Pittsburgh building department

The City of Pittsburgh’s Department of Permits, Licenses, and Inspections (PLI) issues building, electrical, mechanical, fire-alarm, fire-suppression, sign, demolition, floodplain, and occupancy permits inside city limits. It also licenses contractors and enforces codes in existing buildings. Applications, payments, inspection requests, and permit status all run through OneStopPGH, the portal PLI shares with City Planning (zoning) and the fire code program. Boroughs and townships elsewhere in Allegheny County are outside PLI’s jurisdiction and have their own code officials.

Work that doesn’t need a PLI permit

PLI publishes a list of work exempt from permits. A second group of projects needs zoning review only, which is still filed in OneStopPGH, but no building review.

No permit needed	Zoning review only (no PLI review)
One-story detached sheds up to 200 sq ft at a one- or two-family home	Fences 6 feet or less
Retaining walls 4 feet or less	Uncovered residential decks no more than 30 inches above grade
Sidewalks and driveways no more than 30 inches above grade, not over a basement	Carports, parking pads, and greenhouses on residential lots
Above-grade prefabricated pools under 24 inches deep and 5,000 gallons	Chicken coops
Painting, wallpaper, tile, carpet, cabinets, countertops	Water tanks up to 5,000 gallons
Ordinary repairs that don’t cut structure, change egress, or alter MEP systems	Any exterior work in a historic district

Exterior painting on a historic structure needs a Certificate of Appropriateness. Pittsburgh’s 200-square-foot shed limit is much smaller than the state UCC’s 1,000-square-foot exclusion, so a mid-size garage or workshop will need a permit. Projects classified as Minor Alteration require no drawings or PLI plan review, although they may still need zoning review. For general background, see our deck permit guide.

How a permit moves through PLI

PLI lists five stages: application submission, review, issuance, inspections, and completion.

1. Submit in OneStopPGH, or on paper at the OneStopPGH counter. The portal lists the documents required for your permit type, structure type, scope, and work classification.
2. Review. Applications are reviewed in the order received. PLI’s service-level targets are:
   • 15 business days for residential building, mechanical, electrical, demolition, floodplain, and occupancy reviews, and 8 days for revisions
   • 30 business days for commercial reviews, and 15 days for revisions
   • 7 business days for emergency reviews
   • 5 business days for condemned-building reviews
3. Deadlines. Revisions must be resubmitted within 180 days, or the application is considered abandoned. An approved permit must be paid for within 180 days, or it is voided.
4. Issuance. The permit is issued only after every approval condition is met and the related Zoning Development Review is issued. The rest of the fee must be paid, and the permit holder must have a valid PLI license with current insurance.
5. Validity. Work must start within 180 days, and any pause in work must be shorter than 180 days. Most permits expire 5 years after issuance. Demolition and occupancy-only permits expire after 180 days.

Licenses: who can pull the permit

Pittsburgh ties each permit type to a PLI license:

• General Contractor license: commercial building work, new residential construction, alterations to rental or investment properties, demolition, and land operations
• Electrical and HVAC/Mechanical trade licenses: every electrical and mechanical permit
• Fire Suppression and Sign Contractor licenses: those permit types
• Home Improvement registration: residential alterations to private residences

Owner-occupants working on the single- or two-family home they live in are exempt from these license requirements. Under the 2026 fee schedule, each trade and general contractor license costs $90 initially and $90 for each annual renewal.

2026 fee schedule (effective January 1, 2026)

Fee	Amount
Residential base permit fee	$6.00 per $1,000 of construction value ($130 min, $8,000 max)
Commercial base permit fee	$7.00 per $1,000 of construction value ($605 min, $95,000 max)
Due at application	40% of base fee, non-refundable; balance at issuance
State Education & Training Fund	$4.50 per permit
Digital record retention	$5.00 per permit
Technology fee	$2 to $25, depending on base fee
Residential certificate of occupancy	$130
Floodplain review	$175 (non-substantial) or $675 (substantial)
Residential accelerated plan review	1.0% of construction value ($500 min, $9,200 max)
Residential overtime inspection	$150 for the 3-hour minimum, then $58 per hour

Projects that use a third-party agency get a 15% discount on the base fee for eligible permit types. PLI’s online Fee Calculator estimates the total. Zoning fees are billed separately on City Planning’s schedule.

Inspections

Request inspections through OneStopPGH at least 5 business days in advance. PLI does not offer same-day inspections. You can note a preferred earlier date in the comments, and off-hour inspections need at least 2 business days’ notice plus a fee. Depending on the project, inspections may include:

• pre-inspection
• footing and foundation, slab, and underground
• MEP and fire-alarm rough-in
• framing and wall or ceiling closure
• air barrier and leakage
• fire and smoke penetrations
• accessibility
• final

Your inspector is assigned by ward. The ward appears on the permit and on the city’s ward map. Construction questions go to [email protected].

Records and contact

Look up open and closed permits through PLI’s permit-status page, and find certificates of occupancy with the online occupancy search, which searches by permit number, address, parcel, or ward. PLI is in the City-County Building, 414 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, with the ADA entrance on Ross Street. Customer service is available by phone and chat at (412) 255-2175, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The main city line is (412) 255-2621.