Building Safety in Mobile, AL

If you live in Mobile or are thinking about moving there, building safety are one of those things you probably won't think about until they affect you directly. Mobile has 7 specific rules on the books covering different aspects of building safety, and some of them might surprise you.

Building Permits

Mobile requires a building permit for most construction, alteration, or repair work under City Code Section 11-34, with narrow exemptions like small playhouses and low retaining walls.

Key details: Minimum permit fee: $25.00. Exempt: playhouses under 120 sq ft. Exempt: retaining walls under 4 ft. 1st offense penalty: 2x required permit fee.

Building without a required permit draws two to five times the normal permit fee depending on the offense count, under Sec. 11-34(w), plus other chapter 1 penalties.

Electrical Permits

Mobile requires an electrical permit for most work under City Code Section 11-35, exempting only minor repairs, radio/TV transmission wiring, and temporary testing systems.

Key details: Minimum permit fee: $10.00. Exempt: minor repairs, lamp replacement. Exempt: temporary testing systems. 200-amp service fee: $15.00.

Performing electrical alterations, repairs, or installations without the required permit exposes the work to stop-work action and fee penalties under chapter 11's building code enforcement provisions.

Elevator Maintenance

Mobile's Property Maintenance Code requires every elevator to stay in service under the ASME A17.1 safety code, with a current inspection certificate posted where the public can see it. Buildings with passenger elevators must keep at least one running whenever occupied, and a separate city ordinance makes elevator operators carry liability insurance.

Key details: Elevators must comply with: ASME A17.1. Inspection certificate: must be publicly displayed. Occupied multi-elevator building: keep one elevator running. Single-elevator exception: temporary outage for servicing allowed. Elevator insurance minimum: $500,000 bodily injury, $100,000 property.

A building that lets its elevator sit out of service, skips required ASME A17.1 testing, or fails to post a current inspection certificate is in violation of Section 109.1. After a notice of violation, uncorrected violations are prosecuted as a misdemeanor or civil infraction under Section 109.3, with fines of $250 to $500 plus court costs under Section 109.4 and each day of noncompliance treated as a separate offense.

Door Locking Hardware

Mobile requires every rented dwelling, rooming, or housekeeping unit door to have a deadbolt with at least a 1-inch throw that opens without a key from inside.

Key details: Minimum lock throw: 1 inch. Applies to: Rented, leased, or let units. Egress side: No key needed to exit. Sliding bolts: Not an acceptable deadbolt.

Deadbolts must be installed per manufacturer specifications and kept in good working order; a sliding bolt does not satisfy the requirement and leaves the unit noncompliant with the Property Maintenance Code.

Plumbing Permits

Mobile enforces the 2021 International Plumbing Code as its own Plumbing Code, requiring a licensed plumber and permit fee for most plumbing work under City Code § 45-1.

Key details: Code adopted: 2021 International Plumbing Code. Permit required: Yes, before plumbing work. Who can apply: Licensed master plumber (owner exception). Homeowner exception: Must pass city competency test.

Failing to obtain a required plumbing permit brings the same escalating penalty as other building trades: 2 times the fee for a first offense, up to 5 times for repeat offenses.

Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Mobile's Property Maintenance Code makes carbon monoxide alarms mandatory in dwellings, pointing owners to the same national fire and residential code sections that set placement and installation standards. Section 705.2 goes further, requiring the alarms and any detection system to be kept working under NFPA 720 and replaced the moment they go inoperable or start signaling end-of-life.

Key details: Governs: PMC §§ 705.1, 705.2. CO alarms required: in dwellings citywide. IFC-governed units follow: Fire Code § 1103.9. IRC-governed units follow: Residential Code § R315. Maintenance standard: NFPA 720.

Failing to install or maintain a required carbon monoxide alarm violates Section 109.1 of the Property Maintenance Code. After a notice of violation goes uncorrected, Section 109.3 makes it a misdemeanor or civil infraction, and Section 109.4 sets a fine of $250 to $500 plus court costs, with each additional day of noncompliance charged as a new offense.

Building Inspections

Mobile's code official must inspect for Property Maintenance Code violations and may enter structures at reasonable times to check compliance.

Key details: Enforcing body: Department of Municipal Enforcement. Entry timing: At reasonable times only. Occupied structure: Credentials shown, entry requested. Refused entry: City seeks legal remedies.

Refused entry lets the official pursue legal remedies to secure access; violations found during inspection proceed to notices of violation, citations, or summons under § 105.5.

The Bottom Line

Mobile's building safety rules are a mixed bag. Some areas are strict, others are relaxed, and the details matter. The best approach is to check the specific rule that applies to your situation rather than assuming Mobile is broadly strict or permissive.

These rules come from Mobile's publicly available municipal code. For complete penalty schedules, exemption details, and answers to common questions, see the individual ordinance pages throughout this guide.