Your contractor didn't pull a permit: what it means for you and what to do now

You find out halfway through the job, or after it's done, that nobody pulled a permit. The contractor may say it wasn't needed, or that it "slows things down." Here's why that matters to you as the owner, how to check, and what to do before you pay anything else.

A homeowner described a small deck, including swapping a window for a door, built with no permit. Years later they were weighing whether to go to the town and sort it out, rather than leave it for whoever sells the house. That's a harder spot than asking for the permit number on day one.

Why it's your problem, not just the contractor's

On the city pages we checked, the penalties are addressed to you, the owner. Two examples:

• Seattle: the city "may issue a stop work order against you" if you start a building, addition, or remodeling project without a permit. If you build without a permit or don't get a final inspection approval, it may fine you or take other enforcement action, and the fine can be up to $500 per day (Seattle SDCI).
• Chicago: the city issues a stop work order, and work can resume only after you get the permit and pay a stop work order penalty of $1,000 or more. In most cases the permit fee after a stop work order is tripled. You'll have to correct anything that violates the codes and may have to remove work that can't be corrected, "all at your own expense" (City of Chicago).

Your city's rules and amounts will differ. The pattern is the same: the owner deals with it.

Who is supposed to pull the permit?

It depends on your contract and your state. The FTC lists "Scammers ask you to get any required building permits" as a warning sign of a home improvement scam (FTC). Two state examples:

• California: the contract needs written direction on who will get the necessary permits (CSLB).
• Massachusetts: the contract must tell the homeowner about all necessary permits and that getting them is the contractor's obligation. Homeowners who get their own permits are excluded from the state's guaranty fund provisions (M.G.L. c. 142A, § 2).

Being licensed doesn't replace a permit. Licensing is about who may do the work; the permit is about the specific job.

How to check if a permit was pulled

1. Ask the contractor for the permit number in writing (email or text), and the date of each inspection.
2. Search your building department's records. Many cities and counties let you search by address or contractor name. Belmont, North Carolina, for example, lets residents search permits by property address, parcel ID, or contractor name (City of Belmont).
3. Call the building department if you can't find it online. Some offer help: Seattle offers free 20-minute coaching from a permit specialist to help you work out whether you need one (Seattle SDCI).

What to do, in order

1. Pause before the next payment. Don't pay ahead of the work, and ask that the next payment be tied, in writing, to the permit being issued and the next inspection passing. A signed change order is the cleanest way to do that.
2. Ask the contractor to get the permit now. Put the request and a date in writing. Keep copies.
3. Ask the building department what they need. For work that's already covered up, they decide what has to be opened or inspected. Don't guess.
4. Keep the final inspection in the closeout. No final sign-off, no final payment. See final payment and punch list.
5. If the contractor refuses, follow the steps in what to do in a contractor dispute, including a complaint to your state's licensing board.

Next time: put it in the contract

Before you sign, make sure the contract says who pulls each permit, lists the permits by name, and makes a passed inspection the trigger for the payment that follows it. The deposit and payment schedule guide has an example schedule.

Keep the permit with the project

RenoBinder keeps your decisions, budget, and change orders together, and when you finish, the free Home Finishes Record gives you one place to note the permit number and final inspection next to the finishes you chose.

General information, not legal advice. Permit rules, penalties, and who must pull the permit vary by city and state. Check with your building department.

Open the free tool

Launch offer: 30% off with code LAUNCH30