Attached, roofed, entrance and raised decks need a City of Nanaimo building permit. Here’s the City’s process, the drawings, the fees, the code rules and each inspection, with two short videos.
This guide covers building a deck in the City of Nanaimo from start to finish, following Nanaimo’s own process: the four-part deck exemption, the siting checks the City puts on the homeowner, the online building permit application, the drawings in the City’s Deck Addition Guide, the fees in Bylaw 7336, the BC Building Code 2024 rules for footings, framing, ledgers, guards and stairs, and the inspections in Building Bylaw 7224. The City’s Alteration Permit page says a building permit is required to build a new deck, repair existing structural members, or rebuild an existing deck and/or stairs (City of Nanaimo, Alteration Permit).
An exempt deck still has to fit the lot. The City says restrictive covenants on title, watercourse and riparian setbacks, utility rights-of-way and distances to property lines may affect where your deck goes whether a building permit is required or not, and that checking them is the homeowner’s responsibility (Deck Addition Guide, April 2026, PDF).
A Nanaimo mailing address doesn’t always mean the City of Nanaimo issues your permit. Parcels outside City limits fall under a different local government, such as the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN), with its own building bylaw, forms and deck rules. To confirm:
Is my project allowed? Zoning decides setbacks, height, lot coverage and whether a suite is allowed on your lot. Check it before you draw or apply for the permit: look up your address on the map, then read your zone in the bylaw.
Checked October 26, 2026 (City of Nanaimo): NanaimoMap · Zoning Bylaw No. 4500 (PDF)
The Alteration Permit page says a permit is not required only where the deck is (source):
Fail any one of these and you need a permit. The Deck Addition Guide (revised April 2026) lists the same four triggers, phrased as “more than two feet above grade” without the four-feet-from-the-edge detail, and calls a deck that meets all four conditions landscaping (source). On a sloping lot, the two wordings can give different answers, so verify with the City which one applies. No permit is needed for minor or non-structural repairs to a deck previously approved under a permit, such as replacing the walking surface, or for replacing previously approved railings. The City notes that the 2024 BC Building Code still applies to the new railing and that meeting it is the homeowner’s responsibility (source).
Fees are set by construction value in the Fees and Charges Bylaw 2021 No. 7336, consolidated June 1, 2026 (Bylaw 7336, PDF):
| Item | Bylaw 7336 amount |
|---|---|
| Minimum fee and first $1,000 of construction value | $105 |
| Construction value $1,000.01–$100,000 | $10 per $1,000 |
| Construction value over $100,000 | $7 per $1,000 |
| Application fee, where estimated construction value exceeds $20,000 | 10% of the estimated permit fee, minimum $175, applied to the permit fee (kept by the City if you don’t proceed) |
| Re-inspection | $150 each |
| Permit renewal, construction value $0–$50,000 | $100 |
Worked examples (our arithmetic from the bylaw rates, not City quotes): a $15,000 deck is $105 + 14 × $10 = $245, with no application fee. A $25,000 deck is $105 + 24 × $10 = $345; 10% of that is $34.50, so the $175 minimum applies at application and the balance of $170 is due at issue. How partial thousands are rounded is not published in the bylaw. The City’s permit fee calculator is described as a rough calculation of the main permit fee only. The Deck Addition Guide says the application fee is requested after your online application has been accepted (source).
Work without a permit: anyone who starts work requiring a permit before getting one pays double the permit fee (Bylaw 7224 s.30.7). The bylaw also allows stop work orders (s.30.3) and fines of up to $50,000 on conviction (s.30.1) (source).
The Deck Addition Guide (revised April 2026) and the Alteration Permit page list what a deck application needs (source; source):
Format rules. Plans are submitted online as a PDF, hand-drawn or computer-generated, and must be a clean copy with no watermarks or other interfering mark-ups. Drawings are on minimum 11 × 17 in. plain white paper (no graph paper), in dark blue or black ink. Photographs of plans or documents aren’t accepted (source; Residential Building Permit Application Guide, PDF).
The City’s sample plans. Pages 3–8 of the guide are a sample site plan, foundation plan, floor plan and cross-section for a 12 × 16 ft deck addition, plus the stair and drip-through details. They show the level of detail the City expects. The sample’s member sizes (2×8 joists at 16 in. on centre, a 3-ply 2×10 beam) are for that sample only. Size your own from the span tables.
Planning sketch. The deck plan sketch maker draws a watermarked, to-scale sketch of your layout to take to the City or a designer. Don’t submit it: Nanaimo requires a clean PDF with no watermarks.
How to Get a Deck Permit in Nanaimo, BC (Step-by-Step)
Building a deck in the City of Nanaimo, BC? The City requires a building permit to build a new deck, repair structural members, or rebuild a deck or stairs. A deck needs no permit only if it is not part of the principal entrance, not more than 2 ft above grade within 4 ft of its edge, has no roof, and is not attached to the house. This walkthrough covers checking your zone on NanaimoMap, when a deck needs a permit, how height changes the design (BC Building Code 2024), setbacks, easements, surveys and hot tubs, the drawings the Deck Addition Guide asks for, applying online, the fees in the Fees and Charges Bylaw, the three inspections, and common mistakes.
Download the video (MP4) · Watch on YouTube (BC Trades & Permits)
Narration uses a synthetic (AI-generated) voice.
Nanaimo enforces the BC Building Code. A permit applied for on or after March 8, 2024 falls under the BC Building Code 2024, and a house deck is designed under Part 9 unless it needs engineering (Province of BC, BC Building Code 2024). The article numbers below were checked against the official BCBC 2024 PDF. Where the City’s sample plan shows something different or stricter, both are given. These are summaries, so read the code text and follow your approved plans.
How to Build a Deck in Nanaimo, BC, Step by Step
Part 2 of our Nanaimo deck series. Once your City of Nanaimo building permit is issued, this diagram walkthrough follows a typical attached deck from layout to final inspection: squaring with the 3-4-5 method, footings and post bases, posts and beams, ledger attachment or freestanding, joists and hangers, decking, stairs, guards, and the footing, framing and final inspections. Figures are cited to the BC Building Code 2024 Part 9, BC Housing’s deck guide, and the sample plans in the City’s Deck Addition Guide. Where sizes depend on span tables, check the span tables in BC Building Code Part 9, or with your lumber supplier and building inspector.
Download the video (MP4) · Watch on YouTube (BC Trades & Permits)
Narration uses a synthetic (AI-generated) voice.
A deck serving a single dwelling is designed for the specified roof snow load or 1.9 kPa, whichever is greater (9.4.2.3.), and deck members must meet the L/240 deflection limit in Table 9.4.3.1. The City’s deck documents don’t publish local loads. The code’s climatic table (Table C-2) lists Nanaimo with a ground snow load (Ss) of 2.1 kPa, a rain load (Sr) of 0.4 kPa and a moisture index of 1.1 (BCBC 2024, PDF). Confirm the values your reviewer uses. A hot tub needs an engineer (Step 2).
BCBC 2024 has no deck-ledger fastening schedule. BC Housing notes that the code offers little guidance on ledger fastening and calls the ledger a common failure point (BC Housing deck guide, PDF). If you attach, its best practice is 13 mm lag screws or through-bolts, staggered, fully through the ledger and the house rim joist, spaced by joist span (for example 381 mm for lag screws at a 3.66 m span), with a pressure-treated ledger of at least 38 × 184 mm (p. 14). The City’s sample cross-section lag-bolts or through-bolts the ledger to the existing framing, flashes 2 in. vertically behind the building paper, hangs the joists, and adds drip flashing where the deck has a free-draining surface. Its drip-through detail shows a pressure-treated ledger fastened directly to the building, corrosion-resistant hangers, and a 10 mm capillary break behind the siding above and below (source). If you can’t confirm what the house rim joist is, a freestanding deck with its own beam and posts along the house avoids the ledger question, but it still needs bracing, and the 9.12.2.2.(7) relaxation isn’t automatic. Verify with the City.
Building Bylaw 7224 s.17.4 requires at least 24 hours’ notice for each inspection and the building official’s acceptance before the work is concealed. Under s.17.5, nothing is covered until it’s accepted in writing, and s.17.7 says a report is left on site after each inspection, approving the work or listing corrections (source). The bylaw’s list is written for houses, so here is how it maps onto a deck:
| Bylaw 7224 stage | What it means for a deck |
|---|---|
| Footings (s.17.4.1) | “When the forms for footings are complete, including any reinforcing steel, but prior to placing any concrete.” A BCLS certificate may be required before the foundation is approved. |
| Framing (s.17.4.5) | Written for house framing. For a deck: posts, beams, bracing, joists, hangers, ledger fasteners and flashing, all visible before decking or skirting goes on. Confirm with your inspector. |
| Final (s.17.4.10) | When the work is complete: guards, stairs, handrails and decking. |
| Additional (s.17.4.11) | Any other inspection the building official requires. |
How to book (City of Nanaimo, Building Permit Inspection Request):
Printable: take the deck inspection checklist (before you book, footings, framing, final) to the site before each inspection.
Budget the materials: the deck, shed and fence materials cost calculator counts joists, deck boards, posts, concrete bags, hangers, post bases and screws for your size of deck, then prices them with dated BC retailer prices.
General guidance for one example, the same one as the build video: an attached 12 × 16 ft (3.66 × 4.88 m) deck, the footprint of the City’s sample plans, 16 ft along the house, with a ledger at the house, one built-up beam on three posts, joists at 16 in. (406 mm) on centre running out from the house, the walking surface about 900 mm above grade (our illustration), and one stair. Quantities are rounded, with no prices. The span tables and your approved drawings set the real sizes.
| Item | Approx. quantity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ledger, pressure-treated | 1 at 4.88 m | At least 38 × 184 mm (BC Housing), with flashing behind the building paper. |
| Ledger fasteners (13 mm lags or through-bolts) | about 13–15 | Staggered. BC Housing’s table gives 381 mm on centre for lags at a 3.66 m joist span. |
| Beam (built-up, pressure-treated) | 1 at 4.88 m | Plies and size per the span tables. |
| Posts, pressure-treated | 3 | At least 140 × 140 mm unless calculated. Spacing per the beam span table. |
| Footings, piers and post saddles | 3 | Depth and size per your approved foundation detail (Step 5). |
| Post bracing | per design | The joists are more than 600 mm above ground (9.17.2.2.). |
| Joists, pressure-treated | 13 at about 3.66 m | 4.88 m ÷ 406 mm = 12 spaces, so 13 joists. |
| Rim joist | 1 at 4.88 m | At the outer ends of the joists. |
| Joist hangers | 13 | At the ledger, with the nails the hanger maker specifies. |
| Decking, 140 mm boards | about 25 rows of 4.88 m | 3.66 m ÷ about 146 mm per board with gap. Boards run parallel to the house. |
| Deck screws (corrosion-resistant) | about 700 | 25 rows × 13 joists × 2, plus spare. |
| Guard | about 11.3 m run | Two 3.66 m ends plus the 4.88 m outer edge, less a 0.9 m stair opening. 900 mm high at this height. |
| Balusters (38 mm) | about 80–85 | At roughly 138 mm on centre so gaps stay under 100 mm. |
| Stair stringers | 3 | For a 900 mm rise: 5 risers of 180 mm and 4 treads of 255 mm or more. |
| Stair guards and handrail | guards on open sides, 1 handrail minimum | The stair has more than 3 risers. |
| Landing pad at stair base | 1 | Keeps the bottom stringer ends off the soil. |
Related: Nanaimo building permit guide · Printable deck inspection checklist · Deck plan sketch maker · Deck permit how-to for BC · Deck and shed rules by city · 30-second permit quiz
Most houses, suites, decks and garages fall under Part 9 of the BC Building Code 2024: buildings of 3 storeys or less, up to 600 m², with residential or certain other uses (Division A, 1.3.3.3). Bigger buildings fall under Part 3, which always needs registered professionals and Letters of Assurance (Division C, 2.2.7.1).
On a Part 9 project, the Code requires a registered professional (an engineer or architect who seals drawings and signs Letters of Assurance) only for parts outside Part 9. Examples are beams with point loads, girder trusses, engineered products, soil or foundation conditions beyond Part 9, and retaining walls that support a foundation. The province also recommends professional design for other retaining walls over 1.2 m. For the rest, the Code doesn’t say who must draw the plans. The city sets the drawing standard.
Nanaimo asks for “designer-quality” plans in a clean PDF, and requires a structural engineer (sealed plans, Schedules B and C) for a deck carrying a hot tub. Hand-drawn plans are accepted if they meet the standard.
Checked October 26, 2026: BC Building Code 2024 (PDF) · Guide to Letters of Assurance (PDF) · Letters of Assurance (gov.bc.ca) · EGBC guidelines · AIBC: does your project need an architect? · plan requirement checklist (PDF) · deck addition guide (PDF)
Need someone to draw the plans? See who draws permit plans in Nanaimo: when you need a designer or engineer, how to check a firm, and local firms we checked.
Usually. The City of Nanaimo requires a permit to build a new deck, repair structural members, or rebuild a deck or stairs. No permit is needed only if the deck is not part of the principal entrance, not more than two feet above grade within four feet of its edge, not roofed, and not attached to the house. The Deck Addition Guide words the height test as more than two feet above grade, so verify with the City on a sloping lot.
Under Fees and Charges Bylaw 7336, the permit fee is $105 for the first $1,000 of construction value plus $10 per $1,000 up to $100,000. Worked from those rates, a $15,000 deck is $245. Where the value exceeds $20,000, an application fee of 10% of the estimated permit fee, minimum $175, is paid after the application is accepted and credited to the permit. The City’s calculator gives a rough figure only.
Yes, hand-drawn or computer-generated plans are accepted as a PDF, but the PDF must be a clean copy with no watermarks or other interfering mark-ups, on minimum 11 x 17 in. plain white paper (no graph paper), in dark blue or black ink. Photographs of plans are not accepted. Plans are at 1/4 in. = 1 ft or 1:50, and the site plan at 1/16 in. = 1 ft or 1:250.
Building Bylaw 7224 requires at least 24 hours’ notice and written acceptance before work is concealed. For a deck that usually means footings (forms complete, before concrete), framing before decking, and a final. Requests made by 4 p.m. on a business day are done the next business day, any time after 9 a.m., and the inspector leaves a report on site.
Yes. The Deck Addition Guide says a structural engineer is required to design and field-review a deck supporting a hot tub, with sealed plans, Schedule B at application and Schedule C at completion.
Under Bylaw 7224 s.4.7, work must start within 6 months of issue and can’t stop for more than 1 year, and the permit expires 24 months after issue unless renewed once before expiry. An application that hasn’t been issued expires after 12 months (18 months for accepted hardship).
Not if the deck was previously approved under a building permit and the work is minor or non-structural, such as replacing the walking surface, or replacing previously approved railings. The new railing must still meet the 2024 BC Building Code.
Independent information only. This guide is a planning aid, not legal, engineering or building-code advice. Codes and bylaws change, and the building official for your address has the final say. Confirm every requirement before you design, apply or dig.
This guide relies on the official pages below. Rules, fees and processes change, so check the authority before you apply or spend money.
Links checked September 30, 2026. Found an error or a broken link? Report it.