New York Building Permits
Building permits in New York are issued by cities and counties, not the state, so the rules depend on where your home is. These are the New York city we cover: New York.
New York Permit Activity at a Glance
Across the city below, we counted 16,600 issued permits for the home projects we track between October 30, 2025 and October 30, 2026. The counts come straight from each city's open permit data and are refreshed monthly. The busiest category was roofing work in New York, with 6,622 permits. Where the data includes an application date, the fastest median time from application to issue was 5 days (solar panel in New York) and the slowest was 268 days (roofing in New York).
New York Building Permits
3 project guides · 16,600 permits in 12 months · NYC Department of Buildings
In New York, residential permits are issued by the NYC Department of Buildings. Our counts use the city's DOB NOW: Build – Approved Permits dataset. Short answers for each project we cover:
- Roof replacement: Sometimes. Under 1 RCNY §101-14, replacing roof coverings, membrane and insulation above the roof deck can be an ordinary repair that is exempt from a DOB permit, as long as the Energy Conservation Code does not require added insulation. Replacing the roof deck or sheathing requires a permit.
- AC or furnace replacement: Usually yes. Most heating and central air work needs a DOB permit. 1 RCNY §101-14 exempts a packaged air-conditioning unit of 3 tons or less installed in an existing window or sleeve, and some voluntary systems serving one floor that do not penetrate a roof, floor or fire-rated wall.
- Solar panel installation: Yes. No solar work can be done in New York City without a DOB work permit, a licensed contractor and a Registered Design Professional. Only solar landscape lights are exempt.
| Project Guide | Permit Needed? | Permits in 12 Months | Median Days to Issue |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York Roofing Permits | Sometimes | 6,622 | 268 |
| New York HVAC Permits | Usually yes | 4,485 | 51 |
| New York Solar Panel Permits | Yes | 5,493 | 5 |
Not yet covered for New York: new fence and new deck or porch. We only publish a project guide when the city's open data identifies that work clearly enough to count at least 10 permits in 12 months and we have checked the rule against an official city source. Until then, ask the NYC Department of Buildings directly before starting one of these projects.
How to Use These New York Guides
Start with the city that issues permits for your address. If you live outside city limits, your county or township usually handles permits instead, and its rules can differ from the city pages here. Each project guide quotes the official rule, lists any fee the city publishes, and links to the source so you can confirm it before you start work. Permit counts show how often each kind of job is permitted locally, and median days to issue show how long a typical application took over the last 12 months. Rules and fees change, so treat the official source as final and call the permit office if your project is unusual.
Data last refreshed October 30, 2026.