The City of Star Building Department issues building permits and also its own electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits. Everything is applied for, paid and inspected through the City’s iWorQ permit portal after you register. Building permit fees follow the City’s Table 1-A by total valuation, a new home pays $130 to $325 for each trade permit, and review typically takes 4 to 6 weeks for larger residential and commercial projects.
What requires a building permit in Star?
The Building Department’s FAQ gives a direct list of work that needs a permit, and names 2 things that do not.
Permit required
- All new construction
- Structural additions and remodels
- Sheds or outbuildings of 200 sq ft or larger
- Patio covers, pergolas and awnings that are attached (any size), or detached and larger than 200 sq ft
- Re-roofing
- Fences over 6 ft tall
- Retaining walls over 4 ft from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall
- Setting a manufactured home
- Replacing more than 100 sq ft of siding on an existing house
- Replacing windows or doors where the opening is enlarged or reduced
- Decks 30 inches or more above grade
- Demolition
No building permit
- A concrete slab of any size
- Agricultural buildings as the International Building Code defines them, which must still meet planning and zoning setbacks
The portal also has separate applications for signs, pools, solar, roofing or siding, accessory dwelling units, commercial occupancy and flood hazard development. One local rule to plan for: City Code 7-1-5 requires heat detectors in every new enclosed garage, interconnected with the home’s other alarms.
Who issues Star building permits?
The Building Department administers the adopted building codes and the City’s Unified Development Code inside Star city limits, and its inspectors cover building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing work. Kevin Pitt is the Building Official. Setback questions go to Planning and Zoning.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Office | City of Star Building Department, City Hall |
| Address | 10769 W. State Street (P.O. Box 130), Star, ID 83669 |
| Phone | 208-286-7247 ext. 9011 |
| building@staridaho.org | |
| Planning and Zoning | pandz@staridaho.org |
| Apply, pay and inspect | iWorQ permit portal (registration required) |
Is the address really in Star? The city reaches into both Ada County and Canyon County, and the portal has a separate residential application for each. A Star ZIP code proves nothing, because ZIP codes do not follow city boundaries; the City points applicants to the Ada County Assessor’s property lookup map to see the city limits. A parcel outside them is permitted by its county, not by the City.
Short on time to read all of this?
Get a free quote →Star permit types and online filing
All Building Department permitting is done online. Before you can apply, you file the Portal Registration Form as a contractor, homeowner, architect or, for change-of-occupancy permits only, a business owner. Contractors enter their Idaho licence number, expiry date and licence type. Registration gives you an access code, which is what you use to schedule inspections and upload files to an existing permit.
Applications in the portal:
- Ada County Residential Building and Canyon County Residential Building, each with a required plan check coversheet.
- Commercial Building / Commercial TI, Commercial Misc Building Permit and Commercial Occupancy Permit.
- Accessory Dwelling Unit and Misc Building Permit.
- Electrical, Mechanical and Plumbing.
- Sign, Pool, Solar Permit, Roofing/Siding and Demolition.
- A Flood Hazard Development Application.
Who can apply: architects, contractors and homeowners. An architect can manage a permit but cannot do the work, and a contractor needs a current Idaho licence. A homeowner can pull a permit for a primary or secondary residence without registering as a contractor, but must then do all the work on that permit personally and plan to live in the home within 12 months of completion.
Building permit fees in Star
The City’s Fee Information page sets out an application submittal fee, paid when you file and credited toward the permit, and a building permit fee from Table 1-A based on total valuation. Square-foot construction costs come from the most current ICC Building Valuation Data. The City’s wider fee schedule, approved by Resolution 2025-03 on June 17, 2025, adds the plan review and roofing rows below.
| Total valuation | Fee |
|---|---|
| $1 to $500 | $23.50 |
| $501 to $2,000 | $23.50 for the first $500, plus $3.05 per additional $100 or fraction |
| $2,001 to $25,000 | $69.25 for the first $2,000, plus $14 per additional $1,000 or fraction |
| $25,001 to $50,000 | $391.75 for the first $25,000, plus $10.10 per additional $1,000 or fraction |
| $50,001 to $100,000 | $643.75 for the first $50,000, plus $7 per additional $1,000 or fraction |
| $100,001 to $500,000 | $993.75 for the first $100,000, plus $5.60 per additional $1,000 or fraction |
| $500,001 to $1,000,000 | $3,233.75 for the first $500,000, plus $4.75 per additional $1,000 or fraction |
| $1,000,001 to $5,000,000 | $5,608.75 for the first $1,000,000, plus $3.65 per additional $1,000 or fraction |
Not sure this scope needs a permit?
Get a free quote →| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Residential application submittal | $100 (applied to the permit) |
| Commercial application submittal | $200 (applied to the permit) |
| Miscellaneous building permit application submittal | $23.50 (applied to the permit) |
| Commercial plan review | 65% of the commercial permit fee |
| Residential plan review | Based on the square footage entered on the application; the schedule gives no percentage |
| Residential mechanical review | $35 |
| Residential re-submittal | $50 |
| Revision fee | $50 residential; $150 commercial |
| Roofing permit | $100 residential; $200 commercial |
| Re-review of plans (original and updated plans both required) | $50 |
| Re-inspection, or a requested inspection or technical service | $65 |
| Re-issue of a permit after a change of contractor | $50 |
| Demolition permit | $100 |
| Mobile home set-up | $100 on the Fee Information page; $76.50 in the 2025 fee schedule |
| Renewal of an expired permit | 100% of the permit fee |
| Residential swimming pool application review | $70 |
For example, a project with a total valuation of $400,000 has a building permit fee of $993.75 + (300 × $5.60) = $2,673.75, before trade permits and impact fees.
Impact fees on a new home depend on the county: the Ada County Highway District fee is $5,803 for a detached house or $3,182 for an attached one, and Highway District 4 charges $5,050 on the Canyon County side. The City lists a Star Fire impact fee of $2,152, a Star Parks impact fee of $4,695.76, a Star Police impact fee of $680.88 and, in Ada County, $750 for the jail, EMS and coroner. The same page lists public safety mitigation fees of $3,360 (police) and $3,600 (fire).
Submittal fees are not refundable or transferable. On a written request the City refunds up to 80% of a permit fee, depending on how many inspections were done. Working without a permit can bring double fees, civil penalties or both.
Electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits in Star
Star runs its own trade program by ordinance: the City Code provides for City electrical, mechanical and plumbing inspectors and a permit system that lets licensed contractors obtain those permits online. Trade permits are bought separately from the building permit, and the City says they are typically issued the same day once the related building permit is approved. Fees come from the Building Department M.E.P. schedule (Resolution 2025-03, approved June 17, 2025), and the 3 trades share the same new-home scale.
Rather talk it over?
Call 1-855-478-4290 →| Permit | Fee |
|---|---|
| New single-family home, under 1,500 sq ft | $130 each for electrical, mechanical and plumbing |
| New single-family home, 1,501 to 2,500 sq ft | $195 each |
| New single-family home, 2,501 to 3,500 sq ft | $260 each |
| New single-family home, 3,501 to 4,500 sq ft | $325 each |
| Existing residential work | $65, plus $10 per added branch circuit, HVAC unit or plumbing fixture |
| Water heater, water softener or lawn sprinkler | $65 |
| Gas line | $65 |
| Residential sewer and water | $65 ($50 for sewer only or water only) |
| Electrical for a swimming pool | $195 |
| Temporary construction electrical service | $65 |
| Commercial electrical, by project value | 2% plus $60 up to $10,000; $260 plus 1% of the amount over $10,000 up to $100,000 |
| Commercial mechanical or plumbing, by project value | 3% plus $60 up to $20,000; $660 plus 2% of the amount over $20,000 up to $100,000 |
Homes over 4,500 sq ft and multifamily buildings are priced on the commercial scale. The City enforces the 2017 National Electrical Code with its own amendments, the 2018 International Mechanical and Fuel Gas Codes and the 2017 Idaho State Plumbing Code. The fire code is administered by the State Fire Marshal, and any structures adding up to 4,000 sq ft or more are reviewed by Fire for hydrant flow.
Application documents and plan review
The Building Department publishes a residential checklist (Form #312) and a commercial checklist (Form #307), both revised in February 2026.
Residential (Form #312)
- Sewer certificate from Star Sewer & Water for a new home or new sewer service (not needed on septic)
- Site plan with setbacks from rear and side yards and the back of sidewalk, driveway width, fences, easements and a short scope narrative with square footage
- Foundation plan; a stamped soils report when there is a basement
- Floor plan, roof and floor framing, elevations, wall sections
- Wall bracing method, fastening and braced wall lines
- Connection details for decks and patio covers
- Energy compliance, prescriptive or alternate path
- Mechanical, electrical and plumbing floor plan with legends
- Stamped structural drawings and calculations, if applicable
Commercial (Form #307)
- Planning & Zoning approval of the use
- Detailed project narrative
- Sewer and water certificate
- Architectural plans stamped by a licensed architect, with a code analysis
- Civil and landscape drawings
- Soils or geotechnical report for a new building, to IBC standards
- Stamped structural drawings and calculations
- Stamped mechanical, electrical and plumbing plans
- Fire sprinkler and alarm plans (may be deferred)
Rather not deal with the building department?
Get a free quote →File standards: plans are uploaded as 24 by 36 inch PDFs in landscape orientation with a space left for City approval stamps; residential sets start with the plan check report; calculations and reports are searchable PDFs; the file name includes the subdivision, lot and block; and a resubmittal keeps the exact original file name with the resubmittal number added. Revisions need a dated narrative and clouded changes.
Review times the City gives for complete submittals with no corrections: same day for demolition, re-roofing and siding; 2 to 4 weeks for small residential projects; about 4 to 6 weeks for larger residential projects and for commercial projects. Each revision or correction adds 3 to 4 weeks, and the City does not expedite plans for a fee.
Design criteria: roof design snow load of at least 25 psf, 115 mph wind (Risk Category II or less), Exposure C, 24-inch frost line, and a geotechnical report for lateral design.
How to apply for a Star permit: 6 steps
Look the address up on the Ada County Assessor’s map. The City also suggests talking to your HOA first, since it has no authority over HOA rules.
Submit the Portal Registration Form and wait for your access code.
New construction needs a copy of the Star Sewer and Water District permit with the plans; the District’s number is 208-286-7388.
Pick the Ada County or Canyon County residential application, or the commercial one, upload the plan set to the file standards and pay the submittal fee.
Payment links arrive by email and each permit is paid separately, by card or e-check. Electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits are separate applications, issued the same day once the related building permit is approved.
Use the portal and your access code the business day before you need the inspector.
Star building inspections and closeout
The contractor schedules every inspection in the permit portal. A next-day inspection has to be requested by 4:00 p.m. on the business day before; the department does not take requests by phone or email and does not inspect on weekends. A rough and a final inspection are not scheduled for the same day.
To cancel or change an inspection, email building@staridaho.org with the permit number, address and inspection type. Changes cannot always be accommodated, and a $65 re-inspection fee may apply. Results appear in the portal under Search Existing Permits, where the record updates in real time; some inspectors also leave notes on site.
Want this handled start to finish?
Get a free quote →A permit becomes void if work does not start within 180 days of issuance or is suspended for 180 days, and an expired permit cannot be extended or refunded, so ask for an extension before the date passes. A plan review lapses the same way after 180 days without progress or payment.
What is different about permitting in Star?
Two counties, two road agencies: the residential application, the road impact fee and the health district all change with the county. The road fee goes to the Ada County Highway District on one side and to Highway District 4 on the Canyon County side.
Sewer and water are a separate district: Star Sewer and Water District, not the City, issues the sewer and water permit and quotes its own fees.
Septic: a home on septic does not need the sewer certificate. Septic permits come from the public health district for the county: Central District Health in Ada County and Southwest District Health in Canyon County.
Floodplain: the City uses its 2003 flood insurance rate maps. If the structure is in the floodplain, contact the City Zoning Administrator before you submit; the portal has a Flood Hazard Development Application.
Plan copies: plans for permits submitted after January 2024 can be downloaded from the portal. Older plans need a public records request, and the department keeps residential permit records for only 2 years.
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
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →Official Star building-permit resources
- City of Star Building Department
- City of Star iWorQ permit portal
- Star portal registration form
- Star building fee information and Table 1-A
- City of Star Fee Schedule 2025 (Resolution 2025-03, approved June 17, 2025)
- Star mechanical, electrical and plumbing fee schedule (Resolution 2025-03)
- Star residential submittal checklist (Form #312)
- Star commercial submittal checklist (Form #307)
- Star adopted codes and design criteria
- Star Building Department FAQ
- Star City Code Title 7, Building Codes and Regulations
- Central District Health (septic, Ada County)
- Southwest District Health (septic, Canyon County)
- Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (contractor licences)
Star building permit FAQs
Who issues building permits in Star, Idaho?
The City of Star Building Department, 208-286-7247 ext. 9011, for property inside city limits. It also issues the electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits.
How much is a building permit in Star?
The fee comes from Table 1-A by valuation: $2,673.75 on a $400,000 valuation, for example. A new house of 1,501 to 2,500 sq ft adds $195 for each of the 3 trade permits, plus impact fees.
Do I need a permit for a shed in Star?
Yes if it is 200 sq ft or larger. Smaller sheds need no building permit.
Do I need a permit for a fence or a concrete slab?
A fence needs a permit only if it is over 6 ft tall. A concrete slab of any size needs no building permit.
How long does plan review take in Star?
About 2 to 4 weeks for small residential projects and 4 to 6 weeks for larger residential and commercial projects, with 3 to 4 weeks added for each round of corrections. Re-roofing, siding and demolition permits are usually same day.
Can a homeowner pull a permit in Star?
Yes, on a primary or secondary residence, provided the homeowner does all the work on that permit and plans to live there within 12 months of finishing.
How do I schedule an inspection?
In the permit portal, by 4:00 p.m. on the business day before. Phone and email requests are not accepted.
My address says Star. Is it in the city?
Not necessarily. Check the Ada County Assessor’s property lookup map, or ask the Building Department if the address does not come up in the portal.
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More Idaho permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Star permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.