Permits
How long does it take to get a building permit in Washington County?
Short answer
It depends on the project and the office. Simple permits, like a deck or a straightforward remodel, often clear in days to a couple of weeks. New homes and projects needing full plan review take longer, commonly several weeks. Clean, complete drawings are the biggest thing you control.
What happens between applying and getting the permit?
The process is roughly the same in St. George, Hurricane, and the county:
- Application. You or your contractor submits plans and forms, now mostly online.
- Plan review. City staff check the drawings against building codes and zoning rules. Zoning covers where a structure can sit on the lot. Building codes cover how it must be built.
- Corrections, if needed. If something is missing or does not comply, the city sends comments back. You revise and resubmit. Each round adds time.
- Fees and issuance. Pay, and the permit is issued.
- Inspections during construction. The permit is not one approval. It is a series of checkpoints, from footings to final.
What makes a permit take longer?
- Incomplete submittals. The number one cause, and fully preventable. Missing site plans, missing engineering, or vague drawings guarantee a corrections round.
- Project complexity. A new custom home gets a deeper review than a bathroom. Hillside lots, retaining walls, and unusual structures pull in extra review.
- The queue. Washington County is one of the fastest-growing areas in the country. Permit offices process what everyone else is building too, and the season matters.
- Zoning questions. Setback issues, easements, or lot coverage problems stop a review cold until they are resolved. An easement is another party's legal right to use part of your land, like a utility corridor.
A permit that bounces twice for corrections can take three times as long as one submitted right. Speed is mostly won before you apply.
Can I start work while I wait?
No, and it is not worth the temptation. Building ahead of the permit risks stop-work orders, fines, and being forced to open up or redo finished work for inspection. What you can do while waiting: order long-lead materials, finish selections, and line up trades so the job starts the day the permit prints.
How do I keep my project out of the slow lane?
Submit a complete package the first time. That means real drawings, a site plan, engineering where needed, and answers to the questions the reviewer will ask. This is a core part of what you hire a general contractor for. I have taken projects through this process, from application to final inspection, and the pattern is consistent: complete packages move, thin ones sit.
It also helps to know what a jurisdiction will approve before you draw it. I stay close to the planning side of this county on purpose, because the cheapest permit problem is the one designed out before submittal.
If you are planning work anywhere in Washington County and want to know what the permit path looks like for your specific project, ask. Timelines change, and I would rather give you today's real answer than a stale one.