Each summary below is the opening of our verified entry for that state, with the
statute we read. Open the state page for the full text, the after-the-fact path, and
who may pull the permit.
Arizona has no state agency that issues building permits and no single statewide crime for building without one. State law instead authorizes cities to adopt and enforce their own codes as ordinances (A.R.S. Title 9) and counties to do the same in zoned unincorporated areas (A.R.S. Title 11), with municipal zoning and permit rules enforced the same way as any other city ordinance under A.R.S. 9-462.05.
A.R.S. 9-240(B)(28)(b); 9-500.21; 9-462.05(A); 11-251.05(A)(2); 11-815(B)-(D); 13-802(A)-(B); 13-707(A)(1)-(2); 32-1164(A)(2), (B)
Official text · documents an after-the-fact permit path
California makes it a criminal misdemeanor to violate the State Housing Law or the State Building Standards Code provisions adopted under it, which covers construction, alteration, or maintenance of a building without required permits. The state ceiling is a fine up to $1,000, up to six months in jail, or both.
Health & Safety Code 17995; Health & Safety Code 17960; Business & Professions Code 7031.5
Official text · documents an after-the-fact permit path
Colorado has no single statewide building code, so building permits are issued and enforced locally: counties adopt building codes under C.R.S. 30-28-201, and once a code is adopted, C.R.S. 30-28-205 makes it unlawful to erect, alter, or remodel a structure without first obtaining a permit. Violating a county building code is a civil infraction under C.R.S. 30-28-209, which carries a fine of up to $100 per offense under C.R.S. 18-1.3-503(1.6), with each day counted as a separate offense, and the county can also ask the county court to impose a civil penalty of $500 to $1,000 under C.R.S. 30-28-210, plus up to $100 for each day the violation continues after the court order; an unpaid penalty becomes a lien on the property collected like unpaid taxes.
C.R.S. 30-28-201, 30-28-205, 30-28-209, 30-28-210; C.R.S. 31-15-601, 31-16-101; C.R.S. 12-115-122, 12-115-123, 12-155-122, 12-155-123, 12-20-407(1)(a); C.R.S. 18-1.3-501(1)(a.5), 18-1.3-503(1.6)
Official text · documents an after-the-fact permit path
Building without a required permit is illegal under Florida state law: section 553.79(1)(a), Florida Statutes, makes it unlawful to construct, erect, alter, modify, repair, or demolish any building without first obtaining a permit, and section 489.127(1)(h) separately prohibits any person from starting permit-required work before the permit is in effect. For an unlicensed person, and a homeowner doing the work personally is unlicensed under chapter 489, violating that prohibition is a first degree misdemeanor under section 489.127(2)(a), punishable by up to 1 year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000 under sections 775.082(4)(a) and 775.083(1)(d).
F.S. 553.79(1)(a); F.S. 489.127(1)(h), (2)(a)-(c); F.S. 775.082(4)(a); F.S. 775.083(1)(d); Florida Building Code, Building (2023, 8th Edition) 109.4 and 115.1-115.3
Official text · documents an after-the-fact permit path
Georgia has no state building permit office and no single state criminal charge for building without a permit. The state minimum standard codes under the Uniform Codes Act (O.C.G.A. 8-2-20 and following) apply to all construction statewide, but permits and enforcement belong to city and county building departments, and O.C.G.A. 8-2-26 lets the local building official deny a permit or certificate of occupancy and issue a stop-work order when work does not comply.
O.C.G.A. 8-2-20 et seq.; O.C.G.A. 8-2-26(g)(18) and (g)(21); O.C.G.A. 36-32-1(c); O.C.G.A. 36-35-6(a)(2)(B); O.C.G.A. 36-1-20(a) and (c); O.C.G.A. 43-41-16(a)(10) and (b)(4)
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Illinois has no state building-permit penalty statute for private residential work; building permits and penalties are municipal. The Illinois Municipal Code authorizes corporate authorities to pass ordinances 'with such fines or penalties as may be deemed proper,' and provides that 'No fine or penalty, however, except civil penalties provided for failure to make returns or to pay any taxes levied by the municipality shall exceed $750,' with imprisonment under 65 ILCS 5/1-2-9 (only for failure to pay a fine) capped at 6 months per offense.
65 ILCS 5/1-2-1; 65 ILCS 5/11-30-4
Official text · no statewide after-the-fact path; set locally
Indiana splits buildings into two classes and only one of them carries a statewide permit offense. For a Class 1 structure (commercial, public, three or more tenants), building with no state design release is a Class C infraction under IC 22-15-3-7(c), and a Class C infraction carries a judgment of up to $500 under IC 34-28-5-4(c).
IC 22-15-3-7(c); IC 34-28-5-4(c); IC 22-12-8-1; IC 22-12-8-2; IC 22-12-7-7(5); IC 36-1-3-8(a)(9); IC 36-1-3-8(a)(10)(B); IC 36-1-6-4
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Louisiana sets no statewide fine or jail term for building without a permit. The Louisiana State Uniform Construction Code adopts the international codes but expressly omits their administrative parts, and those are the chapters that create the permit requirement, so both the duty to pull a permit and the money penalty for skipping it come from parish or municipal ordinance.
La. R.S. 40:1730.31; La. R.S. 33:362(A)(2)(b); La. R.S. 33:321; La. R.S. 37:2163(C)(1); La. R.S. 37:2160(B); La. R.S. 40:1730.28(A)
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In Maryland, penalties for building without a permit are set by each county and municipality, not by state building law. The Maryland Building Performance Standards adopt the IBC statewide, but the subtitle contains no fine, misdemeanor, or stop-work provision for unpermitted work.
Md. Code, Public Safety 12-503, 12-504, 12-505
Official text · no statewide after-the-fact path; set locally
Violation of the state building code is a criminal matter under M.G.L. c. 143, s. 94: punishable 'by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, for each such violation,' and 'Each day during which a violation exists shall constitute a separate offense.' The code itself hooks into this: 780 CMR 114.4 (10th edition) makes anyone who violates 780 CMR or works in violation of a permit 'subject to penalties as prescribed by M.G.L. c. 143, s. 94(a),' and 115.3 applies the same penalties, with the per-day separate offense language, to continuing work after a stop work order.
M.G.L. c. 143, s. 94; 780 CMR 114.4 and 115.3 (10th ed.)
Official text · documents an after-the-fact permit path
Michigan sets the penalty in state law, not by local ordinance alone. Under section 23 of the Stille-DeRossett-Hale Single State Construction Code Act (1972 PA 230), knowingly violating the act, the state construction code, or an enforcement rule is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $500, imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both.
MCL 125.1523(1), (2), (3); MCL 125.1510(1); MCL 125.1511(1); MCL 125.1508b(1), (2)
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Minnesota's State Building Code applies statewide, and any municipality that had adopted it by January 1, 2008 must keep administering and enforcing it, with an exception for municipalities under 2,500 population outside the Twin Cities metro area. Chapter 326B, which contains the building code and its permit provisions, is defined as part of the Department of Labor and Industry's 'applicable law.'
Minn. Stat. 326B.121, subd. 2(a); 326B.081, subd. 3; 326B.082, subd. 16 and subd. 7; 609.02, subd. 3
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Missouri has no statewide residential building code and no state crime of building without a permit, so both the permit requirement and its penalty come from city or county ordinance. Where a municipality enforces under its zoning enabling act, RSMo 89.120.2 makes it a misdemeanor to erect, construct, reconstruct, alter or convert a building in violation, punishable by not less than $10 and not more than $250 for each and every day the violation continues, or imprisonment for 10 days for each day it continues, or both, rising to $100 to $500 per day for a second or subsequent offense at the same building; in a city with more than 300,000 inhabitants the range is $10 to $500 per day and $250 to $1,000 per day for repeat offenses.
RSMo 479.353.1(1)(b) and 479.353.1(2); RSMo 479.350(4); RSMo 89.120.2; RSMo 64.200; RSMo 557.021.1; RSMo 558.011.1(6); RSMo 558.002.1(2); RSMo 77.590; RSMo 79.470; RSMo 82.300.1
Official text · documents an after-the-fact permit path
Nevada has no single statewide dollar penalty for building without a permit because the state itself does not issue building permits. Once a county or city has appointed a building official under NRS 278.570, NRS 278.610 makes it unlawful to erect, construct, reconstruct, alter, or change the use of a structure without first obtaining a building permit, but that section sets no penalty of its own.
NRS 278.610, 278.570; NRS 193.150, 193.151; NRS 244.3675, 244.1503; NRS 268.413, 268.019; NRS 624.700, 624.750, 624.710
Official text · documents an after-the-fact permit path
New Jersey sets Uniform Construction Code penalties statewide. A penalty for failure to obtain a required permit before starting construction shall not exceed $2,000 per violation.
N.J.S.A. 52:27D-138(a), (c), (e)(2); 52:27D-132
Official text · documents an after-the-fact permit path
New York runs two entirely separate systems and the dividing line is the New York City boundary. Outside New York City the state Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code applies and Executive Law 382(2) is the penalty provision: a person served with an order to remedy who fails to comply within the time fixed, and any owner, builder, architect, tenant, contractor, subcontractor or construction superintendent who knowingly violates the uniform code or a lawful order made under it, is punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 per day of violation, or imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both, for the first 180 days.
Outside New York City: N.Y. Exec. Law 382(2); N.Y. Exec. Law 381(2); 19 NYCRR 1203.3(a)(1), 1203.5(c); N.Y. Penal Law 55.10(2)(c). Inside New York City: NYC Admin. Code 28-201.1, 28-202.1, 28-203.1, 28-203.2, 28-204.1.
Official text · documents an after-the-fact permit path
In North Carolina, building without a required permit is a state crime, not merely a local ordinance violation. G.S. 160D-1110(a) requires all permits to be secured before construction, plumbing, heating or cooling, or electrical work begins, and G.S. 160D-1110(i) states flatly that violation of that section is a Class 1 misdemeanor.
N.C. Gen. Stat. 160D-1110(a), 160D-1110(i), 143-138(h), 160D-404(b), 15A-1340.23(b), 160A-175(b1)(1), 153A-123(b1)(1)
Official text · documents an after-the-fact permit path
Ohio state law (R.C. 3791.04) requires an owner to submit construction plans and obtain approval from the certified local building department before starting construction, alteration, or repair of any building covered by R.C. 3781.06, which includes one-, two-, and three-family dwellings. Proceeding with construction before that approval is issued is punishable by a fine of up to $500 under R.C. 3791.04(J).
R.C. 3791.04(A)(1), (B), (J); R.C. 3781.99(B)-(C); R.C. 3791.99(B)-(C)
Official text · documents an after-the-fact permit path
Oklahoma has no statewide criminal offense for building without a permit. The Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission Act, 59 O.S. 1000.20 through 1000.31, creates the commission that adopts the statewide codes, but all twelve sections were read and the chapter contains no penalty provision of any kind for unpermitted construction.
11 O.S. 14-111 (fine ceiling), 14-109, 14-110; 59 O.S. 1000.20 through 1000.31 (verified: no penalty section); 19 O.S. 866.32, 868.21; 21 O.S. 10; 59 O.S. 1019(A), 1693(A), 1850.11(A), 1000.9(C)
Official text · documents an after-the-fact permit path
Oregon caps the penalty for building without a permit in state statute rather than leaving the number to each city. Under ORS 455.895(2), the Department of Consumer and Business Services or the relevant advisory board may impose a civil penalty on any person who violates the state building code of up to $5,000 for each offense, or up to $1,000 for each day of a continuing offense.
ORS 455.895(2), (5); ORS 455.157(2), (4); ORS 455.897
Official text · documents an after-the-fact permit path
Under Section 903 of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act (Act 45 of 1999): '(1) Any individual, firm or corporation that violates any provision of this act commits a summary offense and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $1,000 and costs. (2) Each day that a violation of this act continues shall be considered a separate violation.' The penalty amount is forwarded to the entity with enforcement jurisdiction (Section 903(b)).
Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, Act of Nov. 10, 1999, P.L. 491, No. 45, Section 903 (35 P.S. 7210.903)
Official text · documents an after-the-fact permit path
South Carolina is unusual among local-adoption states because the penalty is in the state code, not left entirely to city and county ordinance. S.C. Code 6-9-80(B) says a person found in violation of a building code adopted under the Building Codes Council Act must be cited and fined by civil fine of not more than $200, and must be given seven calendar days to remedy the violation or submit a correction plan before being charged with a second violation.
S.C. Code Ann. 6-9-80(A), (B), (C); 6-29-950(A); 5-7-30; 14-25-65(A); 22-3-550(A)
Official text · documents an after-the-fact permit path
Tennessee runs a state residential building permit program through the State Fire Marshal's Office under T.C.A. 68-120-101(b). In covered cities and counties, a state permit must be secured before construction starts on a one or two family home, a townhouse, or an addition of 30 or more square feet of interior space, and anyone who begins work first owes an additional fee equal to 100 percent of the required permit fee for each violation, on a permit fee scale that runs from $100 to $550 and up depending on construction cost.
T.C.A. 68-120-101(b) (opt-out and exempt-jurisdiction structure as enacted by 2009 Tenn. Pub. Ch. 529); Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0780-02-23-.05(1), -.05(10), -.08(1), -.08(9), -.09(1)
Official text · documents an after-the-fact permit path
Texas has no statewide criminal penalty for building without a permit because the state itself does not issue building permits. State law adopts the International Residential Code and the International Building Code as municipal codes, and each city administers and enforces them under its own ordinances (Local Government Code 214.212 and 214.216).
Tex. Local Government Code 54.001, 54.012, 54.017, 214.212, 214.216, 233.153-233.157; Tex. Penal Code 12.23
Official text · documents an after-the-fact permit path
Building without a required permit is enforced as a USBC violation under Va. Code 36-106: any violation is deemed a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $2,500 for a first offense. A second offense within 5 years carries a fine of $1,000 to $2,500; a second offense within 5 to 10 years carries $500 to $2,500; a third or subsequent offense within 10 years carries up to 10 days in jail and a $5,000 to $10,000 fine, none of which may be suspended.
Va. Code 36-106; 13VAC5-63-150 (USBC Section 115)
Official text · documents an after-the-fact permit path
Washington has no statewide fine for building without a building permit. The State Building Code Act, RCW 19.27, hands enforcement to local government: RCW 19.27.050 requires the state building code to be enforced by counties and cities, so stop work orders and fines for unpermitted construction come from your city or county ordinance, not from a state statute.
RCW 19.27.050; RCW 19.28.131; WAC 296-46B-915(11); RCW 18.106.020(3); RCW 18.106.270(1)
Official text · documents an after-the-fact permit path
Wisconsin runs a genuinely statewide residential building code, the Uniform Dwelling Code, covering one- and two-family dwellings built on or after June 1, 1980. A Wisconsin uniform building permit must be obtained before any on-site construction, including excavation for the structure, may begin.
Wis. Stat. 101.66(3); Wis. Admin. Code SPS 320.08(1), SPS 320.22(1), (1)(a), (2)(a), (3); Wis. Stat. 101.65(1)(d)
Official text · documents an after-the-fact permit path
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