Madison County, AL Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

02, lets the Madison County Commission and the governing body of any municipality wholly or partly inside the county levy up to $20, on top of whatever else the law already charges, for issuing a residential building permit. The statute defines a residential building permit broadly: it covers building permits, mechanical permits, plumbing permits, electrical permits, and any other fee required to construct or remodel a new or existing residential structure. A municipality collects the fee only within its own corporate limits, while the county collects it in the unincorporated area, where the Commission's own adopted Commercial and Residential Building Codes and the Inspection Department set the underlying rules for when a permit is actually required.

Money collected goes to the North Alabama Homebuilding Academy, which the statute directs to train workers in home building, framing, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, masonry, painting, sheet-rock work, landscaping, HVAC, and pipe fitting. Before the academy gets a dime, it must submit a proposed annual budget to the county commission by December 1 for approval, and each governing body then pays its share based on its proportion of the county's population under the most recent census. After a governing body meets its full annual obligation to the academy, any surplus from the levy funds that jurisdiction's own building-inspection services.

The academy must be independently audited every year, deliver its audited financials and an activity report to the commission and municipalities by June 1, and the commission can order an extra audit at any time without cause. A governing body must give the academy 120 days' written notice before dropping the fee, and the fee stops entirely if the academy shuts down, with any remaining collected funds going to that governing body's own inspection services.