How to look up past permits for your house before you sell
A permit is the city or county's record that work was approved and inspected. Buyers and their inspectors may ask about permits for additions, finished basements, decks, and major electrical or plumbing work. You can often find yours in an hour.
Step 1: find the right office
Permits come from the local building or permit office. That is the city, or the county if you live outside city limits. Search for your city or county name plus "building permit search" or "permit portal". Use a .gov site. If you aren't sure which office covers your address, call city hall or the county.
Step 2: search by address
Many offices have an online search where you type your street address. You get a list of permits with dates, a description, and a status. Some offices let you open or download the documents.
If the site has no result, or only shows recent years, call or visit. Older records may be on paper or microfilm, and staff can often look them up for you. Ask what they can search by (address or parcel number) and whether there is a fee.
Step 3: read the status
Each permit has a status. Names differ by office, but you will see the same ideas:
- Finaled, closed or completed. The work was inspected and signed off. Keep a copy.
- Open, active, issued or expired. A permit was pulled, but the final inspection was never recorded. The work may be done and just never closed out.
- No permit found. Either none was needed, or it was never pulled. Whether a job needs a permit depends on the job and your location.
What open or missing permits mean for a sale
A permit that was never closed can come up when a buyer or their inspector checks. So can work that needed a permit and never got one. The usual choices are to close out the open permit, get a permit after the fact, or disclose it and let the buyer decide how to treat it. What applies to you depends on your state and local rules, and on the contract.
This is a legal question, so don't guess. Read Nolo's article on unpermitted construction when selling your home and Nolo's state-by-state disclosure guide. Then check with a local real estate lawyer before you list. Your permit office can tell you what it would take to close an open permit.
If a previous owner did the work, you may still have to deal with it. Look before a buyer does.
How to show permits to buyers
- Collect the finaled permits and the final inspection sign-off, if the office gives you one.
- Pair each with the work: the contractor's invoice, the date, and a short description.
- List the work that had no permit, and be straightforward about it, in line with your seller disclosure.
- Send it with your listing, or when a buyer asks for disclosures.
See what records buyers want and how to answer buyer questions.