Quick answer: Brandon requires a Demolition Permit to raze any permanent structure. The fee is currently $200, water and sewer must be disconnected by a licensed master plumber and inspected first, and Brandon requires the owner to have the structure tested for asbestos before the permit is issued.
Brandon is the most thoroughly documented demolition jurisdiction in the Jackson metro, and it asks for more than most. This page reports what Brandon publishes. It is regulatory information, not legal advice — confirm your specific project with Brandon’s Community Development Department.
Do you need a permit to demolish a house in Brandon, MS?
Yes. Brandon states the requirement plainly: a “Demolition Permit is required for razing any permanent structure.”[1] The permit is named as such — it is not folded into a general building permit.[1]
Brandon issues the permit through its Community Development Department, 1000 Municipal Drive, Brandon, MS 39042, reachable at 601-824-4580 during 8–5 office hours.[1]
On timing, Brandon handles permits that do not require plans over the counter, and residential permits are often issued within 24 hours. A Brandon permit expires after 90 days without an inspection.[1] Brandon publishes no demolition-specific lead time, so the sequencing below — disconnect, asbestos, historic review where it applies — is what actually governs how soon work can start.
Is your property actually inside Brandon city limits?
This is the question to settle first, and it catches people out.
A Brandon mailing address does not establish that a property is inside Brandon city limits. A great deal of property carrying a Brandon address sits in unincorporated Rankin County, outside the city limits where Brandon’s permit requirement applies.[1] Applying to Brandon for a parcel outside its limits wastes a trip; assuming the parcel is outside when Brandon has jurisdiction means an unpermitted demolition.
Brandon links a GIS map viewer (parcels and municipal boundaries, via CMPDD) that serves this purpose — and checking a parcel there before assuming city permitting is the step that settles it.[2]
If the map shows your property outside Brandon city limits, the requirements on this page do not apply — contact the Rankin County Office of Community Development at 211 East Government Street, Brandon, to confirm what does.
What does a Brandon demolition permit cost?
Brandon’s published fee for “demolition of any building or structure” is currently $200.[3] It is a flat amount, not a valuation-based calculation — the fee does not move with the size or value of the structure.
One caveat matters for budgeting. Brandon’s fee schedule carries no printed adoption or effective date on the face of the document, so the $200 figure cannot be tied to a year with confidence.[3] Confirm the current amount with Brandon’s Community Development Department before relying on it.
Who disconnects the water and sewer?
A licensed master plumber, and the work is inspected before demolition begins.
Brandon requires that “the water and sewer lines must be disconnected by a licensed master plumber and inspected prior to the start of a demolition.”[1] This is a real sequencing constraint rather than paperwork: the disconnect has to happen, and Brandon has to inspect it, before a machine touches the structure.
Water and sewer service in Brandon is provided by the city, with sewer treatment paid to the West Rankin Utility Authority,[4] and Brandon’s sign-off is a building-department inspection of the disconnect.[1]
Does Brandon require asbestos testing before demolition?
Yes — and this is where Brandon departs from the rest of Mississippi.
Brandon makes the owner responsible: “The owner is also responsible for having the structure tested for asbestos prior to obtaining a permit.” If asbestos is present, the owner must remediate it and provide evidence to the building department.[1]
Read that against the state floor. Mississippi requires no asbestos inspection and no notification for an ordinary single-family demolition, because a house with four or fewer dwelling units is not a “facility” under the federal rule — see our guide to asbestos inspection before demolition in Mississippi. Brandon is the exception that guide names: the same teardown that Mississippi exempts, Brandon requires to be tested before it will issue a permit.
What if the house is in the Brandon Historic District?
Then a Certificate of Appropriateness comes first.
Brandon maintains a local Brandon Historic District governed by its Historic Preservation Commission, and a Certificate of Appropriateness must be obtained from the Commission before a permit is issued for work within the district. Brandon’s historic-district guidelines set out a specific application process for demolition, so a demolition inside the district cannot be permitted until the Certificate is in hand.[5] (The National Register–listed Pearl Street Historic District is a separate federal designation and is not the source of this permit requirement.) The review is a gate on the permit rather than a step alongside it, so a demolition inside the district cannot be permitted until the certificate is in hand.
Whether a particular address falls inside the district is a question for Brandon’s Community Development Department, and it is worth asking before a timeline is set.
Sources
- City of Brandon — Building Permit Information (PDF) — City of Brandon Community Development. Accessed 2026-09-18.
- City of Brandon — Interactive Map Viewer — City of Brandon Economic Development (ArcGIS via CMPDD). Accessed 2026-09-18.
- City of Brandon — Building Permits Fee Schedule (PDF, undated on the document face) — City of Brandon Community Development. Accessed 2026-09-18.
- City of Brandon — Utility Billing — City of Brandon Public Works. Accessed 2026-09-18.
- City of Brandon — Historic District Guidelines (amended Nov. 19, 2018) (PDF) — City of Brandon Historic Preservation Commission. Accessed 2026-09-18.