Which permit office do I file with in Indianapolis?
Answered by AskBaily Editorial · Updated
Short answer
Unigov consolidated the City of Indianapolis and Marion County governments in 1970 — so one office, DBNS, handles permits across both city and county, including combined residential building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and fire-prevention permits. Files go through Indy eAccela. The only exceptions are the four Excluded Cities inside Marion County — Beech Grove, Lawrence, Southport, and Speedway — which run their own permit offices.
In detail
Unigov consolidated the City of Indianapolis and Marion County governments in 1970, which is why permits across both city and county flow through a single office: the Department of Business and Neighborhood Services (DBNS). That single-office structure is unusual nationally and convenient for homeowners. Whether your address is in downtown Indianapolis, an unincorporated Marion County township, Broad Ripple, Castleton, or the southside, DBNS handles your residential building permit, electrical permit, plumbing permit, mechanical (HVAC) permit, and fire-prevention permit through one combined portal.
Files go through Indy eAccela, the online permitting system at indy.gov. You upload plans, pay fees, track plan-review comments, schedule inspections, and request your final certificate of occupancy from the same dashboard. Most simple residential permits (water heater swap, electrical service upgrade, basic interior alterations) can be applied for, paid, and issued in eAccela without a counter visit. Larger projects with structural drawings, additions, or floodplain review usually still benefit from a pre-submittal conversation with a DBNS plan reviewer.
The four Excluded Cities inside Marion County run their own permit offices and do not flow through DBNS: Beech Grove, Lawrence, Southport, and Speedway. If your address falls inside one of those four city limits, you file with that citys building department, not DBNS. They each have their own fee schedule, review timeline, and inspection scheduling. Speedway, in particular, has separate procedures around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway corridor.
Commercial permits, signs, food service licenses, short-term rental registrations (Indianapolis requires registration for STRs), and contractor registration also flow through DBNS in unified Marion County. Historic district reviews route through the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission (IHPC) which sits adjacent to DBNS but issues its own Certificate of Appropriateness before DBNS can release the building permit.
If you are not certain whether your address sits inside one of the four Excluded Cities, AskBaily can pull the parcel lookup or you can check the Marion County GIS portal directly.
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