Violation explainer
Understand what a notice means and what the correct next step is.
What this tool does and does not do. It reasons over general US building-code practice and routes you to your own jurisdiction's official page. It does not know your local exemption thresholds, fee amounts or review times, and it does not invent them. The office with jurisdiction is the only authority on those.
Stop work orders and notices of violation are not the same thing
A stop work order halts all work immediately and is legally enforceable from the moment it is posted. A notice of violation gives you a stated period to correct something, and work generally continues. Confusing the two in either direction causes problems: treating a stop work order as advisory escalates it quickly, and treating a violation notice as urgent-only means the deadline passes silently.
The first hour of a stop work order
Stop everything, including work not named on the order. Photograph the posting and the site. Read it for the specific violation and the issuing official, and call that official — orders name a contact for a reason, and the first conversation usually shortens everything that follows. Do not remove the posting; that is generally a separate violation.
Get the release in writing
A verbal all-clear from one inspector is worth nothing if a different inspector visits the following week. Whatever the cause, do not restart until the release is documented.
Voluntary disclosure is treated differently
Offices are generally constructive with owners who come forward about unpermitted work, and considerably less so when a neighbour complains or an inspector notices during an unrelated visit. If you know about a problem, raising it yourself is almost always the cheaper path.
Our stop work order guide and unpermitted work guide go into each in detail.