Permits and Approvals

Written for Canada. Plans are metric, but many crews and suppliers work in feet and inches, so this site gives both: millimetres and metres, with feet and inches beside them. Codes are the National Building Code of Canada 2020 (NBC 2020) Part 9 as your province adopts it. A number marked Confirm has not been checked against every province, so check it with your own authority before you act on it.

Reviewed by a working tradesman with 17+ years in the field.

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What to ask, what to submit and which inspections to book, before you price the job or put a shovel in the ground.

The big idea

A permit is how your work gets checked against the building code, zoning and safety rules. Unpermitted structural work can mean a stop-work order, tear-out, trouble with insurance and problems when you sell. The cheapest tool in this whole stage is a five-minute call.

The National Building Code of Canada is a model code. It has no force until a province or territory adopts it, and many adopt it with changes. The permit itself usually comes from the local authority: a city, town, district or municipality in BC, AB, SK, ON and QC. In PEI the province issues permits outside Charlottetown, Stratford, Summerside and St. Felix. In Nunavut permits go through the Office of the Chief Building Official. Elsewhere, ask your municipality who issues it.

Who issues what

Using BC as the example. In other provinces the same jobs are done by different bodies, so ask your local building department and provincial regulator.

If you build your own home

The rules differ a lot by province. These are the ones we checked against the official pages.

• BC. You must pass an exam and get an Owner Builder Authorization from BC Housing before you build. If you sell within 10 years of construction you stay personally liable for defects and must give buyers a disclosure notice. In most cases you cannot list the home until it is finished and you have lived in it for at least a year.
• AB. Owner Builder Authorization under the New Home Buyer Protection Act, for a single-family site-built home for personal use. You must be a registered owner, plan to keep the home 10 years, and manage the construction yourself. The fee is $95 with warranty or $750 without. Without warranty you cannot sell or offer to sell during the 10 years, and a caveat goes on the title (authorizations issued from 1 December 2025). The authorization lets you get building permits without a builder licence. Lenders may require warranty, so ask yours first.
• ON. Get a Tarion Letter of Confirmation before you apply for a permit. Owner-built homes carry no statutory warranty.
• SK, MB, QC and others. See the By province table. Where it says Confirm, we have not checked the source yet.

Do I need a permit?

There is no national rule that says "under X it needs no permit". Each authority sets its own thresholds. Most departments think about the work in these groups.

The steps

1. Call the building department for the address. Say exactly what you plan to build. Ask what permits, drawings, reports and inspections it needs.
2. Get the application checklist. Departments differ on what they check at the counter, such as owner-builder authorization or warranty proof.
3. Assemble the documents. See the list below. Order a survey or geotechnical report early, since they take weeks.
4. Submit, pay and wait. Ask how long review takes at the moment and build it into your schedule.
5. Post the permit and keep the approved drawings on site. Most authorities want both available to the inspector, and many want the permit card visible.
6. Book each inspection with notice. The stops and the notice period are on your permit. Do not pour or cover until the stop has passed.
7. Photograph everything. The permit, the drawing revision stamp and every passed inspection card, dated.

Documents you may be asked for

• Approved construction drawings: plans, sections, details
• A site plan, often based on a survey by a licensed land surveyor
• Structural drawings and an engineer's stamp where required
• A geotechnical report if the soil, slope or water table calls for one
• Drainage and erosion and sediment control plans
• Energy and envelope compliance information for new buildings
• Letters of Assurance where the building requires them

Letters of Assurance (BC)

In BC these signed documents are how architects and engineers accept responsibility for design and field review. Ask the counter which Part 9 buildings need them and whether your geotechnical engineer has to sign one. Other provinces use their own sign-off systems. In Ontario, for example, designers need a BCIN.

Inspection stops for a foundation

Where we verified the stops (examples in BC, SK, ON, NB, NS, PE and Whitehorse), foundation work is inspected before it is covered. Your permit has the real list. A typical sequence:

1. Excavation and bearing soil Sometimes with the geotechnical engineer's field review.
2. Footing forms and reinforcement Before any concrete goes in.
3. Foundation wall forms and reinforcement If the walls are poured.
4. Damp-proofing and perimeter drain tile Before backfilling.
5. Under-slab Gravel, vapour barrier, insulation and any under-slab plumbing, before the slab is poured.
6. Backfill or grading Some departments inspect this too.

Utility locates

Contact your province's one-call service before you dig. Locates are free. Private lines are not mapped by the service. The numbers below were checked against official or utility pages in October 2026, but take the number from the current official page before you call.

Other approvals people forget

• Archaeology and heritage. If you find bone, shell midden, stone tools or other unusual material, stop work in the area, leave everything in place and report it. Every province has a process, and on or near First Nations land local First Nations may also need to be consulted. In BC the Heritage Conservation Act protects archaeological sites on private land too; contact the Archaeology Branch.
• Streams, wetlands and riparian areas. Provincial and federal rules and local setbacks can restrict work near water. Ask before you clear or dig.
• Agricultural Land Reserve (BC). Extra rules on soil removal, fill and non-farm use.
• Contaminated or imported soil. Moving soil on or off site can be regulated.
• Worker safety. Your provincial OHS regulator sets rules for workers on site, whether or not a permit is needed. Who counts as the responsible constructor differs by province. In NB and NS the owner is deemed the constructor where no one else controls the work. In Ontario the OHSA does not cover an owner's own work on a private residence, but an owner who hires several contractors with no general contractor is likely the constructor.
• Hiring help and workers' compensation. In BC a homeowner must register with WorkSafeBC if a one-time project reaches 24 or more total hours across all workers, or ongoing work runs 8 or more hours a week. In NB a homeowner generally cannot register unless they are an employer. In NL a homeowner employing people at a private residence is not required to register. Ask your board before you hire anyone.

Common mistakes

• Pricing before asking. The department's answer changes the job. Call first.
• Booking concrete before the inspection. Inspectors have their own schedule. Never pour on a stop that has not passed.
• Trusting the locate for private lines. It does not find them.
• Drawings not on site. An easy fail, and it costs a day.
• Treating a field change as minor. Send it to the designer or building department in writing.