Call three different townships in Delaware County about the same deck permit. You will get three different answers. Each one covers what's required, who signs off, and how long it takes. That's not bad customer service. It's the result of 49 separate municipalities, each running its own code office on top of one statewide building code. We built this page as the reference we wish existed when we started filing permits here.
Why One County Has 49 Different Answers
Delaware County doesn't run one central permitting office. Each of its 49 municipalities enforces the PA Uniform Construction Code (UCC) through its own code office. Several layer on local zoning or historic-district review that the state code doesn't require. According to the Delaware County Department of Planning, the county's role is regional land-use and hazard planning, not day-to-day permit issuance. That job sits entirely with the local municipality. Our office gets calls every month from homeowners who assumed "Delaware County" meant one phone number and one process. It actually means 49 of them.
The UCC sets a statewide floor for what triggers a permit. But it doesn't set the fee, the review time, or who stamps the plan. We've filed permits in more than a dozen Delaware County municipalities since 2018. The gap between the fastest and the slowest has run as wide as three weeks, on a comparable kitchen remodel. Knowing your township before you plan a timeline isn't a formality. It changes the schedule.
Which Projects Actually Need a Permit
Pennsylvania's Uniform Construction Code exempts a defined list of minor work from permitting. It requires a permit for anything touching structure, egress, or a major system. The table below covers the twenty projects we get asked about most. "Depends" means the answer turns on scope, square footage, or whether existing wiring or plumbing gets disturbed. Those are exactly the cases worth a five-minute call to the code office first.
| Project | Permit required? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Interior painting, wallpaper | No | Cosmetic, UCC-exempt |
| New flooring (no subfloor work) | No | Cosmetic finish only |
| Cabinet or countertop swap, same footprint | No | No structural or plumbing change |
| Kitchen remodel moving plumbing or a wall | Yes | Plumbing and structural work |
| Bathroom remodel, fixtures relocated | Yes | Plumbing relocation triggers review |
| Bathroom remodel, fixtures stay in place | Depends | Some townships still require electrical sign-off |
| Water heater replacement, same type | Depends | Many townships require a mechanical permit; some waive it for like-for-like |
| Replacing windows, same size opening | Depends | Egress and energy-code review varies by township |
| Enlarging a window or door opening | Yes | Structural header change |
| Roof replacement, same layout | Depends | Many townships exempt reroofing; some set a square-footage limit |
| Deck, attached or freestanding over 30 inches high | Yes | Structural and egress code applies |
| Fence under 6 feet | Depends | Usually a zoning setback review, not a building permit |
| Shed under 150 square feet, no utilities | No, in most townships | Common UCC accessory-structure exemption |
| Shed over that threshold or with electrical | Yes | Exceeds the exemption or adds a regulated system |
| Finished basement, egress window added | Yes | Habitable space and emergency egress rules apply |
| Finished basement, no new egress or plumbing | Depends | Some townships still require an electrical permit for new circuits |
| Room addition | Yes | New structure, foundation, and zoning review |
| Load-bearing wall removal | Yes | Structural; typically needs a sealed engineer's letter |
| New electrical panel or service upgrade | Yes | Electrical permit under the UCC, inspected separately |
| Driveway repaving, same footprint | No, in most townships | Not a building-code trigger; footprint growth may need a zoning permit |
Two patterns repeat on that list. First, anything touching a load-bearing wall, adding square footage, or changing the electrical service almost always needs a permit. That holds in every township. Second, the "depends" rows are where township variation lives. The same water heater swap can be a same-day inspection in one municipality and a two-week wait in the next.
The PA UCC builds in a short list of residential exemptions, and most townships apply them the same way. A detached shed under 150 square feet with no electrical, a fence under six feet, and a driveway resurfaced within its existing footprint are the three exemptions we get asked about most. Two things still trip people up. First, an exemption from the building permit doesn't always mean an exemption from zoning. Second, a township can set a lower threshold than the state minimum, so always treat the number above as a ceiling, not a guarantee.
Permit Rules, Township by Township
We work across most of Delaware County. These six municipalities account for most of our active permit filings. Fee schedules get revised year to year, so treat the figures below as a planning range, not a quote. Confirm the current number with the township directly.
| Municipality | Code office | Typical issue time | Fee basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Media Borough | Borough-run code enforcement, in-house review | 5–10 business days | Flat fee plus a surcharge above $25,000 in construction value |
| Nether Providence Township | Township building and code department | 7–14 business days | Construction-value based, tiered schedule |
| Springfield Township | Township code enforcement office | 5–10 business days | Flat fee for minor work, value-based above a set threshold |
| Marple Township | Township building department | 10–15 business days, longer with a zoning referral | Construction-value based |
| Newtown Township | Township code office, third-party plan review on larger jobs | 10–20 business days when outside review applies | Flat fee plus an outside plan-review pass-through on larger jobs |
| Haverford Township | Township code enforcement, in-house inspectors | 5–10 business days | Square-footage and construction-value hybrid |
In our experience, the biggest swing factor isn't a township's size. It's whether that municipality sends plans to a third-party review agency for anything beyond a straightforward remodel. Newtown Township's outside-review step is why its typical window runs longer than a similar project in Haverford or Springfield, where review stays in-house. When we scope a project, we build that township-specific lag into the client's schedule up front. Nobody should find out about it three weeks in.
What Happens When Work Was Never Permitted
Unpermitted work doesn't disappear. It resurfaces, usually at the worst time. At resale, a buyer's home inspector or title company often cross-checks visible improvements, a finished basement or a bumped-out addition, against the township's permit record. A mismatch can stall closing. The seller then has to apply for a permit on work that's already built, which can mean opening up finished walls or ceilings for inspection, sometimes years later.
Insurance is the second place it bites. A homeowner's policy can deny a claim tied to unpermitted work, a fire traced to an unpermitted electrical panel upgrade, for example, on the basis that the loss stemmed from work that never met code. We've walked homeowners through this exact scenario after they bought a house where a prior owner's finished basement had no permit on file. Retrofitting an egress window and bringing the electrical up to current code, after the fact, cost noticeably more than doing it right the first time would have.
Some townships also charge a penalty for work discovered after the fact instead of filed before starting, commonly double the standard fee. That's on top of the inspection and remediation cost itself. It's entirely avoidable by pulling the permit before the first wall comes down.
A homeowner's insurance appraisal can also flag the gap before a claim ever happens. Several insurers now ask, directly on a renewal questionnaire, whether a finished basement or an addition was permitted. An honest "no" can raise the premium or trigger a request for documentation before the next renewal, not just after a loss.
Documents You Need for a Clean Submission
A permit application that bounces back for missing paperwork adds days, sometimes weeks, to a timeline that didn't need to lose them. Most Delaware County code offices want the same core packet, regardless of municipality:
- A completed permit application naming the licensed, HICPA-registered contractor pulling the permit
- Scaled drawings showing the existing and proposed layout, dimensioned
- A site plan or plot plan for anything adding footprint, including decks and additions
- Structural details or an engineer's letter for load-bearing wall removal or header changes
- Proof of the contractor's HICPA registration number and a current insurance certificate
- Zoning compliance documentation if the project sits near a setback line or in a historic overlay
Our team submits the full packet on the first pass. A second round of review, even a fast one, almost always costs more calendar time than getting it right the first time does. On a recent Springfield Township bathroom remodel, we had the permit in hand in six business days. The plan set, insurance certificate, and HICPA number all went in together, not trickled in over three separate emails.
How ProBrothers Handles Permits Across Delaware County
We pull every permit ourselves, under our own HICPA registration (PA #195591), across the townships listed above and beyond. A homeowner working with us never has to sit in a code office or decode a township's application portal. We keep a permit-issue-time log across 180 jobs in Delaware County, so we can tell a client up front whether their remodel is looking at five business days or three weeks, before the first subcontractor ever shows up.
For deeper detail, see our general contracting services, our guide to home remodeling costs in Delaware County, or our companion piece on whether your specific Media, PA project needs a permit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Delaware County issue building permits, or does my township?
Your township or borough issues the permit, not Delaware County itself. The county's planning department handles regional land-use and hazard planning. Each of the 49 individual municipalities runs its own code office under the statewide PA Uniform Construction Code.
How long does a building permit take in Delaware County?
It varies by township and project complexity. Based on our own filings, straightforward remodels typically clear in five to ten business days in townships that review in-house. Projects needing third-party plan review can run ten to twenty business days or longer.
Do I need a permit to finish my basement in PA?
Usually yes, especially with a new egress window, new electrical circuits, or a bathroom added. A basement finished with no new egress, plumbing, or electrical work may fall into a "depends" category in some townships, so it's worth a direct call to confirm.
What happens if I get caught doing work without a permit in PA?
You can be required to apply for a permit retroactively and open up finished work for inspection. Some townships also charge a penalty fee, commonly double the standard rate. The unpermitted work can also surface again at resale or in an insurance claim denial.
Can I pull my own building permit as a homeowner in Pennsylvania?
In most cases a homeowner can apply for their own permit. Pulling it under the contractor's HICPA registration instead keeps legal responsibility for code compliance with the party doing the work. That's the arrangement we recommend, and use, on every ProBrothers project.
Sources referenced: Delaware County Department of Planning; Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, Uniform Construction Code program; data from Alliance Permitting's Delaware County, PA permit guide; AllPermitSearch's Delaware County building permit directory; US Building Department's Delaware County building department profile. Our methodology: typical issue times come from ProBrothers' own permit-issue-time log across 180 jobs filed in these townships since 2018, not a published township average. Figures are subject to change. This article is general planning guidance, not legal advice. Last reviewed October 2026 — confirm current fees, timelines, and requirements directly with your township's code enforcement office before applying.
