Who actually does what when a house gets built?

Published September 28, 2026

Plans and engineering

Architects are licensed state by state, not nationally. NCARB counts 55 jurisdictions (the 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands), each with its own board that issues licenses and regulates practice.

A license isn't always needed for a house, though. California's Business and Professions Code section 5537 says the architects' law doesn't stop anyone from preparing plans for single-family wood-frame dwellings of no more than two stories and a basement, small wood-frame multiunit buildings of up to four units, and wood-frame garages that go with them. If any part of the structure deviates from the conventional wood-frame requirements, the building official must require that part to be designed by or under a licensed architect or registered engineer. Section 6737.1 of the engineers' law has a matching exemption.

Engineers and land surveyors are licensed locally too. NCEES has 68 member boards across the same 55 jurisdictions, more boards than jurisdictions because some states license engineers and surveyors separately.

Permits and inspections

Deschutes County, Oregon, gives a clear example of who carries the permit. Its building division says every permit needs at least one inspection and often several, and that the homeowner or their designated contractor is responsible for managing the permit through inspections so it closes before it expires. A few rules around that:

• contractors must be listed on the permit before anyone calls for an inspection
• every permit ends with a final building, electrical, plumbing or mechanical inspection
• water has to be on for inspections to happen

The county's list of inspection codes runs from footings and foundations through framing, wall and ceiling insulation, drywall, underslab plumbing, rough plumbing, mechanical and electrical, and the finals. The permits guide follows that sequence through a build.

The lender

Fannie Mae's Selling Guide allows construction-to-permanent financing to close once or twice. With a single closing, the lender manages disbursing loan money to the builder, contractor or other authorized suppliers, and the construction loan converts to a long-term mortgage automatically when the house is done. At completion, an appraisal update and completion report (Form 1004D) has to be filled out in full. The construction loan guide covers how the money moves in more detail.