Do you need a permit for a pole barn in Delaware?

Who issues the permit

The county or town where your land sits issues the permit. Delaware has no single statewide building code for houses and outbuildings: state law lets each county adopt and enforce its own, and towns adopt their own or rely on the county. Kent uses the 2018 IRC and IBC with county amendments and Sussex the 2021 editions. Editions vary by town, so confirm yours with the local building office before drawings are final.

Electrical and plumbing run separately: Delaware-licensed third-party agencies inspect electrical work, and the Division of Public Health issues plumbing permits except where a local program exists. We manage the permits for the buildings we put up; our process page shows where that fits.

Kent County: a permit at any size

Outside towns with their own permit offices, Kent County wants a permit for a detached garage, carport, pole building, pool house or animal shelter of any size. Sheds, gazebos and pavilions need one over 300 square feet, or at any size in a flood plain. Setback questions go to Kent County Planning Services at (302) 744-2471.

Kent adds post-frame rules to the residential code. Plans must meet the county’s design criteria (25 psf ground snow load, 115 mph wind, 24 inch frost line) and state the uplift reactions. Post-frame footings go at least 40 inches below grade and are at least 18 inches across and 12 inches thick. Truss drawings showing permanent bracing are due at plan submittal, along with a fastener schedule.

A residential accessory building can’t be larger than the house or have an average roof height over 20 feet. The county’s common minimums keep it at least 5 feet from side and rear lines, 5 feet from the house and 10 feet from the septic tank and drain field, and it can’t sit forward of the house unless it’s at least 100 feet from the front property line. Lots under half an acre need a lines-and-grade survey. Our Kent County page has more.

Sussex County: a county permit, even in town

Sussex requires a county building permit for all construction, in town or out, and enforces the 2021 IRC and IBC. Plan review is the Building Code Office at (302) 855-7860, inspections are booked at (302) 858-5500, and Planning & Zoning handles setbacks at (302) 855-7878.

The plan set shows every post hole’s size, depth and location, header sizes, a cross section with post embedment and truss and purlin spacing, and elevations. Delaware-sealed truss specifications must be on site at the framing inspection.

The general minimum footer depth is 24 inches, measured from final grade to the bottom of the footer, and the county’s FAQ puts the minimum post hole at “3 times larger than the post on all sides.” Pole footings go deeper: unless a Delaware architect or engineer designs them, footings for poles up to 12 feet (floor to truss bottom chord) need at least 36 inches to the bottom of the footer, and taller poles need a depth of the pole height divided by 4. Poles over 16 feet, or a second story outside the trusses, need sealed plans.

Inspectors check footings before concrete and headers before any wall covering. Accessory buildings under 600 square feet can sit 5 feet from side and rear lines; at 600 square feet or more, the house setbacks apply. See our Sussex County page.

New Castle County: permits outside town limits

The New Castle County Department of Land Use issues permits outside town limits, in places like Bear, Hockessin, Glasgow, St. Georges and Port Penn; the county building code doesn’t apply inside a municipality unless the county provides that service there. Applications go through eApply/ePlans.

Beyond the plot plan and building plans, buildings of 480 square feet and up need a Lines and Grades plan sealed by a Delaware-licensed engineer or surveyor. The contractor pulls the permit; a homeowner can’t get it by listing a hired contractor. Confirm the current checklist, code edition and design values with the county before drawings are final.

On residential lots, a freestanding accessory building goes in the rear yard, at least 3 feet from side and rear lines, and accessory buildings together can cover no more than 30% of the required rear yard. Height is generally capped at 20 feet, but on lots over an acre a building outside all setbacks can match the house. See our New Castle County page.

Inside town limits

Inside a town, start at town hall; each county handles its towns differently.

Town steps vary. Blades, Bridgeville and Millsboro want the town permit before the county’s, Ellendale reviews zoning before plans go to the county, and Felton and Viola issue a compliance letter you take to Kent County. Milford issues permits on both sides of the county line but asks Sussex-side applicants to check with Sussex County (302-855-7860) about a county permit.

Farm buildings get a lighter track

Farm-only buildings get lighter treatment in all three counties, but each county still wants paperwork. State law keeps county zoning off land and structures devoted to agricultural use, meaning land that is farmland-assessed, in an Agricultural Preservation District, operated under a required nutrient-management or agricultural-waste plan while producing plants or animals for sale, or qualified for a federal soil-conservation program.

Kent: farm buildings other than dwellings, used only for farming on at least five acres that meet the code’s farm-income test, are exempt from the building code, but you still file a plot plan and get an agricultural building use permit. Sussex: a county permit, then a final zoning inspection instead of building-code inspections. New Castle: the building code doesn’t apply, and the county issues a Certificate of Use for Agricultural Purposes on a plot plan, building plans, Conservation District approval and proof of agricultural use.

The tests follow how the land is used and assessed, not how the building looks, so a horse barn on a lot that doesn’t qualify goes through the regular permit. Farmland assessment needs two preceding years of active farm, horticultural or forest use plus a sales test or an IRS Schedule F. Our farm buildings page has more.

Site work, flood zones and water

Disturb 5,000 square feet or more, including a single-family home site, and you need an approved sediment and erosion control plan. A 40 by 60 building covers 2,400 square feet by itself, so grading and a new drive can push a project past that line. In Sussex, the Sussex Conservation District’s Residential Standard Plan (302-856-2105) comes before the building permit. An acre or more also needs a Notice of Intent under the NPDES Construction General Permit.

In a flood plain, Kent requires a permit for any work, sheds included. Sussex puts the lowest floor at or above the base flood elevation, limits space below it to access, parking and storage with flood openings and flood-resistant materials, and wants utilities above that level or floodproofed. New Castle requires 18 inches of freeboard and prohibits net fill.

Near water, DNREC approval is needed for construction, filling, draining or excavation in regulated wetlands unless exempt (Wetlands and Waterways Section, 302-739-9943), for piers, docks and bulkheads on submerged lands or tidelands, and for building on a beach on either side of the state building line. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regulates federal wetlands separately.

What to have ready

Have these ready: a survey or plot plan, your deed and any HOA covenants, where the well and septic system are, and whether the parcel is in a flood zone. Our designers produce the drawings and an organized, easy-to-read quote, we handle the permit, and final payment comes after the county’s final inspection. As Jamie, a customer with a 60 by 40 building, put it on video: “I underestimated all of the rules and regulations it would take to get this project done.”

A home is a bigger permit, covered in our guide to living in a pole barn. When you’re ready, tell us what you want to build.