New Orleans
Orleans County, Louisiana
Last verified September 16, 2026
New Orleans is a jurisdiction in Orleans County, Louisiana, with an online portal for searching and pulling active or historical building permits. Use the contact information below to reach the local building department, or the mailing address if the jurisdiction needs to be listed as a certificate holder on a contractor's insurance documentation.
Contact
Source: nola.gov (opens in a new tab)
Certificate Holder Mailing Address
City of New Orleans, Dept. of Safety & Permits1300 Perdido St, 7th Floor (One Stop also at 1340 Poydras St, Suite 800)
New Orleans, LA 70112
Use this address when the jurisdiction needs to be listed as a certificate holder on a contractor's insurance documentation.
Additional Notes
New Orleans is a consolidated city-parish government coextensive with Orleans Parish; there is no separate unincorporated Orleans Parish row.
What You Need Before Applying for a Permit
Most building departments ask for the same core package before they'll issue a permit: a completed application naming the property owner and contractor, the contractor's state license number and proof of insurance (general liability, and workers' comp if employees are on the job), a notice of commencement or equivalent recorded filing for larger jobs where the state requires one, and scaled plans or a site plan for anything beyond minor repairs. Roofing, fence, pool, and solar permits typically have their own simplified checklists — New Orleans's department (above) can confirm exactly what applies to your project.
Why this matters for insurance: permit history is one of the first things an underwriter or adjuster checks. Unpermitted work — a finished basement, an added bedroom, a rebuilt roof — can complicate a claim or even void coverage for that portion of the loss, and it routinely surfaces during a home inspection. Pulling the right permit up front, and keeping the closed-permit record on file, protects both the property's value and its insurability at resale.