A Commercial Demolition permit is required for the complete demolition of a commercial structure, partial demolition, and demolition of commercial pools.
To determine whether your permit application requires an associated grading plan, visit our Land Disturbance 101 webpage.
Note: Some residential properties (example: apartment buildings and condos) are considered commercial per the building code and therefore require commercial building permits. To be considered residential, a project must consist of a detached one- or two-family dwelling or townhouse and be no more than three stories high above ground level, as defined by code.
ON THIS PAGE
This information is the most common for how to obtain the necessary approval for your project and is not representative of all the conditions you may encounter.
WHO SHOULD APPLY?
Property owners may obtain permits in their own name, however, it is strongly recommended a properly licensed contractor pull the permits as the responsible party so the county can better assist in gaining compliance for defective work.
PLAN AHEAD
Before submitting, ensure you are aware of all applicable regulations and conditions that could affect your project to avoid surprises during the review process. Some of those factors include:
- Zoning Information
- Design Codes and Standards
- Do I Need to Hire a Registered Design Professional (RDP)?
- Floodplains
- Resource Protection Areas (RPA)
- Grading/Site Plans
- Parking Tabulation
- Types of Soils and Problem Soils
- Researching Site Conditions
Additionally, other permits may be required depending on the scope of your project. If required, they will need to have passed final inspections prior to the issuance of your demolition permit, such as:
- A plumbing permit - required for sewer cap-off, if on public sewer.
- A miscellaneous permit - required for asbestos abatement, if asbestos is present.
To get a detailed description about each regulation and condition, visit our Plan Ahead page.
HOW DO I SUBMIT MY RECORD?
PLUS Application
Apply for your commercial demolition building record online in PLUS under the Building tab. If you are a first-time user, you must first register for an account.
Instructional Videos for PLUS
Helpful Instruction Guide:
Requirements
Depending on the scope of your project, one or more of the following may be required:
First Submission
- Demolition Bond Form
- Survey or Grading Plan Submission Record Number
- Depends on the associated land disturbance proposed.
- Projects located in the towns of Clifton or Vienna require separate approvals from the respective towns.
- Approval documentation from the appropriate township must be uploaded to your PLUS record, via the Digital Plan Room, and named accordingly (e.g., Town of Vienna Approval).
- Confirmation that asbestos is not present by providing one of the following:
- Utility Company Disconnect Letters (disconnect letters are not required for Pool Demolitions)
- Natural Gas
- Washington Gas: 703-750-100
- Columbia Gas: 800-543-8911
- Electric
- Dominion Power 888-667-3000
- NOVEC: 703-335-0500
- Water
- Fairfax Water: 703-698-5600
- Alexandria: 703-549-7080
- Falls Church: 703-248-5071
- Fairfax City: 703-385-7915
- Herndon: 703-435-6800
- Vienna 703-255-6385
- Natural Gas
Subsequent Submissions
If corrections are required, you will receive an email with links and instructions to make corrections and resubmit.
- “Issues” are comments from reviewers, which require an applicant response before resubmitting. Please respond to each “open” comment.
- Prior to responding to comments and uploading revised plans/documents, navigate to the “Fees” tab and pay any outstanding resubmission fees.
- Once complete, respond to all “open” issues, upload updated plans and/or documents, if needed, and complete your resubmission.
For further assistance, please refer to the below videos for step-by-step guidance on the resubmission process:
Helpful Videos:
Reviewing Issues, Conditions, & Notes in PLUS - YouTube
Upload Corrected Plans in PLUS - YouTube
Helpful Instruction Guides:
What's Next?
To get a step-by-step guide on PLUS statuses and what they mean, see our What is My PLUS Status? Building Plans Infographic.
