Do You Need a Permit to Replace Deck Railing? (How To Tell If You Should)

Your average deck really isn’t all that involved of a project to tackle as a homeowner or non-builder – especially when it comes to doing relatively minor repairs. Determining whether or not you need to pull a permit, though, is a big question that needs to be answered.

While some localities are going to require you to pull a building permit to replace pretty much any part of your deck, you can almost always get away with replacing deck boards and deck railings without one. These are obviously important parts of the deck but they aren’t “structural” – and that’s why you can get away with doing the work unpermitted.

Now, at the same, it may not be a bad idea to pull a permit anyway – or even to call your local code enforcement officers and see what they have to say.

Do You Need a Permit to Replace Deck Railing?

The overwhelming majority of work you would do on your deck to either maintain the deck itself or repair and replace different components can be done without having to get your hands on a building permit.

Replacing deck boards, making cosmetic changes, re-staining and re-sealing your deck, and things of that nature can all be done without having to get the local government and code enforcement officials involved.

At the same time, anytime you are thinking about doing work on structural components – like parts of your deck frame or even deck stairs – you are almost always going to have to pull a permit (or at least run the plans past the code enforcement officials in your area).

Now, whether or not that’s something you decide to do on your own is entirely up to you.

There aren’t a lot of stories out there about people getting into a mountain of hot water just because they decided to repair a deck railing that was failing without going through the sometimes confusing (and almost always more expensive than it needs to be) permitting process.

Check with Local Contractors First

If you want to get a better feel for whether or not a specific project you are thinking about tackling on your own requires a permit, a quick phone call to any of your local contractors – reputable, trustworthy contractors – is usually more than enough to get the skinny.

Just let them know up front that you’re calling with a quick code question, tell them that all you want to do is replace a section of your deck rail, and then see if that’s the kind of project that they would pull permits for.

It might not even be a bad idea to call a couple of contractors in the area just to get a consensus on the lay of the land, either.

Some people recommend that you call the code enforcement officials in your area with this question, going right to the source.

That might not be a bad idea, but the trouble with this is that some code officials are a little more “aggressive” in the way that they handle these kinds of situations and may tell you that you need to get a permit even when you don’t.

Stick to the local contractors you know you can trust.

They’ll clue you in pretty quickly.

40% Rule of Thumb

Another good “rule of thumb” that a lot of professional deck builders operate under is the 40% Rule.

This isn’t hard and fast, and it isn’t carved in stone anywhere, but a lot of builders operate under the idea that if less than 40% of a deck component needs to be replaced – and it isn’t structural – then you’re going to be able to get away with replacing it without pulling a permit.

As we highlighted a couple of times already this rule does not apply when you’re talking about structural components.

Anything responsible for distributing the load of the deck and keeping it standing upright needs to be checked, double-checked, and confirmed to be repaired correctly by those with real expertise.

As far as replacing things like deck boards, stair treads, and chunks of railing you can probably get away with replacing 40% without having to pull permits and deal with the headache and hassle that inevitably involves.

Better Safe Than Sorry

Of course, some homeowners just like to shoot things straight all the time – even if it is a little bit overboard and unnecessary at times.

If you fall into this camp there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being safe instead of sorry.

Give your code officials a quick phone call, let them know that you would like to pull a permit for fixing your railing, and then explain to them the kind of work you are expecting to do.

Good, honest, down-to-earth code officials will then let you know whether or not you need to go through the permit process. Some of them will even offer to come out and check your work without any obligation whatsoever, just to give you a little bit of extra peace of mind.

Others, though, might tell you that you need a permit no matter what – even if you technically don’t – just to get a little bit of extra revenue for the town they work for.

At the end of the day, pulling a permit for this kind of work isn’t ever going to break your bank account. It’s not that big of a deal if you don’t mind dealing with code officials coming out your property to have a look at the work you’ve done.

What Happens If You Build a Deck Without a Permit?

If you choose to just go ahead and tackle this kind of repair without a permit, there are a couple different things that could happen.

In some jurisdictions you might get lucky.

You might be able to finish the job completely without code officials ever coming out or taking notice of your work. You’ll have saved yourself the time, money, and hassle of pulling a permit for the work, but there is always going to be that little voice in the back of your head wondering if you should have just gone ahead and got one.

If code officials do come out to take a look at your handiwork they might not find anything wrong with what you’ve done – giving you a clean bill of health and allowing you to move on with your life as usual.

You could also get unlucky, though.

Code officials might come out, take one look at what you’ve done, and order you to completely tear it down – forcing you to start from scratch (and likely pulling a permit for the work in the first place).

You might even get slapped with a pretty hefty fine, especially if you live in an area where code officials are particularly strict.

Do Decks Need Railings?

This is a great question, and the answer isn’t always as cut and dry as you might think.

Most building codes require railings on any deck that is more than 30 inches off the ground. That said, there are some areas where the height limit is lower – 24 inches being pretty common.

There are also some areas where there is actually no height limit as long as the railing meets certain design standards.

And then there are some areas where deck railings are required for all decks – even those that are only a few inches off the ground – but only because it’s easier to enforce this kind of rule than setting a height restriction.

Whether or not railings are actually required for your deck will depend a lot on the location where you live, along with what specific building codes are in place.

As always, it’s best to check with your local code officials and find out exactly what is expected of you when it comes to keeping yourself safe while enjoying your outdoor living space.

Closing Thoughts

Do you absolutely need to pull a permit to replace a chunk of railing on your deck?

Most of the time you can get away without having to get a building permit. It shouldn’t be that big of a deal to knock out all on your own.

If you’re talking about replacing more than 40% of your deck rails, or if these deck rails tie into the framing of your deck, the odds are very good that you’re not only going to want to get a permit for the project but you’re going to want to consider calling in professionals to handle the fix, too.

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Do You Need a Permit to Replace Deck Railing? (How To Tell If You Should)