How to Get a Building Permit in Richmond, BC

The short answer

In Richmond, BC, you apply for a building permit through MyPermit, the online portal inside your MyRichmond account. A MyRichmond account is required: it is how you share documents, pay application fees, and access your issued permit. Some application types are not online yet, and for those the City publishes paper forms and an email application route. The rule that matters most is the simplest one: get the permit before the work starts, not after.

When you need a permit

Richmond's Building Approvals division lists the projects that need a permit, and the list is broad. You need one to:

• Construct a new building, or add to an existing one.
• Alter, renovate, or repair an existing building or structure, including repairing a fire-damaged building.
• Finish an unfinished area in an existing building, such as a basement or recreation room.
• Move a building from one location to another, or demolish or relocate buildings on the same lot.
• Do trades work, including modification or installation of plumbing, gas, propane, oil burner, and electrical systems.
• Install or alter a sewage disposal system, or sanitary, storm, or drainage sewers.
• Build a swimming pool with a surface area over 15 square metres (161.5 square feet) and a depth over 1 metre (3.28 feet).
• Build a retaining wall over 1 metre (3.28 feet) high.
• Install a chimney for a wood-burning appliance.

If your project is on that list, it needs a permit even if the work looks small. Finishing a basement is the one that catches people: it feels like interior decorating, but the City treats it as a permit job. The same goes for trades work — a plumbing or gas change is not a side task you fold into a renovation without its own permit.

If your project is not clearly on the list, do not guess. Ask Building Approvals before you start. A wrong guess costs far more than a question: work done without a required permit can be ordered uncovered, redone, or removed, and it complicates a future sale when the buyer's checks turn up unpermitted work.

Which permit, and which route

Building Approvals issues seven types of permits: building, demolition, gas, plumbing, site service, sprinkler, and tree. Most homeowners deal with the building permit itself plus one or two trade permits alongside it. Each type is its own application, so budget for that when you plan.

Since September 2026, MyPermit covers building permits for single-family dwellings, small-scale multi-unit housing, and additions and alterations across commercial, office, industrial, and residential buildings. It also covers plumbing permits where plan review is not required, gas permits, residential, commercial, and industrial demolition permits, private and public tree removal permits, and sprinkler permits where plan review is not required.

Two groups were still listed as coming in 2026/2027: plumbing and sprinkler permits where plan review is required, and building permits for multi-family apartments and townhouses and for new commercial and industrial construction. If your project falls in one of those groups, use the form route below rather than waiting for the portal to catch up.

The forms, if your type is not online yet

The City's forms page is the authoritative source for the current form and its revision date. The main ones:

• PL-62 — Building permit application for new construction: single-family dwellings and small-scale multi-unit housing.
• PL-43 — Building permit application for additions and alterations.
• PL-25 — New plan review application for commercial, industrial, multi-family, and assembly projects.
• PL-16 — Demolition permit application.
• PL-59 — How to apply for a permit by email.
• PL-38a / PL-38b — Permit transmittal coversheet and design modification application.
• PL-57 — Hazardous material declaration form.

Always pull the form fresh from richmond.ca rather than reusing a copy from an old project. The City revises these forms often — PL-62 was revised in May 2026 and PL-25, PL-43, and PL-16 in February 2026 — and an outdated form is a common reason an application comes back.

Step 1: set up MyRichmond and apply

Sign up for a MyRichmond account first, since MyPermit lives inside it. Once logged in, choose your application type, answer the screening questions about your project, upload your supporting documents, and pay the application fee securely online. There is also a mobile app, so you can apply, submit documents, and pay from a phone or tablet.

What you upload matters as much as the form. Plans and documents that do not match the project — wrong address, missing drawings, an outdated form — slow the review. Before submitting, check that every document belongs to this property and this scope of work, and that the application type matches what you are actually building. A single-family application for what is really a multi-unit project will not survive review.

Step 2: review and issuance

Once submitted, staff review the application against the BC Building Code 2024, National Building Standards, and the City's zoning, building, and tree protection bylaws. The review checks that the design meets minimum life, fire, and health safety requirements, that access to the property is appropriate, and that the work fits the zoning for the lot. Expect questions or requests for more detail; answering them promptly is what keeps the file moving.

When the review is complete, you pay any remaining fees through the portal and access the issued permit through your MyRichmond account. Keep the issued permit and the approved plans on site during construction — the inspector works from the approved set, not from whatever version is newest on your contractor's laptop.

How long it takes

Richmond does not publish a single turnaround for every permit type. Ask Building Approvals for the current queue for your permit type when you apply. Track status in MyPermit. Answering staff questions promptly is what keeps the file moving.

Step 3: inspections

Schedule inspections through MyPermit, and check application status updates there as well. Your issued permit sets out which inspections your project requires, so book each one before moving past that stage of work. Covering work before its inspection is the mistake that turns a routine check into a reopening job.

If an inspection flags a problem, fix what was flagged and rebook. Treat the inspector's notes as a punch list, not a negotiation: the permit is only fully closed out once the required inspections pass.

What it costs

Richmond does not publish one flat building permit fee, and this guide does not invent one. Fees depend on the project and are set out in the Consolidated Fees Bylaw 8636, pages 6 to 9. Fee increases take effect January 1 each year, so a figure quoted from last year's project or another city's site will be wrong. Check the current bylaw schedule for your project type, and expect payment to run through MyPermit as part of the application.

Mistakes that stall a Richmond permit application

• Starting work before the permit is issued. The permit is the permission, not the paperwork after the fact.
• Using an outdated form. Pull PL-62, PL-43, or PL-25 fresh from richmond.ca and check its revision date.
• Applying under the wrong type. A multi-family or new commercial project does not belong in the single-family online stream, and a plan-review plumbing job does not belong in the no-plan-review stream.
• Covering work before inspection. Book each inspection through MyPermit before moving on.
• Budgeting from a stale fee. Fees rise January 1 each year; check Bylaw 8636 for the current schedule.

Related guides: how to be an owner-builder in BC, how to get a contractor licence in BC.

Sources

• City of Richmond, MyPermit Application Portal — MyPermit lives on MyRichmond; a MyRichmond account is required to share documents, pay fees, and access the issued permit; the available-now list (single-family, small-scale multi-unit housing, additions and alterations, gas, demolition, tree, plumbing and sprinkler without plan review) and the coming-2026/2027 list (multi-family, new commercial/industrial, plan-review plumbing and sprinkler).
• City of Richmond, Forms, Records and Information — Building Approvals — the forms page: PL-62 revised May 6, 2026; PL-25, PL-43, and PL-16 revised February 17, 2026; PL-59, PL-57, PL-38a/PL-38b listed; building fees in Consolidated Fees Bylaw 8636, pages 6–9, with increases each January 1.
• City of Richmond, Building Approvals FAQs — the seven permit types Building Approvals issues; the full when-you-need-a-permit list (including the pool over 15 square metres and deeper than 1 metre, and the retaining wall over 1 metre); fees point to Bylaw 8636; the plan processing fee is non-refundable and forfeited if the permit is not picked up within 30 days of notification; inspections are booked for the next business day when requested before 8:00 p.m.
• City of Richmond, Application Next Steps — intake, staff review, pre-issuance, and issuance flow; the issued permit is available to download through MyPermit with no City Hall visit; inspections are requested through MyPermit or the online inspections portal.
• City of Richmond, Electronic Building Permit Application — Quick Start Guide (PL-59) — the email application route (PL-59, revised March 10, 2026); applications by email to BuildingApplications@richmond.ca; status checks at inspections.richmond.ca.
• City of Richmond, Consolidated Fees Bylaw No. 8636 — the bylaw the City's building pages point to for permit fees; check the current schedule before budgeting, since the consolidation on file predates the 2026 rates and fees rise January 1 each year.
• Government of British Columbia, BC Building Code 2024 — the provincial code in effect since March 8, 2024, which Richmond reviews applications against; adaptable-dwelling and seismic provisions took effect March 10, 2025.