The Cincinnati driveway approach permit, from the City's own procedure
What the Department of Transportation and Engineering requires before, during and after a driveway apron is built in the right-of-way. From the City's 2025 permit procedure and resource pages.
The City of Cincinnati publishes a procedure for new driveway approaches, and its Department of Transportation and Engineering (DOTE) enforces it. This page is that procedure in plain words, as it stood in 2025, so you know what a contractor is supposed to be doing at the street end of your driveway. Rules and fees change; the Permit and License Center can confirm the current version.
Before anything is built
- Zoning. Check with Zoning Administration (513-352-2430) that the driveway's width and location are allowed for your lot. Zoning comes before engineering.
- Street Opening Permit. Required to install or modify a driveway approach in the right-of-way. Issued through the Permit and License Center, 801 Plum Street, Suite 425, Monday to Friday 8 to 4 (513-352-3463; row.permits@cincinnati-oh.gov).
- A licensed street contractor. All approach construction must be done by a DOTE-licensed street contractor. DOTE keeps a searchable list. A new licence takes about ten business days and can't be rushed, so check the list before you sign with anyone.
- Ohio811. Underground utilities marked by calling 811 (or 1-800-362-2764) before digging in the strip.
The concrete spec
- Minimum 7 inches thick.
- ODOT Construction and Material Specification 499, Class QC1.
- 4,000 psi, air-entrained, ready-mixed from a reputable supplier.
- About a 2 percent slope at the sidewalk.
The layout rules
- No driveway within 50 feet of an intersection.
- 5 feet clear of fire hydrants, utility poles and drains.
- 10 feet from the center of a street tree.
- A private driveway at least 8.5 feet wide, and at least 10 feet at the property line.
- Curb opening at least 15 feet and at most 30 feet for a residential approach, 40 feet for commercial.
- No more than 60 percent of the frontage taken up by driveway openings.
Fees and inspection
The 2025 procedure document doesn't list the fee or the inspection steps; the Permit and License Center does (513-352-3463). We pass the permit fee through on the price and schedule the inspection the City requires.
Outside Cincinnati
A suburb's own streets are governed by that suburb's engineer or service department. County roads are the Hamilton County Engineer (513-946-8900). Driveways onto state routes (US 27, US 50, SR 126, SR 562 and the interstates' frontage) need ODOT's approval. The rules differ in detail; the principle, that the strip at the street belongs to whoever owns the road, is the same everywhere.
Questions
Do I need a permit to replace an existing apron?
Yes: the procedure covers installing or modifying an approach, and replacing one is modifying it.
Can the apron be wider than my driveway?
Within the 15-to-30-foot residential limit and the 60-percent-of-frontage rule, a flare at the curb is normal. Zoning may have its own view on the driveway width behind it.
What does a licensed street contractor licence prove?
That DOTE has accepted the contractor for work in the City's right-of-way, with the insurance and bonding that involves. It isn't a general concrete licence, which Ohio doesn't have.
Who talks to the City, me or you?
We do: the zoning check, the permit application, the 811 call and the inspection request are part of the job. You get copies.
How long does the permit take?
It varies with the City's workload; we apply early and start the on-lot work while it's pending.
Where do I find the City's procedure?
DOTE's resource center on cincinnati-oh.gov publishes the driveway approach permit procedure and the licensed-contractor list.
Get a written price
Tell us the job and where it is. Someone calls back the same day, an estimator measures it in person, and you get a written price with the thickness, the base and the finish spelled out. Nothing is poured on a verbal.