---
title: "Princeton building permits: when you need one and how to apply"
question: "Do I need a building permit, and how do I apply?"
place: Princeton, British Columbia, Canada
place_path: ca/bc/princeton
category: Building, renovating and your property
owner: municipal
owner_body: Town of Princeton
sources_read: 2026-11-08
review: machine_checked
canonical: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/princeton/building-permit/"
json: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/princeton/building-permit.json"
---

# Princeton building permits: when you need one and how to apply

**Question:** Do I need a building permit, and how do I apply?

**Short answer:** In Princeton, most construction needs a building permit from the Town's Building Department: new buildings, accessory structures over 10 m², renovations, pools and demolitions. Apply in writing on the Town's application form, signed by the owner. For smaller projects the Town's guide says processing usually takes 7 working days.

**Who handles it:** Municipal (Town of Princeton, https://www.princeton.ca)  
**Cost:** $195 plan processing fee plus $13.20 per $1,000 of permit value; see the building-permit-fees answer.  
**How long:** For smaller projects, usually 7 working days (Town's permit guide); longer if the project is complex or needs other permits.  
**Where:**
- Email: Building Department, building@princeton.ca
- Phone: Building Services Admin Clerk, 250-295-3135 ext 103 or 778-720-6116 (Monday to Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)
- In person: Town Hall, 151 Vermilion Avenue, Princeton, BC (Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)

## Key facts

- **Needed for:** Most construction: new buildings; accessory structures over 10 m²; renovations, structural changes or major repairs; swimming pools; finishing unfinished areas; awnings or canopies; demolishing or moving a building; mobile homes; wood-burning appliances or chimneys; changing a building's use; retaining walls (but not soil walls under 1.22 m on single-family parcels).
  - Source: [Building Services, Building Services page](https://www.princeton.ca/p/building-services)
  - Official wording: "Building permits are needed for most types of construction work" … "to build an accessory structure larger than 10 square metres total area;" … "to construct or alter a swimming pool;" … "to complete an unfinished area in an existing building;"
  - Source: [Building Bylaw No. 976, 2020, s. 7.1 and s. 11.1](https://princeton.civicweb.net/document/38942/)
  - Official wording: "changing the use or occupancy of a building or real property unless the works are" … "No person may construct, or structurally repair, a retaining wall without a building permit." … "A trellis, an arbour, a wall supporting soil that is less than 1.22 metres in height,"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **Not needed for:** Per the Building Bylaw: accessory buildings under 10 m²; unroofed residential decks 600 mm (24 in) or less above the ground; fences (but not retaining walls); trellises, arbours and soil-supporting walls under 1.22 m on single-family parcels; and non-structural repairs to one- and two-family homes (re-roofing, re-cladding, repainting, same-size window and door replacement, plumbing repair, re-covering floors).
  - Source: [Building Bylaw No. 976, 2020, s. 3.3](https://princeton.civicweb.net/document/38942/)
  - Official wording: "accessory buildings less than 10m2 (107 ft2) in building area that do not create a" … "unroofed residential decks if the deck surface is 600 mm (24 inches) or less above" … "Except as set out in Part 11 (Retaining Walls) of this bylaw, a fence;" … "Non-structural alterations and repairs to single and two-family residential" … "replacing windows and doors in existing openings (as long as the size does"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **How to apply:** In writing on the Town's building permit application form, signed by the owner. Contact the Building Department (building@princeton.ca) or the Building Services Admin Clerk at 250-295-3135 ext 103 or 778-720-6116 (Monday to Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.).
  - Source: [Building Bylaw No. 976, 2020, s. 10.4(a)](https://princeton.civicweb.net/document/38942/)
  - Official wording: "be made in writing, in the form approved by the building official and signed by the"
  - Source: [Building Services, Building Services page](https://www.princeton.ca/p/building-services)
  - Official wording: "Building Inspection services are available Monday to Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m." … "Please call (250) 295-3135 ext 103 or 778-720-6116 to speak with the Building Services Admin Clerk." … "building@princeton.ca"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **What to submit:** For a simple building: signed application, owner's acknowledgement of responsibility (Appendix B), title search no more than 30 days old, survey plan by a B.C. land surveyor (may be waived), and a site plan. The Town's guide also asks for 2 sets of drawings, 2 site plans, truss details and Homeowner Protection Office papers where they apply.
  - Source: [Building Bylaw No. 976, 2020, s. 10.4](https://princeton.civicweb.net/document/38942/)
  - Official wording: "include a copy of a title search for the relevant property" … "include a copy of a survey plan prepared by a British Columbia land surveyor" … "include a site plan showing:" … "be accompanied by the owner’s acknowledgement of responsibility and"
  - Source: [Guide to Building Permits, Guide to Building Permits, p. 3](https://princeton.civicweb.net/document/146/)
  - Official wording: "Provide 2 sets of complete drawings in metric or imperial" … "HOME PROTECTION ACT REQUIREMENTS"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **Processing time:** For smaller projects, usually 7 working days; longer if the project is complex or needs other permits such as a development permit.
  - Source: [Guide to Building Permits, Guide to Building Permits, p. 4](https://princeton.civicweb.net/document/146/)
  - Official wording: "the process will usually take 7 working days." … "could take longer"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **Inspections:** For a simple building, the owner must give at least 48 hours' notice and ask for each inspection by email or in writing. Required inspections include footings, framing, insulation, exterior decks and a final inspection before occupancy.
  - Source: [Building Bylaw No. 976, 2020, s. 10.31 and 10.32](https://princeton.civicweb.net/document/38942/)
  - Official wording: "at least 48 hours" … "via email or in physical written form" … "construction of an exterior deck; and"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **Contact:** Building Department: building@princeton.ca; Town Hall 250-295-3135, Chief Building Official ext 104; Building Services Admin Clerk ext 103 or 778-720-6116.
  - Source: [Contact Us](https://www.princeton.ca/p/contact-us-)
  - Official wording: "| 250-295-0235 | dschatz@princeton.ca | Alan Palmgren | Chief Building Official | 250-295-3135 ext 104 | building@princeton.ca | Kris Poole" … "| Chief Building Official | 250-295-3135 ext 104 | building@princeton.ca | Kris Poole | Building Official"
  - Source: [Building Services, Building Services page](https://www.princeton.ca/p/building-services)
  - Official wording: "Please call (250) 295-3135 ext 103 or 778-720-6116 to speak with the Building Services Admin Clerk."
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **Bylaw:** Town of Princeton Building Bylaw No. 976, 2020
  - Source: [Building Bylaw No. 976, 2020, s. 1.1](https://princeton.civicweb.net/document/38942/)
  - Official wording: "Building Bylaw No. 976, 2020"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08

## How it works

The Town of Princeton's [Building Bylaw No. 976, 2020](https://princeton.civicweb.net/document/38942/) requires a permit for most construction work: new buildings; accessory structures over 10 m²; renovations, structural changes or major repairs; swimming pools; finishing unfinished areas; awnings or canopies; demolishing or moving a building; mobile homes; wood-burning appliances or chimneys; changing a building's use; and retaining walls. Zoning and development permit rules may also apply first, so check with Planning and Development.

No permit is needed for accessory buildings under 10 m², unroofed residential decks 600 mm (24 in) or less above the ground, fences, trellises and arbours, soil-supporting walls under 1.22 m on single-family parcels, or non-structural repairs to one- and two-family homes (re-roofing, re-cladding, repainting, same-size window and door replacement, plumbing repair, re-covering floors).

## Steps

1. Check zoning with Planning (planning@princeton.ca) before you design.
2. Get the application form from the Town's Residential Building Information page or the Building Department.
3. Submit the signed application. For a simple building, include the owner's acknowledgement of responsibility, a title search no more than 30 days old, a survey plan by a B.C. land surveyor (may be waived) and a site plan. The Town's guide also asks for 2 sets of drawings, 2 site plans, truss details and Homeowner Protection Office papers where they apply.
4. Pay the permit fee before the permit is issued.
5. Give at least 48 hours' notice, by email or in writing, for each inspection: footings, framing, insulation, exterior decks and a final inspection before occupancy.

## Good to know

- Complex buildings have a longer document list (Building Bylaw s. 10.2 to 10.3).
- An application expires 180 days after a completed application is received if no permit is issued.
- Building without a permit can bring a $500 ticket.
- Inspection services run Monday to Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

## Official forms and pages

- [Building Bylaw No. 976, 2020 (PDF)](https://princeton.civicweb.net/document/38942/)
- [Guide to Building Permits (PDF)](https://princeton.civicweb.net/document/146/)

## Related questions

- [Princeton building permit fees](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/princeton/building-permit-fees.md)
- [Princeton permits for decks, sheds, carports and garages](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/princeton/deck-shed-garage-permit.md)
- [Princeton zoning: find your zone and what it allows](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/princeton/zoning-lookup.md)
- [Princeton secondary suite and carriage house rules](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/princeton/secondary-suite.md)

## The same question elsewhere

- [Building permits in British Columbia: how to apply, by municipality](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/building-permit.md)
- [Keremeos](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/keremeos/building-permit.md)
- [Summerland](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/summerland/building-permit.md)
- [Hope](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/hope/building-permit.md)
- [Penticton](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/penticton/building-permit.md)
- [Peachland](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/peachland/building-permit.md)
- [Oliver](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/oliver/building-permit.md)

## Sources

- [Building Services, Town of Princeton](https://www.princeton.ca/p/building-services) (read 2026-11-08)
- [Building Bylaw No. 976, 2020 (PDF), Town of Princeton](https://princeton.civicweb.net/document/38942/) (read 2026-11-08)
- [Guide to Building Permits (PDF), Town of Princeton](https://princeton.civicweb.net/document/146/) (read 2026-11-08)
- [Contact Us, Town of Princeton](https://www.princeton.ca/p/contact-us-) (read 2026-11-08)
- [Fees and Charges Bylaw No. 1026, 2022, Schedule E, Building Permits (PDF), Town of Princeton](https://princeton.civicweb.net/document/53141/) (read 2026-11-08)

_Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 8 of 8 facts was matched to the official text. Gov Handbook is an independent guide, not affiliated with Town of Princeton. How answers are checked: https://govhandbook.com/methods/ · Canonical page: https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/princeton/building-permit/_