Hanover County, VA Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

Hanover County Code section 26-342 flatly bars erecting, constructing, altering, moving, converting, extending or enlarging any building without the owner first obtaining a building permit that conforms to the zoning ordinance. Section 26-344 requires every permit application to be accompanied by a drawing or plat, in duplicate or as the zoning administrator requires, showing lot lines, building locations and dimensions, and, when necessary, a boundary survey by a licensed surveyor and complete construction plans; the zoning administrator keeps the original on file and a duplicate must stay at the building site throughout construction.

On the building-code side, section 6-19 bars issuing any permit for new construction, alteration, removal, demolition or other building work under the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code until the fees the board of supervisors has set are paid, and the building official can assess additional fees if plans show the original payment fell short. No fee applies to permits for buildings used as a place of worship. An applicant can get plans reviewed before formally applying for a permit, for buildings other than one- and two-family homes, by paying a nonrefundable fee equal to 20 percent of the eventual building permit fee, which is applied toward that permit fee if the application follows within 12 months.

If a permit is revoked or a project is abandoned, the county refunds the portion of fees tied to uncompleted work. The building official, established under section 6-17, administers and enforces the Uniform Statewide Building Code, while the zoning administrator enforces the zoning ordinance permit requirement and can refuse to issue a permit for any building or use that would violate the zoning chapter under section 26-341.