Pitkin County Community Development, at 530 E. Main Street in Aspen, issues building permits and the electrical, mechanical and plumbing sub-permits for unincorporated Pitkin County. Everything is filed in SagesGov, and most building permits start with a required pre-submittal meeting. The permit fee is 2.7% of the project valuation, with lower rates for all-electric new homes, and 60% of it is due at submittal. Aspen, Snowmass Village and Basalt permit their own territory.
What requires a permit in Pitkin County?
The County states the rule without exceptions for size: building permits are required for all structures regardless of the size or use. Its permit-types page then lists the applications that exist around the building permit.
Building permits and sub-permits
- Residential and commercial building permits
- Manufactured and factory-built home installation
- Change orders to an issued permit
- Demolition
- Electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits
- Roof permits
- Fire sprinkler permits
- Tents and membrane structures over 400 sq ft used for 180 days or less
Zoning and engineering permits
- Access permit for a new access or a change to an existing one
- Earthmoving permit for disturbing more than 50 cubic yards of soil or more than 200 sq ft of vegetation
- Floodplain permit for any work in the designated 100-year floodplain
- Tree removal permit for a single tree of 12-inch caliper or more, or several trees of 6 inches or more totalling 24 inches
- Sign permit
- Fence permit for any fence that does not meet the Land Use Code’s wildlife-friendly criteria
A repair permit exists, but only for emergencies such as stopping a leak or cleaning up after a single fire or flood. The real repair of the structure afterwards needs a building permit or the appropriate sub-permit.
Who issues building permits in Pitkin County?
Community Development combines planning, zoning, building, engineering review and environmental health in one office at 530 E. Main Street, Suite 205. The County runs its own electrical and plumbing inspection programme, so trade permits come from the same office and not from the State.
| Place | Who issues building permits | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Unincorporated county, including Redstone | Pitkin County Community Development, under the 2021 International Codes and Title 11 of the County Code | 530 E. Main Street, Suite 205, Aspen; 970-920-5526 |
| City of Aspen | The City’s Community Development Department, through the City of Aspen Permit Portal | 427 Rio Grande Place; 970-920-5000 |
| Town of Snowmass Village | The Town’s Community Development Department, which covers building and planning and takes applications in Community Core | 130 Kearns Road; 970-923-5524 |
| Town of Basalt (the part in Pitkin County) | The Town of Basalt Building Department, on the Town’s own permit application | 101 Midland Avenue; 970-927-4702 |
Short on time to read all of this?
Get a free quote →County office hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, with appointments preferred but not required. Process and permitting questions go to Permits@PitkinCounty.com, and code, plan review and inspection questions to Builderoftheday@PitkinCounty.com.
SagesGov, pre-submittal meetings and contractor licences
All planning applications, permits and complaints are processed in Sages, the County’s online permit and application tracking system. You create an account, pick the application type, enter contacts, location and scope, and upload documents; work saved with “save and continue” stays on your dashboard until you submit. Files have to follow the County’s electronic submission and naming standards.
Pre-submittal meeting: required for most building permits. You request it in SagesGov, a Permit Coordinator calls to schedule it, and the two of you go through the Building Pre-Submittal Checklist so the application will pass intake. Land use approvals come earlier still, through a planning pre-application conference.
Contractor licences: every contractor needs a licence before submitting in SagesGov or starting work, and the City of Aspen handles licensing for the County. General contractors and on-site job supervisors need a B.E.S.T. card or ICC certification, and specialty contractors a B.E.S.T. card for their trade. An owner building a single-family home or accessory building for their own use is exempt from the licence but must go through Aspen’s homeowner/builder programme before applying.
Change orders: changes to an issued permit are filed as a Change Order Permit, and staff deficiency letters are answered through the resubmittal option, not a new application.
Pitkin County permit fees
Building permit fees were last changed by Ordinance No. 021-2025, in effect since May 3, 2025. The fee is a percentage of the project valuation, taken from the 16-division Schedule of Values the applicant submits, and it includes plan review and zoning and engineering review.
Not sure this scope needs a permit?
Get a free quote →| Permit or service | Fee |
|---|---|
| New single-family home up to 3,250 sq ft, all-electric with no exterior energy uses | 1.6% of valuation |
| New single-family home of 3,251 to 5,750 sq ft, all-electric with no exterior energy uses | 2% of valuation |
| New single-family home of 5,751 sq ft or more, all-electric with no exterior energy uses | 2.3% of valuation |
| New single-family home with fossil fuel or exterior energy uses, any size | 2.7% of valuation |
| All other building permits | 2.7% of valuation |
| Change order | 2.7% of the added job cost, or $150 per hour with a 1-hour minimum, whichever is greater |
| Roofing permit | $200, plus plan check at $150 per hour and use tax |
| Demolition permit | $200, plus plan check at $150 per hour |
| Emergency repair permit | $200 |
| Fence permit or sign permit | $140 plus use tax |
| Party tent permit | $150, doubled if filed less than 3 days before the event |
| Reapplication after an expired permit | $500 |
| Re-inspection | $150 |
| Inspection outside business hours | $300 (2-hour minimum at $150 per hour) |
| Work done without a permit | Building permit fees doubled |
The fee is collected in two parts: 60% of it, plus a GIS fee, at submittal, and the remaining 40% at issuance together with use tax (10% of valuation × 0.005), impact fees, Renewable Energy Mitigation Program (REMP) fees and any deficiency fees. For a $500,000 remodel that is a $13,500 permit fee, $8,100 at submittal and $5,400 at issuance, plus $250 of use tax and whatever impact and REMP fees apply.
The all-electric rates still allow up to 5,000 watts of heat tape and one pre-packaged electric spa. Employee housing and road impact fees are based on heated floor area and are worked out on the County’s calculators; the current road impact worksheets took effect January 1, 2026. Zoning and engineering permits have flat fees: $674 for access, $415 or $643 for earthmoving and $624 for floodplain.
Pitkin County electrical, plumbing, mechanical and septic permits
Electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits are County permits, applied for in SagesGov by a contractor licensed through the City of Aspen. Title 11 of the County Code applies the most recent National Electrical Code adopted by the State, which has been the 2026 edition since August 1, 2026; the County’s Building page still lists the 2023 edition. Electrical applications are routed to fire and zoning for approval before electrical review, and the County does no electrical inspections on Fridays, which it keeps for electrical plan review.
Rather talk it over?
Call 1-855-478-4290 →| Permit or service | Fee |
|---|---|
| Residential, under 1,000 sq ft of living area | $120 base fee |
| Residential, 1,000 to 7,000 sq ft | The fee rises by a factor of 1.08 for every additional 200 sq ft |
| Residential, over 7,000 sq ft | The fee rises by a factor of 1.08 for every additional 600 sq ft |
| Commercial, services, garages, shops and solar, under $1,000 of work | $120 |
| The same, above $1,000 | $120 plus $9.60 for every $600 of value above $1,000 |
| Mobile home or temporary service | $120 |
The County’s examples are $559.32 for wiring a 5,000 sq ft home and $206.40 for a $6,500 installation. A solar PV system needs its electrical permit issued at the same time as the building permit.
Septic systems are permitted by Pitkin County Environmental Health (970-920-5070), in the same office and the same portal. A new system takes an OWTS construction permit with a design and soil report, and a property already on septic shows either a permit issued within the last 5 years or an OWTS Use Permit, which costs $150 and follows a passing inspection. No Use Permit is needed when the plans add no square footage and do not significantly change the interior. Elevators are permitted and inspected separately by the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments.
Documents for the pre-submittal checklist
The Building Pre-Submittal Checklist in SagesGov runs to about 40 items. A permit coordinator marks each one at the meeting, and the application is accepted at intake only when the set is complete.
Ownership, cost and approvals
- Notarized Statement of Authority when an LLC or trust owns the property
- Owner Acknowledgment Affidavit and Cost Affidavit, both signed through DocuSign
- Schedule of Values in 16-division format, matching the affidavit and the application
- Copies of every land use approval, with a written response to each condition
- An assigned address
- Proof of a legal water supply: a well permit or a letter of intent to serve
- Septic documents, or Aspen Consolidated Sanitation District authorization
- The City of Aspen water permit where Aspen water serves the property
Plans and reports
- Survey by a Colorado surveyor, no more than 1 year old, with 2-foot contours
- Site plan with building and activity envelopes and setbacks
- Floor area summary of allowed, existing and proposed areas
- Architectural drawings, with details showing structure hardening under the wildfire code
- Foundation and framing plans stamped by a professional engineer
- Stamped civil drawings: drainage, erosion control, grading and utilities
- Thermal envelope plan, equipment sizing calculations and electric-ready drawings
- Outdoor lighting plan and landscaping plan
- Asbestos report when more than 32 sq ft of suspect material is removed
Rather not deal with the Pitkin County building department?
Get a free quote →An application in review expires if the permit has not been issued within 1 year of the date intake accepted it, and reapplying costs $500. A project that exceeds 5,750 sq ft of gross floor area often needs a transferable development right, and the original TDR certificate has to be hand delivered before building review.
How to apply: 7 steps in Pitkin County
County permits cover land outside Aspen, Snowmass Village and Basalt.
Request a planning pre-application conference; the planner’s summary or exemption letter becomes part of the building file.
Through the City of Aspen’s contractor licensing programme, or its homeowner/builder programme for an owner.
Then apply for a building pre-submittal meeting and wait for the Permit Coordinator’s call.
Affidavits, Schedule of Values, survey, stamped plans, water and septic or sanitation documents, named to the County’s file standards.
After intake the application is routed to staff and referral agencies; answer deficiency letters with resubmittals.
The last 40%, use tax, impact fees and REMP fees are due at issuance, along with an active Green Halo account for construction debris.
Pitkin County inspections
Inspections are scheduled only through SagesGov, and the request has to be in before 9 pm the night before the date you want. Electrical inspections are not carried out on Fridays. Zoning, planning and engineering inspections generally do not happen on the same or the next business day; those departments contact you to set a time after the request arrives.
The County publishes an inspection types list, a final building inspection requirements checklist and a referral department contact list on its Inspections page. The final job cost is declared again before the final inspection, and the Building Official can review or audit the Schedule of Values. A REMP refund can be requested only within 120 days of the approved final building inspection.
Local Pitkin County details that matter
Wildfire code: Title 11 of the County Code was amended effective May 2, 2026 to include the Wildfire Resiliency Code in Section 11.35, and plans now have to show structure hardening details. The County has also published a wood exterior wall covering policy.
Want this handled start to finish?
Get a free quote →REMP: the Renewable Energy Mitigation Program fee is worked out on the County’s REMP calculator. If exterior energy uses are added, revised or deleted, a whole-site exterior energy plan is required, and snowmelt goes on its own dedicated site plan.
Construction debris: an active Green Halo account and an approved Recoverable Materials Diversion Acknowledgement are required before any permit is issued.
Redstone: development in the Redstone Historic District goes to the Redstone Historic Preservation Committee as a land use application.
Access: where a lot has no access, the $674 access permit has to be obtained before the building permit is issued, and work in a public right-of-way needs a Road and Bridge permit.
Fire districts: the County’s building pages link the Aspen, Roaring Fork and Carbondale fire districts, and fire sprinkler permit fees follow each district’s adopted fee schedule.
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 Pitkin County resources
- Pitkin County Building: adopted codes and amendments
- Pitkin County planning applications and permit types (SagesGov)
- Pitkin County Community Development fee schedule
- Ordinance No. 021-2025: building permit fees (PDF)
- Building permit fees cheat sheet (PDF)
- Pitkin County electrical permit fees (PDF)
- Building Pre-Submittal Checklist (PDF)
- Pitkin County inspections
- Pitkin County contractor licensing
- Pitkin County building policies
- Pitkin County Environmental Health: onsite wastewater
- City of Aspen permits
- Town of Snowmass Village Community Development
- Town of Basalt Building Department
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →Pitkin County permit FAQs
Who issues building permits in Pitkin County?
Pitkin County Community Development, 530 E. Main Street, Suite 205, Aspen, for unincorporated land. Inside Aspen, Snowmass Village or Basalt, the city or town issues the permit.
How much is a building permit in Pitkin County?
2.7% of the project valuation for most permits, which includes plan review. A new all-electric single-family home with no exterior energy uses pays 1.6%, 2% or 2.3% depending on its size. Use tax, impact fees and REMP fees are added at issuance.
When are the fees paid?
60% of the permit fee and a GIS fee when you submit, and the other 40% with use tax, impact fees and REMP fees when the permit is issued.
Do I need a permit for a small shed in Pitkin County?
Yes. The County requires building permits for all structures regardless of size or use.
Do I need a permit for a fence?
Only when the fence does not meet the wildlife-friendly criteria in the Land Use Code. That fence permit costs $140 plus use tax.
Who issues electrical and plumbing permits?
The County does, through SagesGov. A residential electrical permit starts at $120 for under 1,000 sq ft of living area.
Can a homeowner be the builder?
Yes, for a single-family home or accessory building for the owner’s own use, after meeting the City of Aspen’s homeowner/builder requirements. Aspen runs contractor licensing for the County.
How do I book an inspection?
In SagesGov, before 9 pm the night before. Electrical inspections do not run on Fridays.
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More Colorado permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Pitkin County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.