Cincinnati building department

The City of Cincinnati Department of Buildings and Inspections reviews plans, issues permits, and inspects construction inside Cincinnati city limits. Its Permit Center at 805 Central Avenue (Suite 500) also houses zoning and historic conservation review, so most approvals for a city property start at one counter. Properties elsewhere in Hamilton County, whether in townships or other municipalities, are outside the city’s jurisdiction; see who issues your building permit if you are unsure.

Permit Center hours and location

Service	Hours (Monday-Friday)
Permit Center	7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. (no permits issued after 4:00 p.m.)
Tier 1 same-day review	7:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., walk-in, first come, first served

The general department number is (513) 352-3271, which the city also lists for its Contractor Registration Section.

What needs a permit in Cincinnati

The city’s permit guide requires permits for new buildings, additions, alterations, repairs, demolitions, changes of use or occupancy, excavation or fill, and floodplain development. Heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and fuel-burning equipment (furnaces, wood stoves, fireplaces) needs a permit to install or replace. Elevators, fire alarms, and parking lots have separate permits.

Published thresholds for 1-, 2- and 3-family dwellings:

Project	Cincinnati rule
Deck	Building permit required (can be applied for online in ezTrak)
Storage shed	No permit if 100 sq ft or less, no more than 8 ft average height, and in the rear yard per the Zoning Code
Fence, 6 ft or under	No building permit, but a Zoning Certificate of Compliance (or a Certificate of Appropriateness in a historic district) is required
Fence over 6 ft	Building permit and zoning variance required, anywhere in the city

A fence application needs a site plan with the fence location, height, and opacity. In a historic district it also needs design details. Applications go to the Zoning counter on the 5th floor of 805 Central Avenue or by email to [email protected].

Applying: ezTrak, electronic plans, and review tiers

CAGIS ezTrak is the city’s online portal. You can apply and pay there for deck permits, mechanical permits, plumbing repair permits, journeyman license renewals, and elevator invoices. You can also track any building permit’s agency review status and comments. Since January 13, 2025, all new Coordinated Site Reviews must be submitted through ezTrak.

The city’s electronic document standards are strict:

• Searchable PDFs only (ezTrak accepts PDF and JPEG). Vector PDFs are preferred for drawings.
• One file per drawing sheet. Multi-page plan PDFs, layers, and hyperlinks are not allowed.
• Monochrome drawings on a white background.
• Each upload needs a Document Type, a unique Document ID (reused when you submit revisions), and a Document Title.

Tier 1 same-day review covers commercial (Ohio Building Code) alterations and fire-protection alterations of 5,000 sq ft or less on one floor. Projects that change the use or modify structure don’t qualify. Tier 1 projects pay the regular fee schedule. Paid premium services include express plan examination and after-hours inspections.

Residential plans are checked against the Residential Code of Ohio (RCO) and the City of Cincinnati Building Code. Commercial plans are checked against the Ohio Building Code (OBC).

Fees

New buildings and additions are charged by construction valuation under the department’s Policy Directive 92. Other permits are charged on the estimated cost of work on the application. Every application also pays a one-time, non-refundable fee at submittal. Figures from the city’s 2026 fee schedule (effective July 1, 2026):

Item	Fee
Processing fee, RCO application	$49.00
Processing fee, OBC application	$133.00
State surcharge, 1-3 family detached (RCO)	1%
State surcharge, 4+ units or commercial (OBC)	3%

The schedule also adds technology, training, financial-recovery, and planning surcharges to construction permits. The city has posted a 2027 fee schedule adjustment notice, so check the Permit Costs page before budgeting. See also what a building permit costs.

Inspections

Inspections are arranged with the inspector listed on the front of your building, plumbing, or mechanical permit. Inspectors take calls from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. on weekdays, and 24 to 48 hours’ notice is normally required. For inspections not tied to a permit, call (513) 352-3267. Through premium services, a request received by noon can get a same-day building inspection, and weekend, holiday, and after-hours inspections are available for an extra fee. Inspection phases include soil, framing, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and final. A Certificate of Occupancy or Certificate of Completion is issued at the end.

Contractor registration and homeowner work

Contractors must register with the city before starting work. The registration page lists an initial fee of $125.00 plus 3% technology, 1% financial recovery, and 1% training surcharges ($131.25 per year, for up to 3 years). The owner of a 1-, 2- or 3-family detached dwelling doesn’t need to register if they personally do the work and will live there for at least one year after it’s finished.

Plumbing has its own rules. Work must be done by a Registered Plumbing Contractor, a licensed Journeyman Plumber, or a registered Apprentice Plumber. A journeyman license or plumbing contractor registration requires a certificate from the Board of Examiners of Plumbers or a plumbing contractor’s certificate from the Ohio Construction Industry Examining Board. The one exception is the owner of a single-family home doing their own plumbing who will live there for at least a year afterward.