Little Rock building department

Little Rock’s Planning and Development Department, at 723 West Markham Street, runs the city’s Building Codes Division. The division issues construction permits and does plan review and inspections for building, electrical, plumbing/gas, and mechanical work.

The city’s notice says that as of August 5, 2025, Little Rock no longer has planning or regulatory authority outside city limits, in what used to be its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), because of a change in state law. For property outside city limits, go to Pulaski County Planning and Development.

What needs a permit

Under Ordinance 22,204 (passed December 6, 2022), you need a building permit for:

• any work over $5,000 in labor and materials
• any work that needs an inspection, at any cost

These are excluded:

• residential fences under 7 feet tall
• residential roofs
• painting, floor coverings, and cosmetic changes
• one-story detached tool sheds, storage sheds, playhouses, and similar accessory buildings up to 200 sq. ft.

Electrical, plumbing/gas, and mechanical work each need their own permit. Retaining walls 4 feet or taller that hold back soil or fill must be designed and stamped by a licensed design professional when you apply. Satellite dishes, solar panels, storm shelters, fences that don’t qualify for the exemption, and pools are priced using the building valuation table, and pools have a $50 minimum.

Applying through Dynamic Portal

Little Rock’s online permit system is Dynamic Portal at permitpayment.littlerock.gov. Once you register an account, you can:

• submit building applications and plans
• revise pending applications
• pay fees
• request inspections and track their results

If your email is registered with the permit desk, the system emails you when reviews are done, when fees are due, and when inspections are complete. The public lookup lets you search building permits by permit number, applicant, or address. It also has lookups for planning cases, signs, trade licenses, and use permits.

Contractor documents. The city’s checklist of documents needed before a permit is issued lists:

• a copy of the contractor’s Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board license
• a City of Little Rock contractor’s (privilege) business license from the Collector’s Office at City Hall, 500 West Markham, (501) 371-4566 (the city reciprocates with other Arkansas cities when the contractor has no Little Rock office)
• a $10,000 surety bond made out to the City of Little Rock
• for trades, a master plumbing or electrical license, or a Class A mechanical license

Plans and surveys. New houses need one complete set of plans and four copies of the survey with the house drawn to scale. Additions, decks, porches, and fences need four copies of the survey with the work drawn on it. Survey questions go to the zoning desk at (501) 371-4844.

Building permit fees

Fees are based on the total valuation of the work, from a copy of the contract or an affidavit. If you can’t provide one, the city uses the International Code Council’s building valuation data.

Valuation	Fee
$5,000 or less	No fee, unless an inspection is required ($25 per inspection)
$5,000.01–$50,000	$50 for the first $2,000, plus $4 per additional $1,000
$50,000.01–$100,000	$250 for the first $50,000, plus $3.50 per additional $1,000
$100,000.01–$500,000	$420 for the first $100,000, plus $3 per additional $1,000
Over $500,000	$1,620 for the first $500,000, plus $2.50 per additional $1,000

Other fees in the same ordinance:

• Minimum and add-ons. The minimum building permit fee is $50. Every residential or commercial permit also carries a $25 data-processing fee.
• Plan check. A commercial plan-checking fee is half the permit fee, with a $55 minimum.
• Non-residential surcharge. Under Act 474 of 1999, non-residential permits pay $0.50 per $1,000 of construction, up to $1,000.
• New homes. For one- and two-family dwellings, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permits are each $0.10 per sq. ft. under roof. Minimum trade permit fees are $50.
• Certificates of occupancy. A CO is $30 for a new house, duplex, or townhouse and $60 for a new commercial building. A temporary residential CO is $50 and lasts 90 days.
• Demolition. $0.10 per sq. ft., with a $50 minimum.
• Re-inspections and penalties. Re-inspections and investigative fees are $45. If you start work without a permit, the fee is tripled.

Expiration. A permit expires one year after it is issued. You can request an extension in writing; each one-year extension costs $100. A permit becomes invalid if work doesn’t start within six months, or if work stops for six months.

Adopted codes

The city’s enforced-codes sheet is dated January 7, 2023:

Discipline	Code
Fire, building, residential	2021 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code, Vols. 1–3
Existing buildings	2021 International Existing Building Code
Mechanical	2021 International Mechanical Code (with Appendix A and 2021 revisions)
Electrical	2020 National Electrical Code, with Little Rock Code Chapter 8 amendments
Plumbing / fuel gas	2018 Arkansas Plumbing Code; 2018 Fuel Gas Code (based on the 2018 IFGC)
Energy	2014 Arkansas Energy Code
Accessibility	ICC/ANSI A117.1, as referenced by the AFPC
Pools	2021 International Swimming Pool & Spa Code
Property maintenance	2021 International Property Maintenance Code

Inspections and direct lines

The fee ordinance lists the standard inspection stages:

• Building: footing, framing, final
• Electrical: pipe-in-wall, rough, final
• Plumbing: slab, rough, final
• Mechanical: ductwork, rough, final

Request inspections through Dynamic Portal. The Building Codes Division posts direct lines for each section:

Contact	Phone
Building Codes Manager	(501) 371-4828
Permits supervisor	(501) 371-4449
Commercial building inspection supervisor	(501) 371-4827
Electrical inspection supervisor	(501) 371-4837
Plumbing & gas inspection supervisor	(501) 371-4840
Mechanical inspection supervisor	(501) 918-5282

Zoning, historic districts, and engineering

Zoning verification and survey questions go to (501) 371-4844, or [email protected]. Projects in a design overlay district have their own handouts; the city posts them for the Central High, Hillcrest, and Heights districts. On December 16, 2025, the city adopted updates to the Urban Use zoning district in Ordinance 22,695, which Municode had not yet fully reflected.

The Engineering Division reviews and inspects driveways, sidewalks, retaining walls, stormwater drainage and detention, and floodplain matters for private development.