Nogales, Arizona Building Permit Guide

The City of Nogales Community Development Department reviews plans, issues building permits and inspects work inside city limits; the City Code makes the Planning and Zoning Director the Building Official. You apply on the City’s Project Submittal Application, receive a permit tracking number, and follow review comments and inspection results online. A permit lapses if work has not started within 180 days.

What requires a building permit in Nogales?

Nogales uses one Project Submittal Application for building, sign, planning, engineering, fire and utility reviews, so the same form starts a new building, an addition, a remodel or a sign. Two parts of the City Code add local detail:

• Electrical work: no wiring, device or equipment may be installed, altered or added to without an electrical permit. The Code exempts minor repairs such as replacing switches, fuses, lamp sockets and receptacles, and wiring that runs at 50 volts or less for signals or communications.
• Site plans: the Development Standards Code requires a site plan for any building, structure or use in any district. Single-family homes and accessory buildings in an approved subdivision, mobile homes in established parks, multi-family projects of fewer than 5 units per lot, and changes to an existing structure skip the full site plan process; their site plan goes in with the building permit application instead.
• Swimming pools: built to the City’s own 2015 Swimming Pool Code.
• Street cuts: digging in a street, sidewalk or alley needs written permission from the Building Official first.

The application warns that the state handyman exemption does not apply to any job that needs a building permit or costs $1,000 or more in labor and materials.

Who issues building permits in Nogales?

The Community Development Department issues them for property inside the city limits. Under Section 5-1 of the City Code the Planning and Zoning Director is the Building Official, who performs or coordinates all reviews and inspections and issues permits, certificates and stop work orders. The Development Center puts planning and zoning, building, engineering and fire plan review, their inspections, and water and sewer in one location.

Outside the city limits, the Santa Cruz County Building Department permits construction in the unincorporated area.

Nogales application form and permit tracking

The Project Submittal Application (revised July 31, 2023) is a two-page PDF. Page one collects the project address, parcel number, zoning, proposed use, a description of the work and the project valuation, which is a required field. The applicant and the property owner both sign, or the owner supplies an authorization letter. The contractor signs too and lists a Registrar of Contractors licence number and a City of Nogales licence number.

Page two is the Exemption from Licensing statement. An owner-builder ticks it to declare that the property will not be sold or rented for at least one year after completion; an owner-developer declares that a licensed general contractor will do all the work. It also lists the general, mechanical, electrical and plumbing contractors with their City licence numbers.

Staff assign separate tracking numbers for the building, engineering, fire, planning and utility reviews. With that number and a registered account, the Citizen Access Portal shows permit status, plan review comments and inspection results at any hour. The portal’s public menu offers searches of building applications, planning cases, code enforcement records and licences; the City presents it as a tracking tool that uses the number issued when the application is submitted.

Nogales building permit fees

Section 5-2 of the City Code makes every permit, inspection and certificate conditional on prior payment of fees from a schedule adopted by City Council resolution. The application requires a project valuation, and its City-use block records the total valuation and the total submittal fees.

• Paying: the City takes permit payments online through its Building Permit Payment form, which asks for the permit tracking number and the amount quoted.
• Pre-application review: no fee.
• Water and sewer: the water supply connection fee is due at, and is a condition of, building permit issuance; sewer connection fees are set separately in the utilities chapter.
• Appeals: an appeal to the Building and Fire Codes Board of Appeals carries a filing fee from the Planning and Zoning/Building schedule, refunded only if the appeal cannot proceed.

Engineering, fire and utility reviews are logged against their own tracking numbers, so ask the Development Center for the total across all of them when you submit.

Electrical, plumbing, mechanical and fire review in Nogales

Electrical: the person installing the work applies for the electrical permit, with any plans or schedules the Electrical Inspector asks for. A permit card with the permit number and address must be posted on the jobsite before work begins. The electrical permit is void if work does not start within 60 days, or if it stops for 120 days. Wiring cannot be concealed until it has been inspected. After the installer reports completion, the Code gives the inspector 2 full working days to inspect; approval produces a final certificate and written notice to the power company, and nothing may be energised before that.

Plumbing: new homes and replacement fixtures in existing homes must use faucets and shower heads limited to 2.5 gallons per minute and toilets of 1.6 gallons per flush. Evaporative coolers and decorative fountains need water recycling.

Fire: the Fire Prevention Division reviews building plans and inspects at different stages of construction and remodeling. A fire inspection is also required before a business licence is issued.

Commercial buildings and places of public assembly have their electrical systems re-inspected at least every 3 years, with no fee for the certificate.

Nogales building-permit application documents

The application form carries the City’s own attachment checklist. Staff tick what the project needs:

A project that needs full site plan review submits 10 prints of the site plan on 24 by 36 inch sheets, with 10 copies of each supporting document, to the Development Review Committee. Proof of ownership is a title report issued no more than 30 days before submittal.

The form cites the 2018 International Building, Residential and Fire Codes, the 2017 National Electrical Code and the 2010 ADA Standards. The online City Code text still lists the 2012 editions adopted in 2015, so confirm the design edition with the Building Official before drawings are finalised.

How to apply in Nogales: 6 steps

Nogales permit inspections and final approval

Called inspections are what keep a Nogales permit alive. The permit becomes invalid if work does not begin within 180 days of issue, or is suspended or abandoned for 180 days after it starts, and the City measures both periods by the inspections you have called.

Inspection results and comments appear in the Citizen Access Portal under the permit tracking number. The Development Center lists building, engineering and fire inspections as separate services.

Local permitting considerations in Nogales

Floodplain permits come from the County. The City lists Santa Cruz County as the source of Floodplain Use Permits and the Flood Hazard Information Sheet, and its application checklist has a box for them. Flood control comments are the applicant’s job to obtain during pre-application.

Site plan approval expires. Final site plan approval lasts 1 year. If no building permit has been issued by then, the Development Review Committee can extend it once, for 6 months, on a written request made 15 working days before it runs out.

Zoning code rewrite. The City has been updating its Zoning and Development Standards Code, with a City Council public hearing held on November 6, 2024. Check which version applies to your submittal.

Appeals. A decision of the Building Official or the Fire Marshal can be appealed to the 5-member Building and Fire Codes Board of Appeals within 30 days.

Pre-application site data. The pre-application checklist asks for retention areas sized for the 100-year, one-hour storm with preliminary hydrology, fire hydrants on site or within 150 ft, and a sealed construction cost estimate from an engineer or architect.

Arizona statewide rules

Arizona licenses contractors through the state Registrar of Contractors, and the small-job exemption never covers work that needs a permit. Arizona rules

Official Nogales permit resources

These are the primary sources behind this guide. Codes, fee schedules and procedures change — confirm the position for your filing date.

• Arizona Registrar of Contractors
• City of Nogales Community Development
• Nogales Project Submittal Application (PDF)
• Nogales Citizen Access Portal (Accela)
• Nogales Planning Division application forms
• Nogales pre-application process and checklist (PDF)
• Nogales site plan review process (PDF)
• Nogales Building Permit Payment form
• Nogales Fire Prevention Division
• Nogales City Code, Chapter 5, Buildings and Building Regulations
• Santa Cruz County Building Department (outside city limits)
• Santa Cruz County Flood Hazard Information Sheet

Nogales building permit FAQs

Who issues building permits in Nogales?

The City of Nogales Community Development Department, for property inside the city limits. The Planning and Zoning Director serves as Building Official. Outside the limits, Santa Cruz County is the permitting authority.

Can I apply for a Nogales building permit online?

The City describes its Citizen Access Portal as a way to check permit status, plan review comments and inspection results using the tracking number given at submittal. The application itself is the Project Submittal form handed in at the Development Center.

How much is a building permit in Nogales?

Fees come from a schedule adopted by City Council resolution. The application requires your project valuation, staff record the total submittal fees on it, and you can pay online with the permit tracking number.

Can a homeowner pull a permit in Nogales?

Yes. The application’s licensing exemption page covers an owner-builder who will not sell or rent the property for at least one year after completion.

How long is a Nogales building permit valid?

Work must start within 180 days of issue and cannot stop for 180 days. Electrical permits are tighter under the City Code: 60 days to start and no more than 120 days of suspension.

Do I need a separate floodplain permit in Nogales?

If the site is in a flood hazard area, yes, and it comes from Santa Cruz County, not the City.

Is there a fee for a pre-application meeting?

No. The City’s checklist says there is no fee, and meetings are held on Fridays at 9:00 a.m. for submittals received by 5:00 p.m. the previous Friday.

Simplify Nogales permitting with Alliance Permitting

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in Arizona. We prepare your paperwork, file it correctly and coordinate with the permitting authority through issuance. We are not a contractor and we do not perform licensed plan review or inspections; that work stays with your licensed team and the jurisdiction.

This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Nogales permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.