Permits

Permit Issuance

After the plans are approved, and the other departments requiring reviews have given their approvals, the building permit is issued. The approved field set of plans will be returned to the homeowner/contractor along with the permit.

The permit and plans will either be mailed or held for pick-up based on what was chosen on the plan review delivery form, submitted as part of the application process. If permit was applied for using the Chesterfield County Enterprise Land Management (ELM) citizen access portal, the permit and plans will be available online by signing into your account to download and print.

If you indicated that you wanted the permit and plans held for pick-up, we will call you or send you an email when the permit is issued. The permit package is held for pick-up for three business days, after which time they are mailed.

The building permit shall be posted on the construction site for public inspection until the work is completed and must be readable from the public way.

It is the responsibility of the homeowner/contractor to be sure the stamped approved field set is available at all times during the construction, both for the framers and also for the inspectors.

Permit Expiration

Permits are valid for six months from the date of last activity, which includes completed inspections, amendments and the issuance of associated permits. If the permit does expire, an administrative fee of $57 is assessed to reinstate the permit.

Refunds

Refunds are granted if requested in writing, provided no inspections have been performed. The refund amount will be the permit fee paid, minus 25% of the permit fee or $57, whichever is greater. If the permit fee paid was less than the minimum fee of $57, a refund will not be granted.