Are you a homeowner planning to build a deck, shed, or finish a basement? Maybe need a fence taller than seven feet or adding a garage? Possibly taking a wall down or putting a wall up?
These are just some of the types of projects that require a Building Permit. It is required to apply for a permit to ensure the work meets our community’s standards as defined in the Lincoln Residential Code and Zoning Ordinance.
Submit Your Permit at Building and Safety
Review the requirements
If you are not the owner, you must obtain a Building Permit.
An Energy Code Worksheet is required to build or add on to a single family home.
Depending on the scope of your project, these other permits may also be required:
- Electrical Permit – May only be issued to a licensed contractor or a homeowner for their primary residence
- Mechanical Permit – May only be issued to a licensed contractor or a homeowner for their primary residence
- Plumbing Permit – May only be issued to a licensed contractor or a homeowner for their primary residence
- Demolition Permit – Required to demolish a complete structure, such as for complete tear-down and rebuild
- Flood Plain Permit(PDF, 191KB) – Required to build if property is located in flood plain.
Plan your project
Plans are not required if your shed is less than 120 square feet.
Plans are required for most other types of projects. During the application process you will need to upload plans showing the location, size, and details of the proposed project. A helpful rule-of-thumb is that plans should have enough detail for another person to do the work without talking to the person who prepared the plans.
A site plan showing the location on the lot is required for a new building, addition, deck, or shed.
Calculate the value of improvements
Include these costs to determine the value of improvements you'll make for this project:
- Building, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, excavating, grading and other costs
- Construction labor costs
You won't need to include these in your calculation:
- Architectural fees, cost of lot, landscaping and/or personal property
Have your form of payment ready
For some types of Building Permits the fee is required up-front. For others, the fee is paid after the City has reviewed your application.
For most Building Permits, the fee is calculated based on the square footage.
There is a minimum fee – not based on the value of improvements – for these project types:
- $35 minimum feefor a building permit and $40 minimum fee for plan review (2 may be combined for $65)
Come to the Counter at Building and Safety
- Plans Examiners are available 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM at our office. We're located on the second floor at the address listed in the Contact Us section.