Kitchen Remodel Permits in Lancaster County: Who to Contact in All 60 Municipalities

In Lancaster County, building permits come from your township, borough or city, not the county. All 60 municipalities enforce Pennsylvania’s Uniform Construction Code themselves, according to the state’s list revised October 29, 2026, and their rules for kitchens differ: some require a permit for any kitchen remodel, others only when plumbing, wiring or walls change. Find your municipality in the table below, then describe your full kitchen scope to that office before work begins.

Who issues building permits in Lancaster County?

Pennsylvania lets each municipality decide whether to enforce the Uniform Construction Code itself. Every township, borough and the city in Lancaster County chose to, so your building permit comes from the municipality where the house sits, as the state’s municipal list shows. The Department of Labor & Industry explains the system on its Uniform Construction Code page.

A Lancaster mailing address doesn’t settle it. Many homes with a Lancaster address are in surrounding townships such as Manheim, Lancaster or East Hempfield Township. Your property tax bill shows the township, borough or city your home is in.

Most municipalities hire an outside code agency to review plans and inspect the work, and many let you choose one of two to four approved agencies on the application. Commonwealth Code Inspection Service, Associated Building Inspections and Code Administrators serve the most towns, and in several southern townships Solanco Engineering in Quarryville takes the applications. Lancaster City, Manheim Township, Ephrata Borough, Columbia Borough and Warwick Township review home permits with their own staff. Even where an agency does the review, you usually apply at the municipal office, so start with your municipality’s website.

Does a kitchen remodel need a permit in Lancaster County?

It depends on what changes and where you live. Start with the state rule, then check your municipality, because many are stricter. Pennsylvania’s permit rule for homes (34 Pa. Code § 403.62) says an owner must get a permit before altering or repairing a home, or before installing, altering or replacing an electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system the code covers. For a kitchen, the state line usually falls like this:

• No state permit: replacing cabinets, countertops, a backsplash or flooring with no structural, plumbing, gas or electrical changes. The state code doesn’t apply to home alterations that make no structural changes or changes to exits, unless a local ordinance requires it (§ 403.1(b)(8)).
• Permit needed: adding or moving water, drain, gas or vent piping or electric wiring, cutting away a load-bearing wall, or removing or cutting a structural beam. The code says none of these counts as an ordinary repair (§ 403.62(d)).
• Ask first: anything in between, such as a new circuit for an appliance, a range hood vented outside or a light fixture replaced in the same spot.

Local rules often go further. Manheim Township and Denver Borough require a building permit to remodel a kitchen. Elizabethtown requires a borough permit even to replace kitchen countertops, sinks or cabinets. Mount Joy Borough doesn’t require one to replace a sink, faucet or light fixture in place, but does once you reconfigure the room or extend plumbing or wiring. In Lancaster City, plumbing, electrical and mechanical work needs its own permit, and plumbing must be done by a master plumber licensed by the city unless you do the work yourself in a home you live in.

Fifteen municipalities kept their own building code changes from before July 1, 1999, which can be stricter than the state code: Akron Borough, Denver Borough, East Drumore Township, East Hempfield Township, East Lampeter Township, Ephrata Township, Lancaster City, Lancaster Township, Lititz Borough, Manheim Township, Manor Township, Mount Joy Borough, Pequea Township, Warwick Township and West Hempfield Township. The table flags them. This guide is a planning summary, not legal advice. The code official for your municipality decides what your project needs.

Our guide to kitchen remodel permits in Pennsylvania covers what to disclose and who should apply.

Who handles permits in each Lancaster County municipality?

Find the township, borough or city where your home sits; its name links to the municipality’s permit page. “You choose” means the application lets you pick one of the agencies the municipality has approved, and “apply through Solanco Engineering” means applications go to that firm’s Quarryville office.

Sources: each municipality’s own website (who reviews permits), checked October 31, 2026, and the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry’s Municipal Elections and Contact List, revised October 29, 2026 (local amendments). The state’s list also names each building code official with a phone number. Contacts change, so confirm with the municipality before you apply.

What should you tell the code office about your kitchen?

Give the office the full scope in plain terms, not just “kitchen remodel”:

• The property address and the municipality it’s in.
• Whether cabinets and countertops are being replaced in the same layout.
• Any plumbing, gas or electrical lines being added or moved.
• Any wall, beam or doorway being removed or changed.
• Ventilation changes, such as a new range hood duct to the outside.
• Who will apply for the permit and schedule inspections.

Ask for the answer in writing, and keep permit records with your project documents.

How does Awakened Kitchens handle permits?

Required permits are not optional. We review the permit requirements for your property, and required permits and their costs are confirmed in your written scope before any work begins. Our kitchen package and pricing page explains what the starting package covers.

The starting package keeps your existing layout. Removing walls, moving the kitchen and major plumbing or electrical changes are outside the starting package and reviewed separately, including any permits they need.

Frequently asked questions about Lancaster County permits

Do I need a permit to replace kitchen cabinets in Lancaster County?

It depends on your municipality. The state code doesn’t require one when nothing structural, plumbing, gas or electrical changes, but some municipalities do: Manheim Township requires a building permit to remodel a kitchen, and Elizabethtown requires a borough permit to replace countertops, sinks or cabinets. Check with your municipality’s office before work starts.

Who do I call for a building permit in Lancaster County?

Call your township, borough or city, not the county. All 60 Lancaster County municipalities enforce the Uniform Construction Code, many through a code agency they hire. The table in this guide lists who reviews permits in each one, with a link to its permit page.

How do I know which municipality my home is in?

Check your property tax bill. A Lancaster mailing address can belong to a surrounding township, such as Manheim, Lancaster or East Hempfield Township, so don’t go by the mailing address alone.

Who applies for the permit for a kitchen remodel?

Under the state code, the owner or an authorized agent, such as the contractor, applies to the building code official. Write down who applies and who schedules inspections in your contract before work starts.

Plan permits into your kitchen from the start

Share your address and the changes you have in mind, and we’ll review what your kitchen needs in a free consultation.

Related planning guides

• Kitchen remodel permits in Pennsylvania
• How long a kitchen remodel takes, stage by stage
• 12 questions to ask a kitchen remodeling contractor

Planning a kitchen in Lancaster County? See how our package works for kitchen remodeling in Lancaster, PA.