Building Permits
Building Permits - updated 9/20/2021

Entities that issue permits in Guernsey County:

740-432-9243    Guernsey County - Auditor
740-432-3601     Cambridge Corporation - City Engineer
740-685-5901     Byesville Incorporated Village - Village Clerk
740-685-2568    Jackson Township - Zoning Board
740-432-3726     Cambridge Municipal Airport - Director
740-685-8279     Senecaville Incorporated Village - Mayor’s Office
330-343-6647     Muskingum Watershed Dist. - Lease Coordinator
330-364-2142      US Army Corps of Engineers - Division of Real Estate

 Plumbing/ Water & Sewage System Permits: 

The Environmental Health division of the Guernsey County Health Department issues and inspects plumbing permits. Please contact them at 740-439-3577 for any questions concerning permits and fees.

Commercial Building Permits:  

Mid-East Ohio Building Department issues and inspects the commercial building permits for all of Guernsey County. Please contact them at 740-455-7905 for any questions concerning permits and fees.

Residential Building Permits:

The County Auditor issues residential building permits on behalf of the Guernsey County Commissioners. These permits are for tax value purposes only and do not include any inspections.

Apply for a Guernsey County Building Permit when constructing or placing on property the following:

  • New Dwellings (Homes, Cabins, ect.)
  • Additions to existing Structures
  • Porches & Decks over 64 sq ft (8’X8’)
  • Additional Buildings (Storage , Garages, Lean-to’s, Pole Buildings, Barns, ect.)
  • Foundations or Basements for Manufactured Homes and Future Dwellings
  • Solar Panels

Building permits are not required for normal maintenance or up keep of a dwelling. Therefore the following items are not required to have a Guernsey County building permit: windows, roofs, siding, heating source or handicap ramp.

Please Note: that may not be the case for the other entities in the county issuing permits.

Building Permit Fee Schedule
Construction Cost   Permit Cost 
         1,000  -           2,000 = $2.50
         2,000  -           4,000 = $3.50
         4,000  -           6,000 = $4.50
         6,000  -           8,000 = $5.50
         8,000  -         10,000 = $6.50
       10,000  -         12,000 = $7.50
       12,000  -         14,000 = $8.50
       14,000  -         16,000 = $9.50
       16,000  -         18,000 = $10.50
       18,000  -         20,000 = $11.50
       20,000  -         22,000 = $12.50
       22,000  -         24,000 = $13.50
       24,000  -         26,000 = $14.50
       26,000  -         28,000 = $15.50
       28,000  -         30,000 = $16.50
       30,000  -         32,000 = $17.50
       32,000  -         34,000 = $18.50
       34,000  -         36,000 = $19.50
       36,000  -         38,000 = $20.50
       38,000  -         40,000 = $21.50
       40,000  -         42,000 = $22.50
       42,000  -         44,000 = $23.50
       44,000  -         46,000 = $24.50
       46,000  -         48,000 = $25.50
       48,000  -         50,000 = $26.50
       50,000  -         75,000 = $39.00
       75,000  -       100,000 = $51.50
Maximum $51.50


Ohio Revised Code 5713.17 Duty to notify county auditor of improvement costing over $2,000 - penalty - examination of buildings.

To enable the county auditor to determine the value and location of buildings and other improvements, any person, other than a railroad company or a public utility whose real property is valued for taxation by the tax commissioner, that constructs any building or other improvement costing more than two thousand dollars upon any lot or land within a township or municipal corporation not having a system of building registration and inspection shall notify the county auditor of the county within which such land or lot is located that the building or improvement has been completed or is in process of construction. The notice shall be in writing, shall contain an estimate of the cost of the building or improvement, shall describe the lot or land and its ownership in a manner reasonably calculated to allow the county auditor to identify the lot or tract of land on the tax list, and shall be served upon the county auditor not later than sixty days after construction of the building or improvement has commenced. Upon the discovery of a building or improvement that has been constructed but of which the county auditor has not been notified as required by this section, the county auditor shall appraise it and place it upon the tax list and duplicate at its taxable value, together with a penalty equal to fifty per cent of the amount of taxes that would have been charged against the building or improvement from the date of construction to the date of discovery had the county auditor been notified of its construction as required by this section. The county auditor, or his deputy, within reasonable hours, may enter and fully examine all buildings and improvements that are either liable to or exempt from taxation by Title LVII [57] of the Revised Code.