The Building Inspection and Permitting office is responsible for the following:

• Review and approve building & land use permits and applications.
• Performing inspections on all building components, including structural, plumbing, mechanical, electrical and fire safety.
• Enforce floodplain management and FEMA regulations.
• Enforce storm water management regulations.
• Develop and enforce environmental protection measures. (Erosion and sediment controls, wetlands protection, red clays and staining soils, etc.)
• Develop and enforce Right of Way Ordinance

The office is located at 555 South Section Street in the Public Utility Warehouse. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. To schedule an inspection or ask a question, please call 251-990-0153 or you may email the staff below.

2023 Building Permits Recap

2,289 permits issued for total construction cost of $294,761,262.00

• 185 commercial permits for $71,951,248.00
• 1 airport hangar
• 1 new medical office
• 21 new commercial buildings
• 56 commercial renovations

• 1549 residential permits for $203,081,310.00
• 270 single family homes
• 20 units of apartments
• 182 residential renovations/additions
• 145 home generators

 You can now open a ticket with us though our Fairhope 311 ticket system. 

The City of Fairhope is pleased to announce we have partnered with Citizenserve to provide an online permit submittal system.  Permits may now be submitted for review, paid for, and permits can be issued fully online for the following permit types:

• Land Disturbance
• Generator
• Right of Way - What is a right of way?
• Sign Permit
• Commercial Project  
• •  Roof
  • Plumbing 
  • Fence 
  • Demolition 
  • Mechanical
  • Electrical
  • Renovation 
  • Pool
  • Construction office / Trailer 
  • New Construction 
• Residential Project
  • Deck
  • Roof
  • Plumbing
  • Demolition
  • Renovation 
  • Windows
  • Fence
  • Pool 
  • Shed/Accessory Building
  • Mobile Home 
  • Pergola/Arbor
  • Electrical
  • Mechanical
  • New Construction (1 or 2 Family Dwelling)

In order to utilize the portal you will have to register and then follow the prompts to provide the required application information. Once you have successfully completed and submitted the application you will receive an email showing the submittal has been received and is under review.  After your permit has been submitted for review you can login and check the progress of the application, and once the permit is approved and ready for issuance you will receive an email informing you the permit was approved and you can then pay the permit fees online and will be issued a printable permit card.

Once the approval is given you will receive another email stating the permit has been approved and is ready to be issued.  At that time, you need to login and you will be directed on how to pay for the permit using a credit card and you will receive an email with a printable copy of your permit card.

We will be updating these instructions with new information and clarifications as we all get used to using the system, in the meantime please do not hesitate to call or email us if you have any questions that we can help you with.