Go Directly to ePermits

The City of Buffalo will charge a $2.00 convenience fee on payments made through this web site. The fee is pursuant to the provisions of Section 3-19 of the city charter. The fee will be added automatically to each transaction. If you are paying multiple items in the same transaction you will be charged the convenience fee only one time.

Filing ePermits
On-line permits may be taken out for simple work that does not require any more paperwork than a contract copy, or for simple work done by the homeowner. Structural work, structural and space layout changes, or enlargement, additions or new buildings of any kind require that the permit be taken out in the Permit Office. Almost all electrical, plumbing, heating or air conditioning work must be done by City-licensed contractors who are Master tradesmen. Check with the Permit Office first at (716) 851- 4667, -4932, -4924, -4925, -4926, or –5033.

Creating an ePermit account is free. Permit fee payments are made using Visa or Master Card credit or debit cards only, in a secure transaction. Please enter the exact credit card information, as it appears on the card you are using, even if it is different from current info; otherwise the permit will not process.
Enter the correct address in the 'Address' box. Please be sure to enter the correct zip code. Streets that have numbers for names, for example 'Seventeenth Street, must be entered with the number name spelled out. You can contact Assessments at (716) 851-5771 to get help obtaining the correct assessed address for your property.

The next screen, the Location screen, is not for address information; it is for the location on the lot, of the building or structure being worked on. For example, “front dwelling, rear, left side”, etc.

Please fill out as complete a work description as possible in the 'Description of the construction/proposed job' box. Contractors, please enter the homeowner's name and day phone number in that box as well, so that inspectors can arrange inspections with either your personnel or the homeowners.

Fax the project's contract to us at (716) 851-5043 so that we can attach it to the permit printout the next day. If there are any Permit Office questions about, or problems with the completed permit, the applicant will be contacted after that day's review.

You may notice that the "Owner" name on the permit is the previous owner of the property; this is due to the fact that City Assessment updates owner changes as they can get to the work. Such temporarily-incorrect information does not invalidate the permit process, and is not a problem. Your applicant and/or contractor information is connected to the permit in the application.

After paying, download your permit to your printer at the end of the process, and post it so it will be visible from the street, before you begin work.

Print this page out as a reference if you wish, before you proceed.

There is a 'Help' system built into the permit process to aid in completing the ePermit. If you have any further questions about ePermits, call (716) 851-5450.