Mobile, AL Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

Mobile City Code Sec. 11-34 requires a permit and fee for modifications, alterations, or repairs to any building or structure, with fees scaled from a $25.00 minimum up to a per-$1,000-of-valuation rate for larger jobs. Only ten narrow categories are exempt from a building permit, including playhouses under 120 square feet, retaining walls under 4 feet, water tanks under 5,000 gallons, sidewalks/driveways under 30 inches above grade, and shade-cloth agricultural structures. Everything else, including typical accessory structures like sheds and decks, which are not on the exemption list, requires a permit from Build Mobile, the city's building department, before work begins.