Morgan County, Colorado Building Permit Guide

In unincorporated Morgan County the Planning, Zoning & Building Department issues building, accessory structure, roofing and mechanical permits, and the landowner must sign both the application and the County’s Right to Farm Policy. The fee is $260 for work costing up to $40,000 and $6.50 per $1,000 above that, while electrical and plumbing permits come from the State. Fort Morgan, Brush, Wiggins, Hillrose and Log Lane Village each take their own applications.

What requires a permit in Morgan County?

The County’s basic rule is short: any building that has a roof and covers 120 square feet or more needs a permit. Its building page then sorts common jobs by the permit they need.

A shop with a bathroom is treated as a building permit job, not an accessory structure. Grain bins and communication towers are named by the Planning Services page as structures that need a permit, and every project has to meet the setbacks of its zone district.

Who issues building permits in Morgan County?

The Planning & Zoning Department has two divisions, Planning Services and Building Inspections, under Director Nicole Hay. It administers permits for buildings, structures and changes of land use in the unincorporated part of the county only. Inside a town, the town decides.

Brush hands electrical and plumbing permits and inspections to the State, as the County does. Hillrose’s form asks for a scale site map on letter-size paper and lists site, foundation, electrical and plumbing inspections, with water and sewer tap fees collected at approval. Log Lane Village’s one-page form covers building, concrete, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, roofing, siding, fence, sign and window permits; the Town’s 2026 Master Fee Schedule shows an $895 building permit and a $25 inspector fee for a $100,000 house, and the Town charges 3% tax on 50% of materials. Neither town publishes who inspects the electrical and plumbing work its form lists.

County permit applications and forms

Morgan County has no online permit portal. Each permit has a fillable PDF application on the County’s building page, returned to the office at 231 Ensign Street, by mail to P.O. Box 596, Fort Morgan, CO 80701, or by email to permits_licensing@co.morgan.co.us.

• Building Permit Application (revised July 30, 2025): new buildings, remodels, additions and window, door or siding replacement, for residential, commercial, manufactured home and agricultural use.
• Zoning / Accessory Structure Permit Application: detached buildings that may have electricity but no plumbing.
• Mechanical Permit Application: replacing or adding a furnace, boiler, alternative heat source, air conditioner or roof- or ground-mounted solar system. A new-construction building permit already includes it.
• Roofing Permit Application, read with the County’s Roofing Requirements sheet.
• Manufactured Home Placement Permit, which asks for the state installer licence number and is charged in place of the regular building permit fee.
• Contractor Licensing Application: $50 a year, or free with a copy of a current licence or registration from another Colorado jurisdiction. There is no exam, the insurer must send a liability certificate naming the Morgan County Building Department, and the licence ends on the same day as that insurance.

An owner doing the work writes SELF in the contractor box. The County will not accept an application for a property that is behind on its property taxes.

Morgan County permit fees

The County’s Permit Fees page sets building permit fees on the completed cost of construction, under a schedule effective January 17, 2023.

For example, a project with a completed cost of $200,000 pays $650 plus 100 × $6.50, which is $1,300.

For new homes the County values the work from its own schedule instead of the owner’s estimate: $100 per sq ft of finished floor area, $30 for a finished basement, $22 for an unfinished basement, $37 for an attached garage, $24 for a carport and $12 for decks and covered porches. Those are valuation rates, not fees. Commercial shell, full-finish and apartment buildings are valued from a valuation table, and tenant finishes and remodels on actual labor and materials.

Outside consultants used for plan checking or inspection are billed at actual cost, and the application warns that the applicant pays any County legal fees after the first 3 hours. Zoning and building permit fees may be doubled when work starts before the permit is issued.

Electrical, plumbing, mechanical and septic permits in Morgan County

Morgan County does not issue electrical or plumbing permits. Its building permit application tells applicants to get both from the State of Colorado, through the Division of Professions and Occupations’ online permit system (303-894-7800), and the State’s inspectors inspect that work. The County’s permit table marks a state permit as needed for additions, basement finishes, garage conversions, heating and cooling work and solar, and for a kitchen or bathroom remodel only when fixtures move.

Mechanical work is the County’s own: a $200 mechanical permit for a furnace, boiler, air conditioner or solar system that is not part of a new building permit.

Septic systems are permitted by the Northeast Colorado Health Department, which requires an onsite wastewater treatment system permit for any building that creates wastewater and is not on a city sewer, for new systems and for repairs. Its environmental health office answers at 970-867-4918, extension 2262. The County asks for that septic permit, or proof of a public sewer, with the building application.

What to attach to the application

The second page of the building permit application is the County’s attachment list. Staff may ask for more, and an incomplete application is not accepted or processed.

A drainage and run-off control plan can be required when the Planning Administrator finds that the building may affect drainage on neighboring land or rights-of-way, or when an accessory structure is 5,000 sq ft or larger. The form also asks whether the site is within a quarter mile of a confined animal feeding operation and requires 10 ft between new and existing structures. Its last page is an energy sheet listing the insulation values the County expects, including R-20 above-ground walls, R-38 ceilings and R-10 basement walls.

How to apply: 6 steps in Morgan County

No ground may be moved and no construction started before the permit is issued.

Morgan County inspections and the Certificate of Occupancy

Request inspections by calling Planning & Zoning at 970-542-3526 or the building inspector at 970-768-7197 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. If the work will not be ready, cancel at least 1 hour before the appointment. Everything must be inspected and approved before it is covered.

Re-roofs get a mid-roof inspection once the old covering is off. The County asks for 24 hours’ notice, a ladder on site, and the contractor or the homeowner who did the work to be present.

The County will not issue a Certificate of Occupancy until the project has passed every final inspection from the State’s electrical and plumbing inspectors. A permit is void if work has not started within 180 days of issue or stops for 180 days in a row, unless an extension is requested, and permits cannot be transferred. The application also asks the landowner to initial consent for the inspector to use a drone.

Local Morgan County details that matter

Right to Farm: every building, accessory and manufactured home application carries the County’s Right to Farm Policy, adopted by Resolution 2025 BCC 21. The landowner signs a statement accepting noise, dust, odor and slow-moving machinery from farming as part of living in the county.

Wildfire code: the Board of County Commissioners adopted the Wildfire Resiliency Code for unincorporated areas on June 23, 2026 (Resolution 2026-BCC-021), with an online map of the areas it covers.

Roofing rules: the County’s roofing sheet requires the old roof covering to be removed before a new one goes on, drip edge at eaves and gables, and shingles that carry a national wind warranty of 80 mph sustained or 90 mph 3-second gust, approved before the permit is issued.

Land use first: a rezoning, special use, conditional use or subdivision exemption starts with a required pre-application meeting, and the County says 6 weeks is the shortest time such an application takes. A home occupation in a residential zone needs a conditional use permit. The Planning Commission meets on the second Monday of the month at 6:00 p.m. and the Board of Adjustments on the third Monday at 5:30 p.m.

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 Morgan County resources

• Morgan County building inspection information, permit table and application forms
• Morgan County permit fees (effective January 17, 2023)
• Morgan County Building Permit Application with attachment list
• Morgan County Planning Services: land use applications and zoning regulations
• Morgan County Planning and Zoning / Permits contact page
• Northeast Colorado Health Department: onsite wastewater (septic) permits
• State of Colorado electrical and plumbing permits (DPO)
• City of Fort Morgan Building Department
• City of Brush building permits
• Town of Wiggins building permits
• Town of Hillrose Clerk’s Page and Building Permit Application
• Town of Log Lane Village building permit and trailer moving application

Morgan County permit FAQs

Who issues building permits in Morgan County?

For unincorporated land, the Morgan County Planning, Zoning & Building Department at 231 Ensign Street in Fort Morgan, 970-542-3526. Fort Morgan, Brush, Wiggins, Hillrose and Log Lane Village issue their own.

How much is a building permit in Morgan County?

$260 for work costing up to $40,000, then $6.50 for each additional $1,000 of completed construction cost. A $200,000 project pays $1,300. Re-roofing, mechanical and accessory structure permits are $200 each.

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

Yes, once it has a roof and is 120 square feet or larger. A detached shed without plumbing takes the $200 zoning/accessory structure permit.

Do I need a permit for a fence or a new roof?

A fence of 6 ft or less needs no permit. Re-roofing a house or business needs a $200 roofing permit and a mid-roof inspection, while detached outbuildings are exempt from the roofing permit.

Where do I get electrical and plumbing permits in Morgan County?

From the State of Colorado, not the County. The County holds the Certificate of Occupancy until the State’s final inspections have passed.

Can a homeowner pull the permit?

Yes. The application has the owner write SELF as contractor, and the landowner must sign it in every case. Hired contractors need a Morgan County contractor’s licence.

Who permits a septic system in Morgan County?

The Northeast Colorado Health Department, for new systems and repairs. The County asks for the septic permit with the building application.

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