Barrow County, GA Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

" The application must be filed on the county's form with the required fee, contain a general description and location of the work, and be signed by the owner or an authorized agent (§ 22-91(d)). The building official who reviews it is the director of the county licenses and permits department (§ 22-34(a)(3)). A permit is void if work is not started within six months of issuance, or is suspended for six months once started, though the official may grant one or more 90-day extensions for written, justified requests (§ 22-91(e), § 22-96(a)).

Ordinary minor repairs can skip the permit only with the building official's sign-off, and only if they don't violate the technical codes (§ 22-91(c)). If the submitted plans don't conform to the technical codes, the official must deny the permit and, on request, give the reason for refusal in writing (§ 22-94(b)); conversely, an applicant waiting on full plan approval can get a special foundation-only permit at the official's discretion, at the applicant's own risk (§ 22-94(c)). Encroachments on public right-of-way additionally require the applicant to get the public works director's street lines before a permit issues (§ 22-94(d)). Fees are set by the board of commissioners and must be paid before the permit is issued (§ 22-97(a)).