Building permits in the Town of East Hampton

The Town's department, and the village inside it

The Town's Public Safety Division presides over the Building Department, along with the Fire Safety and Ordinance Enforcement departments and the Animal Control Unit. The Village of East Hampton lies within the Town, and the Justice Court's jurisdiction covers crimes in both the Village and the Town. We could not find a Town page saying whether the village runs its own building department, so if your house is in the village, call the village first. Our list of village and city offices has the village hall.

Every application goes through OpenGov

The Building Department says all of its applications must be submitted digitally through its OpenGov portal, and that you must create an OpenGov account before you submit any of them. No payments are accepted at the counter. You pay online, by credit card (the page lists 2.99% + .99) or by e-check ($2.25 flat).

As of October 26, 2026, the department lists weekday counter hours for drop off from 8:30 to 3:30. Its page also describes counter access to a building inspector for licensed contractors only and, separately, for the general public, so check the page for the current times.

Surveys for clearing, and the forms pages

• Any building permit application that includes clearing must come with a staked survey, prepared by a licensed surveyor, that shows the clearing limits.
• The Town's Apply For page links the Building Department's forms for building processes, permits and licenses, and the Zoning Board of Appeals forms online.

The updated certificate of occupancy

The Building Department page flags an Updated Certificate of Occupancy requirement for a change of ownership, effective January 1, 2024. As of November 4, 2024, it lists the fee for an Updated Certificate of Occupancy as $600, under an amended Town Board resolution. The same page links an FAQ about a stay on the updated certificate, which we could not open, so if you are buying or selling, ask the department whether the requirement applies to you.

East Hampton fees we could not see

The Town says Building Department fees increased as of May 17, 2024, under Town Resolution 2024-680. We could not open that resolution or a fee schedule, so ask the department for the fee on your project.

Open questions in East Hampton

The Town's permit FAQ, its building permit application and instructions, its forms index, its contractor license form and its natural resources permit instructions all returned errors when we checked. That leaves open which projects need a permit, whether the Town licenses home improvement contractors, and its rules for wetlands, flood zones and coastal erosion. The Town does have a Natural Resource Department, founded in 1984, that works to preserve, protect and conserve its natural features. Call the Building Department at 631-324-4145 about your project before anything is designed.

East Hampton items for the free call

On the free call we note what the Town has not confirmed online, so you can raise it with the department: whether the job needs a permit, any clearing limits, and whether the updated certificate of occupancy applies. Ask each contractor who will open the OpenGov account and file, and whether the estimate counts the online payment charges. Suffolk County issues home improvement licenses, and our guide shows how to check one.