Sioux Falls Plumbing Permits: When You Need One and Who Can Pull It

When a permit is required

The City's Plumbing Homeowner's Guide draws the line at the system: permits are required before any alterations are made to an existing plumbing system or a new system is installed. The guide defines a plumbing system as the water supply and distribution pipes, plumbing fixtures, supports and appurtenances; soil, waste and vent pipes; sanitary drains; and building sewers to an approved point of disposal. Read that way it reaches most jobs that change piping (moving or adding a drain or supply line, a new bathroom, a sewer or water service line). For a like-for-like swap such as a water heater replacement, the guide does not say either way, so confirm with Building Services; a licensed contractor will know.

The guide does not list exempt work. If a job only swaps a fixture like-for-like with no change to the piping, ask Building Services whether a permit applies rather than assuming; the number is 605-367-8670.

Who can pull the permit

• A plumbing contractor licensed with the City of Sioux Falls. The City requires a Plumber Contractor license of all contractors doing plumbing work within the city limits. To get one, a plumber must already hold a South Dakota master plumber license, pass the City's closed-book exam on the City plumbing ordinances and the Uniform Plumbing Code ($75 exam fee), and post a $10,000 compliance bond.
• You, on your own single-family home. Three conditions, all required: it is a single-family dwelling; you live there or plan to; and you own it. The homeowner permit covers only your own hands. The guide is blunt about it: any person who receives money for plumbing work in the city must be employed by a City-licensed plumbing contractor and doing the work for that contractor, not on the side.
• Not a friend or relative. They may not obtain the homeowner's permit, and they may not be paid to do the work unless they work through a licensed contractor.

How it works, step by step

1. Get the permit before the work starts. Permits are issued at the Building Services division, main floor of the City Center, 231 North Dakota Avenue, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday. A contractor normally does this for you.
2. Groundwork inspection. Anything in the ground (a sewer or water line, under-slab drains) must be inspected before it is covered by dirt or concrete, with all the piping complete and ready to cover when the inspection is requested.
3. Final inspection. Once the fixtures are set, the drain and water lines are connected and the water heater is energized, a final inspection is required. Corrections are fixed and reinspected.
4. Keep the permit alive. A homeowner plumbing permit lasts at most one year, and a required inspection has to happen within 180 days of issuance and within each 180-day period after that. Corrections and the reinspection call are the permit holder's job within 30 days.
5. Check that it was pulled. The City's online "Check For Permit" lookup (linked from the Building Permit FAQs) shows permits by address and is updated every Sunday, or call Building Services at 605-367-8670.

Work done without a permit

The inspector cannot inspect what is not visible. The guide says you will be required to remove wall, floor and/or ceiling coverings to the extent needed for a proper inspection, and any code violations found must be corrected within 30 days. The Building Permit FAQs add that someone who refuses to obtain a permit is subject to penalties through the code-enforcement process. Unpermitted plumbing also tends to surface at sale, when a buyer's inspector asks for the permit history.

What this page does not state

• Permit fees. The homeowner guide gives none, and the "MEP permit fees" link on the City site served a permit application form rather than a fee schedule when we read it. Building Services quotes the fee.
• The ordinance text. The guide is the City's own informational summary; we have not read Sioux Falls Code of Ordinances chapter 150, which is the plumbing ordinance behind it.
• Rules outside the city. Brandon, Harrisburg, Tea, Hartford, Dell Rapids and Crooks have their own arrangements; for a home outside a city plumbing program, the State Plumbing Commission's homeowner installation certificate ($130, two-year life, three state inspections) applies instead. Ask the Commission at 605-773-3429.