The permit office decides whether your project needs a permit. Confirm the requirements for your address with that office before work starts.

1. Find the office that governs your house

A Tuscaloosa mailing address does not settle which rules apply. A house may be inside the City of Tuscaloosa, inside another city such as Northport, or in the county outside any city. Each has its own office and its own rules. A house outside a city is not free of approvals: county and state offices still have a say, for example on septic systems. Ask the office you think applies to confirm that your address is theirs.

2. What the City of Tuscaloosa says

The points below come from the city's own pages and apply inside the City of Tuscaloosa only.

  • The city says a permit is needed before new construction and before changing the use or occupancy of a building.
  • The city says routine maintenance and ordinary repairs generally do not need a permit.
  • The city says a permit is needed when work alters structure, changes exits, or adds, replaces or moves plumbing, gas, electrical or mechanical systems that affect health and safety.

The city's page lists kinds of work. Read it there, and ask the permit office about your own project: Do I need a permit? and Apply for a permit.

3. Other approvals that are separate from a building permit

  • Historic districts. In the City of Tuscaloosa, historic projects go through Planning and Zoning.
  • Land development and watershed permits. In the City of Tuscaloosa these go through the Office of the City Engineer.
  • Septic systems. A permit to install or repair an onsite sewage system comes from the local health department. The state health department tells owners to call the county health department before repairs.
  • Private rules. Covenants or a homeowners association may require their own approval.

4. Who may do the work

Which licenses a builder and the subcontractors need depends on the work and on the exceptions that apply. The Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board advises checking a builder's license, asking for references and asking about insurance, and it has a license search. Ask the permit office what applies to your project.

5. Settle who handles the permit

Before you sign with any builder, ask who applies for the permit, who schedules the inspections, and who is responsible if an inspection fails. Have the answers written into the agreement.

What to have ready when you call the permit office or a builder

  • The address of the house.
  • A plain description of the work: what is being removed, added or moved.
  • Whether any wall, beam or support is involved.
  • Whether plumbing, gas, electrical or heating and cooling work is involved.
  • Any drawings you have.
  • Whether the house is in a historic district or has a septic system.

Hearing Construction takes on renovations and additions in Tuscaloosa.

Official sources