Rochester, MN Building Safety: Plumbing Permits (2026)

City Code § 4-5-2 requires a plumbing permit application filed with the building official before any plumbing system is installed, enlarged, altered, repaired, removed, converted or replaced. The exemption is 'minor repairs,' defined at § 4-5-1 as the stoppage of leaks or clearing of stoppages, provided the work does not involve or require the replacement or rearrangement of valves, pipes, or fixtures. The plumbing code enforced is the state plumbing code, adopted as a component of the building code under chapter 4-1, referencing Minn. Stats. § 326.41 et seq.

The application must identify and describe the work, describe the property by legal description or street address, state the intended use and occupancy, attach construction documents the plumbing code requires, state the valuation of the work, and be signed by the applicant or an authorized agent. Under § 4-5-2(c), only a state-licensed master plumber, or the owner who also occupies a one- or two-family residential dwelling and personally performs all the work, may apply; the building official must approve any written request to transfer the permit to a new applicant.

A plumbing permit becomes invalid unless work begins within 180 days of issuance, or if it is suspended or abandoned for 180 days after starting. The building official may grant one or more written extensions of up to 180 days each for justifiable cause shown in writing. The building official may also suspend or revoke a permit issued in error, based on incorrect or incomplete information, or issued in violation of any ordinance, regulation or code.