What do these permits involve in Summit County?

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Vendor's License (County Vendor's License, form ST-1)

A business making retail sales subject to Ohio sales tax from premises in Summit County registers with the Summit County Fiscal Office on form ST-1 before making sales. The Fiscal Office's own vendor licensing page states that 'a vendor's license authorizes a business to engage in tangible retail sales and charge sales tax' and that 'a license is required for each location of operation within the county,' and gives the fee as $50. The amount is statutory rather than county-set: ORC 5739.17(A) requires the applicant to pay into the county treasury 'a license fee in the sum of fifty dollars for each fixed place of business in the county that will be the situs of retail sales,' with $25 credited to the organized crime commission fund and $25 to the county general fund. The section's own version history records its amendment by House Bill 366 of the 135th General Assembly, effective 9 April 2025, which is why the $25 figure that still circulates is out of date. Two provisions matter for particular operators: ORC 5739.17(C) provides that where a vendor has no fixed place of business and sells from a vehicle, 'each vehicle intended to be used within a county constitutes a place of business,' which puts a food truck squarely inside this license; and ORC 5739.17(D) offers a statewide transient vendor's license, also $50, obtained from the Tax Commissioner, whose holder 'shall not be required to obtain a separate vendor's license from the county auditor' in a county where it maintains no fixed place of business. The same section also allows the application to be made through the Tax Commissioner's registration system on behalf of the county auditor.

Commercial Electrical, Mechanical-Hydronic and Plumbing Permits

A commercial fit-out normally needs trade permits alongside the building permit, and Summit County issues all three itself: the department's booklet describes dedicated building, electrical, plumbing and fire inspectors covering all phases of residential and commercial construction. The commercial figures are in §1307.06(c) through (e) of the Codified Ordinances — not in §1307.05, which is the separate residential table — and each trade is priced on its own: $102.00 plus $5.00 per 100 sq ft for new construction; for alterations, $102.00 plus $2.00 per 100 sq ft electrical, $102.00 plus $2.50 per 100 sq ft mechanical-hydronic and $102.00 plus $3.00 per 100 sq ft plumbing; and $102.00 plus $60.00 for repairs and replacements. The plumbing alteration rate is the highest of the three, which matters for a restaurant, salon or veterinary fit-out with significant plumbing work. Every permit also carries the $2.00 technology fee under §1307.15 and the 3% Ohio Board of Building Standards surcharge on commercial fees under §1307.04(e), which the county remits to the Board. Figures are taken from the current American Legal codification of Chapter 1307 (Ord. 2024-047, adopted 3-4-24). Re-inspection charges under §1307.10 run $30.00 for the first, $30.00 for the second, $60.00 for the third and $80.00 for the fourth, and §1307.14 adds $250.00 for an after-hours inspection on top of the regular inspection fees. The department serves the 23 jurisdictions named in its services booklet for commercial work; communities off that roster run their own building departments, and Summit County Public Health's own code index notes that 'plumbing permits are either issued by this department or by your community building department.' At an Akron address the city runs its own simultaneous plan review and its page states the county 'can not issue building permits without Akron Approval,' so trade permits there wait on the city as well.

Commercial Change in Use Permit

Taking a space that was last used for something else — a shop becoming a cafe, an office becoming a studio, a warehouse bay becoming a veterinary clinic — is a change of occupancy classification under the Ohio Building Code, and Summit County charges for it separately from any construction permit. Under §1307.09 of the Codified Ordinances the commercial application fee is $87.00 non-refundable and the Changes in Use item is a further $77.00; the residential column of the same section marks this item as not applicable, so it is a commercial charge. The $2.00 technology fee under §1307.15 applies at application and §1307.04(e) assesses 3% on commercial project fees for remittance to the Ohio Board of Building Standards. The figures are taken from the current American Legal codification of Chapter 1307 (Ord. 2024-047, adopted 3-4-24). A change of use frequently arrives with other items from the same section — special inspections at $87.00 plus $77.00 commercial under §1307.09(b), and demolition, moving or site restoration at $87.00 plus $127.00 commercial under §1307.09(d) — and with the plan review and trade permits listed separately. Zoning approval from the city, village or township comes first: the county publishes a Zoning Inspectors directory naming a contact for each of its 31 communities, and a change of use is exactly the point at which a community's zoning code is tested. The department serves the 23 jurisdictions named in its services booklet for commercial work, and at an Akron address the city's own page states that the county 'can not issue building permits without Akron Approval,' with a separate Akron submission required alongside the county one.

Commercial Site Improvement Inspection

Parking, paving and drainage are charged on their own schedule rather than folded into the building permit. §1307.13 of the Codified Ordinances, which refers to §1305.25, sets a base of $100.00 plus an amount for each improvement in the job: graded areas and paved areas, parking lots and driveways at $5.00 per $1,000 of job cost; parking lot striping at $1.00 per space; sidewalks and curbs at $10.00 per 100 feet each; catch basins at $20.00 each; retention and detention basins including inlets and outlets at $100.00 each; storm sewers and drainage pipes at $50.00 per 100 linear feet; and manholes at $20.00 each. The $2.00 technology fee under §1307.15 and the 3% Ohio Board of Building Standards surcharge under §1307.04(e) apply as with every commercial permit. The figures are taken from the current American Legal codification of Chapter 1307 (Ord. 2010-295, adopted 6-28-10, carried forward in the chapter as amended by Ord. 2024-047). This is the charge a new restaurant, shop, clinic or studio meets when it builds or re-lays a customer car park, adds an accessible route, or puts in drainage for a new pad — commonly the largest single line after the building permit itself on a ground-up project. The department's booklet lists floodplain compliance review among its services, and §1307.04(d) prices plan review for a Special Flood Damage Reduction Permit at $100.00 plus a consultant review fee where one applies. Site work also engages the community's own zoning and, in the unincorporated county, the Summit County Planning Commission's subdivision and zoning review; the county publishes a Zoning Inspectors directory naming a contact for each of its 31 communities. Building Standards serves the 23 jurisdictions named in its services booklet for commercial work.

Commercial Building Permit

This is the county touchpoint nearly every business in Summit County meets, and it is also where the county's fee chapter is most easily misread: Chapter 1307 splits its permit tables between §1307.05, headed RESIDENTIAL PERMIT FEES, and §1307.06, COMMERCIAL PERMIT FEES, and a commercial tenant or owner pays the §1307.06 figures — a $167.00 non-refundable application fee plus $6.00 per 100 sq ft for new construction, $102.00 plus $6.00 per 100 sq ft for alterations, and $102.00 plus $60.00 for repairs and replacements. Two additions apply to every permit: §1307.15 adds a non-refundable $2.00 technology fee at the time of application 'to cover the cost of technology utilized by the County of Summit Department of Building Standards,' and §1307.04(e) assesses 3% on all fees associated with commercial projects for remittance to the Ohio Board of Building Standards, a state pass-through rather than a county charge. The figures are the ordinance's own, as carried in the current American Legal codification of Chapter 1307 (Ord. 2024-047, adopted 3-4-24). Summit County's Building Standards department is unusually wide for an Ohio county: its services booklet names 23 jurisdictions it serves for commercial plan review and inspection — Akron, Cuyahoga Falls, Fairlawn, Green, Hudson, New Franklin, Tallmadge, Boston Heights, Clinton, Lakemore, Mogadore, Northfield, Northfield Center Twp., Richfield, Silver Lake, Boston Twp., Copley Twp., Coventry Twp., Bath Twp., Sagamore Hills Twp., Springfield Twp., Twinsburg Twp. and Richfield Twp. — while communities off that roster, among them Barberton, Stow, the City of Twinsburg, Macedonia, Munroe Falls, Norton, Reminderville and Peninsula, run their own building departments. Inside the City of Akron a second review stacks on top: Akron's own Plans and Permits page states that 'the City of Akron will continue to review ALL projects within the City of Akron limits. Summit County Department of Building Standards will do a separate plan review simultaneously,' that 'all projects within the City of Akron must be submitted to Summit County as well as the City of Akron,' and that the county 'can not issue building permits without Akron Approval,' obtained by submitting plans separately through Akron's own portal. Zoning approval from the community comes first everywhere: the county publishes a Zoning Inspectors directory naming a contact for each of its 31 communities, and the department's own sequencing notice requires zoning approval before a permit issues. Applications run through the GovWell portal at app.govwell.com/summit-oh. Two costs sit in the surrounding sections: §1307.02 imposes 'penalties of 200% of the regular permit fee, in addition to the regular permit fee requirement' where work begins without a permit, and requires new permit fees on expired permits; and §1307.03 charges $115.00 for a first hearing before the Board of Building Appeals and $230.00 for a re-hearing. On contractors, the department's FAQ states: 'Do I need to register as a contractor? No, not as previously required. Registration is a permit basis only. When applying for a permit, include your Certificate of Insurance (COI), Federal ID number and if applicable, your State License with each application,' and 'Do I need a bond? No, as of March 2024 a bond is not required' — the annual registration and the bond were both ended by Ord. 2024-047, so what a contractor brings to a permit application now is insurance, a federal ID number and any applicable state trade license.

Semipublic Sewage Disposal System — Installation Permit

A commercial site in Summit County that is not connected to a public sanitary sewer — common for restaurants, kennels, clinics, shops and studios on township parcels — disposes of its wastewater through a semipublic sewage disposal system, and installing one takes a permit from Summit County Public Health at $400.00 each occurrence. The figure is published at EHC 101.08(a) of the 2026 APPROVED Environmental Health Fee Schedule, Exhibit A to SCPH's Environmental Health Code Chapter 101, the adopted schedule for the 2026 calendar year, in effect through 31 December 2026, and carries no state component. The statutory basis the schedule cites is ORC 3709.085 with the board of health fee-setting power in ORC 3709.09. The installation permit is the front half of a two-step process: once the system exists it must also hold the annual permit to operate listed separately. A business on a public sewer has no semipublic sewage permit to obtain, and this record does not apply to it. Building out the same premises separately needs the Summit County Department of Building Standards plumbing and building permits recorded elsewhere here.

Semipublic Sewage Disposal System — Permit to Operate

A semipublic sewage disposal system serving a commercial property in Summit County carries an annual permit to operate from Summit County Public Health, inspected and renewed each year. The charge is $175.00 whether the system discharges or does not discharge, as published at EHC 101.08(b) of the 2026 APPROVED Environmental Health Fee Schedule, Exhibit A to SCPH's Environmental Health Code Chapter 101, the adopted schedule for the 2026 calendar year, in effect through 31 December 2026; no state component is added. This item runs on its own calendar — payment is due 1 July, and a late payment penalty of 25% of the district fee applies from 2 July — so a business holding several SCPH licenses will have food due in March, pools in April and sewage in July. The permit to operate is the ongoing half of the pair: the one-off installation permit recorded separately covers putting the system in. Premises on a public sanitary sewer are outside this requirement entirely. The statutory basis the schedule cites is ORC 3709.085 with the board of health fee-setting power in ORC 3709.09.

Commercial / Non-Residential Plan Review

Commercial drawings are reviewed before a permit issues, and Summit County prices the review on floor area and trades rather than on job value. §1307.04(c) charges a first review at $3.50 per 100 sq ft with a 10,000 sq ft minimum — so a small tenant fit-out still pays on 10,000 sq ft — plus $90.00 for each trade submitted with the original drawings, capped at four trades. The trades the section names are Building/Structural, Electrical, HVAC, Plumbing, Fire Alarm, Fire Suppression (sprinklers), Kitchen Hood, Kitchen Hood Suppression (ansul) and Underground Fire Main, which is why a restaurant submission reaches the four-trade cap quickly. A second review carries no fee; the third and each later review is $150.00. Submitting a single trade on its own later is $145.00, an accessory structure of the kind listed in §1307.08 is $60.00, and a sign including electrical is $60.00. Square footage means the total gross square footage of all levels of the structure. §1307.04(d) adds $100.00 for review of a Special Flood Damage Reduction Permit plus a consultant review fee where one applies; §1307.04(f) makes all fees charged and paid under the section non-refundable; and §1307.04(e) assesses 3% on commercial project fees for remittance to the Ohio Board of Building Standards. The $2.00 technology fee under §1307.15 attaches at application. Figures come from the current American Legal codification of Chapter 1307 (Ord. 2024-047, adopted 3-4-24). The department's page records that the Ohio Building Code moved to its 2024 edition effective 1 March 2024 for all plan approval applications submitted on and after that date, and that electronic plan review and remote video inspections are available; submissions run through the GovWell portal. A project inside the City of Akron is reviewed twice over: Akron's own page states the city reviews all projects within its limits simultaneously with the county's review and that the county 'can not issue building permits without Akron Approval.'

Temporary Occupancy Permit (commercial)

A business that needs to open, stock, train staff or trade in part of a building before the work is finally signed off applies for a temporary occupancy from Summit County Building Standards. §1307.09 prices it at the section's $87.00 non-refundable commercial application fee plus $62.00, and marks the item as not applicable in the residential column, so it is a commercial charge; the $2.00 technology fee under §1307.15 and the 3% Ohio Board of Building Standards surcharge under §1307.04(e) apply as elsewhere in the chapter. The figures come from the current American Legal codification of Chapter 1307 (Ord. 2024-047, adopted 3-4-24). Occupancy inspections and certificate issuance are among the services the department's own booklet lists, and §1307.14 adds $250.00 for an after-hours inspection on top of the regular inspection fees where a business needs one outside normal hours to hit an opening date. Inside the City of Akron the certificate of occupancy process is shared: Akron's own Plans and Permits page requires the application, a floor plan and a building floor plan to go to both the City of Akron and Summit County Department of Building Standards, notes a Fire Prevention hazard inspection charged by the city, and states that 'the Summit County Building Standards will issue the Certificate of Occupancy.' Elsewhere the county issues occupancy documents for the 23 jurisdictions named in its services booklet, and a business in a community off that roster deals with its own building department instead.

Private Water System Construction or Alteration Approval (non-single-family)

A commercial property in Summit County drawing its water from a well, spring, cistern or hauled-water tank rather than a public main runs a private water system, and Summit County Public Health approves its construction, alteration, sealing and sampling. Non-single-family is the category a business falls in, and the figures above are published at EHC 101.01(a) of the 2026 APPROVED Environmental Health Fee Schedule, Exhibit A to SCPH's Environmental Health Code Chapter 101, the adopted schedule for the 2026 calendar year, in effect through 31 December 2026; where a figure includes a $74 Ohio Department of Health or $20 Ohio Department of Natural Resources component, that part is a state agency charge rather than a county one. Two items catch businesses out: connecting an existing well-served property to public water is itself an alteration at $250.00, and sealing or decommissioning an out-of-use well is $120.00. Proceeding without the approval adds a penalty of 25% of the district fee. A business on a public water supply has no private water system approval to obtain. Water hauler registration and vehicle inspection sit on separate lines of the same schedule and apply to the hauling business rather than to the premises served.

Permit	Issuing agency	Fee	Renews	Last checked
Vendor's License (County Vendor's License, form ST-1)	Summit County Fiscal Office, Services Department	$50 one-time, for each fixed place of business in the county that is the situs of retail sales ($25 to the state organized crime commission fund, $25 to the Summit County general fund)	standing registration — ORC 5739.17 sets no expiry date and no renewal fee; a new license is required on a change of the vendor itself or for a place of business in another county	2026-09-30
Commercial Electrical, Mechanical-Hydronic and Plumbing Permits	Summit County Department of Building Standards	§1307.06(c)–(e), each trade separately: new construction $102.00 plus $5.00 per 100 sq ft; alterations $102.00 plus $2.00 per 100 sq ft for electrical, $2.50 per 100 sq ft for mechanical-hydronic and $3.00 per 100 sq ft for plumbing; repair and replacements $102.00 plus $60.00. Added to every permit: the $2.00 non-refundable technology fee under §1307.15 and the 3% Ohio Board of Building Standards surcharge on commercial fees under §1307.04(e), a state pass-through.	per project; §1307.02 requires new permit fees on all expired permits, and re-inspections are charged under §1307.10 at $30.00, $30.00, $60.00 and $80.00 for the first through fourth	2026-09-30
Commercial Change in Use Permitonly if it applies to you	Summit County Department of Building Standards	§1307.09: a non-refundable application fee of $87.00 for commercial and non-residential work, plus $77.00 for the Changes in Use item. Added to the permit: the $2.00 non-refundable technology fee under §1307.15 and the 3% Ohio Board of Building Standards surcharge on commercial fees under §1307.04(e), a state pass-through.	per project; §1307.02 requires new permit fees on all expired permits	2026-09-30
Commercial Site Improvement Inspectiononly if it applies to you	Summit County Department of Building Standards	§1307.13 (referring to §1305.25): $100.00 plus, per improvement — graded areas $5.00 per $1,000 of job cost; paved areas, parking lots and driveways $5.00 per $1,000 of job cost; parking lot striping $1.00 per space; sidewalks $10.00 per 100 feet; curbs $10.00 per 100 feet; catch basins $20.00 each; retention and detention basins including inlets and outlets $100.00 each; storm sewers and drainage pipes $50.00 per 100 linear feet; manholes $20.00 each. Added to the permit: the $2.00 non-refundable technology fee under §1307.15 and the 3% Ohio Board of Building Standards surcharge on commercial fees under §1307.04(e), a state pass-through.	per project, charged at application against the site improvements the project includes	2026-09-30
Commercial Building Permit	Summit County Department of Building Standards	§1307.06(b) commercial building permit fees: new construction $167.00 non-refundable application fee plus $6.00 per 100 sq ft; alterations $102.00 plus $6.00 per 100 sq ft; repair and replacements $102.00 plus $60.00. Square footage means the total of the gross areas of every level of the structure. Added to every permit: the $2.00 non-refundable technology fee under §1307.15, and the 3% Ohio Board of Building Standards surcharge on all fees associated with commercial projects under §1307.04(e), which is remitted to the Board and is a state pass-through rather than a county charge.	per project; §1307.02 provides that new permit fees are required on all expired permits, and permit fees are non-refundable	2026-09-30
Semipublic Sewage Disposal System — Installation Permitonly if it applies to you	Summit County Public Health	$400 each occurrence, per installation permit	per occurrence, tied to the installation; continued use of the system then runs on the separate annual permit to operate	2026-09-30
Semipublic Sewage Disposal System — Permit to Operateonly if it applies to you	Summit County Public Health	$175 a year per system — $175.00 for a discharging system and $175.00 for a non-discharging system alike	annual, due 1 July; a 25% late payment penalty on the district fee applies from 2 July	2026-09-30
Commercial / Non-Residential Plan Review	Summit County Department of Building Standards	§1307.04(c) commercial/non-residential plan review: first review $3.50 per 100 sq ft with a minimum of 10,000 sq ft, plus $90.00 per trade submitted with the original drawings, to a maximum of 4 trades; second review no fee; third and subsequent reviews $150.00 each; accessory structures listed in §1307.08 $60.00; an individual trade submission $145.00; signs including electrical $60.00. §1307.04(d) adds $100.00 for plan review of a Special Flood Damage Reduction Permit, plus the consultant review fee where one applies. §1307.04(f) makes all fees charged under the section non-refundable, and §1307.04(e) assesses the 3% Ohio Board of Building Standards surcharge on commercial project fees.	per submission; the first review is priced on area and trades, the second carries no fee, and each review from the third onwards is charged again	2026-09-30
Temporary Occupancy Permit (commercial)only if it applies to you	Summit County Department of Building Standards	§1307.09: a non-refundable application fee of $87.00 for commercial and non-residential work, plus $62.00 for the Temporary occupancy item. Added to the permit: the $2.00 non-refundable technology fee under §1307.15 and the 3% Ohio Board of Building Standards surcharge on commercial fees under §1307.04(e), a state pass-through. An after-hours inspection is $250.00 under §1307.14, in addition to the regular inspection fees.	per occurrence — a temporary occupancy is granted for a defined interval ahead of the final certificate of occupancy, and a further grant is a further occurrence	2026-09-30
Private Water System Construction or Alteration Approval (non-single-family)only if it applies to you	Summit County Public Health	EHC 101.01(a)(5)–(10) and (15), non-single-family: new well $594.00 ($500 district + $74 Ohio Department of Health + $20 Ohio Department of Natural Resources); hauled water tank, spring or cistern $574.00 ($500 + $74); conversion of a non-private-water-system well to a private water system $574.00; alteration, including connection to public water, $250.00; sealing or decommissioning $120.00; water re-sample for permit compliance $80.00; sample collection $50.00 plus the laboratory fee. Working without approval adds 25% of the district fee. The $74 and $20 components are state agency fees, not county charges.	per occurrence, tied to the construction, alteration, sealing or sampling event rather than to a license year	2026-09-30

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