Repair Permits After a Flood: Parish and City Offices in Northwest Louisiana

Why does the parish matter for a repair permit?

Louisiana uses parishes where other states use counties. The parish an address falls in determines which office handles permit questions for it, so a homeowner should confirm the parish before calling any office.

Bossier City is in Bossier Parish, and the research for this site places several surrounding towns in Caddo, Webster and DeSoto parishes. Towns on the same phone line can therefore have different permit offices, and the address on the paperwork is what decides the office.

The Wikipedia entry for Bossier Parish describes the parish's geography and government in more detail, and it is listed in the sources for this guide. Use it for background only, and confirm the permit question with the office itself.

Ask the office to confirm the parish or jurisdiction for the address before you assume which office applies, particularly for a property near a boundary. A short call at the start saves a longer one later.

Which offices answer repair-permit questions in Bossier City?

The Bossier Parish permit office and the City of Bossier City permit office answer repair-permit questions for their own jurisdictions. Which one covers a particular address depends on where that address sits, so ask the office directly.

When you call, give the full street address and say you are asking about repairs after water damage. Ask what permit or inspection is needed, what fees apply and how long a review takes. Write down the answers and the name of the person who gave them.

This guide does not set out fees, permit types or review times. Those details change, and they are the office's to give you.

Which repairs are most likely to need a permit?

Repairs that open or replace structure, that change wiring or that alter plumbing are the ones most likely to need a permit or an inspection. A drywall or floor covering repair may need none, depending on the scope and the office's rules.

A repair that is confined to finishes may not need a permit, but a repair that touches the framing, the roof structure or the electrical circuit often does. Ask the office rather than assume.

If the repair is done without a permit when one is needed, the work can be questioned later, by an inspector, a buyer or an insurer. Confirming the requirement first avoids that problem.

Ask the office how long a review usually takes, and whether a repair can start while the review is under way. The answer changes what the contractor can plan, so get it in writing before the schedule is set.

Why should walls stay open until the inspection is done?

An inspector often needs to see the structure and the wiring before they are closed, and the drying readings should be logged before the cavity is covered. Closing a wall early can hide both the inspection points and any moisture that remains.

Ask the office whether an inspection is needed before the walls, ceiling or floor are closed. If it is, arrange the timing with the repair contractor so the cavity is open at the right time.

Ask the drying crew to log the readings in the open cavity before any closing work. The log and the photographs are the record that the cavity was dry when it was closed.

Keep a dated list of each inspection and its result. An inspection passed before the walls are closed is part of the record of the repair. If an inspection is required and its result is not yet known, the walls should stay open until it is.

What if the address is in another parish?

The office that covers the address answers the question. For towns in Caddo, Webster and DeSoto parishes, the office for that parish or town is the one to ask, and this guide has not checked those offices or their requirements.

The research for this site gives the parish for most of the towns on its list. Where the parish has not been confirmed for a town, this guide does not name one, and the crew or the office can confirm it from the address.

Tell the crew the parish when you book, if you know it. It helps the crew plan the job and the paperwork, and it avoids a second call to the wrong office.

A repair can involve more than one office, for example where a permit covers the structure and a separate trade covers the wiring. Ask each office which part of the work it covers, and do not assume that one office will answer for the whole job.

What should I keep from the permit conversation?

Keep the name of the office, the date, the person who answered, the requirement stated and any inspection that is needed. Keep the answer with the claim file and the repair contract, because the insurer and the contractor will both ask for it.

If the office says something different from what your contractor says, ask the contractor to confirm the point in writing and to explain the difference. Do not close the wall until the difference is settled.

A written note of the permit requirement is also a useful record if the house is later sold or refinanced. Keep it with the rest of the repair papers.

Give the contractor a copy of the office's answer, and ask it to confirm in writing that its work plan follows that answer. A contractor that works to the office's requirement from the start avoids rework later.

How does a permit fit with the drying and the claim?

Drying comes first. The repair, and any permit it needs, starts only when the readings show the structure is dry. A permit does not replace the drying, and the drying log does not replace an inspection.

The insurer may ask whether a repair was permitted, so the permit answer belongs in the claim file. The insurer decides what it pays, and this guide does not say how a permit affects any claim.

Keep the drying report, the permit answer and the repair estimate together. They are the three documents that show the house was dried, the repair was planned and the work was approved where approval was needed.

Keep a copy of any permit application and the office's reply with the repair file. If an application is changed, keep both versions and note the date of each change, so the record shows what was approved and when.

Where can I find more background on the parishes?

The Wikipedia entry for Bossier Parish is a starting point for background on its geography and government. Permit requirements, fees and forms come from the office itself, and this guide does not reproduce them.

A homeowner who wants to understand the parish system better can read the background entry first, and then ask the office for the current requirements in writing.

The permit question is the office's to answer. This guide's role is to make sure you ask it before the walls are closed, and to keep the answer on file.