What permits do you need to open a contractor or trade in Hamilton County Oh?

Plumbing and Medical Gas Contractor Registration and $10,000 Bond

Before touching a plumbing or medical gas system in Hamilton County Public Health's jurisdiction, a contractor registers with the Plumbing Division and files a surety bond. Plumbing Regulation 3-2025, Section 02 puts it plainly: 'Registration and bonding is required to install, repair or modify a plumbing or medical gas system in HCPH's jurisdiction', and 'Each person, firm or corporation installing plumbing or medical gas systems within HCPH's jurisdiction shall file a surety bond in the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000) and said surety bond must be approved by the Hamilton County Board of Health.' The fee schedule effective 7/1/25 sets $100.00 for a single year and $300.00 for three, and the amounts are confirmed current by the registration packet the county links today, revised 07/28/2026 — thirteen months after the schedule's effective date — which prints the same $100 and $300 and the same $10,000 penal sum on its bond form. This is a registration and bond rather than a license, and HCPH is explicit about the difference on its own page: 'Counties are not permitted to license plumbers, but Hamilton County Public Health does require a $10,000 performance bond for all contractors installing plumbing.' Journeyman and master plumber licensing in this area is a municipal function, and HCPH points applicants to cities such as Cincinnati, Middletown or Norwood for it. The state license sits behind the county registration: 'All contractors wishing to obtain a residential or commercial plumbing permit in Hamilton County, Ohio must show proof of their Ohio Plumbing Contractors License issued by the Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (except those obtaining a Homeowners Permit and Specialty Contractors)', and the packet requires the license document itself because 'Website print-outs are not acceptable.' Specialty contractors get a narrower registration — they are 'restricted to installing only outside water service main and outside sanitary sewer piping' — and every registrant agrees to abide by OAC Chapter 4101:2-51 and the rules of Hamilton County Public Health.

Sewage Treatment System Installer, Service Provider and Septage Hauler Registration

A contractor who installs, alters or services on-site sewage treatment systems in the Hamilton County General Health District registers annually with Hamilton County Public Health's Division of Water Quality, at $150.00 for each of the three categories on the fee schedule: installer, STS service provider and septage hauler. A septage hauler pays an additional $100.00 for each truck inspection, which is charged per inspection rather than per year, so a multi-truck operation is priced on its fleet. All of these figures come from the STS Program fee schedule headed 'Effective 12/1/2023 Regulation 5-2023', which HCPH still links from its own Licenses and Permits index as the current schedule. This registration is separate from, and additional to, the plumbing contractor registration and $10,000 bond the same health district requires for plumbing and medical gas work, so a contractor doing both kinds of work holds both. The same schedule's penalty clause applies here too: 25 per cent of the local fee is added under ORC 3709.09 where work is performed before the application or permit is obtained, or where an inspection or operation permit fee is not submitted within 60 days of being due.

Commercial Trade Contractor License

Ohio does not license general contractors. The state board covers five commercial trades only — electrical, HVAC, hydronics, plumbing and refrigeration — and everything else, including residential and general contracting, is regulated by the local building department, which may nonetheless insist on this state license for residential work. The license is a master license held by a person, not a company: it must be assigned to one contracting company, cannot be used under a trading name, and requires $500,000 of liability cover plus five years' trade experience and a passing exam. Fees are per trade, so a contractor holding two pays twice. Continuing education is eight hours a year, or twenty-four across a three-year cycle, and half the electrical hours must be code courses. Let it lapse more than a year and you reapply and retest.

Shared with other businesses in Hamilton County Oh

• Minor Subdivision (lot split) — final submission — Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission (Subdivision Administrator), $255 per lot, for a minor subdivision final submission, plus a 5 per cent technology fee, per Appendix C-1 of the Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission Subdivision Regulations, effective 1 January 2026, per application; processing fees are non-refundable. Also required for retail stores, restaurants and auto repair shops; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.
• Air Permit Application Review and Annual Regional Fee — Southwest Ohio Air Quality Agency (a Hamilton County department), Per Appendix A: Air Pollution Control Fee Schedule, published 15 July 2025. Permit processing: an installation permit is $100 flat per permit plus $100 for each emissions unit in the permit, and a renewal permit is the same. Annual emissions unit surcharge: registration permits $50, permits by rule $50, gas dispensing facilities $50, dry cleaners $100. Fuel burning by heat input, annually: 0 to 10 mmBTU/hr $50, 11 to 100 $150, 101 to 300 $175, 301 to 500 $200, above 500 $225. Process weights by input, annually: 0 to 1,000 lb/hr $150, 1,001 to 5,000 $175, 5,001 to 10,000 $200, 10,001 to 50,000 $225, above 50,000 $250. Storage tanks by size run $100 to $250 and incinerators $50 to $225. Asbestos notifications are $150 with revisions at $75, billed for a maximum of three. Federally enforceable permits: Title V processing $1,000 plus a $500 annual surcharge, FEPTIO $500 plus $250. Payment is due 30 days after the invoice date, a 10 per cent late fee is currently charged and up to 25 per cent is permitted under ORC 3709.09. No fee applies to the State or a political subdivision, or to a person exempt from taxation under ORC 5709.07 or 5709.12., the permit itself is issued by Ohio EPA; the regional fee is annual, invoiced by the agency on the previous calendar year, and payable to the Treasurer of Hamilton County within 30 days of the invoice date. Also required for auto repair shops, restaurants and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the auto repair shops page.