Do I need a permit for addition or structural alteration in Unincorporated Paulding County?

Yes. In Georgia, addition or structural alteration generally requires a permit, and Unincorporated Paulding County is no exception.

Additions and any change to load-bearing walls require a permit and reviewed plans in Georgia; removing or altering a bearing wall usually needs engineered details. Additions may trigger energy-code, zoning, and setback review, so confirm the full scope before starting. Paulding County's own permitting office is the Paulding County Building and Permitting Division, reachable on 770-443-7571 at https://www.paulding.gov/105/Building-Permitting-Division. It issues permits for the unincorporated county. If your city does not run its own building department, and many smaller Georgia municipalities do not, this is the office that will handle the job. Paulding County sits inside the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District, created by the Georgia General Assembly in 2001. Every local government in the District, cities included, has to adopt the District's model post-construction stormwater ordinance or an equivalent one at least as effective, so these rules follow you into any city in the county rather than stopping at the unincorporated line. An addition adds roof area, which counts as impervious surface, and a large one combined with new driveway or patio work can reach the local threshold. In practice the thresholds are aimed at larger development rather than ordinary homeowner work, so most single-family projects sit below them. Cobb County, for example, publishes its trigger as adding more than 5,000 square feet of impervious surface or disturbing more than an acre. Each local government sets its own figures, so check yours before assuming. Where it does apply, the current standard is to retain the first 1.0 inch of rainfall on the site to the maximum extent practicable, which usually means a detention or infiltration feature rather than just grading water to the street. Paulding County permits additions on its Accessory Building / Garage / Remodel / Addition application, which lists a $200.00 permit fee and requires individual permits for each electrical, heating, air conditioning and plumbing scope. The application's office sign-off section records the zoning district and minimum front, rear and side setbacks, and the Tax Commissioner confirms property taxes are current. In the R-2 district, the minimum setbacks are 35 feet front, 15 feet side (25 on a corner lot) and 25 feet rear. A permit becomes invalid if work does not start within 12 months or stops for 12 months, at least one inspection is needed to show work has started, and each 90-day extension costs $200.00 (Code Sec. 18-70).