Nassau County Siding Permit Guide

You need a permit if:

• You are doing a full reside (removing old siding and installing new)
• You are changing the material (vinyl to Hardie, wood to vinyl, etc.)
• You are replacing more than 25-30% of the siding on any single wall (threshold varies by town)
• You are re-siding in a historic district
• Your insurance company is paying for storm damage repair

You usually do not need a permit if:

• You are replacing 1-5 damaged panels like-for-like
• You are power-washing and painting existing siding
• You are repairing minor storm damage under the "like-for-like repair" exemption

When in doubt, call the town building department and ask. It is free, it takes 10 minutes, and it avoids problems later.

Nassau County does not issue building permits. Your permit comes from the town your house is in (or from the incorporated village if you are inside one).

Town of Hempstead

Location: 200 North Franklin Street, Hempstead NY 11550 Area covered: Levittown, East Meadow, Uniondale, Elmont, Franklin Square, West Hempstead, Valley Stream, Westbury, Merrick, Seaford, Wantagh, Bellmore, and many more. 22 villages inside the town have their own departments too. Typical siding permit turnaround: 10-15 business days Typical fee: $275-$725 based on project value Notes: Largest town in the U.S. by population. Busiest permit desk. We recommend filing 4 weeks before start date.

Town of North Hempstead

Location: 210 Plandome Road, Manhasset NY 11030 Area covered: Manhasset, Port Washington, Great Neck, Roslyn, New Hyde Park, Albertson, Mineola, Williston Park, Garden City Park, and many more. Also many villages with their own departments. Typical siding permit turnaround: 8-14 business days Typical fee: $225-$625 Notes: Some North Hempstead neighborhoods require tree protection plans as part of the siding permit if there is tree work involved. Ask the desk.

Town of Oyster Bay

Location: 150 Miller Place, Syosset NY 11791 (main building department) Area covered: Hicksville, Plainview, Syosset, Massapequa (unincorporated), Bethpage, Jericho, Woodbury, East Norwich, Farmingdale (parts), and many more. Also incorporated villages. Typical siding permit turnaround: 7-12 business days Typical fee: $200-$575 Notes: The most common town we work in because our shop is in Hicksville. Fastest turnaround of the three.

Nassau has 64 incorporated villages. If your mailing address is inside one of them, your permit comes from the village building department, not the town.

Common villages we pull permits in:

• Village of Garden City (historic district, HARB review required)
• Village of Rockville Centre (own building department)
• Village of Freeport (own building department, south shore salt considerations)
• Village of Lynbrook (own building department)
• Village of Mineola (own building department)
• Village of Great Neck (multiple sub-villages)
• Village of Port Washington North (and Port Washington, separate)
• Village of Manorhaven
• Village of Roslyn (historic character)
• Village of Sea Cliff (historic district)
• Village of Oyster Bay (historic district)
• Village of Munsey Park (architectural review)
• Village of Plandome, Plandome Manor, Plandome Heights (separate)
• Village of Floral Park
• Village of Malverne
• Village of Valley Stream (on top of Town of Hempstead)

If you are not sure whether you are in an incorporated village, check your tax bill. It will say "Town of [X]" or "Village of [Y]". Or call us and we will figure it out.

Several Nassau villages have formal historic districts with architectural review boards. If your house is in one, siding changes require HARB or ARB approval before the building permit is issued.

Garden City Historic District

Most of the village of Garden City. The HARB reviews material, color, profile, trim, and overall character fit. Meets monthly. Submission deadline is usually 2 weeks before the meeting.

Timeline impact: Add 4-6 weeks to the start date. We have been through this 14 times and know what they approve.

Sea Cliff Historic District

Sea Cliff has strict architectural review for exterior work. Materials have to fit the Victorian and early 20th century character.

Timeline impact: Add 4-6 weeks.

Roslyn Historic District

Roslyn village has ARB review for the historic core.

Timeline impact: Add 3-5 weeks.

Oyster Bay Village Historic District

Review board for village-proper historic properties.

Timeline impact: Add 3-5 weeks.

For a typical Nassau town or village siding permit, you (or your contractor) will need:

1. Permit application (one page, fill-in). Homeowner signs as owner, contractor signs as contractor.
2. Copy of contractor's HIC license (Nassau County Home Improvement Contractor license required in all of Nassau). Ours is Nassau HIC #H2811200000.
3. Proof of insurance. Certificate of insurance showing general liability ($1M minimum, often $2M preferred) and workers comp. Your contractor provides this.
4. Copy of workers comp certificate separately (some towns ask for this even though it is on the insurance cert).
5. Description of work (brief, usually 1-3 sentences: "Remove existing vinyl siding and install CertainTeed Monogram 46 vinyl on entire exterior, approximately 1,900 sqft").
6. Property survey (some towns require, some do not). You probably have one from your closing.
7. Scale drawing or photo of the house showing work areas (some towns).
8. Fee payment (check or online).

For historic district permits, add:

• Color samples (real samples, not photos)
• Material spec sheets
• Before photos of the house
• Scaled elevations showing the proposed work

We handle all of this on every Nassau job. You sign the application, we prepare everything else.

Standard Town of Oyster Bay permit: 7-12 business days from submission to pickup. We plan every Hicksville, Plainview, Syosset, Bethpage, and Massapequa job around this.

Standard Town of Hempstead permit: 10-15 business days. Busier desk, slightly slower.

Standard Town of North Hempstead permit: 8-14 business days.

Village permits: Varies wildly by village. Garden City historic district: 4-6 weeks total. Rockville Centre: 10-14 business days. Floral Park: 7-10 business days.

Rush options: Most Nassau towns do not offer rush permits for residential siding. If you absolutely need faster turnaround, we can sometimes hand-deliver the application and pick up in person, which cuts 2-4 days off the mail/online turnaround.

The most common reasons a Nassau siding permit gets kicked back:

1. Missing insurance certificate or expired workers comp. We keep ours current and check the expiration date before every submission.
2. Missing or wrong HIC license number. We include ours on every application.
3. Vague scope of work. "Replace siding" is not enough. We write specific scope: material, manufacturer, sqft, color.
4. Missing fee payment. We include the check with the application.
5. Missing homeowner signature. We meet you for the signature or mail the form for you to sign.
6. Historic district application without samples. We bring real material samples to every HARB meeting.

We have a 98% first-submission approval rate on Nassau permits. The 2% that come back are usually for "we need a better scope description" and we re-file same day.

If you reside without pulling a permit and try to sell your house later, the buyer's attorney will often request proof of permits for recent exterior work. Without it, the sale can be delayed while you pull a retroactive permit (which is much harder and often requires an inspection of work that is hidden behind finished siding).

We have seen deals fall apart over missing siding permits. The $300-$700 you save by skipping the permit is not worth the $5,000-$25,000 you might lose at closing.

Always pull the permit. We do.

Legally, either you (as homeowner) or a licensed contractor can pull a siding permit in Nassau County. In practice, you want your contractor to pull it because:

1. The contractor knows the desk, the requirements, and the quirks of each town.
2. The contractor's HIC license and insurance are already on file.
3. If the permit gets kicked back, the contractor re-files at no cost to you.
4. Homeowner-pulled permits (DIY permits) are sometimes scrutinized more heavily because the town assumes the homeowner is doing unlicensed work.

We pull every permit on every job. You sign the application, we handle the rest.

Do I need a permit for 2 replacement panels after storm damage? Usually no. Like-for-like small repair is exempt in most towns.

Do I need a permit to repaint existing siding? No. Paint is not permitted.

Will the permit raise my property taxes? Sometimes. Some Nassau towns update assessments when a siding permit is pulled. The increase is usually $150-$400 per year on a residential reside. Ask your town assessor directly.

Can I pull the permit myself and hire day laborers? Legally yes, practically no. Nassau County enforces unlicensed contractor work aggressively. If your "day laborers" are doing the actual siding work, they are supposed to be licensed HIC contractors, and you as homeowner are liable if they are not.

What if I already did the work without a permit? Call a licensed contractor and discuss. Retroactive permits are possible in some Nassau towns but they require inspection of work behind the finished siding. Expensive and annoying. Better to permit it upfront.

Permits take 1-3 weeks, cost a few hundred dollars, and are a legal requirement for most siding work in Nassau. Skipping them to save money is a false economy. Pull the permit. Hire a contractor who handles it for you.

If you have a Nassau siding project and want help navigating the permit side, we handle all of this as part of every job. No separate fee, no paperwork on you beyond the signature.

Schedule a walk-through → Free estimate Or call Mike direct → (516) 555-0100