Homeowner Building Permits

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 Application(PDF, 102KB) and Plans at Building and Safety

Plan your project
  • A site plan showing the location on the lot is required for a new building, addition, deck, or shed.
  • Construction 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.
Review the requirements

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.
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, otherwise the fee is paid after the City has reviewed your application. 
  • For New Homes the permit fee is calculated based on the square footage with a $100 deposit.
  • The minimum fee starts at $65 and increases from there.