Mountain Home, Idaho Building Permit Guide

The City of Mountain Home Building Services Department reviews plans, issues building permits and inspects construction inside city limits, and applications are filed in the City’s OpenGov portal. The City does not issue trade permits: electrical, plumbing and mechanical work is permitted and inspected by the State. An inspection phoned in to 208-580-2091 before 9:00 a.m. is made the same day.

What requires a building permit in Mountain Home?

The Building Department category of the City’s OpenGov portal has a separate application for each kind of work, which is the clearest list of what Mountain Home permits.

Before any demolition, the owner files the federal EPA notification 10 days ahead and uploads the approved EPA forms, an asbestos report and a demolition plan with the City application. Dumpsters are allowed for no more than 30 days in residential zones and 90 days in commercial zones unless the Mayor or the Building Official extends the time.

Who issues Mountain Home building permits?

Building Services, which also houses Code Enforcement, is the City’s building department. It issues building and related permits, reviews residential and commercial plans, inspects new construction, additions and detached accessory buildings, and issues the Certificate of Occupancy. City Code 5-1-2 requires the Building Official to hold current commercial and residential certifications from the International Code Council.

The department’s authority stops at the city limits. Parcels outside them are permitted by the Elmore County Land Use and Building Department, and septic systems there are handled by Central District Health, the public health district for Elmore County.

Mountain Home permit applications on OpenGov

Every building application starts in the OpenGov portal, and each one asks for the parcel ID number, which the portal’s Parcel ID Finder link supplies. If a new address is not yet on the portal map, the applicant drops a point as close as possible and enters the exact address later.

• New Construction – Residential Building is for one house or duplex; a triplex or larger uses the commercial application.
• General Building Permit covers the everyday residential jobs, from a shed to a remodel.
• Commercial Building Permit covers all commercial projects. The mechanical permit is applied for separately with the State.
• Window and Siding Building Permit: windows get a rough inspection before taping and trim and a final inspection; siding gets a house-wrap inspection and a final.
• Pre-Development Meeting requests, for small or large projects such as commercial and industrial buildings and subdivisions, are filed in the Planning & Zoning category.

The City still posts PDF versions of its Building Permit, Accessory Building, Fence and Demolition Permit applications. The building application asks for the contractor registration number, lot, block, subdivision and zone, the project valuation, whether the plans are stamped by an engineer or architect, and whether state electrical, plumbing and HVAC permits are needed.

Building permit fees in Mountain Home

City Code 5-1-4 sets the method. Permit and plan review fees come from the City of Mountain Home building code fee table, adopted as Exhibit A to Ordinance 1528 of June 22, 2009, and certain fixed fees are set by City Council resolution to track the City’s hourly costs; the section was last amended by Ordinance 1698 on August 10, 2020. The table is an exhibit to the ordinance rather than part of the codified text, and the Building Department applies it to the valuation on the application.

The water, sewer and meter figures are the ones on the City’s Land Use & Development page. Mountain Home also charges development impact fees, and a fee payer who wants the amount adjusted can file an Individual Assessment Request in the portal before the building permit is issued.

Electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits

Mountain Home does not regulate the plumbing, electrical and mechanical codes. The City’s code list marks all three as “State Inspection”, so these permits are bought from the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses and inspected by state inspectors.

• The City’s building application asks which state permits the job needs: electrical, plumbing and HVAC.
• A commercial applicant is told in the portal to apply for the mechanical permit separately from the State.
• Fire suppression systems are permitted locally: the Mountain Home Fire Department has a Fire Suppression System Permit in the same portal.

The contractor’s Idaho registration number must be shown before the City will issue a building permit, unless the applicant proves an exemption under Idaho Code Title 54, Chapter 52.

Application documents and design rules

City Code 5-1-3 requires plans and specifications prepared by a licensed architect for any building more than two stories high, any commercial, industrial, public or semipublic building, and any private building built mainly of concrete, masonry, metal or heavy timber. One- and two-family homes of conventional wood frame construction up to two stories are excused.

Mountain Home’s design criteria: Seismic Design Category C, 20 psf ground snow load, 30 psf roof live load, 115 mph wind (3-second gust), Exposure C and a 24 inch frost depth. Footings must sit at least 2 feet below finished grade.

How to apply for a Mountain Home permit: 6 steps

Mountain Home inspections

Inspection requests are taken by phone on the Building Department office line, 208-580-2091. A call before 9:00 a.m. gets a same-day inspection. A call after 9:00 a.m. is scheduled for the following day, except for roof deck inspections. The office offers a morning or afternoon window only and does not book a specific time.

Requests phoned to the Building Official’s cell phone are not scheduled, so use the office number. A building may not be occupied, or change its occupancy classification, until the Building Official has issued the Certificate of Occupancy, which has its own application in the portal.

Local Mountain Home details that matter

Code editions: the City adopted the 2018 building codes for all permits from December 31, 2020. Its current list names the 2018 International Building, Residential, Energy Conservation, Existing Building and Fire Codes, the 2009 International Property Maintenance Code and the 1997 Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings. That list is dated January 1, 2021; the one on the Land Use & Development page is dated January 1, 2018 and still shows 2012 and 2015 editions.

Garage heat alarms: City Code 5-1-14 requires a heat alarm in every new enclosed attached residential garage, interconnected with the alarms in the dwelling and inspected by the Building Official.

Fences and utilities: a fence must leave a 2 foot by 2 foot access area around a water meter and 3 feet by 3 feet around a fire hydrant, and the owner is responsible for verifying the property line. An accessory building placed in a utility easement has to be removed at the owner’s cost if the City or a utility needs access.

Floodplain: the City’s flood map is dated March 15, 1994, and a Floodplain Permit is filed through the portal.

Planning approvals: the Planning and Zoning Commission meets on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of each month, and most zoning applications need a pre-application meeting first.

Lead paint: the City’s applications carry the EPA notice that renovation disturbing lead-based paint in pre-1978 homes, childcare facilities and schools must be done by an EPA Certified Renovator.

Idaho building code

Idaho’s building codes are set statewide and enforced by the cities and counties that run a building program: the 2018 International Building Code and the Idaho Residential Code (based on the 2018 IRC), the 2018 Idaho Energy Conservation Code, the 2023 National Electrical Code, and a state plumbing code based on the 2015 Uniform Plumbing Code rather than the International Plumbing Code. Idaho’s adopted codes

Official Mountain Home building-permit resources

These are the primary sources behind this guide. Codes, fee schedules and procedures change — confirm the position for your filing date.

• Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (state trade permits)
• City of Mountain Home Building Services
• Mountain Home OpenGov portal, Building Department applications
• Mountain Home Land Use & Development, design criteria and development fees
• Mountain Home current building codes (PDF)
• Mountain Home City Code, Title 5 Building Regulations

Mountain Home building permit FAQs

Where do I apply for a building permit in Mountain Home?

In the City’s OpenGov portal, under Development Services – Building Department. Questions go to Building Services at 208-580-2091.

Does the City issue electrical and plumbing permits?

No. Electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits and inspections are handled by the State of Idaho, and the City issues the building permit.

How are permit fees calculated?

From the City’s building permit fee table, applied to the greater of the standard valuation or your estimated construction cost. A fence permit is a flat $20.

How do I schedule an inspection?

Call 208-580-2091. Requests before 9:00 a.m. are inspected the same day; later calls go to the next day.

Do I need an architect?

For commercial, industrial and public buildings and anything over two stories, yes. Conventional wood frame houses and duplexes up to two stories are exempt under City Code 5-1-3.

Do I need a permit to replace windows, siding or a roof?

Yes. The portal has a Window and Siding Building Permit, with two inspections for each, and a Roof Building Permit.

Who permits property outside the city limits?

The Elmore County Land Use and Building Department.

Simplify Mountain Home permitting with Alliance Permitting

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in Idaho. 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 Mountain Home permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.