Dayton building department

The City of Dayton Building Inspection Division is the building-code authority for both residential and commercial work inside Dayton city limits. It operates from the city’s One Stop Center on the second floor of 371 West Second Street, where zoning, building, trade, and occupancy permits are handled in one building. Montgomery County Building Regulations is a separate office: it covers all townships in the county plus the cities and villages that contract with it (such as Huber Heights, Riverside, and Trotwood), and its own FAQ notes that the City of Dayton has different contractor registration requirements. If your parcel has a Dayton mailing address but sits in a township or neighboring city, it may belong to the county or that city instead. See city or county: who issues your building permit.

What the Building Inspection Division issues

The division reviews construction drawings, issues permits, and inspects work under the Ohio Building Code and the Residential Code of Ohio. According to the city’s One Stop Center FAQ, the permits issued there include:

• Building permits for commercial and residential structures
• Electrical, plumbing, and HVAC (heating and gas) permits
• Fire alarm and fire suppression permits
• Sewer, water, and gas connection permits
• Tents, temporary construction offices, and other temporary structures
• Sign permits and zoning-only permits
• Wrecking (demolition) permits
• Certificates of Use and Occupancy

The division also registers trade contractors and runs the city’s floodplain management program under FEMA requirements.

When a building permit is not needed

The city’s residential FAQs list these thresholds. Several items that don’t need a building permit still need a Zoning Permit.

Project	Building permit?	Other approval
Painting, papering, tiling, carpeting, cabinets, countertops	No	None listed
Re-shingling only	No	Historic districts may need a Certificate of Appropriateness
Replacing roof sheathing or rafters	Yes
Fence 6 ft or lower	No	Zoning Permit required at any height
Fence over 6 ft	Yes	Zoning Permit
Detached one-story shed, playhouse, etc. up to 200 sq ft	No	Zoning Permit; rear yard only, generally 5 ft from side and rear lot lines
Swimming pool or hot tub	No building permit	Zoning approval; electrical permit for new circuits; in-ground pools need a grounding permit
Decks, garages, additions	Yes	Site plan review

You can’t add a new roof over an existing roof that already has two or more layers. Those layers have to be stripped first. Routine maintenance and minor repairs don’t need a permit, but the city notes that the work may still have to be done by a contractor registered with Dayton.

How to apply

Dayton doesn’t take permit applications online yet. The Online Permit System, an Accela Citizen Access site, can only check permit status right now. It’s offline daily from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. The city says online application and payment for registered contractors is coming. For now, applications go to the One Stop Center using the PDF forms on the Building Permit Forms page:

• Building Application: building, fire alarm, and fire suppression permits. Existing-building projects also use the Ohio Existing Building Code compliance path form.
• Mechanical Application: electrical, heating, gas, plumbing, sewer, and water work
• Tent Permit Application and Wrecking Permit Application, each with its own payment form

For decks, garages, and additions, the residential FAQ asks for three copies of the site plan and drawings plus the application. Revisions need two copies with the changes clearly marked. Plans for work covered by the Residential Code of Ohio don’t need an architect or engineer. Construction methods or materials outside that code do need a registered design professional. The city also notes that footings must reach at least 32 inches below finish grade, using concrete of at least 2,500 psi.

The division aims to issue review comments within 30 calendar days of application. Reviews requested from Zoning, Fire, or Water Engineering can add time. For help with forms or a fee estimate, call (937) 333-6794 and have your estimated project cost ready.

Commercial plan revision fees

Starting April 1, 2026, Dayton charges for repeated commercial plan revisions. The initial review and first revision carry no extra fee. The 2nd and 3rd revisions cost $250 each, the 4th and 5th cost $500 each, and the 6th and each later revision cost $1,000. If a 2nd revision is still not approved, the owner and design professional have to meet with the Chief Building Official or Chief Plans Examiner before submitting again.

Adopted codes

The Building Codes page lists the 2024 Ohio Building Code, the 2019 Residential Code of Ohio (for one-, two-, and three-family dwellings), the 2024 Ohio Plumbing, Mechanical, and Existing Building Codes, the 2017 Ohio Fire Code, the 2017 IECC, the 2015 International Fuel Gas Code, the 2023 NEC (NFPA 70), and the 2022 editions of NFPA 72 and NFPA 13. Local rules include the city’s flood plain district ordinance and the 1997 Wright-Patterson Air Force Base zoning regulations.

Contractors and homeowners

Electrical, pipe-laying, plumbing (including journeymen and apprentices), and warm-air heating contractors must file both a registration and a bond with the city. The city publishes registered contractor lists. Its 2026 plumbing contractor registration form lists a fee of $350 for one year or $600 for two years.

Owner-occupants of single-family homes may do their own permitted work, including electrical and gas work if they have the knowledge to do it and, for gas, to run the pressure test. Rental properties, duplexes, and unoccupied houses need registered contractors, even when the owner lives in one unit of a two-unit building. See owner-builder permits.

Inspections and occupancy

To schedule an inspection, call (937) 333-3883 at least 24 hours ahead. Online scheduling isn’t offered. The electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and fire alarm or suppression finals must all pass before you can request the building final. Repairs on a house cited as a nuisance must be finished within 90 calendar days of the permit’s issue date.

A business can’t legally open until the Building Official issues a Certificate of Use and Occupancy. That comes after Building Inspection, Zoning Administration, and the Fire Department all give final approval.

Related Dayton offices

• Zoning Administration: 371 W. Second St., (937) 333-3904 (fence and shed questions: (937) 333-3903), [email protected]. Use (937) 333-3887 for zoning permit status and verification.
• Housing Inspection (property maintenance and nuisance enforcement): third floor of the One Stop Center. Report violations through the City Call Center at (937) 333-3977.
• Commercial appeals: Montgomery County’s Building Regulations FAQ notes that the City of Dayton administers the commercial appeals board.

Building Inspection’s office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except holidays. The city’s One Stop FAQ lists the permit counter as open until 4:00 p.m. Visitor parking is behind the building.