Building permits in Sussex County and the beach towns

Which office issues my permit?

It depends on whether your property is inside an incorporated town's limits, and a mailing address does not tell you. A great deal of what people call "Rehoboth Beach" or "Bethany Beach" or "Lewes" is unincorporated Sussex County.

• Inside the City of Rehoboth Beach — the city's Building & Licensing office.
• Inside the City of Lewes — the city's Building Department, plus Historic Preservation Architectural Review Commission review if the property is in the Historic District.
• Inside the Town of Bethany Beach — the town's Building Department.
• Inside the Town of Dewey Beach — the town's Building and Zoning Department.
• Inside the Town of Henlopen Acres — a separate incorporated town with its own process.
• Unincorporated Sussex County — the county's Building Permit Office in Georgetown.

And separately from all of the above, if the property is near the beach, DNREC may have a say regardless of which town you are in.

Sussex County

Sussex County states that all construction in the county — new, remodeling or additions — requires a Sussex County issued building permit. Applications are in most cases made in person at the Building Permit Office in Georgetown, though in certain cases a permit may be obtained by mail by contacting the office.

• Building Permit Office: 2 The Circle, P.O. Box 589, Georgetown, DE 19947. Phone (302) 855-7720. Open 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday to Friday, excluding holidays, with walk-in service during business hours.
• Building Code Office: (302) 855-7860 — this is the number for questions about code editions, design wind speed and wind-borne debris requirements.

Which exterior work needs a county permit

Sussex County lists wood decks, porches, sunrooms, siding and roofing among work requiring a permit — with roofing specifically including work involving structural sheathing or a change in material, such as shingle to metal. Plans are not required for detached single-family residential structures.

Two county rules worth knowing before you design

• The 5-foot encroachment allowance. Unenclosed decks, steps, porches and platforms may encroach 5 feet into the front yard setback and to within 5 feet of rear and side property lines. That allowance disappears if the structure has a roof or an awning, or is enclosed — in which case full setbacks apply. This single rule decides the shape of a great many deck and patio projects, and it is much better known before a design than after.
• Sediment and erosion control. Projects disturbing 5,000 square feet or more require a Sediment and Erosion Control Plan, and the Residential Standard Plan is a requirement for obtaining a building permit.

Also on the horizon: the county has adopted the 2024 IECC effective January 1, 2027, which will require energy compliance reports for new construction and conditioned additions.

City of Rehoboth Beach

All residential and commercial construction within city limits — new construction, remodeling, interior work and additions — requires a City of Rehoboth Beach building permit before work may begin. Contractors and subcontractors must also hold a city business license.

• Building & Licensing: (302) 227-6181 ext. 222, buildingandlicensing@rehobothbeachde.gov, Monday to Friday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.
• Penalty: beginning work without the required permit may result in fees of up to three times the permit cost.
• Permits expire. A Rehoboth Beach permit becomes null and void if construction is not commenced within 6 months, or not completed within one year from the date of issuance. Worth knowing on a project that gets deferred.

When work may be performed in Rehoboth Beach

This is the rule that most affects scheduling in this market:

• Weekdays, 8 am to 5 pm.
• Saturdays, 9 am to 5 pm, only from November 1 to April 30.
• No Saturday work from May 1 through October 31.
• No work on Sundays or holidays.

The practical consequence is that summer exterior work in Rehoboth runs five days a week with no weekend catch-up for weather, which is why we push clients toward off-season scheduling wherever the project allows it. See roofing in Rehoboth Beach.

City of Lewes

Lewes runs its own Building Department, and in the Historic District it adds a design review step that changes project timelines.

• Building Department: (302) 645-7777. City Hall, 114 E. Third Street, Lewes, DE 19958.
• Historic District: properties carry an "(H)" suffix on their zoning — R-4(H), for example. The city publishes a zoning map and a historic map.

Historic Preservation Architectural Review Commission

HPARC was established by the Mayor and City Council in 2019. Approval is required for any work that alters the exterior facade of a structure visible from the public right of way, and completing a building permit application for renovation, addition or demolition triggers the review for a Historic District property. For exterior work that means material, profile and color are reviewable.

The timeline matters: HPARC meets on the first Thursday of each month at 6 pm at City Hall, and applications must be submitted at least ten business days before the meeting. Miss the window and the next opportunity is a month later. Plan Historic District work accordingly — see roofing in Lewes.

Town of Bethany Beach

• Building Department: (302) 539-8780 or (302) 539-8011. 214 Garfield Parkway, Bethany Beach, DE 19930. Monday to Friday 8 am to 4 pm.
• What needs a permit: the town states a permit is required to build a new structure, to repair a damaged structure, or to install — as distinct from replace — a fuel tank, heating or air-conditioning unit.
• Permit validity: permits remain valid for between six and eighteen months, with extensions possible under the town code.
• Seasonal restrictions: the town charter empowers the Town Council to prohibit construction at such times and seasons of the year, and hours of the day, as it determines necessary for the public health and welfare. Confirm the current restrictions with the Building Department before scheduling.

In the Bethany area specifically, remember that a homeowners or condominium association approval is frequently a separate and slower gate than the town permit. See roofing in Bethany Beach.

Town of Dewey Beach

• Building & Zoning Department: (302) 227-6363. Town Hall, 105 Rodney Avenue, Dewey Beach, DE 19971.
• Thresholds are set by the cost of labor and materials: under $1,000, no notification or permit; $1,000 to under $10,000, a Notification of Work; $10,000 or more, a full Building Permit. Estimates over $15,000 additionally require a $150 application fee.
• Cost is verified, not assumed: a copy of the contract or estimate must be submitted with a Building Permit Application or a Notification of Work.
• Some exterior work is exempt. Dewey's list of work not requiring a permit includes roof or siding replacement not exceeding 25% of existing sheathing, repainting exterior surfaces, cleaning or power-washing, and non-structural alterations to patios, concrete slabs, decks and decorative hardscaping. Note that the roofing exemption turns on the sheathing, not the shingles.
• Floodplain branch: the application carries a flood zone field, and where a property is in a floodplain and the work would compromise flood-resistant design or materials, the town asks to be contacted directly regardless of cost.
• Association sign-off: the application includes a signature line for a condominium or HOA association representative.
• Business license: regardless of the scope of work, all contractors and handymen must hold a Town of Dewey Beach business license. Applications go to building@townofdeweybeach.com or Town Hall.

See roofing in Dewey Beach.

Town of Henlopen Acres

Henlopen Acres is a small separate incorporated town adjacent to Rehoboth Beach, and it is easy to assume Rehoboth's rules apply there. They do not. The town runs its own permit process, and notably its permit application asks for a signed contract and material samples — roof, siding and paint color. Exterior work there involves an appearance approval, not only a permit. Phone (302) 227-6411.

The DNREC Building Line

This is the layer most homeowners have never heard of, and it applies regardless of which town you are in.

Delaware's Beach Preservation Act (7 Del. C. Chapter 68) is administered by DNREC to preserve and protect public and private beaches. The Act defines the beach as the area extending from the Mean High Water line of the Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay seaward 2,500 feet and landward 1,000 feet, running from the Delaware–Maryland line at Fenwick Island to the Old Marina Canal north of Pickering Beach. DNREC publishes building line maps.

Which approval you need depends on which side of the Building Line the work is on:

Seaward of the Building Line — a coastal construction permit

• Covers new construction, exterior renovations, excavation, hauling in or removing sand, temporary structures, septic systems, and installing pipes or cables.
• Application fee: $4,500.
• Requires a public process: public notice in statewide newspapers and on the DNREC website, notification to adjacent landowners, and a 15-day public comment period.

Landward of the Building Line — a letter of approval

• Covers construction activities landward of the line, and specifically also cantilevered decks, dune crossovers and temporary structures.
• Application fee: $500.
• No public notice, adjacent-owner notification or comment period.

Both can be submitted through DNREC's ePermitting system. The practical takeaway: if your property is near the beach and you are planning anything structural — an addition, a new deck, or work seaward of the line — the DNREC step has its own timeline and fee and needs to be started early, not discovered late.

Wind speed and flood zone are per-address questions

Design wind speed and wind-borne debris requirements. These vary by location and by risk category — two properties a few miles apart can be held to different numbers, so there is no single county-wide figure worth quoting. Settle what applies to your address before materials are specified. The authority is the Sussex County Building Code Office, (302) 855-7860.

Flood zones. Flood zone designation is parcel-specific. Two houses on the same street can carry different designations, and that designation drives elevation requirements, construction standards and insurance. It should be read off the official flood maps for your parcel rather than inferred from the neighborhood — the county or your town's building office can point you at them.

What we do about all this

We pull the permit. We establish which jurisdiction your property is in, prepare what that office requires, and file it — county, town or DNREC — as part of the job. If a Historic District review or a DNREC step is going to shape your timeline, you will hear that at the estimate rather than halfway through.