The work
What permitting and inspections actually involves
Establishing what is needed, then getting it approved and signed off
Permit work is the paperwork side of construction: identifying which approvals a project needs, preparing the application and drawings, submitting it, answering the authority's queries, and arranging the inspections as work proceeds.
It ends with sign-off. A permit that is opened and never closed out is arguably worse than no permit, because it is a documented, unfinished obligation attached to the property.
Zoning approval and building permits are different things and are often granted by different departments on different timescales. A project can satisfy one and be refused by the other.
Unpermitted work
It surfaces at sale, and it surfaces at claim time
Skipping a permit saves a fee and weeks of waiting, and defers a problem rather than removing it.
At sale, unpermitted work can stop a mortgage valuation, and buyers' solicitors ask about it directly. Retrospective approval is possible and sometimes means opening finished work for inspection.
At claim time, an insurer can decline where unpermitted work contributed to the loss. That is the version of this that actually costs real money.
Failure points
Two things that go wrong
Whose name is on the permit
“Whose name goes on the permit, and why that one?”
A permit pulled in the homeowner's name rather than the contractor's puts responsibility for code compliance on you, not them. Some contractors prefer it for exactly that reason. It is a meaningful difference and it is a line on a form.
Inspections missed as work covers up
“What inspections are required, at what stages, and who books them?”
Inspections happen at defined stages, and several must occur before the work is covered. A missed inspection can mean opening up finished work. The schedule is known in advance and it is a coordination failure when it slips.
Before you book permitting and inspections
How we rank →Six checks, in the order they save you the most. None of them takes longer than a phone call, and the first one is the reason two quotes for the same job can be a thousand apart.
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Dana Whitfield · September 2026
Common questions about permitting and inspections
Who handles permitting and inspections?
Permitting and inspections is handled by general contractors. Not every company in the trade takes this work on, so each ranking lists the services a company genuinely performs rather than everything it advertises.
What should I ask before booking permitting and inspections?
Ask what the quote includes and excludes, who is doing the work, whether a permit is needed and who is pulling it, and what the workmanship warranty covers. Get the answers in writing before anyone starts.
How do I compare quotes for this?
Put them on one sheet line by line. Differences in price almost always turn out to be differences in scope, material grade or warranty length rather than margin.
Is permitting and inspections priced separately from the rest of the job?
Usually it is a line inside a larger quote rather than its own invoice, which is exactly why the exclusions matter. Ask for it itemised so you can compare that line between companies instead of comparing two totals.
For general contracting
Do you offer permitting and inspections?
Claim your profile so the services you actually perform are the ones recorded here, alongside your licence, hours and coverage. Neither claiming nor advertising buys a ranked position.