For a parcel inside the City of Manassas, Development Services at that city issues the building permit, the trade permit, and the zoning permit. Source: City of Manassas: Building, trade, and occupancy permits, City of Manassas: Zoning permits and other resources. For a parcel inside the City of Manassas Park, Development, Zoning, and Code Enforcement at that city issues the building permit and the zoning approval. Source: City of Manassas Park: Building permits and inspections. Prince William County Development Services is the permit office only when the parcel is in the county. The county areas page says its site-development permits and its building and trade permits stop at these two cities. Source: Prince William County: Areas We Serve.
Who issues the permit depends on your address
Confirm the parcel is inside the City of Manassas, inside the City of Manassas Park, or in the county before you name an office. A mailing address does not make that choice. Virginia defines a city as an independent incorporated community, which is why these two are not towns inside Prince William County. That statute does not say whether one parcel sits inside either city. Source: Code of Virginia § 15.2-102 (definition of a city). Use manassasva.gov for the City of Manassas. The county areas page still points readers at an older city web address. Source: Prince William County: Areas We Serve. The City of Manassas publishes a zoning and parcel map and a GeoHub. Check with the City of Manassas Park for its map of that parcel. Source: City of Manassas: Historic overlay district, City of Manassas: GIS and mapping. Manassas plan review prints the applicable code as the 2018/2021 Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code. Source: City of Manassas: Building plan review. Virginia DHCD says the 2021 Uniform Statewide Building Code took effect on January 18, 2024, and that the state adopted the 2021 I-codes for the construction code plus the 2020 National Electrical Code. Source: Virginia DHCD: Codes. Confirm both code statements with the offices. Do not collapse the city 2018/2021 pair and the DHCD 2021 effective date into one edition.
City of Manassas Development Services
Issues building, trade, and occupancy permits, plan review, and zoning certificates for a parcel inside the City of Manassas. The city uses construction permits to apply the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code. A certificate of occupancy is the city statement that a structure may be occupied, and a certificate of use can cover a new business moving into an existing structure when that move does not involve major construction. Some inspections can be done virtually, and third-party building inspections are accepted from a city-approved list. Weekday counter hours on the building-permit page run from 8:30 AM to 5 PM, with a transaction cutoff at 4:30 PM. The city says its local design-load criteria match Fairfax County and Prince William County. The city GIS page points at EnerGov self-service for building permits. Source: City of Manassas: Building, trade, and occupancy permits, City of Manassas: Building plan review, City of Manassas: GIS and mapping.
City of Manassas Architectural Review Board
Issues a certificate of appropriateness for construction, reconstruction, substantial exterior alteration, demolition, or relocation inside a city historic overlay. Source: City of Manassas: Historic overlay district.
City of Manassas fire-protection permit
The exemption page and the permits index name a separate fire-protection permit. Fire-alarm and similar fire-protection work may skip a building permit and still need that permit. Ask the city for the steps on that fire-protection permit. Source: City of Manassas: Items that do not require a permit, City of Manassas: Apply for permits.
City of Manassas site and utility permits
Land disturbance, utility installation, and work in the city right-of-way are city permits separate from the building and trade permits. Disturbing more than 2,500 square feet brings an erosion permit and a responsible land disturber. A site-development permit, after a final site plan, covers the roads, the parking, and the water, sewer, and storm construction, and that permit does not include the building and trade permits. When more than 2,500 square feet will be disturbed and no site plan or subdivision plan is already in review, file a land-disturbance permit. Stored materials, or a closed street or sidewalk, go on a no-excavation right-of-way permit. Underground gas, water, cable, telephone, and sewer, plus a new entrance onto a public road, go on an excavation permit. Source: City of Manassas: Site and utility permits.
City of Manassas utility customer service
Starting an account for electric, water, sewer, stormwater, or refuse is a customer-service application, and that application is not the construction permit. Electric service in the City of Manassas is sold by that city. Source: City of Manassas: Utility service connections.
City of Manassas Park Development Services
Issues building permits, inspections, and zoning approval for a parcel inside the City of Manassas Park. The building-permits page sends applications and inspection requests to SmartGov, and a new contractor calls the city before creating a portal contact, with the state license number ready. A home-occupation or new-business zoning compliance needs the Commissioner of the Revenue stamp before it is submitted on SmartGov. The applications page still describes a master permit number with a scope-of-work worksheet for each trade, and it still says an online customer portal is being prepared, while also linking SmartGov for sign-up and inspection requests. Both pages are published. Use the page that matches the application you are filing. The building-permits page places Development Services at 9701 Manassas Drive and prints office hours of Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. The site footer on that host places city hall at 100 Park Central Plaza. The Prince William areas page places Manassas Park at One Park Center Court. Confirm which door takes the application. Source: City of Manassas Park: Building permits and inspections, City of Manassas Park: Building and trade permit applications, Prince William County: Areas We Serve.
City of Manassas Park water and sewer division
Covers the city water and sewer system and points billing questions to the treasurer water-billing office. The city says its water is purchased under agreements with Prince William County and the City of Manassas. The page does not say who issues a tap permit, so this guide does not name a tap fee or a tap counter. Source: City of Manassas Park: Water and sewer services.
Trade contractor in the city that contains the parcel
Files the electrical, plumbing, or mechanical permit. In the City of Manassas the trade contractor applies after the building plans are approved. In the City of Manassas Park, one applicant can file several trades on one application and each trade still receives its own permit number. On those Manassas Park forms, residential means an R-5 occupancy, and every other occupancy, including a multifamily R-2 apartment or condominium, is filed as commercial. The inspections page links separate applications for electrical, mechanical, and plumbing and gas. Source: City of Manassas: Building plan review, City of Manassas Park: Building and trade permit applications, City of Manassas Park: Scheduling inspections.
Do I need a permit? Job by job
Short answers for the remodel jobs homeowners ask us about most. Your exact scope decides the answer, so confirm with the permit office for your parcel.
Deck in the City of Manassas
Depends on scopeA City of Manassas building permit covers a new deck, stairs that are added, a larger deck or larger stairs, and replacement of structural members, including guards and stairs. Replacing or resurfacing only the deck boards, and staining the deck, are the cases the city deck guide puts outside the permit. That guide treats a deck as an unroofed structure attached to the house. Single-family setbacks in the districts it names are 35 feet to the front lot line, 15 feet to the rear lot line when the deck is 4 feet or less off the ground and 20 feet when it is higher, 15 feet on each side in R-1, and in R-2 and R-2S a minimum of 10 feet on each side with the two side yards totaling at least 25 feet. A townhouse deck in R-3 or R-5 stays 8 feet off the rear lot line. On a corner, the yard line that runs perpendicular to the street uses the rear setback, and the line that runs parallel to the street is 20 feet. Stairs and platforms with no roof may sit closer to a lot line, so ask the department about that particular lot. A historic-overlay deck has to meet the city historic design guidelines and may need Architectural Review Board approval before construction. The application is the building-permit form, a surveyor house-location survey with the deck and the steps drawn to scale, and a deck detail covering footings, posts, beams, the connection to the house, the decking, and the guard. The city inspects the deck while it is being built. Source: City of Manassas: Guide to decks (PDF).
Our decks workDeck in the City of Manassas Park
Depends on scopeThe City of Manassas Park plan-submittal page treats a deck as a building-plan item and says zoning approval comes before building plans for most structures. No deck-height cutoff is stated on that page. A Prince William County deck measurement is not the Manassas Park rule, and the City of Manassas rear-yard split at 4 feet off the ground is not the Manassas Park rule either. Source: City of Manassas Park: Plan submittal for additions, decks, and finished basements.
Our decks workFinished basement in the City of Manassas
Check with the countyNo City of Manassas page used here states a rule for finishing a basement. Check with that city before you finish a basement on a city parcel. Source: City of Manassas: Building, trade, and occupancy permits.
Our basement finishing workFinished basement in the City of Manassas Park
Permit requiredFinishing a basement is on the City of Manassas Park required list, and the plan-submittal page offers a finished-basement detail for that work. Source: City of Manassas Park: Do I need a permit?, City of Manassas Park: Plan submittal for additions, decks, and finished basements.
Our basement finishing workBathroom or kitchen in the City of Manassas
Depends on scopeNo City of Manassas page used here names a kitchen remodel or a bathroom remodel as its own category. For the residential groups the exemption page names, plumbing-fixture and well-pump replacement that leaves the supply, the drain, and the vent alone is ordinary repair, and so are cabinet or trim replacement, floor finishes, and paint. Anything past those lines is not on that exemption list. Check with the city about the scope you actually have. Source: City of Manassas: Items that do not require a permit.
Our bathroom remodeling workBathroom or kitchen in the City of Manassas Park
Depends on scopeIn the City of Manassas Park, moving a fixture, changing plumbing, electrical, or mechanical systems, adding or removing walls, and replacing a gas appliance are on the required lists. Cabinet replacement, floor coverings, same-place fixture replacement without a supply or drain change, and a same-place appliance of similar capacity are on the exemption list. A similar-capacity swap does not excuse a gas-appliance replacement. That building-permits page still groups a gas-appliance replacement with work that needs a permit. Source: City of Manassas Park: Do I need a permit?, City of Manassas Park: Building permits and inspections.
Our bathroom remodeling workAddition in the City of Manassas
Permit requiredA City of Manassas addition needs a building permit. Addition plans go through the residential addition queue, and the plan-review page lists the documents an addition has to include. The plan-review page does not state a size that would exempt an addition. Source: City of Manassas: Building plan review.
Our home additions workAddition in the City of Manassas Park
Permit requiredAn addition is on the City of Manassas Park required list. Zoning approval comes before the building plans for most structures, including that addition. Source: City of Manassas Park: Do I need a permit?, City of Manassas Park: Plan submittal for additions, decks, and finished basements.
Our home additions workShed or accessory structure in the City of Manassas
Depends on scopeIn the City of Manassas, an accessory structure is a separate structure on the house lot. The city examples include a shed, a detached garage, a carport, a pergola, a gazebo, a greenhouse, and an above-ground pool. The city wants a permit for a new accessory structure and for a change to its size or to where it sits on the lot. At 256 square feet or less the city calls for a zoning permit, and at 257 square feet or more it calls for a building permit. Repair and maintenance of an existing structure sit outside the permit, and so does tearing down a structure of 256 square feet or less and putting the same size back in the same place. On single-family lots in R-1, R-2, and R-2S there is no accessory structure in the front yard, the rear and rear-side lines are 5 feet, the side yards follow the deck-guide pattern for those districts, height stops at 22 feet at the ridge or 16 feet for a flat roof, and all accessory structures together may cover up to 40 percent of the house lot coverage. A corner lot still bars a front-yard structure, and the street-parallel line is 20 feet. A townhouse in R-3 or R-5 is limited to one structure, rear yard only, 80 square feet, and 8.5 feet, and that guide prints no setback. Keep 4 feet off a transformer and a fire hydrant, and keep the structure out of an easement unless the city reviews that case. From 257 through 600 square feet the city wants a permanent foundation 12 inches below ground, and a garage or carport also needs an approved floor drain and slope. Above 600 square feet, the city wants continuous frost footings set 24 inches below finished grade. The building-permit drawings are two copies: a dimensioned floor plan, front and side elevations, framing sizes and spacing, and the anchorage to the ground. An accessory structure inside a historic overlay has to follow the historic design guidelines and may need Architectural Review Board approval before it is built. An above-ground pool needs a building permit when it is over 150 square feet, over 24 inches high, or over 5,000 gallons, and any one of those is enough. Source: City of Manassas: Guide to sheds, carports, and garages (PDF).
Shed or accessory structure in the City of Manassas Park
Depends on scopeThe City of Manassas Park shed pages do not agree with each other. The building-permits page uses 256 square feet as the line between zoning-only approval and a building permit. The do-I-need page says a residential shed greater than 150 square feet needs a permit, and it puts storage sheds of 150 square feet or less on the exemption list except in the use groups that page names. The fence-and-shed page allows a shed no taller than 15 feet and no larger than 256 square feet to sit at least 2 feet off the rear line and the side line, and it does not allow that shed in the front yard. Ask the city which line the shed falls under. A pool note on the do-I-need page names 150 square feet, 5,000 gallons, and 24 inches and joins them with or. Do not rewrite that note into a test that needs all three. Source: City of Manassas Park: Building permits and inspections, City of Manassas Park: Do I need a permit?, City of Manassas Park: Shed, fence, wall, patio, or driveway approval.
Fence in the City of Manassas
Depends on scopeIn the City of Manassas, a zoning permit covers a new fence that is 4 feet or taller, and a change in the height or the location of a fence that is already there. A new fence up to 4 feet, repair, and a same-height replacement in the same place stay outside that zoning permit. A fence in a City of Manassas front yard may not exceed 4 feet. A City of Manassas side or rear fence may not exceed 7 feet. The city does not print a fence setback and allows the fence on a lot line, and the owner locates that line. Keep the fence 4 feet off a fire hydrant and a transformer, and check the lot easements. A corner lot may keep a fence of up to 4 feet in the front yard, out to the property edge. Where streets meet, the fence has to leave vehicles a clear view for 200 feet. A fence over 4 feet in the side yard has to meet the side setback, which the city guide says is usually 20 feet. Outside the historic overlay the guide allows any fence material. Every fence inside the overlay, whatever its height, has to meet the historic design guidelines and may need the Architectural Review Board before installation. A barrier around a pool takes a building permit, and a zoning certificate alone does not cover it. Apply with the zoning certificate and a house-location survey that draws the fence, the height, and the material. Source: City of Manassas: Fence application process (PDF).
Fence in the City of Manassas Park
Often no building permitA City of Manassas Park fence on a residential lot usually does not take a building permit, and zoning approval still applies. A City of Manassas Park front-yard fence may not exceed 4 feet. A City of Manassas Park side or rear fence may not exceed 6 feet. A wall uses those fence height limits. A wall no taller than 6 feet is zoning approval only, and a taller wall needs a building permit. A corner lot has an extra sight-line rule in zoning ordinance section 31-31. The owner may also need the homeowners association architectural review for the fence type, the location, and the installation. Source: City of Manassas Park: Shed, fence, wall, patio, or driveway approval, City of Manassas Park: Building permits and inspections.
Roof, siding, or windows in the City of Manassas
Depends on scopeOn the residential groups the City of Manassas exemption page names, roof covering or siding may be replaced without a building permit when the design wind speed is not over 100 mph. A separate line allows 100 square feet or less of roof covering in any group and any wind zone. For those same residential groups, roof decking at or under 100 square feet is exempt unless the old decking was fire-retardant or closed a fire-rated wall. Similar-operation window and door replacement that does not change the framed opening, and is not required to be fire-rated, is on the ordinary-repair list for the groups the page names. Inside a historic overlay, replacement siding, roofing, and windows can still need a permit. Source: City of Manassas: Items that do not require a permit.
Our roofing workRoof, siding, or windows in the City of Manassas Park
Depends on scopeIn the City of Manassas Park, replacing roof shingles does not need a permit, and replacing roof sheathing or roof decking does. Window or door work in the City of Manassas Park needs a permit when it includes a structural alteration. Do not bring a City of Manassas square-foot limit or wind-speed limit onto a Manassas Park roof. Source: City of Manassas Park: Do I need a permit?.
Our roofing workPatio or driveway in the City of Manassas
Check with the countyThe City of Manassas zoning page names a driveway among the residential certifications to ask about before an exterior yard change. No driveway width is printed on the zoning page cited here. Check with the city before using a width from another office. Source: City of Manassas: Zoning permits and other resources.
Patio or driveway in the City of Manassas Park
Depends on scopeA City of Manassas Park patio needs zoning approval, and the fence page states no patio size and no patio setback. In the front yard, the driveway may be 20 feet wide or 20 percent of the lot width, and the owner may use the larger of those two. An apron or curb cut is a separate application, with an inspection before the concrete is poured and another after it is in place. Source: City of Manassas Park: Shed, fence, wall, patio, or driveway approval.
Our outdoor living workThe typical permit steps in Manassas and Manassas Park
- Confirm whether the parcel is inside the City of Manassas, inside the City of Manassas Park, or in Prince William County, and then use that office. The county areas page is the county statement that its building and trade permits stop at the two cities. Each city map is the parcel check, and a mailing address is not. Source: Prince William County: Areas We Serve, City of Manassas: GIS and mapping, Code of Virginia § 15.2-102 (definition of a city).
- In the City of Manassas, file the building permit with the plan set the plan-review page describes, and file a zoning certificate when the zoning page or the deck, shed, or fence guide requires one. Plans go in with the application. Staff review them for the Virginia construction code, and another city department can still have to approve the project before the permit is issued. Turn in at least two full plan sets, with enough architectural, structural, mechanical, plumbing, and electrical detail for the review. A Virginia-licensed designer signs and seals the plans, or, when a seal is not required, the plans carry the designer name, address, and occupation. Once the plans are approved, the applicant gets at least one stamped set to keep on the job. The trade contractor files the trade permit from those approved plans. Changing the work after that approval means submitting revised plans. New buildings and additions also bring two copies of a site-utility plan or a house-location survey, a special-inspections form, a soils report, and the structural designer calculations. A zoning certificate uses the city zoning-certificate application and a house-location survey that shows what is there and what is proposed. Source: City of Manassas: Building plan review, City of Manassas: Zoning permits and other resources, City of Manassas: Guide to decks (PDF), City of Manassas: Fence application process (PDF).
- In the City of Manassas Park, get zoning approval before the building plans for most structures. Follow SmartGov when you are using the path the building-permits page describes, and follow the scope worksheet when you are using the path the applications page still describes. Both of those city pages are still published. Drawings have to be to scale on paper no smaller than 11 by 17 inches. Most jobs need three copies, and the fire marshal or an outside agency can ask for more. For common jobs the city already publishes a standard detail, including a typical deck and a finished basement, and those jobs can use a simple layout sketch plus notes that are specific to the job. Put the inspection request in no later than the day before the visit. Same-day inspections are not available in the City of Manassas Park. The permit holder makes the request and has to have the permit number. Inspection visits run Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 4 PM, and the city usually books them for the following business day. Naming a clock time does not mean the inspector will arrive then. Source: City of Manassas Park: Building permits and inspections, City of Manassas Park: Plan submittal for additions, decks, and finished basements, City of Manassas Park: Building and trade permit applications, City of Manassas Park: Scheduling inspections.
- In either city, a historic-overlay signature or a homeowners-association signature is separate from the permit. Neither signature replaces the city permit. Source: City of Manassas: Historic overlay district, City of Manassas: Fence application process (PDF), City of Manassas Park: Shed, fence, wall, patio, or driveway approval.
HOA approval and historic districts are separate
The City of Manassas fence guide tells the owner to check the association neighborhood rules. The City of Manassas Park fence page says the association architectural review may have to approve the fence type, the place, and the installation. Approval from the association does not take the place of the city permit. Source: City of Manassas: Fence application process (PDF), City of Manassas Park: Shed, fence, wall, patio, or driveway approval.
The City of Manassas has three historic overlay districts: a local district of a bit more than 300 structures and about 2.5 square miles covering downtown and nearby neighborhoods, the Liberia Mansion district on an 18-acre site, and the Mayfield Fort district on 11.5 acres. The Architectural Review Board issues a certificate of appropriateness for the exterior actions the overlay page names, and the guidelines the board uses are built from the Secretary of the Interior standards. An owner in a district should talk to Planning and Development before an improvement, and should use the city map rather than assuming the whole city is covered. Check with the City of Manassas Park about historic review before exterior work in that city. Source: City of Manassas: Historic overlay district.
How Real Elite handles permits
On a job we build, we confirm which office has jurisdiction over your parcel, pull the permits the scope needs, and schedule the inspections. Start with a free site visit: we walk the project with you, tell you what we expect the permit path to be, and put it in a written estimate. If something on this page doesn’t match what the county tells you, the county is right.
Quick questions
- How does an owner tell these two cities from Prince William County?
- Start with the parcel. On its areas page, Prince William County lists both cities as places where county building and trade permits are not issued. Source: Prince William County: Areas We Serve. The City of Manassas publishes a map for that check. Check with the City of Manassas Park for its map. A mailing address does not decide the office. Source: City of Manassas: GIS and mapping.
- What deck work needs a City of Manassas building permit?
- A new deck, added stairs, an enlargement, or replacement of structural members, guards, or stairs needs that city building permit. Board replacement, resurfacing, and stain are the exceptions in the city deck guide. The Prince William County deck measurement is not the City of Manassas rule. Source: City of Manassas: Guide to decks (PDF).
- Why do Manassas Park's shed pages disagree?
- One City of Manassas Park page uses 256 square feet and another uses 150 square feet. This guide shows both and tells the owner to ask the city which line that shed falls under. Source: City of Manassas Park: Building permits and inspections, City of Manassas Park: Do I need a permit?.
- Does finishing a basement need a permit in Manassas or Manassas Park?
- In the City of Manassas Park, yes. The city required list includes finishing a basement. Source: City of Manassas Park: Do I need a permit?. Check with the City of Manassas for a basement on a Manassas parcel. The pages opened for this guide do not state that city basement rule.
- Who files the electrical, plumbing, or mechanical permit?
- The trade contractor files that city trade permit. In Manassas Park each trade still receives its own permit number even when several trades are filed together. Source: City of Manassas: Building plan review, City of Manassas Park: Building and trade permit applications. Real Elite arranges electrical, plumbing, and HVAC, and the firm does not perform those trades. Confirm the trade contractor is the person who files the trade permit.
Official sources
Last checked October 15, 2026. Rules change, so confirm with the county before you file.
- Prince William County: Areas We Serve
- Code of Virginia § 15.2-102 (definition of a city)
- Virginia DHCD: Codes
- City of Manassas: Building, trade, and occupancy permits
- City of Manassas: Items that do not require a permit
- City of Manassas: Zoning permits and other resources
- City of Manassas: Guide to decks (PDF)
- City of Manassas: Guide to sheds, carports, and garages (PDF)
- City of Manassas: Fence application process (PDF)
- City of Manassas: Building plan review
- City of Manassas: Historic overlay district
- City of Manassas: Site and utility permits
- City of Manassas: Utility service connections
- City of Manassas: Apply for permits
- City of Manassas: GIS and mapping
- City of Manassas Park: Building permits and inspections
- City of Manassas Park: Do I need a permit?
- City of Manassas Park: Plan submittal for additions, decks, and finished basements
- City of Manassas Park: Scheduling inspections
- City of Manassas Park: Building and trade permit applications
- City of Manassas Park: Shed, fence, wall, patio, or driveway approval
- City of Manassas Park: Water and sewer services
Where we work in Manassas and Manassas Park
Permit guides for other counties
- Fairfax County, VA permit guide
- Loudoun County, VA permit guide
- Arlington County, VA permit guide
- Montgomery County, MD permit guide
- Howard County, MD permit guide
- Frederick County, MD permit guide
- Berkeley County, WV permit guide
- Jefferson County, WV permit guide
- Washington County, MD permit guide
- Franklin County, PA permit guide
- Fauquier County, VA permit guide
- Prince William County, VA permit guide
- Frederick County and Winchester, VA permit guide
- Clarke County, VA permit guide
- City of Alexandria, VA permit guide
- Falls Church and City of Fairfax, VA permit guide
- Anne Arundel County and Annapolis, MD permit guide
- Carroll County, MD permit guide