Does Pittsburgh Require a Permit for a New Driveway or Concrete Patio?

Why This Is So Location-Specific

Unlike a single large city with one uniform building code, Allegheny County's roughly 130 municipalities each set their own permitting rules, fee schedules, and inspection requirements. The City of Pittsburgh has its own Permits, Licenses and Inspections department, while a suburb like Mount Lebanon, Bethel Park, or Cranberry Township each maintain separate codes through their own building or zoning office. A driveway project two towns apart can have completely different permit requirements, which is exactly why generic national advice about "driveway permits" rarely applies cleanly to any specific Pittsburgh-area address.

Situations That Typically Require a Permit

While it varies by municipality, a few situations commonly trigger a permit requirement almost everywhere in the region:

A new or widened curb cut. Any time a driveway crosses the curb or public right-of-way — whether it's a brand-new driveway or widening an existing one — most municipalities and, where applicable, PennDOT require a permit, since it affects public infrastructure and sometimes stormwater drainage.

Significant grading or drainage changes. If a project changes how stormwater flows onto neighboring properties or the street, many municipalities require a permit specifically to review drainage.

Retaining walls over a certain height. Many local codes require a permit — and sometimes an engineer's stamp — for retaining walls above roughly 4 feet, whether they're built alongside a driveway or a patio.

Structures attached to the house. A covered patio, a patio that includes a permanent roof or pergola tied into the home, or any structure that affects the building's footprint is more likely to need a permit than a simple poured slab.

Situations That Often Don't

A concrete patio built at grade, entirely within your property line, that doesn't alter drainage in a way that affects a neighboring property or the street, frequently falls outside permit requirements in many municipalities — though "frequently" again isn't a guarantee for your specific address. Simple driveway resurfacing or replacement within the same existing footprint, without changing the size, grade, or curb connection, also often doesn't require new permitting, since it's not creating new impervious surface or altering the right-of-way.

How to Find Out for Certain

The most reliable way to confirm requirements for your specific project is to call your municipality's building or zoning office directly and describe exactly what you're planning — new driveway, patio size and location, any grading changes — before work starts. Most municipal offices are used to fielding these calls and can tell you quickly whether a permit applies and what it costs.

You can also ask your contractor. A crew that regularly works across Allegheny County's many municipalities should already know which of your neighbors' towns require what, and a good one will flag it during your quote rather than leaving you to find out after a curb cut is already poured.

We Handle the Paperwork

When a permit is required for your driveway or patio project, we take care of pulling it and coordinating any required inspections as part of the job — one less thing for you to manage. Call us for a free on-site quote, and we'll tell you upfront whether your specific project needs a permit in your specific municipality.