Manchester, NH Building Department and Permits

New Hampshire has one building code for the whole state. Under RSA 155-A the State Building Code, the 2024 International Residential Code for one- and two-family homes and the 2023 National Electrical Code, each with New Hampshire amendments, applies in every city and town, and a permit is required before work covered by the code begins. What differs from town to town is the office that issues it: the state leaves permits, inspections and fees to each municipality, which is why this page starts with the Manchester building department.

Who applies is more open than in some states. The code lets the owner or the owner's authorized agent apply for a building permit, and New Hampshire issues no statewide general contractor licence. The trades are another matter: electrical installations need a licensed electrician, and gas fitting and plumbing need a licence from the Mechanical Licensing Board, in each case with a permit and inspection. The statute is explicit that the contractor is responsible for meeting the code, so the usual arrangement is that the contractor doing the work pulls the permit under their own licence.

Sources: RSA 155-A, New Hampshire Building Code (gc.nh.gov); NH Division of Fire Safety: State Building Code; International Residential Code 2024, Chapter 1 (ICC); OPLC: the licensing boards; RSA 319-C, Electricians (gc.nh.gov); RSA 153:27–36, plumbers and fuel gas fitters (gc.nh.gov).

Manchester's Planning and Community Development Department issues permits from One City Hall Plaza. Building permit applications are online, but electrical, plumbing, heating and demolition applications are not: the city's Permit Applications page says they can be filled out on screen but must be printed, signed and mailed in with the fees, and the approved permit is mailed back, so no work should start before it arrives. Electrical work on a multi-family building, a single-family home the owner does not live in, or any commercial job needs a licensed NH master electrician. A deck or porch permit comes with the city's deck-details sheet, most outdoor projects need a scaled plot plan showing every structure and setback, and a demolition permit needs a sign-off form from every utility first. Structural inspectors take requests by email and are in the office weekdays 7:00 to 8:30 AM and 3:00 to 4:00 PM.

Manchester is one of the cities with a rental inspection program: every residential rental property needs a Certificate of Compliance under Chapter 150, the city's Housing Code, issued for three years once the building has been inspected and any violations corrected, with hard-wired smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, screens and storm windows, and lead paint among the items checked. A buyer of a property with a valid certificate files a transfer of ownership, and a property with open violations changes hands under a transfer permit that moves responsibility for them to the new owner. The city's Building Codes page lists the 2021 International codes and the 2020 National Electrical Code, with state and local amendments, as enforced from July 1, 2024; the state code has since moved to the 2024 editions with a concurrency period, and the page quotes RSA 155-A's rule that the code in force when an application is received stays in force for the life of that permit, so ask which edition the plans examiner is reviewing against.

Sources: City of Manchester — Permit Applications; City of Manchester — Inspection Info; City of Manchester — Building Codes; City of Manchester — Landlords and Tenants (Certificate of Compliance); NH State Fire Marshal — State Building Code.