Building permits in the Town of Riverhead

Riverhead's Building Department

The department works from 4 West Second Street, issues sign permits as well as building permits, and posts its forms and requirement checklists on its Building page. None of the Town pages we read, among them the Building, FAQ, Zoning Board of Appeals and Conservation Advisory Council pages, mention an incorporated village or a village building department.

Riverhead's residential packet

The residential building permit packet asks for:

• The two-page building permit application and a disclosure affidavit, each signed and notarized
• An inspection acknowledgment checklist
• Two complete sets of building plans that comply with Section 217-6 of the Town Code
• Three plot plans or surveys, one carrying Health Department approval when that is required
• Three proofs of the contractor's insurance: liability on an Acord form with a 2M/1M minimum, workers' compensation on form C-105.2, and disability on form DB 120.1

Processing begins once all the applicable forms are received and the fee is paid, and original notarized applications must reach the Building Department before a permit is issued. Whether applications can be filed online is not stated on the pages we read.

Who stamps Riverhead plans

The Town's FAQ says the New York State Department of Education requires building plans to be stamped by a New York State licensed design professional. It notes an exception for alterations costing $20,000 or less that do not involve changes affecting structural or public safety.

Pools, sheds and fences in Riverhead

• Pools and hot tubs: the Town says New York State mandates permits for all of them, even storable or non-permanent pools, unless the pool is designed for a water depth under 24 inches and installed entirely above ground.
• Sheds: on a single-family property, one shed under 144 square feet is allowed without a permit if it is in the rear yard and at least 5 feet from the property lines. Near a tidal or freshwater wetland or a bluff, or in the Pine Barrens Overlay District, a permit and more approvals may be required.
• Fences: no permit is needed if the fence is on your property and meets the Town's height restrictions. Ask the department for the limits in your yard.

Wetlands, the coast and floodplain rules

The Town's Conservation Advisory Council, along with the Planning Department, reviews permit applications and inspects properties for regulated activities within 150 feet of any freshwater wetland and 300 feet of any tidal wetland. For any project in the coastal zone or next to freshwater wetlands, a CAC permit is a required step toward the building permit. The packet also calls for approvals from other agencies when they apply, naming the state DEC, the CAC, Chapter 219, and Riverhead Highway, Water and Sewer.

On flooding, the Building page points to FEMA's flood insurance rate maps online, the packet asks whether FEMA floodplain regulations apply, and its inspection sheet requires a flood elevation certificate for work within the floodplain.

Inspection and certificate deadlines

• Inspections must be made by the department within four months of the permit's issue.
• Construction must be finished and the certificate of occupancy obtained within twelve months, or the permit may need to be renewed.
• A new building may not be used or occupied until the Building Inspector issues a certificate of occupancy. A building enlarged, extended or altered under a permit may not be used more than 30 days after completion without one.
• Once all the required documents are in, the certificate is issued after a processing period of at least 72 hours.

Riverhead fees as the Town prints them

The Town's FAQ says permit fees are based on the estimated cost of construction and, for large projects, approach 1.2% of it. The packet says fees are set under Chapter 217 of the Town Code and are non-refundable, and its inspection sheet lists a $200 duplicate inspection fee for residential properties. On the Town's 2026 site plan fee schedule, last revised July 21, 2026, a residential area variance is $500, and Chapter 219 and CAC applications are $300 each.

Variances in Riverhead

The Zoning Board of Appeals takes its jurisdiction directly from state law and can grant use and area variances with conditions. It meets on the second and fourth Thursday of every month, and its office is at 631-727-3200, ext. 283. The fee schedule notes that Chapter 219 appeals are handled by the board as the Coastal Erosion Hazard Area Board of Review and processed as residential area variances.

Riverhead questions to raise

On the free call, check the job against the wetland and coastal distances, and leave room in the schedule for the twelve months to finish and get the certificate. We found no Town home improvement license on Riverhead's pages, so ask each contractor for the three insurance proofs the packet requires, who will deliver the original notarized application, and their Suffolk County license, which our guide shows how to check. For a manufactured home, the packet requires a contractor certified by the New York Department of State.