Retaining wall permit checklist — Norfolk, Virginia
Assembled from Norfolk’s own published permit rules. Every line below is quoted from a city document and linked to it. Nothing here is generated, estimated, or inferred from another jurisdiction.
Do you need a permit?
Norfolk requires a permit for a retaining wall.
The city's Permits page lists retaining walls supporting less than 2 feet of unbalanced fill as not requiring a building permit; the city's Building a Fence, Driveway, or Accessory Structure page posts the Section 108.2 exemption of the 2018 Virginia code for retaining walls supporting less than 3 feet of unbalanced fill that are not constructed for the purpose of impounding Class I, II, or III-A liquids or supporting a surcharge other than ordinary unbalanced fill.
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Sources
- retaining wall — fee schedule ↗verified August 2026
Other permits Norfolk publishes rules for
Listed because the city publishes a separate rule for each type — not because this project necessarily triggers one. Whether it does depends on your scope of work.
- Deck permit checklist
- Fence permit checklist
- Shed permit checklist
- Water heater permit checklist
- Re-roof permit checklist
- Electrical work permit checklist
- General building work permit checklist
BuildSpec is a reference, not the authority having jurisdiction. Confirm requirements with Norfolk before you build.