 ft by 100 ft, means sending in a Screening Form, and the building permit cannot be issued until Engineering approves. Full erosion and sediment plans are approved by the County Planning Commission, which meets on the second Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m.; submit 10 paper copies and one digital copy. Disturbing 1 acre or more also needs a stormwater permit from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
Floodplain: under the County’s Flood Damage Prevention chapter, any development in a mapped floodplain district in the unincorporated county, including setting a manufactured home, needs a floodplain building permit. The application must show the lowest floor elevation and existing and proposed ground elevations.
Road access: a building permit application for a site beside a state highway must include a Virginia Department of Transportation land use permit. On a county road, the certificate of occupancy is held until the county engineer’s office has issued an entrance permit.
Want this handled start to finish?
Get a free quote →Subdivisions: no building permit is issued for a lot in a subdivision that the County’s subdivision agent has not approved.
Mountain ridgelines: on protected ridgelines above 3,200 ft in elevation, a building or structure over 40 ft tall needs a variance and a separate ridgeline permit; applications go to the county engineer.
Radon: the County has adopted the building code’s Appendix F, Radon Control Methods, which took effect locally on September 4, 2018 and governs new construction where radon-resistant building is required.
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 Tazewell County permit resources
These are the primary sources behind this guide. Codes, fee schedules and procedures change — confirm the position for your filing date.
- Virginia DHCD building code
- Tazewell County Building Inspections
- Tazewell County New Construction Application
- Tazewell County Miscellaneous Building Permit Application
- Written Statement (owner affidavit)
- Code of Tazewell County, Chapter 4: Buildings (permit fees)
- Tazewell County Engineering: erosion and sediment control, floodplain
- Town of Tazewell Zoning, Building & Property Maintenance
- Town of Bluefield Building Department
- Town of Richlands Building and Construction
- Cumberland Plateau Health District offices
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →Tazewell County building permit FAQs
Does Tazewell County issue building permits in Richlands?
Yes, and in Cedar Bluff and Pocahontas too. Each of those towns issues a zoning permit as well, and Richlands requires its zoning permit before you ask the County for the building permit.
Who issues permits in Bluefield and the Town of Tazewell?
Each town does. Bluefield’s Building Department is at 276-322-4626, ext. 1014, and the Town of Tazewell’s Zoning, Building & Property Maintenance Official is at 276-988-2501.
How much is a building permit in Tazewell County?
The County Code sets a $20 minimum, which covers any work valued under $5,000. Above that the fee is calculated from the area or the estimated cost using a multiplier the Board of Supervisors sets each year.
Do I need a permit for a shed or a fence?
A one-story shed needs a permit at 257 sq ft or more. A fence up to 6 ft tall needs none unless it is part of a swimming pool enclosure.
Do I need a permit to replace my roof?
Not for re-roofing a single-family house with shingles only. Structural roof repairs, such as rafters, do need one.
How long does plan review take?
From 3 to 10 business days, depending on the plans. Extensive plan sets can take longer.
Can I build my own house without a contractor?
Yes. The owner signs the County’s Written Statement, takes responsibility for all the work, and may do this for only one dwelling in any 24-month period.
How long is a Tazewell County permit good for?
6 months. The Building Official can extend it 90 days at a time as long as work is continuing.
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More Virginia permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Tazewell County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.