Montezuma County, Colorado Building Permit Guide

Unincorporated Montezuma County does not have a building department, does not enforce a building code on houses and does not issue Certificates of Occupancy. What the County does require is a county-assigned 911 address, a $125 driveway permit for access from a county-maintained road and a septic permit from Public Health ($455 for a home in 2026), all started in its Online Permit Center. Electrical and plumbing permits come from the State of Colorado, and Cortez, Dolores and Mancos each issue their own building permits inside town limits.

What requires a permit in Montezuma County?

There is no county building permit for a house, garage, barn or addition outside the towns. The County says plainly that it has no building department and does not enforce building codes for residential construction, and it suggests hiring a qualified inspector privately if you want the work checked. These county and state approvals still apply:

Commercial and industrial buildings are treated differently: all new construction and remodeling must comply with the Uniform Building Code, 1997 edition, or a more stringent code.

Who issues building permits in Montezuma County?

Outside the 3 municipalities, nobody issues a residential building permit. The Planning Department administers the Land Use Code, and Road & Bridge, GIS & Addressing and Public Health handle the permits that do exist. Inside the towns, the municipality is the building authority:

Permit types and filing routes

For any new development, residential or commercial, the County asks you to start in its Online Permit Center, a SmartGov portal shared by Planning & Zoning, Septic & Environmental Health, Addressing & GIS and Road & Bridge driveways. The County calls it the best way to get an address, septic permit and driveway permit for a project.

• Driveway permit. Needed unless the access is from a red-signed road that the County does not own or maintain. The driveway has to be built within 90 days of the permit, or the permit expires and a new one is needed.
• Address. The County does not assign the address until the driveway has been built and approved.
• Septic (OWTS) permit. Environmental Health reviews every septic application and issues the permit.
• High Impact Permit or Special Use Permit. For commercial, industrial and other uses that exceed the Land Use Code’s threshold standards.
• Floodplain compliance. An Elevation Certificate under the County Floodplain Resolution for sites in a mapped floodplain.

If the land is in a subdivision, read the covenants before building, because they can be stricter than the County’s minimum design standards.

Permit costs, fees and separate approvals

With no county building permit, there is no valuation-based permit fee or plan review fee outside the towns. The County charges for the permits below.

The septic fees are from Public Health’s 2026 fee schedule and include a $20 charge passed to the State. A failed existing system has to be replaced with a new engineered system, which is charged as a new system and not as a repair. The driveway fee is printed on the Road & Bridge application, and the planning fees are from the Planning & Zoning fee schedule revised January 1, 2017. Road impact fees set by the Planning Department are paid with the driveway permit where they apply.

Electrical, plumbing, mechanical and septic

Electrical and plumbing: the County has no inspection programme, so both permits are issued and inspected by the State of Colorado (303-894-7800). They are required even though no county building permit is.

Structure and mechanical: no county office reviews or inspects the framing, foundation or mechanical work of a house. For snow loads, wind loads and foundations the County tells owners to consult an engineer, and its development contact list includes certified building inspectors for hire. The Cortez Building Department also offers inspection services outside the city for a fee, on request, where the County requires a project to use a qualified inspection agency.

Septic: Montezuma County Public Health’s Environmental Health team issues OWTS permits under state Regulation 43 and the County’s local regulations. The department publishes an application packet, a design plan review checklist and a list of registered engineers and installers.

Fire: the Cortez, Dolores, Mancos, Lewis-Arriola and Pleasant View fire protection districts cover the county.

Documents and plan review

Because the County does not review house plans, the paperwork is about the site, access and wastewater:

• The Online Permit Center application for the address, driveway and septic permits
• For the driveway permit: the parcel ID number, the county road and side of the road, the latitude and longitude of the proposed approach to at least 4 decimal places, a site plan and a development schedule
• For the septic permit: the OWTS Permit Application Packet with an engineered design
• In a floodplain: an Elevation Certificate
• For commercial and industrial projects: plans that comply with the 1997 Uniform Building Code or a more stringent code, plus the High Impact or Special Use Permit application where the use triggers one

How to apply: 6 steps in Montezuma County

County inspections and closeout

The County carries out no framing, foundation, insulation or final building inspections on houses and issues no Certificate of Occupancy, so there is no county closeout for a home.

The inspections that do happen are these: Road & Bridge makes a preliminary inspection of the driveway location, including whether a culvert is needed, and approves the finished driveway before an address is assigned; Environmental Health reviews the septic application and issues that permit; and state inspectors inspect the electrical and plumbing work under the state permits.

Local Montezuma County filing details

Setbacks: dwellings must sit at least 30 feet from county road rights-of-way, subdivision road rights-of-way and lot lines. Barns, garages and other auxiliary structures need 30 feet from county road rights-of-way and from property lines, and new fences go at least 30 feet from the centerline of a county road.

Dolores River Valley: all new residential and commercial construction there, including septic systems, has to be 100 feet back from the existing stream bank, and the minimum lot size is 10 acres instead of the usual 3 acres.

Height and footprint: the Land Use Code’s threshold standards cap building height at 35 feet and the total building footprint at 12% of the lot.

Factory-built and mobile homes: they must comply with the 1997 Uniform Building Code, a more stringent code or the HUD codes.

Address markers: post the address numbers at the driveway entrance. Reflective markers are sold by the Cortez Fire Protection District at 31 N. Washington Street.

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 Montezuma County resources

Montezuma County pages and fee documents used above, with the 3 municipal building pages.

• Colorado Division of Professions and Occupations (state electrical and plumbing permits)
• Montezuma County Online Permit Center
• Building in Montezuma County
• Montezuma County Land Use Code (Resolution 29-2025)
• Montezuma County Development Contact List
• Montezuma County Environmental Health (septic permits)
• Montezuma County Public Health 2026 Fee Schedule
• Montezuma County Addressing and Driveway Permits
• City of Cortez Permits & Licenses
• Town of Dolores Building Department
• Town of Mancos Building Department

Montezuma County permit FAQs

Do I need a building permit to build a house in Montezuma County?

Not from the County on unincorporated land. It has no building department and does not enforce a building code on residential construction. You still need a county address, a driveway permit, a septic permit and state electrical and plumbing permits.

Does Montezuma County issue a Certificate of Occupancy?

No. The County states that it does not issue Certificates of Occupancy.

How much is a septic permit in Montezuma County?

In 2026 a residential OWTS permit is $455 and a commercial one is $505. Major repairs are $280 or $330 and minor repairs $100.

How much is a driveway permit?

$125, non-refundable. The driveway must be finished within 90 days, and the address is assigned once it is approved.

Do commercial buildings have to meet a building code?

Yes. New commercial and industrial construction and remodeling must comply with the 1997 Uniform Building Code or a more stringent code.

Who issues electrical and plumbing permits in Montezuma County?

On unincorporated land and in Mancos, the State of Colorado issues both; Mancos says it does not inspect electrical or plumbing work. In Cortez the City’s building permit covers plumbing and the State covers the electrical part.

Do Cortez, Dolores and Mancos require building permits?

Yes. Each has its own building department: Cortez on 970-565-3402, Dolores on 970-882-7720 and Mancos on 970-533-7725.

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