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Jefferson County

Jefferson County Department of Development Services, Building Division (ePermitJC)

In short

Jefferson County Department of Development Services, Building Division (ePermitJC) issues 2 permits we publish for Jefferson County, last verified 2026-09-28. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.

What this agency issues

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Development Services Building / Zoning Permit (unincorporated county)only if it applies to youJefferson County Department of Development Services, Building Division (ePermitJC)Residential building permit: $50 up to $5,000 in valuation, then $9.00 per $1,000 (or fraction) above that, plus a $100 architectural plan review. Commercial building permit: $50 up to $5,000, then $11.00 per $1,000 above that, plus a $200 architectural plan review. Miscellaneous building permit: $50 up to $5,000, then $10.00 per $1,000 above that, plus a $100 architectural plan review if needed. Every permit or application submitted through the county's Accela portal also carries a flat $50 administrative fee and $10 technology fee. Separate zoning fees: zoning amendment $300 plus $10 per acre, conditional use $250, variance $200, special exception $200 (Ordinance #1848, Item #6349, adopted November 5, 2020).one-time, per permit or application2026-09-28
ePermitJC Contractor Registration (unincorporated county)only if it applies to youJefferson County Department of Development Services, Building Division (ePermitJC)No feenot stated in any source located; functions as a one-time ePermitJC portal registration rather than a credential renewed on its own schedule2026-09-28

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

About each permit

Development Services Building / Zoning Permit (unincorporated county)

Jefferson County Development Services issues building and zoning permits only inside unincorporated Jefferson County — the county's own ePermitJC page states plainly that 'a permit from Jefferson County is required for all new construction, alterations, and repairs in unincorporated areas.' Every incorporated city in the county, including Birmingham, Hoover, Vestavia Hills, Homewood, Mountain Brook and Bessemer, runs its own separate building department instead, and none of the fees here apply to work permitted by a city. For construction in the unincorporated area, a residential permit costs $50 up to $5,000 in valuation and $9.00 per $1,000 above that; a commercial permit is $50 up to $5,000 and $11.00 per $1,000 above that, plus a $200 architectural plan review; and a miscellaneous permit is $50 up to $5,000 and $10.00 per $1,000 above that. A flat $50 administrative fee and $10 technology fee apply to every permit or application submitted through the county's online portal. Separate zoning actions — an amendment, conditional use, variance or special exception — carry their own $200 to $300-plus-per-acre fees under the same fee ordinance.

ePermitJC Contractor Registration (unincorporated county)

There is no separate registration fee for this step: the county's own consolidated Development Services fee ordinance lists no charge for it. The trade credential itself — general contractor or home builder licensing — is a state function, issued by the Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors or the Home Builders Licensure Board, with no additional Jefferson-County-specific occupational license layered on top of it. What Jefferson County does add, for anyone pulling a building permit in the unincorporated county, is this registration step inside the ePermitJC/Accela Citizen Access portal, which attaches a registered contractor to a permit application. Because the county's building-permit jurisdiction itself is unincorporated-only, this registration reaches the same footprint: work permitted by an incorporated city goes through that city's own permitting and contractor-registration process instead, not ePermitJC.

Contact

Jurisdiction
Jefferson County
Phone
205-325-5321

Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.

Sources

Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.

  1. ePermitJC — 'a permit from Jefferson County is required for all new construction, alterations, and repairs in unincorporated areas'; contractor registration through Accela Citizen AccessJefferson County, Alabama · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
  2. Ordinance #1848 (Item #6349), Fee Ordinance for the Department of Development Services, adopted November 5, 2020 — building, zoning and related fee scheduleJefferson County Commission · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28

Other offices serving Jefferson County

The full permit list for this jurisdiction

Industry permit lists that include this agency

Alabama jurisdictions

Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.