Do You Need a Plumbing Permit?

When do you need a plumbing permit?

You need a plumbing permit any time water, drain, vent or gas piping is added, moved, extended or replaced, and in most cities when a fixture or water heater is replaced. The 2021 IRC's rule (R105.1) covers anyone who wants to "install, enlarge, alter, repair, remove, convert or replace" a regulated plumbing system, and the 2021 IPC (106.1) says the same for owners, agents and contractors.

Bend's homeowner handout gives a concrete list of permit work: altering piping inside a wall, ceiling or under a floor; adding a fixture where none existed; replacing a water heater, expansion tank included; replacing underground piping; and installing or replacing a shower pan. Most remodels touch at least one of those. If a bathroom or kitchen is getting new walls, the bathroom remodel order shows where the permit's inspections fall.

Gas piping is in the same rule. The 2021 IRC lists gas systems right beside plumbing, and gas work is usually limited to a licensed plumber or gas fitter; check your state and local rules.

Which small jobs are usually exempt?

The model codes exempt very little: stopping leaks, clearing stoppages, and pulling and resetting a toilet, as long as no valves, pipes or fixtures are replaced or rearranged. The 2024 UPC (104.2) has the same list. Your city's list decides beyond that, and it can be wider or narrower.

Two catches sit inside the exemption. First, the IRC says a concealed pipe that has to be removed and replaced with new material is new work, so a leak inside a wall can turn into a permit job. Second, an exemption "shall not be deemed to grant authorization" for work that breaks the code; the work still has to meet it.

Can a homeowner pull a plumbing permit?

Sometimes. Owner permits depend on your state and city, and an owner's work faces the same inspections a plumber's does. Kentucky's plumbing division issues homeowner permits for a home the owner lives in or is building for their own residence, if the owner applies before work starts, files an affidavit and does all the work personally; it limits new-home homeowner permits to one per person every five years. In Bend, only the homeowner or a licensed plumber may legally do plumbing on a home, and that excludes friends, tenants and general contractors.

Other cities are tighter. Buffalo says only a licensed Buffalo master plumber may obtain a plumbing permit, with a narrow path for a resident owner of a one- or two-family house who shows the commissioner they can do the work to code. Texas law exempts property owners working on their own homestead from licensing, but it counts gas supply piping as plumbing. Whatever a permit form allows, this site treats gas, water heater venting and backflow work as jobs for licensed pros.

What does the permit process look like?

The permit process runs application, review, issue, posted card, inspections at each stage, and a final sign-off. Expect to describe the work; some cities also ask for plans, a fixture list or the contractor's license number. Once issued, the card goes up on site where the inspector can sign it.

From there the permit drives the calendar. The 2021 IPC names underground, rough-in and final inspections, and it puts scheduling on the permit holder. Some cities add a top-out check; the inspections page for Rio Rancho lists rough-in, top-out and final. When the plumber is the permit holder, ask how they will tell you each inspection date, so you can be there or see the result.

Before you sign a contract, settle who pulls the permit. The FTC warns that scammers ask you to get any required building permits; a licensed plumber should pull the plumbing permit in their own name. The bid comparison page covers putting that in writing. When you look over companies, Central Plumbing & HVAC's plumbing service page is one example of how a local company lays out what it does; it serves only Bucks and Montgomery counties in Pennsylvania, so look for the same detail on any company bidding your job.

What happens if work is done without a permit?

Unpermitted plumbing can be ordered opened for inspection, and corrections and fees can follow. The 2024 UPC (105.2.1) says work covered before it is inspected "shall be uncovered for inspection" once the building official issues a notice. That means drywall, tile or a slab may come up so the inspector can see and test the pipe.

The trouble also shows up later, when a buyer's inspector or the next plumber asks for the permit record. If you find unpermitted work in a house you bought, ask the building department how it handles an after-the-fact permit. The inspection failures page explains what an inspector usually looks for when that happens.

Permit numbers

• 180 daysWork must start within this time or the permit lapses2021 IRC R105.5
• 1 working dayTime to apply once an emergency fix is made2021 IRC R105.2.1
• 5 ftMost new pipe for a no-permit emergency repair in Bend, OregonCity of Bend
• 20 ftWater-pipe repair exempt in Buffalo, New YorkCity of Buffalo
• 1 per 5 yearsHomeowner permits for a new home, per person, in KentuckyKentucky Division of Plumbing

How long is a permit good for?

A permit is good for 180 days at a time under the 2021 IRC: it goes void if work hasn't begun 180 days after issue, or if a 180-day gap opens between inspections. Extensions come in writing from the building official, each one capped at 180 days. The 2021 IPC and 2024 UPC use the same 180-day limit, and the IPC adds that restarting a lapsed job takes a new permit.

Slow remodels are where this bites. If cabinets or tile are on back order, ask the building department for an extension before the date passes rather than after.

Questions from the job site

More on permits and bids

• Stage folder: Permits, bids and inspections overview
• Permits and bids: How to compare plumbing bids
• Stage folder: Next stage: underground plumbing
• Back to all stages