Kitchen Remodel Permits in the Town of Smithtown, NY

Smithtown is the easiest Suffolk town to file in, for one boring reason: you can do most of it online. If you are remodeling a kitchen in Smithtown, Nesconset, Commack, Kings Park, St James or Hauppauge, that saves you a trip and a wait at a counter.

The rule that covers most kitchens

Here is the whole thing in one sentence: swapping cabinets and countertops in the same footprint is finish work and generally needs no building permit. The moment you move the sink, run gas to a new range location, add circuits, or take down a wall, you are in permit territory.

What Smithtown requires

Smithtown operates an online residential building permit portal, which is a genuine convenience over towns that still want paper handed across a desk. Permits for alterations are issued by the Building Department, and all fees are payable at the time of application.

Smithtown does publish a residential fee schedule. We are deliberately not quoting you a number from it, because the Town's own FAQ notes the posted figures are dated and asks you to call the Building Department for an accurate fee. A contractor who quotes you a precise permit fee off a stale web page is telling you something about how carefully they work.

Call (631) 360-7522 during business hours with your square footage and scope and they will give you the current number.

The Village of the Branch, Nissequogue, Head of the Harbor and Village of Lake Grove sit inside or adjacent to Smithtown with their own departments. As everywhere on Long Island, if you are in a village, the village governs.

What this means for a normal kitchen

A straight replacement — new boxes and counters where the old ones were, sink staying put — is usually finish work and usually does not need a building permit. A kitchen where the sink moves, the range converts to gas, the panel gets touched, or a wall comes out is a permitted job, and the sooner it is filed the cheaper it is.

The expensive version of this is finding out afterwards. How the Suffolk towns compare puts Smithtown next to its neighbors, and the cabinet-replacement question covers the exemption in detail.

We file it for you

A permitted kitchen is not one hire. It is a design professional if the drawings need a seal, someone to file and chase the department, licensed plumbing and electrical for their portions, and the contractor doing the work. Left to you, that is four relationships and you are refereeing them. We handle all of it under one contract, which is the actual reason most people call us for this.

Our installed kitchens run $20,000 to $30,000 — cabinets, quartz counters, island, new sink and plumbing, demo and haul-away, labor. That sits below the budget end of the Long Island range because the cabinet sets came from cancelled projects and are already in our warehouse, not ten weeks out from a factory. What is included.

Verified August 2026. Town requirements and fees change without notice and each department publishes independently. Confirm anything here with the Smithtown Building Department at (631) 360-7522 before you order materials or sign a contract. We are contractors, not your building department, and we would rather you make the call than take our word for it.

Where we work in and around Smithtown

If you are inside an incorporated village, the village building department governs rather than the town. Call us and we will tell you which one applies to your address.

• Brookhaven — Patchogue, Medford, Holbrook, Farmingville, Coram, Selden, Bellport, Shirley, Mastic, Centereach
• Islip — Islip, Bay Shore, West Islip, East Islip, Sayville, Bohemia, Oakdale, Brentwood, Holbrook
• Huntington — Huntington, Northport, Dix Hills, Melville, Greenlawn, Centerport, Huntington Station
• Smithtown — Smithtown, Nesconset, Commack, Kings Park, St James, Hauppauge
• Babylon — Babylon, West Babylon, North Babylon, Lindenhurst, Copiague, Deer Park, Wyandanch
• Riverhead — Riverhead, Wading River, Calverton, Aquebogue, Jamesport
• Brookhaven villages — Port Jefferson, Bellport, Patchogue village and Lake Grove each have their own building department separate from the Town

If your town is not on the list, call anyway — the list is where we work most, not a boundary. Anything from Nassau through the Twin Forks is fair game; we tell you honestly if travel makes a small job uneconomical.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I apply for a Smithtown building permit online?
Yes. The Town of Smithtown offers online residential building permit applications through its website, which covers most residential alteration work.

How much is a building permit for a kitchen remodel in Smithtown?
Call the Building Department at (631) 360-7522 for a current figure. Smithtown publishes a residential fee schedule but its own FAQ notes the posted numbers are dated and directs homeowners to call for an accurate fee.

Do I need a permit to replace kitchen cabinets in Smithtown?
A straight cabinet and countertop replacement in the same layout with no plumbing or electrical changes is generally treated as finish work. Once the sink moves or circuits are added, you are into permitted work.

What is the phone number for the Smithtown Building Department?
(631) 360-7522 during normal business hours.

Related Reading

• Long Island kitchen permits — all the Suffolk towns side by side
• Do cabinets need a permit? — the exemption, in plain language
• Bathroom remodel permits — same logic, more plumbing
• Kitchen remodel cost — 2026 numbers for Long Island
• Questions to ask before you hire — what to get in writing