What a shed permit site plan shows
The City of Maricopa, Arizona puts the rule plainly in its residential accessory buildings guide (Rev. 10/2024): structures "greater than 120 square feet" need a permit and a "Site Plan (required)" [1]. Metro Nashville's permits cover garages, carports, patio covers, decks, porches and storage buildings, including portable storage buildings of 100 square feet or more, and the site plan shows the distances to property lines, with existing structures and easements labeled [3]. Nashville's accessory structure permitting instructions cite Metro Code 17.12.040 to .060 [5].
Read together, the shed checklists ask the plan for:
| Item on the plan | Who asks for it |
|---|---|
| A site plan, for any structure over the size threshold | City of Maricopa [1] |
| The distance from the shed to each property line | Metro Nashville [3] |
| Existing structures, labeled | Metro Nashville [3] |
| Easements, labeled | Metro Nashville [3] |
| The share of each required yard the accessory building occupies | Maricopa County, which caps it at 30% [4] |
| The distance to the side and rear lot lines | Maricopa County, which sets a minimum of three feet [4] |
Apex, North Carolina publishes one checklist for additions, sheds and garages [6], and impervious square footage is the item departments most often add to a residential checklist, especially in North Carolina, Washington and Georgia [6, 7]. Innowave Studio draws the shed plot plan to the checklist your department publishes; the items every permit site plan carries are on the permit site plans hub.
When a shed needs a permit
Departments set the line in different units, some by floor area and one by any single dimension:
| Jurisdiction | Threshold |
|---|---|
| City of Maricopa, Arizona | A permit and a site plan for structures greater than 120 square feet (Rev. 10/2024) [1] |
| Maricopa County, Arizona | Zoning clearance is waived for non-habitable single-story structures no greater than 200 square feet (Zoning Ordinance s.1106.2) [4] |
| Wake County, North Carolina | Accessory buildings with any dimension greater than 12 feet need a building permit; the county's guidance is written to the 2018 North Carolina Residential Code [2] |
| Metro Nashville, Tennessee | Permits cover storage buildings, including portable storage buildings, of 100 square feet or more [3] |
| Meade County, South Dakota | Building permits are required for most structures; accessory buildings of 200 sq ft or less and decks of 100 sq ft or less are exempt [8] |
| Denver, Colorado | The residential permitting guide, updated in September 2026, lists accessory structures, garages and carports among the structures in its zoning calculations [9] |
Because Wake County counts any dimension and the others count floor area, a long, narrow shed can cross Wake County's line at a size another county would exempt. The Arizona rules for larger sites are on the Phoenix page.
Setbacks and where a shed may sit
Maricopa County, Arizona sets two rules that fix a shed's position: an accessory building may not occupy more than 30% of any required yard, and may not sit nearer than three feet to any side or rear lot line (Zoning Ordinance s.1106.2) [4]. Maricopa County also publishes a Typical Site Plan with Checklist for all residential permits [10].
Near water, state shoreland rules set a much larger distance:
- Maine. The shoreland zone covers all land within 250 feet, horizontal distance, of the normal high-water line of great ponds, rivers and tidal waters, and within 75 feet of certain streams [11]. Under Chapter 1000, section 15, new principal and accessory structures are set back at least 100 feet from great ponds classified GPA and the rivers flowing to them, and at least 75 feet from other water bodies, tributary streams or wetland edges; the setback is 25 feet in the General Development I district and 250 feet in the Resource Protection district [11]. See the Maine page.
- Wisconsin. Shoreland zoning applies to unincorporated land within 1,000 feet of a navigable lake, flowage or pond, or within 300 feet of a navigable stream [12]. All buildings and structures are set back 75 feet from the ordinary high water mark (NR 115.05(1)(b)1.), and impervious surface is capped at 15 percent of the lot, or 30 percent with shoreland mitigation [12]. See the Wisconsin page.
- Virginia. In Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas, 2,500 sq ft of land disturbance brings erosion and sediment control and stormwater criteria, against 10,000 sq ft elsewhere (9VAC25-875), and residential permit site plans in Tidewater show the disturbance area [13, 14]. See the Virginia page.
Who may draw the plans for a shed
State architecture laws leave a house's sheds, storage buildings and garages outside the architect's seal in several states:
| State | What the law leaves outside the architect's seal |
|---|---|
| Georgia | One- and two-family residences and domestic outbuildings, regardless of cost (O.C.G.A. 43-4-14(b)) [15] |
| Maine | Detached single or 2-family dwellings and incidental sheds, storage buildings and garages (32 M.R.S. section 226(2)) [16] |
| Vermont | A shed, storage building or garage incidental to a detached single, two, three or four-family dwelling (26 V.S.A. Ch. 3) [17] |
| West Virginia | Detached single-family dwellings and incidental sheds, storage buildings and garages (WV Code 30-12-12) [18] |
| Nebraska | Detached one-family through four-family dwellings under 5,000 SF of above-grade finished space, with incidental sheds, storage buildings and garages left out of that tabulation (Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-3449) [19] |
| Pennsylvania | Drawings for detached one-family or two-family dwellings of not more than three stories, and their accessory structures (63 P.S. 34.15) [20] |
Some departments say the same of the site plan. Metro Nashville does not require residential site plans to be drawn by a licensed professional, only accurately dimensioned and to scale [21], and Wendell, North Carolina says a residential structure's site plan need not be professionally drawn [22]. Cobb County, Georgia goes the other way: a current plan and survey sealed by a registered land surveyor comes before a building permit (Development Standards s.103.19.1) [23].
Plans are preliminary, and engineering is by your engineer of record. Where a jurisdiction requires a sealed survey, as Cobb County does, a registered land surveyor prepares it [23], and the plan is drawn on it. The rules by state for commercial plans are in where unsealed site plans are accepted and who prepares a site plan.
How to order a shed site plan
- Open start a project and choose Residential: shed as the project type. For a garage or carport, choose Residential: detached garage or carport; that project has its own page, detached garage and carport site plans.
- Give the city or county and the state, so the plan follows that department's checklist.
- Under program and stage, give the shed's length, width and height, and where you want it on the lot.
- Attach one file, the most useful you have: a survey or mortgage loan survey, or a sketch with measurements. If the department publishes a checklist, name it under program and stage.
The studio reads the brief, checks the jurisdiction's rules and replies by email to scope the plan. Related pages: deck site plans, pool site plans, site plan for a permit, how to get a site plan of my property and site plan vs plot plan vs survey. To order the plan for your shed, start a project and choose Residential: shed.
Frequently asked questions
What size shed needs a permit?
The threshold varies. The City of Maricopa, Arizona requires a permit and a site plan above 120 square feet [1]; Wake County, North Carolina requires a building permit when any dimension is greater than 12 feet [2]; Metro Nashville covers storage buildings of 100 square feet or more [3]; Meade County, South Dakota exempts accessory buildings of 200 sq ft or less [8].
How close to the property line can a shed be?
What does a shed site plan need to show?
Do I need an architect to draw plans for a shed?
Can a shed go near a lake or stream?
Shoreland rules push it back. In Maine, new principal and accessory structures are set back at least 100 feet from great ponds classified GPA and at least 75 feet from other water bodies [11]. In Wisconsin's shoreland zone, all buildings and structures sit 75 feet from the ordinary high water mark [12].
Sources
- 1)Accessory Buildings and Structures (Residential), Rev. 10/2024, City of Maricopa, Arizona, Development Services. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 2)Build an Accessory Building, Wake County, North Carolina, Permits and Inspections. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 3)Residential Building Permit Procedures, Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Codes Administration. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 4)Accessory Structures, Equipment, and Setbacks (DD-3012-01), Maricopa County, Arizona, Planning and Development. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 5)Accessory Structure Permitting Instructions, Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Codes Administration. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 6)Addition / Alteration / Accessory Structure Checklist, Town of Apex, North Carolina. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 7)Build a Deck or Porch, Wake County, North Carolina, Permits and Inspections. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 8)Equalization and Planning, Meade County, South Dakota.
- 9)Residential Permitting Guide (updated September 3, 2026), City and County of Denver, Community Planning and Development. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 10)Typical Site Plan with Checklist, Maricopa County, Arizona, Planning and Development. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 11)Mandatory Shoreland Zoning Act, 38 M.R.S. sections 435-449, and Chapter 1000 shoreland zoning guidelines, State of Maine, Department of Environmental Protection.
- 12)Shoreland zoning: program management, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
- 13)Virginia Register Vol. 41 Iss. 4 (Fast-Track), 9VAC25-875, Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Regulation (October 7, 2024), Commonwealth of Virginia, Virginia Register of Regulations.
- 14)Virginia Erosion and Sediment Control Program (revised 4/8/2024), Mecklenburg County, Virginia.
- 15)O.C.G.A. 43-4-14 (2024), architects: exempt structures (via law.justia.com), State of Georgia. Accessed 2026-08-02.
- 16)32 M.R.S. section 226, architects: exemptions, State of Maine.
- 17)26 V.S.A. Chapter 3, Architects, Vermont General Assembly.
- 18)W. Va. Code 30-12-12, architects: exemptions, West Virginia Legislature.
- 19)Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-3449, exemptions from the architecture provisions, Nebraska Legislature.
- 20)Architects Licensure Law, 63 P.S. 34.15, Pennsylvania Department of State, State Board of Examiners of Architects. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 21)Residential Permit Procedures (brochure), Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Codes Administration. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 22)Building Permits, Town of Wendell, North Carolina, Planning Department. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 23)2026 Variance Application and Schedule, citing Development Standards s.103.19.1, Cobb County, Georgia. Accessed 2026-10-10.