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Lucas County

Lucas County Building Regulations (Department of Planning & Development)

In short

Lucas County Building Regulations (Department of Planning & Development) issues 7 permits we publish for Lucas County, last verified 2026-09-30. 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
Contractor Registration (Specialty Trades, Building Regulations)only if it applies to youLucas County Building Regulations (Department of Planning & Development)$100 per contractor, for an original registration or a renewal, from the county's 2022 Appendix B line 'Contractor Registration Fees / Original registration or renewal, per Contractor $100.00'expires on December 31 of the year issued, renewable for the succeeding year on payment of the annual renewal fee on or before that date; a holder who renews within 90 days after expiry pays twice the annual renewal fee, and after 90 days is treated as a new applicant who must re-examine2026-09-30
Commercial Building Permitonly if it applies to youLucas County Building Regulations (Department of Planning & Development)APPENDIX B — FEE SCHEDULE, BUILDING PERMIT FEES (Effective February 25, 2022), Commercial blocks: permit base fee $75.00 plus $0.20 per gross square foot, with a 100 square foot minimum, plus the State of Ohio Board of Building Standards mandated fee of 3% on commercial work. Permit renewal $100.00 or the original permit fee, whichever is less. Reinspection: first free, second $150.00, third and each thereafter $300.00. Special inspection of an existing building for health, safety and certificate of occupancy, covering building, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, fire alarm and suppression, $600.00. After-hours inspection $150.00 contiguous to the work day, $300.00 if not contiguous. Demolition $75.00; each fireplace $75.00; non-structural alteration such as roofs, siding, doors and windows $75.00 per alteration. Special services $100.00 per hour. Illegal or unauthorised work is charged at double the required permit fees plus $250 to $3,000 by offence number, and illegal occupancy at $1,000.00.per project; a permit may be renewed for $100.00 or the original permit fee, whichever is less2026-09-30
Certificate of Occupancyonly if it applies to youLucas County Building Regulations (Department of Planning & Development)$75 per building, on the county's Commercial fee blockper building; issued once the completed work passes final inspection2026-09-30
Sign Permitonly if it applies to youLucas County Building Regulations (Department of Planning & Development)APPENDIX B — FEE SCHEDULE, BUILDING PERMIT FEES (Effective February 25, 2022): sign permit base fee $75.00 plus $0.50 per foot per sign face. The 3% State of Ohio Board of Building Standards fee applies to commercial work.per sign; a separate permit is taken out for each sign installed2026-09-30
Commercial Trade Permits (electrical, plumbing, HVAC, pressure piping, fire alarm and suppression)only if it applies to youLucas County Building Regulations (Department of Planning & Development)APPENDIX B — FEE SCHEDULE, BUILDING PERMIT FEES (Effective February 25, 2022), Commercial blocks. Electrical: base $100.00 per unit; existing commercial alteration $6.00 per fixture or circuit; services, including solar arrays and photovoltaic modules, $0.50 per amp, with services over 200 amps requiring plan review; underground service inspection $75.00 per service; temporary service $75.00 per service; service release $75.00 base per service plus $0.50 per amp; generators $75.00 base plus $0.50 per amp; swimming pool $300.00 covering bonding, underground, wiring and final inspections. Plumbing: base $100.00 per unit plus $6.00 per fixture; underground inspection $75.00 per run. HVAC: new $100.00 base plus $0.05 per gross square foot; replacement $100.00 per heating or cooling unit; alteration $100.00 per system; Type 1 and Type 2 hoods $150.00 per hood; geothermal $150.00 per system. Pressure piping: $75.00 base per unit plus $6.00 per fixture; underground inspection $75.00 per run. Fire alarm and suppression, covering plan review, permit and inspections: 1 to 25 devices $150.00, each device over 25 $2.00; fire pumps and standpipes $200.00 each. The 3% State of Ohio Board of Building Standards fee applies to all commercial work.per project, per trade; each trade permit is taken out separately alongside the building permit2026-09-30
Commercial Plan Reviewonly if it applies to youLucas County Building Regulations (Department of Planning & Development)APPENDIX B — FEE SCHEDULE, BUILDING PERMIT FEES (Effective February 25, 2022), Commercial block: plan review base fee $75.00 plus $0.03 per gross square foot, with a 100 square foot minimum. First resubmission free, second $150.00, third and each thereafter $300.00. Revisions after initial plan approval $75.00. Phased approvals $75.00 base plus $0.03 per gross square foot. Replacement plans $50.00 base plus $5.00 per drawing sheet; copies $2.00 per 8.5x11 or 11x17 sheet; mailing $5.00 for 11x17 or smaller and $10.00 for larger. The 3% State of Ohio Board of Building Standards fee applies to commercial work.per project; the first resubmission is free, after which each further resubmission is charged2026-09-30
Drainage Regulations / Subdivision Site Plan Review (collected at the building counter)only if it applies to youLucas County Building Regulations (Department of Planning & Development)$100 per project, collected by Lucas County Building Regulations on behalf of the Lucas County Engineerper project, where the Lucas County Subdivision Rules and Regulations or the county's Drainage Regulations require a site plan review2026-09-30

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

Contractor Registration (Specialty Trades, Building Regulations)

This is the registration a trade contractor needs with Lucas County Building Regulations in order to work in and pull permits within the department's jurisdiction, and it is one of two separate $100.00 county registrations — the Sanitary Engineer's Sewer Tapper's License, recorded separately for Lucas County, is a different license from a different department with its own bond requirement. The county code's registration is of SPECIALTY contractors: §117 is headed 'REGISTRATION OF SPECIALTY CONTRACTORS' and §117.10 defines the classes as Electrical Contractor (General and Residential), Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Contractor, Hydronics Contractor, Master Plumber and Refrigeration Contractor — the same five trades ORC 4740.01 licenses at state level. §117.12 requires applicants to be licensed by the state examining board for each specialty trade applied for and to present evidence of current and valid state licensing, so the county registration sits on top of a state credential rather than replacing it. The department's current form also carries a General Contractor tick-box alongside the trade classes, and §117.2 contemplates an unregistered general contractor bidding trade work so long as that work is performed by or under the supervision of a registered contractor. The renewal ladder in §117.14 is the detail that costs money: the certificate expires on December 31 of the year issued; renewing within 90 days after that date costs twice the annual renewal fee; and after 90 days the holder is treated as a new applicant, which means re-examination and an original registration fee. Other §117 mechanics worth planning around: a registration is not assignable or transferable, a shop must employ a responsible person who holds the state specialty license and who cannot operate out of more than one shop, the shop's registration becomes void ten days after that person's employment ends unless another is designated, the certificate must be displayed conspicuously at the principal place of business, and new applications must be notarised.

Commercial Building Permit

Lucas County Building Regulations reviews plans and inspects commercial construction and renovation across a large part of the county, and the first question for any build-out is whether the address is in its territory. Its own Commercial page states that it 'has contracted, through the Board of County Commissioners, the Villages of Harbor View, Holland, Ottawa Hills and Waterville, the City of Sylvania, and all of the townships within the County', and the Village of Whitehouse belongs on that list too: Whitehouse's own Building & Zoning page states that 'In 2023, the Village of Whitehouse contracted with Lucas County Building Regulations to provide all building department related matters, including plan review, issuing building permits and inspections', with applications delivered to 1115 S. McCord Road, Holland. Toledo, Oregon and Maumee run their own building departments — the county's page directs Toledo property to the Division of Inspection on (419) 245-1220. Zoning is a separate question from building: Holland and Whitehouse each keep their own zoning permits and fees even though the county does their building permits, and in unincorporated territory zoning sits with the township under ORC 519.02. The figures above come from the county's own 'APPENDIX B — FEE SCHEDULE, BUILDING PERMIT FEES (Effective February 25, 2022)', the schedule the department's page links today; it is several years old and it is the one in force. Every figure quoted here is from a block the sheet labels 'Commercial (All Structures other than Residential)' — the residential equivalents are lower ($60.00 permit base against $75.00, and a 1% state fee against 3%) and do not apply to the business types covered here. The codes enforced are the Ohio Building Code 2024 edition for commercial and industrial work, the Ohio Plumbing and Mechanical Codes 2024, the 2021 commercial IECC and the 2023 National Electrical Code.

Certificate of Occupancy

The certificate of occupancy is a flat $75.00 per building on the Commercial block of the county's 'APPENDIX B — FEE SCHEDULE, BUILDING PERMIT FEES (Effective February 25, 2022)', the schedule Lucas County Building Regulations links from its own page. For a food business the certificate is more than a closing formality, because it gates the health license: the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department's January 2026 planning application states that a pre-licensing inspection can be arranged only after a certificate of occupancy has been issued, and asks for two business days' notice to schedule it. The practical sequence for a restaurant, coffee shop or food-serving child care centre in the county's building jurisdiction is therefore plan review, building and trade permits, final inspections, certificate of occupancy, then the health department's pre-licensing inspection and license. Where an existing building is being taken over rather than built out, the same schedule prices a special inspection for health, safety and certificate of occupancy — covering building, electrical, plumbing, HVAC and fire alarm and suppression — at $600.00, which is the route an occupier of older premises is most likely to meet. A business in Toledo, Oregon or Maumee obtains its certificate from that city's own building department instead.

Sign Permit

Every business type covered here puts up a sign, and in the county's building jurisdiction each one needs its own permit at $75.00 plus $0.50 per foot per sign face, from the county's 'APPENDIX B — FEE SCHEDULE, BUILDING PERMIT FEES (Effective February 25, 2022)'. The per-face basis is worth reading carefully: a double-sided sign is measured on both faces, so a modest two-sided pylon costs meaningfully more than a single flat wall sign of the same width. The building permit is only half of the sign question, though. What may be erected, how large and where, is a zoning matter rather than a building one, and zoning in unincorporated Lucas County belongs to the township under ORC 519.02, with site plan requirements typically stated in the township zoning resolutions. In Holland and Whitehouse, where Lucas County Building Regulations issues the building permit under contract, each village continues to issue its own zoning permits, so a sign there needs village zoning approval as well as the county permit. In Toledo, Oregon and Maumee both the building permit and the zoning approval are city functions.

Commercial Trade Permits (electrical, plumbing, HVAC, pressure piping, fire alarm and suppression)

Trade permits are where a commercial fit-out's cost actually accumulates in Lucas County, because each trade is priced on its own basis and they stack on top of the building permit and plan review. The line most restaurants and coffee shops meet is the hood: Type 1 and Type 2 hoods are $150.00 per hood, and a Type I hood with fire suppression is what the health department's own mobile and food guidance expects wherever a hood is required for heat. A salon or veterinary clinic adding fixtures pays $100.00 plumbing base per unit plus $6.00 per fixture; an auto-repair shop upgrading its electrical service pays $0.50 per amp on the service, with anything over 200 amps also requiring plan review; a fitness studio adding a pool pays a flat $300.00 for the pool electrical work covering bonding, underground, wiring and final inspections. Fire alarm and suppression is priced by device count — $150.00 for the first 25 devices and $2.00 for each device beyond that, with fire pumps and standpipes at $200.00 each — and that single fee covers plan review, permit and inspections for those systems. All of these figures come from the Commercial blocks of the county's 'APPENDIX B — FEE SCHEDULE, BUILDING PERMIT FEES (Effective February 25, 2022)'; the residential equivalents differ and do not apply. The 3% state Board of Building Standards fee is added to commercial trade work as it is to the building permit itself. The trades themselves must be performed by a contractor registered with the department under Lucas County Building Code §117, recorded separately for Lucas County.

Commercial Plan Review

Commercial plan review is charged separately from the building permit itself, and both are needed for the same project, so a tenant fit-out for a restaurant, salon, clinic or studio in the county's building jurisdiction budgets two base fees plus two per-square-foot charges. The figures are from the county's 'APPENDIX B — FEE SCHEDULE, BUILDING PERMIT FEES (Effective February 25, 2022)', the schedule linked from the Building Regulations page, and are taken from the block the sheet labels Commercial — the residential plan review base is $50.00 with a gentler resubmission ladder and does not apply here. The resubmission ladder is the part worth designing around: the first resubmission costs nothing, the second is $150.00 and the third and each one after it is $300.00, so incomplete first submissions get expensive quickly on a commercial project. Revisions after a plan has already been approved are $75.00, and phased approvals are priced like a fresh review at $75.00 plus $0.03 per gross square foot. Replacement plans and copying are charged separately at $50.00 plus $5.00 per drawing sheet and $2.00 per sheet respectively. Plans for a food business will also go through the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department's own food plan review, recorded separately for Lucas County; the two reviews are independent of each other and both must be cleared before a food license issues.

Drainage Regulations / Subdivision Site Plan Review (collected at the building counter)

This $100.00 line sits on the county building fee schedule but the money is the Lucas County Engineer's: the 2022 Appendix B lists 'Drainage Regulations / Subdivision Site Plan Review' as collected for the Lucas County Engineer at the building counter, so an applicant pays it with the building permit rather than making a separate trip. It is a different charge from the Engineer's own permit fee schedule, recorded separately for Lucas County, which prices site plan review, grading and drainage, access and floodplain permits at their own rates; a project can attract both, and the Engineer's page states that most development plans require approval of all its permits before a building permit is issued. The Engineer's planning section describes its role plainly: it reviews engineering plans for proposed residential, commercial and industrial developments in the unincorporated areas of Lucas County, and 'works directly with the 11 township zoning departments to assist in providing engineering reviews of proposed Site Plans. Site Plan requirements are typically stated in the township zoning resolutions.' All subdivisions in the county follow the Lucas County Subdivision Rules and Regulations, with major subdivision plats reviewed by the Survey and Planning sections and forwarded to the Board of Lucas County Commissioners for approval.

Contact

Jurisdiction
Lucas County
Phone
419-213-2990

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. APPENDIX B — FEE SCHEDULE, BUILDING PERMIT FEES (Effective February 25, 2022) — the fee schedule linked from the Building Regulations page, with every block labelled Residential or Commercial, ending at 'Contractor Registration Fees / Original registration or renewal, per Contractor $100.00'Lucas County Building Regulations · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-30
  2. Building & Zoning Department — the Village of Whitehouse's own page: 'In 2023, the Village of Whitehouse contracted with Lucas County Building Regulations to provide all building department related matters, including plan review, issuing building permits and inspections', while 'The Village continues to issue zoning permits'Village of Whitehouse, Ohio · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-30
  3. Building Regulations — the department's own page, which links the fee schedule and directs property in the City of Toledo to the Division of Inspection at (419) 245-1220Lucas County, Ohio · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-30
  4. Codes — the codes the department enforces: Residential Code of Ohio 2019, Ohio Building Code 2024, Ohio Plumbing Code 2024, Ohio Mechanical Code 2024, IECC 2018 residential and 2021 commercial, and the 2023 National Electrical CodeLucas County Building Regulations · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-30
  5. Commercial — the department's own page: certified by the Ohio Board of Building Standards for all commercial structures and multi-family residences, and contracted through the Board of County Commissioners with the Villages of Harbor View, Holland, Ottawa Hills and Waterville, the City of Sylvania and all of the townshipsLucas County Building Regulations · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-30
  6. Contractor Registration Form — the department's current form, requiring notarisation of new applications and evidence of current state licensing for each specialty tradeLucas County Building Regulations · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-30
  7. County of Lucas Building Code, 2006 edition (effective May 30, 2006) — §117 Registration of Specialty Contractors, including §117.14 (expiry on December 31 of the year issued), §117.14.1 (double the annual renewal fee within 90 days) and §117.14.2 (re-examination thereafter)Lucas County Building Regulations · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-30
  8. Municipalities — the county's own list of its cities, villages and 11 townships (Harding, Jerusalem, Monclova, Providence, Richfield, Spencer, Springfield, Swanton, Sylvania, Washington and Waterville)Lucas County, Ohio · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-30
  9. New Food Business Planning Application (January 2026) — states 'TLCHD requires a plan review application and new license when change of ownership occurs. Transferring of licenses is not permitted.' and that a pre-licensing inspection can be arranged only after a certificate of occupancy has been issuedToledo-Lucas County Health Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-30
  10. ORC 4740.01 — the Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board issues licenses to individuals as heating, ventilating and air conditioning, refrigeration, electrical, plumbing or hydronics contractorsOhio Legislative Service Commission · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-30
  11. ORC 519.02 — a board of township trustees may regulate by resolution the uses of land in the unincorporated territory of the townshipOhio Legislative Service Commission · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-30
  12. Permits — the department's own permit and form index, including the contractor registration formLucas County Building Regulations · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-30
  13. Permits — the Lucas County Engineer's own permits page, which links the fee schedule, runs all applications through LCExpress, and states that most development plans require approval of all LCEO permits before a building permit is issuedLucas County Engineer's Office · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-30
  14. Planning — the Lucas County Engineer's own page: 'The planning section works directly with the 11 township zoning departments to assist in providing engineering reviews of proposed Site Plans. Site Plan requirements are typically stated in the township zoning resolutions', and all subdivisions follow the Lucas County Subdivision Rules and RegulationsLucas County Engineer's Office · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-30

Other offices serving Lucas County

The full permit list for this jurisdiction

Industry permit lists that include this agency

Ohio jurisdictions

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