Should a General Contractor or their Sub-Contractors (or both) file permits ?

Question

I'm deciding between a couple different licensed General Contractors to hire to remodel an investment property in Oakland, CA.

Some of their buildzoom.com profiles show no record of them having ever filed permits.

Other General Contractor's buildzoom.com profiles show records of them filing/pulling a bunch of permits, but not in all the categories my project entails (especially HVAC and Electric).

Is it typical for General Contractors to have their subcontractors file/pull permits instead of pulling/filling the permits themselves? Perhaps this is why I'm seeing these results on buildzoom.com?

Chris Seveney · Answer

@Matt A.

General contractors will pull the building permit and the tradespeople will pull their own permit (plumbing, hvac, electrical) - are the three main permits.

Wayne Brooks · Answer

@Matt A. GC’s can Not pull the specialty contractor permits…electric, plumbing, hvac and here roofing.

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

This is correct (at least in CA and AZ). If a GC is involved, they will take the plans to the City/County and get through that process. So if a GC is involved at all, that means the job is large enough that the Subs would not pull permits or be involved in the inspection process....

Replacing a Water Heater or AC Condenser would be different...no GC involved or needed, so the Sub would be responsible for the permit and inspections.

Ryan Normand · Answer

Depends on the city and type of project. Contrary to what others have said, my experience is that on larger jobs (e.g. an addition or new build) the whole job is rolled up into one set of plans and one permit for which the GC/builder is responsible for executing according to plan. If every trade pulled their own permits there would be like 20 permits and plan sets for a single job. It would be chaos and the city probably doesn't want to deal with that, but I've heard there are cities out there who do it this way. It doesn't really matter who pulls the permit as long as someone is responsible for it. Sometimes the GC does it, sometimes the owner, sometimes the architect/design firm. Bottom line - it varies by city and project. Have a conversation with your architect and call the city ahead of time to ask how they prefer to operate.

Jonathan Klemm · Answer

Hey @Matt A. - Typically here in Chicago the architect files the permit under a general contractor's license and then that general contractor has their subs for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing put their license on the permit as well.

Curious about how much weight you put on buildzoom?  Have you found it helpful?

Luis Reis · Answer

@Matt A. - Here in massachusetts, a licensed general contractor will apply for the building permit, his subs will apply for their permits under his. Plumbers, electricians, HVAC, fire alarm, sprinklers, and utilities all have to file. Everything else falls under the contractor's building permit and it is the contractor's best interest to make sure they do get their permits, the lack of it will cause delays or stop work orders on their projects.

I would never recommend doing any type of major reno without a permit.

John Morgan · Answer

@Matt A.

Some will pull permits and some won’t. If you want permits pulled let them know. Otherwise they can get the job done weeks/months earlier without all the hassle of pulling permits and dealing with the city.

Should a General Contractor or their Sub-Contractors (or both) file permits ?

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