Do you need a shed permit?
By Mario Bailey Last checked
It depends entirely on where you live, and the differences are larger than most national guides admit. We read the code, ordinance, or fee schedule published by each of 137 US counties and cities and recorded what it actually says.
Where are you building?
The rule is set locally and the spread is wide, so start with your own jurisdiction. We have read the published rule in 137 of them.
The short answer
Of the 135 jurisdictions where we have confirmed the rule, 29 require a permit outright, 106 require one only in certain conditions.
The most common published threshold is 200 sq ft, used by 38 of the 107 jurisdictions that state a threshold in sq ft. That leaves 69 of them on a different number, which is why a national rule of thumb is not a safe answer for your own address.
2 of the 137 jurisdictions publish nothing we could verify for this permit type. We record those as unconfirmed rather than guessing.
The size thresholds, and how much they disagree
110 of the 137 jurisdictions publish a specific number. They do not all measure the same thing: 2 incompatible units are in use for shed permits (sq ft, feet in any dimension), and they cannot be averaged into a single figure.
Measured in sq ft (107 jurisdictions)
Measured in feet in any dimension (3 jurisdictions)
| Threshold | Jurisdictions | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 12 feet in any dimension | 3 | Greensboro, Mecklenburg County, Wake County |
Thresholds are recorded as the jurisdiction states them. Which side of the number triggers the permit varies, so read your own locality's page before relying on one.
What a shed permit costs
127 of our shed permit rows carry a fee answer taken from the jurisdiction's own published schedule, across 127 localities. There is no single number to quote, and not because we did not look: jurisdictions price this permit in genuinely different ways. Some charge a flat fee, some a percentage of the job's assessed valuation, some a rate per square foot, and some do not price it at all because the work is permitted by a state agency or a utility instead. Each row below is that jurisdiction's own wording.
| Locality | What the schedule says |
|---|---|
| Kansas City Missouri | A shed that needs a permit is a general building permit priced from the one- and two-family valuation table in Sec. |
| Newark New Jersey | No shed-specific line in Newark municipal code Chapter 7:2-3.1 (Ord. |
| Greensboro North Carolina | Building Permit Fee Schedule, Document #1005 dated 12/19/24: 'Minimum permit fee - $85'. |
| Rochester New York | Building Permit Fees are based on the actual cost of work: $75.00 for $0 to $2,000, $110.00 for $2,001 to $4,000... |
| Charlotte County Florida | At application: flat fee $90, plus a 0.025 x building-fee surcharge and a $22 zoning flat fee |
| St. Johns County Florida | No shed or accessory-structure-specific fee line item is published. |
| Ann Arbor Michigan | Building Permit Fees (effective October 2019, revised 7/15/2025), under the Zoning Compliance permit heading: "Sheds... |
| Charlotte North Carolina | County building permit, when one is needed, is priced from the LUESA Fee Ordinance (revised July 1, 2026): Total... |
| Charleston South Carolina | A $40.00 non-refundable application fee plus a valuation-based building permit fee, under the Building and Trade... |
| Williamson County Tennessee | No shed-specific line |
| Pittsburgh Pennsylvania | 2026 PLI Fee Schedule, effective 1/1/2026: "Base Permit Fee (Residential) $6.00 per $1,000 of Construction Value... |
| Los Angeles County California | No shed line item is published. |
A sample of the schedule-verified rows. Full figures, sources, and dates are on each locality's page, and the whole fee study is at what building permits cost.
Shed Permit rules by state
27 states, 137 counties and cities. Pick your state for the locality-by-locality comparison, or go straight to your county.
| State | Localities | Required | Conditional | Not required | Thresholds published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 28 | 12 | 16 | 0 | 100 sq ft, 120 sq ft, 150 sq ft, 36 sq ft, 400 sq ft, 480 sq ft, 50 sq ft, 600 sq ft, 65 sq ft, 68 sq ft |
| California uniform | 14 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 120 sq ft |
| Virginia uniform | 12 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 256 sq ft |
| Texas | 10 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 100 sq ft, 120 sq ft, 200 sq ft |
| Arizona uniform | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 120 sq ft, 200 sq ft |
| Washington uniform | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 120 sq ft, 200 sq ft |
| New York | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 120 sq ft, 144 sq ft |
| Georgia | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 120 sq ft |
| Maryland | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 120 sq ft, 150 sq ft, 200 sq ft |
| Michigan | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 200 sq ft, 50 sq ft |
| North Carolina | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 12 feet in any dimension |
| Ohio | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 100 sq ft, 200 sq ft |
| Colorado | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 120 sq ft, 200 sq ft |
| Tennessee | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 100 sq ft |
| Illinois uniform | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 150 sq ft, 81 sq ft |
| Indiana uniform | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 120 sq ft, 200 sq ft |
| Louisiana | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 200 sq ft |
| Massachusetts uniform | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 120 sq ft, 200 sq ft |
| Minnesota uniform | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 200 sq ft |
| Missouri uniform | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 200 sq ft, 50 sq ft |
| Nevada | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 200 sq ft |
| New Jersey uniform | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 200 sq ft |
| Oklahoma | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 200 sq ft |
| Oregon uniform | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 200 sq ft |
| Pennsylvania uniform | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 200 sq ft |
| South Carolina uniform | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | None published |
| Wisconsin uniform | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 150 sq ft |
A state marked uniform applies the same verdict in every locality we checked there, usually because a statewide code forbids local divergence.
How shed permits work, start to finish
Applying
A residential shed permit application, once the shed is large enough to require one, is a set of construction documents that show what will be built and prove it meets the adopted residential code. In practice that means a written permit application, a scaled site plan locating the shed and its distances to the property lines, and construction documents covering the shed's foundation or anchoring system and its framing.
- A written permit application identifying the proposed work and describing the property by its address or legal description, filed with the building department before construction begins (IRC R105.3).
- A scaled site plan showing the shed's size and location and its dimensioned distances to all property lines so required setbacks can be verified before the permit is issued (IRC R106.2).
- Construction documents showing the shed's foundation: freestanding accessory structures at or under the code's small-structure size and eave-height limits (600 square feet and a 10 foot eave height in the model code) are exempt from continuous footings but must still be shown supported on undisturbed soil or engineered fill and anchored to resist wind-induced uplift and overturning (IRC R403.1).
- Where the shed does sit on a continuous foundation with a wood sill plate, anchor bolt or approved strap details tying the sill plate to the foundation (IRC R403.1.6).
- Roof framing details showing the rafter-to-wall or truss-to-wall connections, since even a shed exempt from continuous footings must be anchored to resist wind-induced uplift and overturning (IRC R403.1; R802.11).
Inspections and close-out
A permitted shed is inspected in stages as it goes up: the foundation or the anchors that hold it down before they are covered, the framing before it is enclosed, and a final inspection once the shed is finished. Each stage checks the items that would be hidden or unsafe if skipped.
- Foundation or anchor inspection: called after any required footings, piers, or ground anchors are set and any forms or reinforcing steel are in place, but before concrete is placed, so the foundation or anchoring system can be verified before it is covered (IRC R109.1.1).
- Frame inspection: after the shed is framed, sheathed, and braced, the inspector checks the framing, bracing, fasteners, and the roof connections that resist wind uplift, before those elements are covered (IRC R109.1.4 frame inspection; R403.1 anchorage).
- Final inspection: made after the permitted work is complete and before the shed is used; work may not proceed past any inspection stage without the building official's approval (IRC R109.1.6 final inspection; R109.4 approval required).
- For a pre-fabricated or kit shed, the manufacturer's installation instructions must be on site at the time of inspection so the inspector can confirm the anchoring and assembly match the design (IRC R106.1.2).
General practice; your locality's page carries its own process, fees, and portal. Sources: IRC R105.3 (permit application), R106.2 (site plan), R403.1 (footings and anchorage for accessory structures), and R403.1.6 (sill anchorage), 2021 IRC, IRC R109.1.1 (foundation inspection), R109.1.4 (frame inspection), R109.1.6 (final inspection), and R106.1.2 (manufacturer's instructions on site), 2021 IRC.
Find the shed permit rule where you live
Look up your locality
Hire it out
Before you sign, ask the contractor:
- Who pulls the permit, you or me, and is the permit fee included in the bid?
- Which inspections will this job need, and who meets the inspector on site?
- Is your contractor license active in this locality, and under which business name?