Dover building department

The City of Dover Department of Planning and Inspections runs two divisions:

• Public Inspections reviews plans, issues building, plumbing, mechanical, sign, fence, demolition, sprinkler, fire alarm, and manufactured-home permits, and inspects the work. The Fire Marshal’s Office is part of this division.
• Planning administers the zoning and subdivision codes and staffs the Planning Commission, Board of Adjustment, and Historic District Commission.

Parcels outside city limits fall under Kent County, not Dover.

Applying

Dover does not use an online permit portal. Download the building permit application from the city’s forms page and send it to [email protected], or file it at City Hall, 15 Loockerman Plaza. City Hall is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The application asks for:

• Project value and work area
• Occupant load and height
• Roof work: tear-off or overlay, and the number of layers
• Fence height
• Whether the building has a sprinkler or fire alarm system

It also includes a Water & Wastewater renovation checklist. Answering yes to any item may require bringing your water or sewer service up to current standards. Building a structure, including a fence, inside a recorded easement is prohibited.

The person who fills out the application must be either a contractor licensed in Dover, or the owner listing the contractor’s information. The city’s residential brochure states that all contractors must hold a City of Dover business license. Post the issued permit on site where it can be seen from the street.

Plans

The residential brochure (August 2017) asks for the following:

• Two complete sets of plans for new one- and two-family homes, additions, decks, and accessory structures, including site or plot plan, elevations, floor plans, foundation plan, and structural details
• A Kent Conservation District permit if you will disturb more than 2,500 sq ft of land
• The State of Delaware Realty Transfer Tax Declaration for Building Permit

Allow up to 15 business days for review.

What needs a permit

The city’s Permits Are Needed For brochure lists:

• New buildings and additions
• Garages, pole barns, sheds, and gazebos
• Decks and fences
• Pools and hot tubs more than 24 inches deep
• Siding
• Roofing when you replace sheathing or change roofing material
• Structural renovations
• Windows and exterior doors
• Patios raised more than 7¾ inches
• Full or partial demolition

New, replaced, or converted heating and cooling equipment, gas fireplaces, chimneys, and solar panels need a mechanical permit. New or altered water, drain, and gas piping, water heaters, and irrigation systems need a plumbing permit.

No permit is needed for painting, papering, tiling, carpeting, cabinets, countertops, or similar finish work. Replacing an existing plumbing fixture or water heater is exempt from a plumbing permit, as are clearing stoppages and repairing leaks that don’t involve replacing pipe.

Fences, sheds, and decks

• Fences: A permit is required, including to replace all or part of a fence. Replacing a few slats does not need one. Submit a survey or plot plan, and the fence gets a city inspection. The maximum height is 6½ feet in the rear yard and 4 feet in the front yard setback, and 3 feet in a corner-lot visibility area. Fences may sit on the property line but may not cross it.
• Sheds (handout dated February 2011): Every shed needs a permit. For a shed of 120 sq ft or less, submit only the application and a plot plan. A stick-built shed needs two sets of plans. Sheds may not sit closer to the street than the house, may not exceed 15 feet in height, and must be at least 5 feet from any lot line and 10 feet from a house on a neighboring lot.
• Decks (handout revised June 2018): Footings must reach at least 24 inches below grade. A deck more than 30 inches above grade needs a guard at least 36 inches high, with balusters spaced no more than 4 inches apart. Required inspections are footing, frame, and final.

Fees (brochure dated July 2022)

Permit	Fee
Building	$25 for the first $1,000 of value plus $8 per additional $1,000 up to $10 million; $6 per $1,000 from $10–20 million; $5 per $1,000 above $20 million
Plumbing	$35 for the first 5 fixtures, $3 each additional; water heaters and disposals $35 each
Mechanical (A/C)	$40 per ton for the first 5 tons, $7 per additional ton
Heating	$40 for the first 10,000 BTU, $7 per additional 10,000 BTU
Fire sprinkler	$25 per $1,000 of value, $150 minimum
Demolition	$50
Signs	$0.75 per sq ft, $50 minimum per sign
Certificate of occupancy, one-family	$60 (temporary CO $75 for up to 45 days)
Six-month permit extension	$25

Under Sec. 22-65 of the city code, the first re-inspection is free. The second costs $25, the third $50, and each one after that $100.

Inspections

The residential brochure lists the following inspections for a new home, addition, or renovation:

1. Footing
2. Foundation (before backfill)
3. Pre-slab (after underground plumbing)
4. Rough electrical
5. Rough plumbing and mechanical
6. Framing (after the trade roughs pass and before insulation)
7. Flashing (before exterior wall covering)
8. Insulation (before drywall)
9. Final

City inspectors do not perform electrical inspections. An authorized third-party agency must inspect and approve the electrical work. Every permit requires a final inspection.

Before a certificate of occupancy is issued, you need these finals:

• Electrical, plumbing, and mechanical
• Kent Conservation District, public utilities, and planning and zoning
• Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms
• The building final

All fees, including impact fees, must also be paid.

Homeowners may do plumbing on a single-family home they occupy, provided it is not for sale, rent, or lease. All other plumbing must be done by a plumber licensed by the state.

Building codes and the pending 2024 update

The Code Enforcement page lists the 2009 International Residential Code and 2009 International Property Maintenance Code. Energy, plumbing, mechanical, fuel gas, and electrical work follow the State of Delaware codes. Dover requires 18 inches of freeboard above FEMA flood elevations.

Proposed Ordinance #2025-19 would replace the 2009 editions with the 2024 IBC, IRC, IEBC, ISPSC, IPMC, and IFC. The city’s ordinance list showed it as pending as of October 2026. According to the city’s August 2026 public FAQ, the ordinance would:

• Require sprinklers in newly built one- and two-family homes and townhouses, but not require retrofits of existing homes
• Keep fence permits and set the detached accessory-structure exemption at 120 sq ft
• Make permits valid for 180 days, with the first extension free and later extensions $25
• Require work to pass final inspection within three years

Zoning, historic district, and fire marshal

• Zoning: Call (302) 736-7196. Use the Dover Parcel and Zoning Viewer to find a property’s district, or request a zoning verification with the form on the city’s forms page.
• Historic district: Exterior work in the historic district goes to the Historic District Commission.
• Fire Marshal’s Office: (302) 736-4457. The office reviews fire plans as part of permit approval.