County building permits in Ohio
Select a county to see exactly who issues building permits and open the official permit portal.
Franklin County
Franklin County Economic Development & Planning — Building Department (townships/unincorporated); City of Columbus issues its own permits
Cuyahoga County
Municipal building departments and private third-party inspection firms (Cuyahoga County is establishing a Division of Building Standards, expected January 2027)
Hamilton County
Hamilton County Planning + Development — Buildings & Inspections Division (unincorporated townships and contract jurisdictions); cities issue their own permits
Summit County
Summit County Department of Building Standards (unincorporated areas and municipalities that contract); cities such as Akron issue their own permits
Lucas County
Lucas County Building Regulations Department (unincorporated areas and several municipalities); Toledo and larger cities issue their own permits
Butler County
Butler County Department of Development — Building & Zoning (unincorporated areas); cities issue their own permits
Montgomery County
Montgomery County Building Regulations Division (townships and contracting municipalities); cities such as Dayton issue their own permits
Lorain County
Municipal building departments, or township-arranged state-certified building officials and the Ohio Dept. of Commerce (Lorain County has no county building department)
Stark County
Stark County Building Inspection Department (unincorporated areas and contracting villages); Alliance, Canton, Massillon and North Canton issue their own permits
Warren County
Warren County Building & Zoning Department (unincorporated areas and several villages); other municipalities issue their own permits
Lake County
Lake County Building Department (unincorporated areas); cities such as Mentor, Painesville and Willoughby issue their own permits
Clermont County
Clermont County Building Inspection Department / Permit Central (unincorporated areas and villages); cities issue their own permits
Greene County
Greene County Building Regulation Department (all use groups, including most cities and villages); Fairborn, Xenia and several villages issue their own permits
Mahoning County
Mahoning County Building Inspection Department (unincorporated areas and several cities/villages); other municipalities issue their own permits
Clark County
Clark County Community & Economic Development — Building Division (unincorporated areas); cities issue their own permits