# Lost building permit. What now? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 25, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-building-permit-what-now/769730 "2016-10-25T21:31:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-building-permit-what-now/769730/1 "2016-10-25T21:31:14Z")
We undertook a pretty major renovation of our home earlier this year, including a gut rehab of an 800 square foot, two-story addition, and three full bath renovations. Most of the final inspections were completed months ago, but evidently the final inspection for plumbing was never done. The inspector is coming on Thursday but we can’t find our permit. It was taped to our front door for 6 months, accumulating signatures, but now it’s just gone. Am I (the homeowner) screwed, or is my General Contractor going to have to deal with this? Both? Neither? I need to properly calibrate my level of concern. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2016, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-building-permit-what-now/769730/2 "2016-10-25T22:01:07Z")
Surely the city has a copy? ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2016, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-building-permit-what-now/769730/3 "2016-10-25T22:20:34Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > Surely the city has a copy? Surely. I, however, am too lazy and busy to go get a copy (though I will if I must) ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2016, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-building-permit-what-now/769730/4 "2016-10-25T22:37:31Z")
> [@Winston\_Smith](#): > > Surely. I, however, am too lazy and busy to go get a copy (though I will if I must) Just never mind, then. I’m sure no one will notice. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2016, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-building-permit-what-now/769730/5 "2016-10-25T22:44:22Z")
> [@Winston\_Smith](#): > > …I need to properly calibrate my level of concern. > [@Winston\_Smith](#): > > Surely. I, however, am too lazy and busy to go get a copy (though I will if I must) Calibration complete. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-building-permit-what-now/769730/6 "2016-10-26T12:54:52Z")
It might be hard for anyone here to answer this, since there are so many differences between localities. In my area, a quick call or visit to the appropriate department (Planning & Zoning, in my case) would get a friendly and definitive answer, but YMMV. Have you tried that? ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-building-permit-what-now/769730/7 "2016-10-26T14:15:41Z")
We found out that the new A/C we installed a couple of years ago didn’t get the proper permitting. It was all on the A/C installer to sort out. If it takes a quick trip down to city hall, do it and get it done. ---
**Author:** ![ASGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@ASGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-building-permit-what-now/769730/8 "2016-10-26T15:49:31Z")
(1) **Riemann’s** response (#5) answers the OP. (2) I agree that the issuing agency will know that a permit has been issued (and therefore the fees paid) for the work. But I don’t necessarily think the issuing agency will know which elements have been signed off. I kept my permit packets close at hand in case I had to prove to some new inspector that things had been completed. (3) Being in physical possession of a successfully completed building permit may be beneficial if or when the property is sold. Some buyers want to know if everything they see has been permitted and approved. At the very least the holder can deny price reductions if a buyer brings the question up. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-building-permit-what-now/769730/9 "2016-10-26T16:23:22Z")
Hey, at least you got a permit. Every time I’ve asked a contractor about obtaining a permit (for a deck, roof, porch addition, septic work, new windows, etc) I’ve been told not to worry about it, since the house cannot be seen from any road. I figure I’m doing my part in asking, but apparently around here “it’s not a thing”. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-building-permit-what-now/769730/10 "2016-10-26T16:26:21Z")
It’s fine to skip permits on permit work if you don’t ever plan to sell the house or make a significant homeowner’s claim. In those cases, routine title-checking and home inspection showing additions or significant plumbing or electrical work can bite you in the ass, big time. ---
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-building-permit-what-now/769730/11 "2016-10-26T16:59:02Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > It’s fine to skip permits on permit work if you don’t ever plan to sell the house or make a significant homeowner’s claim. No. No it isn’t. The point of getting permits and inspections isn’t to screw the owner out of big bucks or waste their time, it’s to make sure that the work is being done by someone who knows their ass from a hammer and that the work will actually hold up. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-building-permit-what-now/769730/12 "2016-10-27T08:41:52Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > If it takes **a quick trip** down to city hall, do it and get it done. ahh…that’s the problem! Where I live , there’s no such thing as a “quick trip” to city hall. It’s a monumental bureaucracy, and once you open a file on yourself, you’re trapped. 🙂 But , yeah, you have to do it —if you want to sleep well at night.