Lawrence Building Department | Permits, Inspections & Contact

The City of Lawrence Building Safety Division administers construction permits and inspections for work inside Lawrence city limits. Lawrence and Douglas County share planning resources, but unincorporated Douglas County has separate county zoning and land-development requirements. Confirm the parcel’s city status before selecting the city permit path.

Lawrence building permits and Enterprise Permitting & Licensing

Lawrence requires a building permit from Development Services Building Safety for nearly all new construction, additions, remodeling, repairs, many trade installations and demolitions before work begins. The city’s Enterprise Permitting & Licensing (EPL) system is the current customer portal for building permits, plans, licenses and planning submittals. An account and email address are required for online transactions.

The city reviews applications and plans for adopted building, trade and fire codes plus applicable land-development requirements. Determine whether the project is one- or two-family residential, commercial, a change of use, demolition or trade work, and confirm any site-plan, floodplain, historic or zoning review before submitting.

Inspections, zoning, code compliance and occupancy

Lawrence inspectors review permitted work at the stages identified for the project. Inspections may be requested through the EPL/Citizen Access workflow or by the city’s published inspection methods; the city also offers will-call, remote-virtual and recorded-video procedures for eligible work. All work must remain visible when inspected, and a final inspection is required before the permit can close.

The Planning Division administers zoning and land-use review in Lawrence and supports planning information for unincorporated Douglas County. Lawrence states that an official Certificate of Occupancy or Temporary Certificate of Occupancy must be issued before occupancy of covered new buildings, additions or spaces. Code-compliance and zoning-enforcement matters use separate city workflows and should not be treated as a permit application.

Official contact information

Building Safety materials identify the Development Services office at 1 Riverfront Plaza, Suite 110, Lawrence, Kansas 66044, with the main line (785) 832-7700. Use the official EPL portal for applications and current record access, and the city inspections page for scheduling instructions. For an unincorporated Douglas County parcel, verify county requirements with Lawrence-Douglas County Planning and the county authority.