Does Replacing Deck Boards Require a Permit? (What You Need To Know)

Anyone that’s ever worked on a deck has had to deal with this dilemma – do you need to pull a building permit for this work or not?

Whether or not you need a permit really depends on the kind of deck work you are doing. Small repairs, cosmetic work, and even something as time intensive as putting down new deck boards generally won’t require a permit at all. Anything structural, though, certainly well!

Navigating exactly what your deck project requires is a big piece of the puzzle behind deciding if it’s time to pull a permit or not!

Does Replacing Deck Boards Require a Permit?

As a general rule of thumb, it’s always a good idea to look into local building codes, rules, and regulations about a construction project you’re thinking about tackling.

Not only is it a good idea to be familiar with these “rules of the road” for these types of projects, but it also helps you avoid getting secondhand advice from well-intentioned individuals that might not be quite as up-to-date as they think they are.

Few things are as frustrating (or as expensive to fix) as knocking out a construction project after being told you didn’t need a permit by a friend only to discover later that you definitely did – and now the work has to be redone from top to bottom.

Does replacing deck boards require a permit in most locales, though?

Definitely not.

Deck boards – even if you have to replace each and every single one of them – are not technically considered structural components. They aren’t necessarily cosmetic components, to be fair, but they are pretty much “free game” to be repaired, replaced, or upgraded whenever you see fit.

You most likely aren’t going to ever have to pull a permit just to swap out or repair deck boards themselves.

When Do I Need a Deck Building Permit?

Below we run through a couple of the common deck project you’re probably going to have to tackle as a homeowner going forward, highlighting whether or not they require permits (in most situations).

This should be a good guideline to help you sort of navigate this process without having to get code enforcement officers or the local building inspector involved every single time you need to do a little work on your back deck.

General Upkeep and Repair

General upkeep and repair will never require a permit.

Things like:

Washing your deck, even with a pressure washer
Sanding your deck and preparing it for a new finish
Swapping out broken deck boards or stair treads/risers
Applying new coats of stain or sealer

… And things of that nature are all projects that you can confidently take on yourself without paying a fee, getting a permit, and then having your work later inspected.

Truth be told, you couldn’t even pull permits for this kind of work if you wanted to!

Small Fixes and Cosmetic Work

Small fixes and “cosmetic work” on your deck may or may not require you to get a permanent, though most of time you’ll be able to undertake these projects on your own totally permit free.

Something wrong with a handrail, like hardware coming loose or the handrail itself starting to splinter?

You can knock that out on your own with a reasonable replacement and not have to pull a permit.

Deck boards starting to cause splinters every time you go across them with your bare feet and you want to sand everything down?

That’s a 100% permit free kind of job!

Had stain on your deck but now you want to go with an exterior paint that’ll hopefully last a little bit longer?

You’re all set!

Need to replace some old fasteners installed by the original owner that weren’t made for exterior purposes?

You’ve got the green light.

Anything Structural

One kind of work on your deck is almost always going to involve calling department, though, and that’s anything that has to do with the structural integrity of the deck itself.

We’re talking about deck framing, deck joists, deck posts, deck footing work, ledger board repairs, or anything else that actually involves holding up the deck itself – as well as everyone and anything on top of it!

If you’re going to be making major changes to the deck, structural changes especially, you’ll probably want to pop down and grab a permit.

What About Adding On to My Deck?

Deck additions almost always involve new structural components.

That means that a visit to the local building code office or the local building inspector with plans and a permit are required.

You usually don’t need anything crazy or elaborate. Even drawings on the back of a napkin or piece of printer paper are good enough for most localities – so long as you have a clear plan, explain that you are going to follow all local building codes, and aren’t trying to do anything unsafe.

How About a Deck Roof?

A lot of people want to add a little bit of shade to their deck, nothing crazy – maybe even just an awning or something similar.

A deck roof is inevitably going to involve some kind of framing, though. And it’s going to be structurally attached to the deck itself.

That means it’s time to pop down with plans to pull a building permit!

Weighing the Risks of Unpermitted Work

Now, if we are being completely transparent here, the reality is a lot of homeowners – and even a lot of construction/contractor professionals – will work on decks without pulling permits at all.

Permits, after all, do not guarantee that the work done is going to be:

Safe
Professional
Built to a high standard

All permits do is grant you permission to undertake the work and then request an inspector to come out and confirm that everything is good to go.

You cannot permit quality, unfortunately.

There are risks with undertaking unpermitted work, though. We are talking risks to homeowners insurance all the way up to risks of not being able to sell your home without clearly declaring the work to be unpermitted.

Those are things you want to look into before you tackle permitted work without drawing up the paperwork in advance.

Closing Thoughts

If all you’re going to be doing is replacing deck boards the odds are very slim that you’ll have to pony up extra money for a permit or have anyone come out and inspect your work.

Most of the time you’ll only ever have to pull a permit for a deck project when you are working on structural components that could compromise the safety of the deck itself.

Keep that in mind going forward.

Take a look at our other most recent blog post below:

Does Replacing Deck Boards Require a Permit? (What You Need To Know)