Moffat County, Colorado Building Permit Guide

Moffat County and the City of Craig have combined their building departments. The Craig/Moffat County Regional Building Department, upstairs in Craig City Hall at 300 W. 4th Street, handles permitting, plan review and inspections for all of the county except the Town of Dinosaur. In the unincorporated county a permit is needed for structures over 200 sq ft, the septic permit costs $100 and comes from the same office, and electrical permits are deferred to the State of Colorado.

What work needs authorization in Moffat County?

Under Section 510 of the Moffat County Zoning Resolution, no building or structure may be erected, moved or structurally altered without a building permit, apart from the exceptions in the resolution and the adopted building code. Mechanical, plumbing and electrical permits are required as well.

The agricultural exemption does not cover buildings that store passenger or recreational vehicles or non-farm construction equipment, or workshops. Exempt sheds still have to meet the zone’s setbacks.

Who has permitting authority in Moffat County?

The Regional Building Department does all permitting, plan review and inspections for unincorporated Moffat County and, inside Craig, planning and zoning too. Marlin Eckhoff is the Building Official. Zoning outside the Craig city limits belongs to the Moffat County Planning & Zoning Department, a separate county office.

County permits, applications and intake

Applications are made at the City Hall counter, by phone or by email; neither the City nor the County pages offer an online building permit portal. The department’s checklist handout covers new structures, mobile and modular homes, major and minor additions, accessory structures, repair permits such as re-roofs, siding and fences, and plumbing or mechanical work.

Contractor registration. Moffat County requires every contractor to be on its Contractor Registry, which is separate from a City of Craig licence, and no permit is issued to an unregistered contractor. There are 5 designations: general, limited, specialty, plumbing and mechanical. Each costs $60 to issue and $60 a year to renew, and needs 4 years of experience shown by 4 or 5 references, $500,000 of liability insurance and, for plumbers, the current state licence.

Homeowners. The owner-occupant of a single-family home may pull building, plumbing and HVAC permits for it, provided the owner buys all the materials and does all the labor. The county procedure adds that a homeowner can be issued a permit of the same type only once every 36 months.

Landlords. The owner of a one- or two-family rental may pull permits for work such as roofing, siding, decks, interior framing, drywall and accessory buildings without living quarters, doing the work personally. A landlord cannot pull plumbing, mechanical or electrical permits, or a permit that creates or adds living space. Commercial work always needs a registered contractor.

Current fees and payment considerations

The County’s published figures are these:

Moffat County has published no building permit fee table for unincorporated land: its building pages give none, Resolution 2019-53, which adopted the 2018 codes, sets none, and Section 545 of the Zoning Resolution deals with zoning application fees only. The department’s checklists ask contractors for the written bid price of a job. The two municipal codes do print a table, and it is the same one in both. Section 15.04.050 of the Craig Municipal Code, last amended by Ordinance 1160 in 2024, and Section 12.26.080 of the Dinosaur Municipal Code each charge $993.75 at $100,000 of valuation, then $5.60 for each further $1,000, with a plan check of 65% of the permit fee on top, which comes to $1,639.69 at $100,000. Both codes double the permit fee for work started without a permit.

Card payments to the County’s Road and Bridge Department for driveway and road permits carry a surcharge of 2.25% plus $0.75 per transaction. The County Planning Department requires a meeting before any zoning application is submitted.

Electrical, plumbing, mechanical and wastewater approvals

Electrical: both Moffat County and the City of Craig defer electrical permits and inspections to the State of Colorado, so that permit is applied for with the state, and the state inspector’s rough and final inspections are recorded as special approvals on the building permit.

Plumbing and mechanical: these stay local. The Regional Building Department issues plumbing and HVAC permits under the 2018 International Plumbing, Mechanical and Fuel Gas Codes and inspects underground lines, rough-in, top-out, gas piping, backflow preventers and water heaters. Plumbing contractors must show a current state plumbing licence to register.

Septic: in Moffat County the septic permit also comes from the building department, not a health district. The system, including a major repair or replacement, must be designed by a Colorado-licensed engineer under state Regulation 43. Bring the engineered drawings to the department and buy the $100 permit; before backfilling, call the Building Official and the engineer, who confirms in writing that the system was installed to the design. The County amended its onsite wastewater regulations by Resolution 2026-68.

Plans and supporting application documents

For a county building permit the County asks for 2 sets of building plans showing the floor plan, foundation, framing and roof system; a plot plan with existing buildings, well, septic and the new construction dimensioned to every property line; and the completed, signed application. The plot plan has to show at least 100 feet between the well and the septic tank or leach field.

County zoning requires engineered foundations for residential and commercial buildings, with exceptions for non-habitable residential structures, residential additions of 200 sq ft or less, seasonal or recreational residential structures and Group U commercial buildings. Design values are a 40 psf non-reducible roof snow load, 115 mph wind speed and a 48-inch frost line.

How to apply: 6 steps for Moffat County

Inspections, trade approvals and closeout

The permit holder schedules inspections with 24 hours’ notice. The department’s two rules are to call before the next step covers or blocks access to the current work, and to phone the inspector when in doubt.

Standard building inspections are setbacks, footings, slab, foundation wall, damp proofing and foundation drainage, sheathing, framing, roofing, siding or stucco lath, insulation, drywall and final. Framing is inspected only after the electrical, mechanical and plumbing rough-ins, and a re-roof starts with a pre-roof inspection.

A Certificate of Occupancy is required before moving into a home or business, and county zoning calls for it within 5 working days of notice that the building is ready. The County lists the basics:

• A complete and approved electrical system
• One working bathroom and a kitchen sink with hot and cold running water
• An approved sewage disposal system
• A working heating system
• No hazards in the occupied space, such as raised floors without guardrails
• The address posted where it can be seen

Local Moffat County filing details

City and County are not identical: the two jurisdictions enforce essentially the same 2018 codes, in force since January 1, 2020, but contractor licensing differs, and the International Property Maintenance Code applies in Craig only. Fire sprinklers are not required in one- and two-family homes, and blower door tests are not required.

Certificate of Compliance: no county building permit is issued until the Building Official or Zoning Enforcement Officer has certified that the plans meet the zoning, floodplain and subdivision regulations.

Mobile homes: a mobile home older than 1977 may not be set in any county district unless it is brought up to the 1977 HUD standard with prior approval, and 2 mobile homes may not be joined together.

Wildfire Resiliency Code: the County adopted the state code by Resolution 2026-61, and applications received on or after July 1, 2026 are subject to it. On the state map, yellow areas carry Class 1 requirements and orange or red areas Class 2.

Address signs: numbers must be visible from the road. A house more than 50 feet from the road shoulder needs a sign or post 5 to 7 feet high within 25 feet of the shoulder, with contrasting 4-inch numbers, or 3-inch if reflective.

Pole barns: the department publishes a pole barn handout for county projects only.

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 Moffat County permitting resources

Regional Building Department and Moffat County pages used above.

• Colorado Division of Professions and Occupations
• City of Craig departments
• Craig/Moffat County Regional Building Department
• Regional Building Department: Permits & Inspections
• Moffat County Building Permit Information
• Craig and Moffat County Adopted Codes
• Craig and Moffat County Design Criteria
• Moffat County Septic Systems
• City of Craig and Moffat County Contractor Licensing
• Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code in Craig and Moffat County
• Moffat County Planning & Zoning Department

Moffat County permit FAQs

Who issues building permits in Moffat County?

The Craig/Moffat County Regional Building Department at Craig City Hall, 300 W. 4th Street, for the whole county except the Town of Dinosaur.

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

Not for a detached residential storage shed of 200 sq ft or less, counting roof overhangs, as long as it meets the setbacks. Larger sheds need a building permit.

Do I need a permit for a barn?

Not if the building is used solely to shelter agricultural implements, farm and ranch products, livestock or poultry. Buildings that store cars, RVs or non-farm equipment, and workshops, need a permit.

Who issues septic permits in Moffat County?

The building department. The permit is $100, and the system has to be designed, and its installation confirmed, by a Colorado-licensed engineer.

Who issues electrical permits?

The State of Colorado. Moffat County and the City of Craig both defer electrical permits and inspections to the state.

Can a homeowner pull a permit in Moffat County?

Yes. An owner who lives in the home may pull building, plumbing and HVAC permits and must buy the materials and do the work personally. The County issues a homeowner one permit of the same type every 36 months.

Which codes apply in Moffat County?

The 2018 International Building, Residential, Existing Building, Mechanical, Fuel Gas, Plumbing and Energy Conservation Codes, adopted by Resolution 2019-53.

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