Alexandria building department

The City of Alexandria’s Department of Code Administration handles building permits, plan review, construction inspections, and property-maintenance enforcement for the independent City of Alexandria. The department enforces the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (USBC) along with the City Code’s nuisance and development provisions. It has five divisions: Permit Center, Property Maintenance Inspections, New Construction Inspections, Plan Review Services, and Administrative Services. The multi-agency Permit Center processes construction permits, certificates of occupancy, elevator certificates, fire prevention permits, and maintenance and nuisance complaints.

When Alexandria requires a permit

The city requires permits for new buildings and structures; alterations, demolitions, renovations, additions, and changes of occupancy; and maintenance of existing buildings. Applications fall into two categories.

• Residential: detached single-family and two-family homes and townhouses no more than three stories above grade plane, each with its own means of egress, plus their accessory structures.
• Commercial: everything else, including apartments and condominiums with three or more units, restaurants, retail, offices, schools, daycare, hotels, and hospitals.

The city’s residential list gives size triggers for common homeowner projects:

Residential item	Listed as permitted work when
Accessory structures (sheds, garages, playhouses)	greater than 200 sq ft
Fences	greater than 6 ft in height
Retaining walls	holding 2 ft or more of soil
Decks, porches, stoops; private pools; garages and fixed carports	listed without a size threshold

These triggers are lower than in neighboring Fairfax County, so check Alexandria’s own list rather than relying on rules from across the border. Some permits come from other city departments instead, such as Transportation & Environmental Services and Planning & Zoning. The Permit Center site lists those separately.

Applying through APEX

Alexandria’s permitting and land use portal, APEX, runs on Tyler EnerGov Self Service. You use it to apply for permits and development plan reviews, upload documents, pay fees, track status, and schedule inspections. The city asks all customers to register an APEX account and currently asks that applications be submitted only electronically. At the Permit Center counter, you pay by logging into your APEX account at a kiosk. The city warns that it will never ask for permit fees by cryptocurrency, wire transfer, Venmo, or Zelle.

The city’s submittal rules for plan-reviewed permits:

• Contractor details: give the state license number, City of Alexandria business license number, and contact information. If no contractor will do the work, submit a Property Owner’s Affidavit instead.
• Plan sheets: maximum 24” x 36”, at no less than 1/8” = 1’-0” for plan views and 1/4” = 1’-0” for section details.
• Sealed plans: plans must be signed and sealed by a Virginia-licensed registered design professional (RDP) when an RDP prepared them or when Code of Virginia § 54.1-400 requires one. Plans that are not prepared by an RDP must show the preparer’s name, occupation, and contact information.
• Site or grading plan: must accompany the building permit set when one is required.
• Checklists: the permit-requirements page has project checklists for decks, finished basements, kitchen renovations, retaining walls, solar panels, generators, demolition, and new residential construction. There is also a condominium alterations memo. See the deck permit guide for general background.

Alexandria has relaxed one fuel-gas rule. For additions and alterations to an existing 1- and 2-family gas system under 2 psi, a residential gas riser diagram is no longer required. New homes, accessory structures, and all commercial gas permits still need one.

FY26 fee highlights

The Code Administration fee schedule effective July 1, 2025 sets these charges:

Item	Fee
Minimum permit fee	$95.00
Plan-review deposit	35% of estimated permit fee (non-refundable, credited at issuance)
Residential new construction	$0.75 per sq ft (includes basements, garages, roofed carports)
Residential alterations and repairs	$0.30/sq ft or $18.00 per $1,000 of cost, or minimum fee, whichever is greater
Non-residential tenant improvements	$0.48/sq ft or $19.75 per $1,000 of cost, or minimum fee, whichever is greater
Residential decks	$100.00
Residential pools	$110.00
Residential solar PV; chimney/wood stove inserts	minimum permit fee
Plan revisions after the first resubmittal	$100 per trade (new construction); $50 per trade (alterations)

Roofing, siding, or window replacements in designated historic districts are charged the minimum permit fee. A temporary certificate of occupancy costs an additional 25% of the CO fee.

Codes in effect

The 2021 USBC and its referenced 2021 Virginia codes took effect January 18, 2024. The city links to the Virginia editions on the ICC’s free code site. It also publishes a standing modification on the minimum thickness of galvanized duct walls for single-family dwellings.

Inspections

Schedule and track inspections in APEX. The city publishes a “How to request inspections” guide. Check the Daily Inspection Viewer by 8:00 a.m. on inspection day, because it keeps updating until then. If APEX is down, call the Permit Center at (703) 746-4200 during business hours for help scheduling. The New Construction Inspection unit is open Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. It offers traditional, third-party, and special-inspection programs. Third-party plan review and inspection need the Director’s approval, and the fee schedule says they don’t reduce permit fees. Under the USBC, required inspections include:

• footings before concrete
• foundations
• structural members before concealment
• trade rough-ins before concealment
• insulation

For certificates of occupancy, the Permit Center provides a CO procedures document and application.

Hiring a contractor

Code Administration tells homeowners to ask for both a city business license and a Virginia contractor’s license. You can verify a state license with the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) at (804) 367-8500. Your written contract should state who will obtain the permit.

Permit Center hours and location

The Permit Center is on the 2nd floor of the Redella S. “Dell” Pepper Community Center, 4850 Mark Center Drive. Its posted hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with these exceptions:

• It closes for lunch from noon to 1 p.m.
• It closes at 2 p.m. on the first Monday of each month.
• The door locks at 4:30 p.m.
• Same-day service ends at 4:15 p.m.

You can also reach the Permit Center at [email protected] or (703) 746-4200. The department’s mailing address is 301 King Street, Suite 4200. Zoning questions go to the Planner of the Day at (703) 746-4333. Historic Preservation is at (703) 746-3833.