Sandy Springs, GA Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

City Code Sec. 105-46 governs when a building permit is required and what an applicant must do to get one. Anyone who wants to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy of a building or structure, or to erect, install, alter, remove, convert, or replace an electrical, gas, mechanical, or plumbing system regulated by the construction codes, must first apply to the building official and obtain the permit before doing the work. The application must include the required fee, a general description of the work and its location, and be signed by the owner or an authorized agent; the building official can require drawings and specifications for work of any complexity.

Ordinary minor repairs may proceed without a permit if the building official approves and the repair does not violate the construction codes. A permit application is deemed abandoned six months after filing if no permit has issued, though the building official can grant one or more 90-day extensions on written request showing justifiable cause. Once issued, a permit itself becomes invalid if the authorized work is not started within six months, or is suspended or abandoned for six months after starting, subject to the same 90-day extension process.

Anyone who begins work before obtaining the necessary permit is subject to a penalty equal to 100 percent of the usual permit fee, on top of the fee itself. Permit holders must post the permit card within five feet of the right-of-way, roughly five feet above grade and facing the street, and keep it there until the certificate of occupancy or completion issues. Contractors performing the work must supply their state license number to the city before a permit issues, and the building official can revoke a permit for a false statement in the application or for work that violates the construction codes.