Delta County, Colorado Building Permit Guide

Delta County has adopted a Land Use Code but no building code, so in the unincorporated county building permits are generally not required and no Certificates of Occupancy are issued. The exceptions are the Highway 92 and Highway 50 Overlay Districts. You still need County setbacks, an access and address permit ($75 each), a septic permit ($600 for a home) and State electrical and plumbing permits. The City of Delta and the towns of Cedaredge, Crawford, Hotchkiss, Orchard City and Paonia each issue their own building permits.

What needs approval in unincorporated Delta County?

The County’s own answer to “Does the Land Use Code require building permits?” is no. A house, shop or barn outside the towns is built without a County building permit, plan review or building inspection, and the County refers snow load and other construction questions to a registered professional engineer or contractor. What the County does regulate is where and how the land is used.

Every structure and septic system must meet these setbacks:

Who issues permits in Delta County?

For unincorporated land, the Planning and Community Development Department handles land use applications, access and address permits, floodplain permits and the two overlay districts. Its applications apply only outside the towns.

All six incorporated municipalities run their own building permits. A project inside any of them goes to the city or town, not the County:

Under intergovernmental agreements, the County consults the nearest city or town on development applications for unincorporated land within three miles of its boundary.

County applications that take the place of a building permit

Because there is no county building permit, a rural project is assembled from several smaller approvals. Planning asks owners to call before completing or paying for an application, and offers pre-application meetings that are most useful for conditional uses, rezones and subdivisions.

• Access & Address Application: needed whenever the access changes or an address is added, before the property is developed. Road and Bridge verifies the access first, then County GIS assigns the address and issues the sign. Allow up to two weeks. Utilities require the address before they serve a parcel, and you cannot apply for a septic permit without one.
• Septic (OWTS) application: filed with Environmental Health, with an engineer’s design.
• Limited Use Permit and Conditional Use Permit: for uses the Land Use Code allows only after administrative or public review.
• Floodplain Permit Application: for any construction or change to the land in a designated floodplain or floodway.
• Right-of-Way Use Permit: for utility or other work in a County road right-of-way.
• Variance, Rezone and Subdivision Applications.

In general one residence is allowed per lot. Up to two more may be allowed where each has a permitted water connection and adequate wastewater treatment, and at least 1 acre is required for each wastewater system unless Environmental Health grants a variance.

Permit fees in Delta County

With no building permit, there is no County building permit fee or plan review fee outside the overlay districts. These are the County charges a typical rural project meets, from the Planning forms page and the Environmental Health fee schedule (septic fees updated March 17, 2026):

Right-of-way permit fees vary with the work and are set by County Engineering. Building permit fees inside the towns are set by each town. Crawford’s 2026 application, for example, charges $50 for the permit plus 50 cents per square foot of the proposed building.

Electrical, plumbing and septic permits

Electrical and plumbing: the absence of a building code does not remove trade permits. Electrical and plumbing work in unincorporated Delta County needs permits from the State Division of Professions and Occupations, and the unincorporated county is under State Electrical Board inspection.

Septic (OWTS): Delta County Environmental Health issues septic permits. The process has four steps: hire an OWTS engineer; send the application and the engineer’s design to eh@deltacountyco.gov; receive a conditional permit, which lets construction begin; and call 970-874-2165 for the final inspection once the system is in. At least two inspections are made, a site inspection and a final, and final approval is required before the building is occupied. The system must sit entirely on the lot it serves and meet the County setbacks.

Water: wells are permitted by the Colorado Division of Water Resources office in Montrose (970-249-6622). The County does not accept a cistern refilled from off-site as a domestic water supply for new development.

Inside the towns the split can differ. In the City of Delta, for instance, electrical permits come from the City while plumbing permits are issued and inspected by the State.

What to prepare

No construction drawings are submitted to the County for an ordinary rural home. The paperwork is about the site, and Planning asks for as much of the following as you have when you first make contact:

• Property address or parcel number
• A brief description of the project and the current and proposed use
• Any maps, site plans or drawings
• Your name, phone number and email

Development applications then need proof of an adequate water supply, either a water tap or a well permit whose allowed use matches the project. Adding a second unit means showing that the existing tap can serve it or that a second tap has been obtained. A septic application needs the assigned address and an engineer’s design that meets County standards and State Regulation 43; a design that does not is charged a resubmittal fee. Check the recorded plat for notes that restrict development before you site anything.

If any part of the property abuts or lies close to a river, the County says the site should be surveyed to document the flood elevation, and a floodplain application follows the County’s Floodplain Development Permit checklist.

How to proceed: 6 steps for a rural Delta County project

Inspections and the overlay districts

Outside the overlay districts the County makes no building inspections and issues no Certificate of Occupancy. The inspections that do happen are the State’s electrical and plumbing inspections and Environmental Health’s septic site and final inspections.

Two districts are different. In both, development is subject to the 2003 International Building Code and needs a building permit:

• Highway 92 Overlay District (established 2006): generally the area between H Road on the south, Homestead Road on the north, 1800 Road on the west and 2000 Road on the east.
• Highway 50 South Overlay District (established 2009): generally both sides of Highway 50 from the City of Delta south to the county line.

The County does not inspect these projects itself. The owner arranges inspections by an ICC-certified building inspector registered with a Colorado municipality or county, and that inspector’s signed Certificate of Inspection Completion is filed with the County Planning Department.

Local Delta County details that matter

Floodplain permits: Planning and Community Development issues them for unincorporated land only, and a home in the floodplain that will use a septic system also needs Environmental Health’s permit before the system goes in. In the City of Delta, Cedaredge, Hotchkiss, Paonia and Crawford, the municipality’s own floodplain administrator decides.

Road names: any road, private road or driveway serving more than three addresses must be given a name by County GIS.

Legal nonconforming uses: a use or structure that was lawful when established but does not match the Land Use Code may continue and be kept in reasonable repair, but may not be altered or expanded.

Marijuana: marijuana facilities are prohibited in unincorporated Delta County; a 2018 ordinance allows limited cultivation of up to 12 plants per residential property.

Colorado building code

Colorado has no statewide building code for private buildings: each city and county decides whether a code applies and which edition, while the state sets electrical and plumbing rules, a minimum energy code on any update, and a wildfire code for the mapped wildland-urban interface. Building codes in Colorado

Official Delta County resources

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

• Colorado Division of Professions and Occupations (electrical and plumbing permits)
• Delta County permit information
• Delta County building, land use and subdivision rules
• Delta County Planning and Community Development
• Delta County land use forms, applications and fees
• Delta County addresses and road names
• Delta County septic permit process
• Delta County Environmental Health fee schedule
• Delta County floodplain administration
• City of Delta building permit application and information
• Town of Cedaredge building permits
• Town of Crawford permits
• Town of Hotchkiss building permits and inspections
• Town of Orchard City Building Department
• Town of Paonia building permits

Delta County permit FAQs

Do I need a building permit in Delta County?

Generally not in the unincorporated county, which has no building code. You do need one inside the Highway 92 or Highway 50 Overlay District and inside any of the six municipalities.

Who issues building permits in the City of Delta?

The City’s Community Development office at 360 Main Street, 970-874-7909. Cedaredge, Crawford, Hotchkiss, Orchard City and Paonia each issue their own permits as well.

Does Delta County issue a Certificate of Occupancy?

No. The County states that no certificates of occupancy are issued for structures in the unincorporated area.

What permits do I need to build a house outside town?

A County access and address permit, a County septic permit, a State well permit or water tap, and State electrical and plumbing permits, plus a floodplain permit if the site is in a mapped floodplain.

How much is a septic permit in Delta County?

$600 for a residential installation or replacement and $800 for a multi-family or commercial system, on the schedule updated March 17, 2026.

What are the setbacks in Delta County?

25 feet from ditches and road rights-of-way, 15 feet from interior property lines (5 feet for non-habitable accessory structures) and 50 feet from the top of a river, stream or creek bank.

Are electrical and plumbing permits required?

Yes. Both come from the State of Colorado, which also carries out the inspections in the unincorporated county.

Simplify Delta County permitting with Alliance Permitting

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in Colorado. 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 Delta County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.