Do I Need a Building Permit in New Hampshire?
New Hampshire building permit rules. The state building code applies everywhere, the edition is locked in when your application is received, and if the building and fire officials disagree the owner may break the tie.
The code applies to you everywhere in New Hampshire, though who issues the permit depends on whether your municipality has adopted an enforcement mechanism. RSA 155-A:2 requires that all buildings and structures constructed in the state comply with the state building code and state fire code, and the edition that applies is the one in force when your application is received.
The code applies statewide, to new work and to alterations
RSA 155-A:2, I is unambiguous about reach: “all buildings, building components, and structures constructed in New Hampshire shall comply with the state building code and state fire code.” It then names the full range of work covered — “the construction, design, structure, maintenance, and use of all buildings or structures to be erected and the alteration, renovation, rehabilitation, repair, removal, or demolition of all buildings and structures previously erected shall be governed by the provisions of the state building code.” Demolition and removal are in that list alongside new construction, so the question is rarely whether the code reaches your project.
The edition is locked in when your application is received
This is the provision to know if a code change is coming. Under RSA 155-A:2, I, “the state building code in effect at the time that the application for the building permit required by RSA 155-A:4 is received by the governing authority shall remain in effect for the duration of the work covered by that permit.” So a mid-project code change does not follow you — the edition attaches at receipt of the application and stays for the life of that permit. There is also a transitional window when a new code takes effect: “for a period of 6 months after the effective date of the code adopted under RSA 155-A:1, IV, a concurrency period is established”, during which an applicant may elect to show compliance using either the previous or the new code — but expressly “not a combination of the 2 codes.” Pick one; you may not mix them.
If the building and fire codes conflict, the owner can break a deadlock
New Hampshire gives the property owner an unusual power here, and it comes with a short clock. RSA 155-A:2, II provides that where the state building code and the state fire code conflict, “the code creating the greater degree of life safety shall take precedence”. If the two municipal officials cannot agree which that is, “the property owner may notify the 2 officials in writing that if agreement is not reached within 2 business days of delivery of said notification, that the decision shall be made by the property owner to comply with either the applicable building code or fire code.” The statute then protects the consequence: “such decision by the property owner after proper notification shall not be grounds for the denial of a certificate of occupancy.” Written notice, two business days, and the choice passes to you — a real remedy for being caught between two departments.
Who issues your permit depends on whether your municipality took it on
Permitting is reserved to local government, but only where local government has taken it up. Under RSA 155-A:2, III the issuance of permits and collection of fees “is expressly reserved for counties, towns, cities, and village districts where such activities have been authorized in accordance with RSA 155-A:3.” For places without that machinery, the statute routes around the gap: the state fire marshal “may establish for municipalities that do not have a building official or other enforcement mechanism authorized in RSA 155-A:4”, with the commissioner's approval and by rule, “fees to defray the cost of issuing building permits in accordance with the state building code.” So in a municipality with no building official, the state side can still issue — which means the absence of a local department does not mean the absence of a permit requirement.
State-owned buildings, and one thing local government may not regulate
Paragraph IV splits ownership from geography. Except for buildings owned by the state, the community college system or the university system, “the issuance of permits and certificates of occupancy pursuant to the state building code is expressly reserved for counties, towns, cities, and village districts”, while “the state fire marshal shall issue permits, conduct inspections, and issue certificates of occupancy” for those state-system buildings. The fire marshal may contract that work out, with the applicant paying, and a municipality that has adopted an enforcement mechanism “alternatively may request the services of the state fire marshal” where a project needs specialised knowledge or the municipality is short-staffed — though nothing requires the fire marshal to accept. Separately, paragraph V-a provides that any event tent erected on public or private property must comply with the state building and fire codes, and that counties, towns, cities and village districts “shall not adopt any rule, regulation, or ordinance regarding event” tents beyond that.
New Hampshire applies one state building code and state fire code to all construction, alteration, repair, removal and demolition under RSA 155-A:2. Two provisions are worth remembering before you file. The edition in force when your application is received stays with that permit for the duration of the work, and when a new code lands there is a six-month window in which you may elect either code — but not a mixture of the two. And if your municipal building official and fire official disagree about which code gives the greater degree of life safety, you may put them on written notice: if they have not agreed within two business days, the choice becomes yours, and it cannot be used to refuse your certificate of occupancy. Who issues the permit depends on whether your municipality has authorised enforcement; where it has not, the state fire marshal side can issue instead.
Based on the International Residential Code (IRC) and International Building Code (IBC) model codes. Every jurisdiction adopts a specific edition with its own local amendments — check your city’s permit page for the exact codes in force and their source citations.