Virginia Beach building department

Virginia Beach is an independent city, so the City of Virginia Beach’s Permits & Inspections Division, part of the Planning Department, issues building and trade permits for property in the city. The division administers the Uniform Statewide Building Code and related state and city ordinances. It also runs the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s stormwater and erosion-and-sediment-control rules for private development and franchise utilities. Because of that, site and environmental review often travels with the building permit.

How to submit: counter or online

Permits & Inspections takes paper submittals at the counter in Municipal Center Building 3 only for small plan sets. Counter reviews happen during normal office hours. Everything else goes through the city’s Accela online permitting service. The city says the initial review for online submissions takes 15–45 business days, and revisions take half the original review time.

Counter review limits	Residential	Commercial
Additions	500 sq. ft. or less	Not eligible
Alterations	Work area 500 sq. ft. or less	Interior/exterior work area 2,500 sq. ft. or less, no change of use, no A, I, or H uses
Accessory structures	500 sq. ft. or less	Not eligible
Decks	Uncovered decks of any size	Not eligible
Plan set size	Five pages or fewer	Five pages or fewer

The building-permit page posts the forms you are most likely to need: the Affidavit of Permit Authorization, a contractor update form, demolition and roofing/siding applications, asbestos certification and abatement forms, a code modification request, and a footing detail for roof additions over decks. Trade applications (electrical, gas, mechanical, plumbing, fire, elevator, amusement) are on the trades page. That page also has residential load calculation and duct design forms, a duct seal certification, an A2L refrigerant piping test certificate, and a septic-to-sewer conversion form.

What needs a residential permit

The city requires a building permit to build or alter a residential structure. That includes cutting away walls or partitions, removing or cutting structural beams, or changing required egress. Items the city specifically lists:

• Change-of-use alterations, bow or bay windows, and converting garages or screened porches to living space
• Foundation repairs
• Roofing or siding replacement
• Window or exterior door replacement when frames or jambs are altered
• Additions, attached or detached carports and garages, and screened porches
• Chimneys and decks
• Detached structures such as gazebos, storage buildings, trellises, and sheds larger than 256 sq. ft.
• Driveways and driveway aprons
• Hot tubs and spas, plus in-ground and above-ground pools, that can hold at least 24 inches of water
• Trailers, mobile homes, and portable buildings
• Waterfront construction: bulkheads, piers, boat lifts, and rip rap
• Demolition, and lot-line moves that affect an existing structure

Fences and walls within 30 feet of a public right-of-way require a permit, handled by Zoning Administration at (757) 385-8074. Section 201 of the City Zoning Ordinance sets fence location, height, and planting rules. All pools and pool barriers need a building permit, and the city provides a Pool Barrier Affidavit. New structures in the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area, a flood zone, or the Southern Rivers Watershed may need environmental approval before the building permit is issued. For waterfront sites, contact the Planning Administration Environmental Team at [email protected].

Residential fees

From the city’s residential fee sheet (revised July 2025):

Item	Fee
Heated living area, new or addition	$50 + $7 per 100 sq. ft. (e.g., $120 for 1,000 sq. ft.)
Non-heated area, new or addition	$50 + $4 per 100 sq. ft. (e.g., $90 for 1,000 sq. ft.)
Alterations	$50 + $5 per $1,000 of construction value
Residential plan review	$100
Counter plan review / plan revision	$25 each
Certificate of occupancy	$75
Re-inspection	$75
Water or sewer service line	$50 each
Starting work without a permit	$250 administrative fee

A 2% state levy and a $10 technology fee are added to every permit. Roofing, siding, asbestos, and amusement-device fees are published on separate sheets.

Inspections

Schedule, cancel, or reschedule inspections in the city’s online permitting service, which is available 24/7. You can book up to five working days ahead. For a same-day inspection, the request must be in before 8 a.m., and the city recommends booking by 7 a.m. Inspectors can be reached between 8 and 9 a.m. on inspection day. They set their routes that morning and don’t know about requests ahead of time.

The city’s minimum residential inspection sequence, based on Virginia Construction Code Chapter 1:

• New buildings, additions, decks, and screened porches: setback/footing, slab/foundation, framing/insulation, final
• Garages and sheds over 256 sq. ft.: setback/footing, framing/insulation, final
• Interior alterations: framing/insulation and final
• In-ground pools: setback/footing and final
• Above-ground pools, siding, roofing, fences: final only

Permit holders must call for each inspection at the right stage and provide a ladder when attic or roof access is needed. See our overview of building inspection stages.

Contact

Permits & Inspections: Building 3, Municipal Center, 2403 Courthouse Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23456. Main line (757) 385-4211, fax (757) 385-5777, email [email protected]. Hours are Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The division’s staff directory lists an inspections coordinator at (757) 385-4204 and a permits coordinator at (757) 385-8853.