Water heater permits

We will not tell you what your local rule is, because anyone who claims to know it without knowing your address is guessing. What we can tell you is how to find out in one phone call: contact your city or county building or permitting department, say you are replacing a water heater, and ask whether a permit is required and who is allowed to pull it.

In most places, the licensed contractor pulls the permit as part of the job. That is the arrangement you want. Be suspicious of an installer who offers to skip the permit to save you money. The permit is usually a small share of the total, and it buys you an independent inspection of gas, venting, and connections you are not qualified to check yourself.

Inspections commonly look at things like the temperature and pressure relief valve and its discharge piping, venting on gas units, combustion air, connections, and — in some regions — seismic strapping. The specific list is jurisdictional. Ask your inspector's office for their checklist; many publish one.

Unpermitted water heater work tends to surface at exactly the wrong moment: during a home sale inspection, or during an insurance claim after a failure. Retroactive permitting is possible in many places but is more expensive and more disruptive than doing it correctly the first time.

How to choose

Ask the building department directly

One call to your city or county permitting office settles it. Do not rely on a forum post about a different state.

Make the contractor pull it

Put it in the contract: contractor obtains permit and schedules inspection. Ask for the permit number once issued.

Never let a fuel-gas job go unpermitted

The inspection on a gas water heater is checking venting and combustion — the things that cause carbon monoxide incidents. That is the one you least want to skip.

Keep the paperwork with your house records

The closed permit and final inspection report are what a buyer's agent will ask for. They also help with warranty and insurance claims.

Licensing is separate from permitting

Who may legally do gas or plumbing work is set by your state and sometimes your city. Verify the license on the state licensing board's own lookup, not on the contractor's website.