08/01/2026
Saturday Tip:
If a contractor ever suggests skipping the permit on your remodel, that's your cue to run. 🚩
Permits aren't just paperwork. Pulling one triggers inspections at every key stage of your project (framing, electrical, plumbing, mechanical) plus a certificate of occupancy at the end. That's a city inspector independently confirming the work behind your walls is safe and up to code, before it gets sealed in there forever.
On the Kansas side, your contractor has to be LICENSED to even pull the permit. And you can check any contractor's license yourself, right now, for free at the link in the comments.
Type in the company name. Takes about 2 minutes. If a contractor asks YOU to pull the permit instead, that's often a sign they can't, and it quietly shifts the liability onto you.
A few more things worth knowing:
1. On the Kansas side, budget roughly 1% of your project cost for the building permit. It should be in your contractor's numbers from day one, not a surprise later.
2. The Missouri side works differently: your GC needs an occupational license, and the city verifies the licenses of the plumber, electrician, and HVAC contractor doing the technical work. Ask your GC who their trades are.
3. Rules vary city to city, even within Johnson County. (Shawnee, for example, requires drywall ceilings in finished basements. Ask us how we know.)
We pull permits across both sides of the metro every single week, so our clients never have to think about any of this. But you should absolutely know how to check.
Questions about what your project would require?
Drop them below or send us a message.
