Gunnison County, Colorado Building Permit Guide

In unincorporated Gunnison County, building permits come from the Building Office of the Community and Economic Development Department, 221 N. Wisconsin Street, Suite D, Gunnison (970-641-0360). Complete application packets are emailed to permit@gunnisoncounty.org and permits are issued electronically. Since June 2025 the fee has been a flat 0.9% of the project valuation, plan review included, with a $300 minimum. The county has no jurisdiction inside Gunnison, Crested Butte, Mt. Crested Butte, Marble or Pitkin, and it issues no electrical or plumbing permits: both come from the State.

What requires a permit in Gunnison County?

A county building permit is required to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move or change the occupancy of a building or structure on unincorporated land. No excavation may start until the building permit has been issued.

Starting work without a permit costs an extra 100% of the usual permit fee on top of the fee itself.

Who issues building permits in Gunnison County?

The Building Office administers the building codes in the unincorporated county and routes each application through five reviewers: Planning (permitted uses, setbacks, lighting and height), Building, Environmental Health (septic design), Wildlife Conservation (Gunnison Sage-grouse habitat) and Public Works (reclamation and driveways). The county states plainly that it has no jurisdiction inside any city or town; each one’s own pages set out how it permits.

Property inside the Crested Butte Fire Protection District, town or county, also has to contact the district office (970-349-5333) about its fire and life safety requirements.

County applications, email filing and contractor licences

Everything goes by email. The Building Permit Packet contains the Building Permit Application Form, the Agreement and Consent of Property Owners form for anyone applying on an owner’s behalf, and the Solid-Fuel Burning Device or Gas Appliance Identification form. Send the completed packet and plans as PDFs to permit@gunnisoncounty.org. Building and septic permits are issued by email, and payment is taken by electronic check ($1 fee) or credit card (2.25% plus 75 cents).

• Driveway Access Permit and Reclamation Permit. Both come from Public Works (970-641-0044) and both must be in hand before the building permit can be issued. A reclamation permit covers road cutting, home-site clearing and berm construction.
• Floodplain Development Permit. Required in flood hazard areas in addition to the building permit; the lowest floor must be 1 ft above base flood elevation.
• Land Use Change Permit. Some projects need one before a building permit can be issued, and conditions on an existing one can limit building location and size.
• Building Contractor Licence. Required since February 1, 2023 for anyone paid to direct or carry out permitted work. Applicants show the International Code Council certification for their licence class, workers’ compensation cover and $1,000,000 of general liability insurance. The county issues the licence within 7 business days and it runs for 36 months. Under Resolution 2022-02 the fee is $250 for Class A (any structure), $200 for Class B (commercial buildings and dwellings of up to three stories) and $150 for Class C (one- and two-family homes, townhouses and their accessory structures).

An owner may act as contractor for a new home on their own land once in any 4-year period, and may build additions or alterations to their own home or accessory structure, without a licence. The county’s Permit Database shows pending and issued permits under separate prefixes: BP for building, OWTS and the older ISDS for septic, and LUC for land use change.

Permit costs and fees in Gunnison County

The Board of County Commissioners replaced the old sliding table with a flat percentage in Resolution 25-24, adopted June 17, 2025. The same figures appear in the county’s October 2026 permit packet.

The deposit is not an extra charge: it is applied to the permit fee when the permit is issued, and it is forfeited only if the permit is never issued. A new house valued at $600,000 therefore pays 0.9%, which is $5,400: $1,000 with the application and $4,400 at issue.

Valuation is the total value of the work, labor and materials, including the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, gas, sprinkler and elevator systems; design fees, landscaping and tap fees are left out. For a residence over 5,000 sq ft the applicant must supply the valuation. Under 5,000 sq ft the applicant may supply it, or the county may set it from the International Code Council’s Building Valuation Data with a regional multiplier of 2.8.

New construction, and additions larger than 500 sq ft, also pay the county’s Workforce Housing Linkage Fee, calculated on square footage with the county’s worksheet. Deed-restricted homes and homes for households earning under 120% of area median income are exempt.

Electrical, plumbing, mechanical and septic permits

Electrical and plumbing. Gunnison County issues neither. Electrical permits are issued by the State and inspected by a State electrical inspector; plumbing permits are issued and inspected by a State plumbing inspector. Both inspectors are based in Gunnison, and permits are obtained through the State’s online permit system. A plumbing contractor must take out the permit for its own jobs, signed by the master plumber, and may not work on a permit issued to a homeowner. A homeowner may do the plumbing on their own residence if they do the work personally and the property is not for sale, rented or open to the public.

Mechanical. Mechanical work is the county’s. A stand-alone mechanical permit, which is also the permit for a wood or pellet stove, costs 0.75% of the job’s value with a $55 minimum. Stoves must meet the State air quality emission standards, and the packet’s appliance identification form goes in with the application.

Septic. Onsite wastewater permits are issued by the county’s Environmental Health Office, part of the same department, and applications are emailed to the same address. The lot must be a legal lot of at least 1 contiguous acre, a Colorado professional engineer or approved soils technician carries out the site and soil evaluation, and staff inspect the site before approval. The County’s posted OWTS Fees 2026 list charges $1,168 for a new system or a system replacement, $1,285 for a commercial system, $722 for a repair, $430 for a tank replacement, $904 for an alteration or expansion and $1,609 for a variance. The permit carries a $20 State surcharge. If a septic system is needed, the building permit is withheld until the septic permit is issued; on central water or sewer, proof of paid tap fees is required instead.

Application documents and plan review

The building site has to be a legally subdivided lot. For a parcel outside a platted subdivision, that usually means supplying the chain of deeds back to the date the parcel was created; since May 1972 any parcel under 35 acres must have been approved by the Board of County Commissioners.

Ground snow load is taken from the Structural Engineers Association of Colorado’s 2016 Colorado Design Snow Loads for the elevation of the site and converted to a roof load under ASCE 7. The county publishes no review time; it says staff work with applicants and their designers to reach a compliant plan.

How to apply in Gunnison County: 6 steps

County inspections and permit life

Inspections are requested on the building inspection phone line, 970-641-1011, and the county asks for 48 hours’ notice. Electrical and plumbing inspections are booked with the State inspectors, not on this line.

• Work must start within 180 days of the permit being issued and must not be suspended or abandoned for 180 days; the permit expires if either happens.
• Heat loss calculations, equipment ratings, flue sizes and supply and return air details are due no later than the rough framing inspection.
• Radon is tested after the dwelling passes its air tightness test. At 4 pCi/L or above, the fan for the radon vent pipe must be installed and the house retested until it reads below 4.
• Carbon monoxide detectors, hard-wired with battery backup, are required outside each sleeping area in new work, additions and remodels with gas appliances or an attached garage.

Local Gunnison County details that matter

Gunnison Sage-grouse. Buildings, septic systems and accesses have to be sited to avoid and mitigate impacts on Gunnison Sage-grouse. Every application on land within occupied habitat is reviewed by the county’s Wildlife Conservation Coordinator.

Wildfire. The county adopted the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code by Resolution 2022-33 and has since adopted the Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code with local amendments. Plans must name ignition-resistant exterior materials and the site plan must show the structure ignition zones.

Exterior lighting. Every building permit application needs an exterior lighting plan that complies with Section 13-114 of the Land Use Resolution, and every applicant signs an agreement to comply.

Land Use Resolution limits. The resolution sets setbacks, building heights, sizes of residences and rules for ridgelines, geologic hazard areas, floodplains and wetlands. In a geologic hazard area the county may require a geotechnical investigation and a review by the Colorado Geological Survey.

Electric-ready homes. The county has adopted the Colorado Model Electric Ready and Solar Ready Code, so plans show a solar-ready zone, conduit routes to the panel and EV parking spaces.

Septic setbacks. A well or spring must be 50 ft from a septic tank and 100 ft from a soil treatment area; structures 5 ft from the tank and 20 ft from the field.

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 Gunnison County resources

• Gunnison County Building Office
• Gunnison County building permit: projects, expiry and town contacts
• Building Permit Packet: Application and Guide
• Resolution 25-24: Schedule of Building Permit Fees
• Gunnison County Community and Economic Development
• Gunnison County adopted and amended building codes
• Gunnison County building contractor licensing
• Gunnison County OWTS (septic) permits
• Legal building lot documentation
• Gunnison County permit database
• Electrical permits: State of Colorado
• Plumbing permits: State of Colorado

Gunnison County permit FAQs

Who handles building permits in Gunnison County?

The county Building Office, for unincorporated land only. The City of Gunnison and the towns of Crested Butte, Mt. Crested Butte, Marble and Pitkin run their own permits.

How much is a building permit in Gunnison County?

0.9% of the project valuation, with plan review included and a $300 minimum. A $600,000 house pays $5,400, of which $1,000 is paid as a deposit with the application.

Can I submit electronically?

Yes, and only that way: complete packets are emailed to permit@gunnisoncounty.org, and the permit is issued by email.

Do I need a permit for a shed in Gunnison County?

Not for a one-story detached accessory structure under 200 sq ft with no utilities, on a parcel that already has a dwelling.

Does the county issue electrical or plumbing permits?

No. Both are issued and inspected by the State of Colorado. The county handles the building, mechanical and septic permits.

How do I book an inspection?

Call the inspection line, 970-641-1011, and give 48 hours’ notice.

Do contractors need a county licence?

Yes, a Building Contractor Licence, valid for 36 months. An owner building their own home is exempt once in any 4-year period.

What if my parcel is not in a subdivision?

You must show it is a legal lot, usually with the history of deeds back to its creation, before a building or septic permit can be issued.

Simplify Gunnison 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 Gunnison County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.