In Grimes, the Building Division of the Development Services Department (410 SE Main Street, Suite 102; 515-986-4050) checks plans, issues the building and trade permits and inspects construction. Applicants fill in the city’s PDF forms and email them to Development Services or drop them off. The city moved to the 2024 International codes with Ordinance 803, passed on November 25, 2025, and most small residential permits carry flat fees under the schedule revised on June 23, 2026.
What requires a building permit in Grimes?
The Building Division states that a permit is needed for any construction that physically changes or adds structure to a property, or for work regulated by city codes or ordinances. Its own list is broad, and it reaches several jobs that the model codes leave out.
Permit needed
- New single-family homes, townhomes, apartments and commercial buildings
- Additions and alterations: remodeling, basement finishes, fireplaces and egress windows
- Decks, sheds and other accessory buildings, of any size
- Fences, pools and hot tubs
- Solar panels and wind energy systems
- Installing heating equipment, and all electrical, plumbing and mechanical work
- Driveways and sidewalks, signs and temporary structures
- Moving or demolishing a structure, changing a building’s use, and repairs after fire or storm damage
Ask before assuming
- The Building Division’s pages post no local exempt list, and the fee schedule even prices sheds under 200 square feet ($20)
- Painting, flooring, cabinets and similar finish work, which the 2024 residential code exempts
- Anything near an easement, trail or sidewalk, where fence and deck rules add setbacks
What Grimes decides and what the state holds
Grimes adopts its building rules in Title 11 of its Code of Ordinances. After a year of staff work aimed at keeping local amendments to a minimum, the City Council gave Ordinance 803 its third consideration and final passage on November 25, 2025, by a 5–0 vote, moving the residential, building, existing building, fire, fuel gas and property maintenance chapters from the 2021 to the 2024 International codes and creating a new Swimming Pool and Spa Code chapter. Ordinance 799, introduced in April 2025, had already updated the plumbing, mechanical and electrical chapters to the editions the state requires. Local residential amendments include a 90-day start and 90-day suspension limit on permits and a fire separation rule for accessory structures of 100 square feet or more built within 10 feet of a house. A July 28, 2026 staff report notes that Iowa passed a law requiring radon mitigation in one- and two-family homes and townhomes, and that Grimes is holding off on adopting Appendix BE of the 2024 residential code until the state sets an enforcement date.
Grimes building department: who handles permitting
Development Services manages construction activity across the city and combines planning, engineering and building. Its Building Division enforces the building codes, issues permits, inspects new construction, alterations and additions and reviews changes of occupancy in commercial buildings; it also supports the city’s stormwater pollution prevention program. Fire protection systems have their own permit application, and their review fees sit in the fire department section of the city’s schedule.
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Get a free quote →| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Office | 410 SE Main Street, Suite 102, Grimes, IA 50111 |
| Phone (permits and inspections) | 515-986-4050 |
| Email for applications | DevServ@grimesiowa.gov |
| Hours | Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm |
| City Hall | 101 NE Harvey Street, 515-986-3036 |
Offices are due to move. In December 2025 the city announced an $8.5 million Public Administration Building at Waterworks Park to bring together the staff now working at City Hall, which is to be torn down when Highway 44 is widened, and at the Grimes Community Complex; construction was scheduled to begin in spring 2026 with opening expected in 2027.
Disputes over how a code was applied go to the Building Regulations Board of Appeals, rewritten by Ordinance 803. It has at least five members appointed by the mayor and approved by the council, none of them city employees, and it hears appeals from decisions of the Development Services Director, building and code enforcement staff and the fire chief or fire marshal under the adopted building, residential, existing building, fire and property maintenance codes. The fee schedule sets a $150 filing fee for board of adjustment or appeals applications.
Grimes permit types
Grimes publishes a separate form for each common permit: new residential, addition and basement finish, deck, fence, accessory building, pool, sidewalk and approach, sign, solar, wind, fire protection systems and new commercial or tenant improvement. Trade work uses one trades permit application. Supporting documents include sample site plans, residential and commercial as-built policies, a carbon monoxide alarm sheet, the metro cold-weather concrete policy and a new-builder utilities application.
Residential permits
A new house starts with the new residential form, a site plan drawn to the city’s samples, a stormwater pollution prevention plan where required and the new-builder utilities application for water and sewer. Smaller jobs follow the guideline sheets for basement finishes and additions, decks and fences. Deck footings must reach 42 inches below grade and no deck may sit over a recorded easement. Fences may be no taller than 6 feet in residential districts, may not stand in a front yard or a 40-foot vision triangle, must keep 10 feet back from a street-side lot line, a trail or a public sidewalk (3 feet where the walk runs between two lots), and must show their finished side outward.
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Get a free quote →Commercial permits
Commercial buildings and tenant improvements use the new commercial form, with fire protection systems on their own application. Commercial trade permits are $225 each. New commercial projects must turn in the city’s final checklist before the final inspection, and commercial finals must be booked at least three days ahead, a rule in force since March 1, 2024. Fences in commercial or industrial districts may reach 8 feet, and a fence cannot be added to a property with an approved site plan until a revised site plan showing it has been approved.
For tenant improvements and new commercial builds, Alliance handles commercial permit expediting through issuance. More on this: commercial building permits explained.
What comes before the building permit
- Zoning. Title 12 of the city code holds the zoning regulations. The Board of Adjustment hears variances, special use permits and interpretive review requests ($150), and the city posts yearly development and rezoning calendars.
- Site plans and plats. A minor site plan is $750, a preliminary plat $2,000, and a grading and utility permit $150.
- Stormwater. A stormwater management plan is $600 under one acre or $1,200 above, a SWPPP review $250, and construction sites in the MS-4 erosion program pay $100 for each quarterly inspection.
- Right of way. Street and utility work uses the Metro Area right-of-way application.
- Utility connections. New homes pay water connection fees of $500 and sewer connection fees of $750 per housing unit.
Grimes permit costs and fees
The city’s department fee schedules were revised on June 23, 2026, the night the council’s agenda carried a resolution adopting an amended fee schedule. Most small residential work is a flat fee. New buildings and larger projects are priced on valuation through the 1996 Building Permit Fee Calculation Worksheet, with grading and energy code review included in the building permit.
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Accessory building under 200 SF / 200–599 SF / above 600 SF | $20 / $75 / valuation |
| Fence | $20 |
| Deck | $75 |
| Above-ground pool or hot tub / in-ground pool | $50 / $75 |
| Solar, wind or other renewable energy | $75 |
| Residential mechanical, electrical or plumbing permit | $75 each |
| Commercial mechanical, electrical or plumbing permit | $225 each |
| Sign permit, building-mounted or ground-mounted | $50 |
| Demolition permit | $100 |
| Sidewalk or approach replacement | $50 |
| Temporary certificate of occupancy application | $100 |
| Building permit re-issuance or transfer | $250 |
| Inspections outside normal business hours | $100 per hour |
| Work without permit | Double the permit fee |
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Call 1-855-478-4290 →Other building work is priced on valuation. The worksheet pages are headed “City of Grimes Fee Schedule 2025” inside the June 2026 document; each band reads as printed below, adding the stated amount “for each additional” $100 or $1,000 “or fraction thereof.”
| Valuation | Fee |
|---|---|
| $1 to $500 | $22.00 |
| $501 to $2,000 | $22.00 for the first $500 plus $2.75 per additional $100 |
| $2,001 to $25,000 | $63.00 for the first $2,000 plus $12.50 per additional $1,000 |
| $25,001 to $50,000 | $352.00 for the first $25,000 plus $9.00 per additional $1,000 |
| $50,001 to $100,000 | $580.00 for the first $50,000 plus $6.25 per additional $1,000 |
| $100,001 to $500,000 | $895.00 for the first $100,000 plus $5.00 per additional $1,000 |
| $500,001 to $1,000,000 | $2,855.00 for the first $500,000 plus $4.25 per additional $1,000 |
| $1,000,001 and greater | $4,955.00 for the first $1,000,000 plus $2.75 per additional $1,000 |
The bands do not join exactly: $2,000 works out to $63.25 at the end of the second band, while the third band starts at $63.00. Work out a fee inside the band the valuation falls in. Example: a project valued at $20,000 is charged $63 plus 18 steps of $12.50, or $288, plus any trade permits.
Trade permits and who may pull them
Grimes inspects its own electrical, plumbing and mechanical work; those permits come from Development Services on the trades permit application, not from DIAL. Residential trade permits cost $75 each and commercial ones $225. The electricians, plumbers and HVAC contractors doing the work need their Iowa licenses. The city’s reference documents include a metro-area (MICCC) electrical policy and a grease interceptor sizing guide for food service work.
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Get a free quote →- Electrical: required for wiring work, including solar installations, which also carry the $75 renewable energy fee.
- Plumbing: includes new water and sewer services; connection fees are charged per housing unit on new homes.
- Mechanical: heating equipment installation is on the building division’s permit list; fuel gas follows chapter 11-4 of the city code.
- Fire protection: sprinkler plans start at $200 and alarm systems at $150 for up to 30 devices; failing to obtain a fire permit costs $200.
Grimes publishes no homeowner exception for trade work; Development Services can say whether an owner may wire or plumb their own house.
How to apply for a Grimes building permit
The city’s tip sheet explains how; setbacks for decks, fences and sheds are measured from the lot lines.
Variances and special uses go to the Board of Adjustment; site plans and plats follow the posted development calendar.
Pick the project form from the Applications page and attach a site plan drawn to the city’s samples.
Email the form and plans to DevServ@grimesiowa.gov or bring them to 410 SE Main Street, Suite 102.
Trade contractors file the trades application; fire protection systems use their own form.
Pay the flat or valuation fee once plans are approved and keep the permit active.
Book inspections ahead and obtain the certificate of occupancy before moving in.
Review, corrections and what causes delay
The trades form warns that incomplete applications may delay plan review. Under the 2024 residential code as Grimes amended it, a permit becomes invalid if work does not begin within 90 days of issue or stops for 90 days, and re-issuing or transferring a permit costs $250. New commercial work that has not submitted its final checklist will have its final inspection rescheduled.
Inspections in Grimes
All inspections are booked through Development Services at 515-986-4050 at least 24 hours in advance, and commercial final inspections at least three days in advance. Callers give the contractor name, a contact phone number, the address and the type of inspection. Inspections outside business hours are $100 an hour, and fire department reinspections rise from free on the first visit to $100, $200 and more on later ones.
Concrete work follows the metro cold-weather concrete policy the city posts. The city also posts residential and commercial as-built policies, and an application for a temporary certificate of occupancy costs $100. Rental units need a separate rental certificate, $70 per dwelling unit for houses, townhomes and condominiums.
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Grimes enforces the 2024 International Building, Residential, Existing Building and Fire Codes adopted by Ordinance 803, with the state-required plumbing, mechanical and electrical editions in its own chapters. On flood insurance, FEMA’s Iowa status book shows Grimes taking part in the National Flood Insurance Program, with its present flood rate map dated February 1, 2019, and the council’s September 22, 2026 agenda included a federal hazard mitigation grant agreement for flood property buyouts on SE 2nd Street.
Iowa lets most cities and counties adopt the state building code, another code or none (a city of more than 15,000 must enforce at least the state code), but the energy, accessibility, fire, plumbing, mechanical and electrical rules apply statewide. Iowa rules
Grimes permit search and official resources
Grimes takes permits by form and email rather than through a public online permit search, so to check an existing permit, call Development Services with the address. Copies of permit files, plans and inspection records can be requested through the city’s public records page under Iowa Code chapter 22. Council agendas, packets and minutes, including the code and fee ordinances, are on the city’s CivicClerk portal.
- Grimes Building Division
- Development Services Department
- Permit applications and Board of Adjustment forms
- Permit reference documents
- How to schedule an inspection
- Grimes fee schedules, revised June 23, 2026
- Trades permit application
- Fence permit guidelines
- Deck permit guidelines
- Basement finish and addition requirements
- Grimes Code of Ordinances (enCode Plus)
- Council agendas and minutes (CivicClerk)
- Public Administration Building announcement
- Public records requests
- FEMA Community Status Book, Iowa
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →Grimes building permit FAQs
How do I submit a permit application in Grimes?
Fill in the city’s PDF form for the project and email it with plans to DevServ@grimesiowa.gov, or deliver it to Development Services at 410 SE Main Street, Suite 102.
How much is a fence or deck permit in Grimes?
A fence permit is $20 and a deck permit $75 under the schedule revised June 23, 2026.
Do I need a permit for a small shed?
Yes. The Building Division lists sheds among permitted work, and the fee schedule charges $20 for an accessory building under 200 square feet.
Can I build a fence in my front yard?
No. Grimes does not allow fences in front yards, and residential fences are limited to 6 feet.
Which building code does Grimes use?
The 2024 International codes, adopted by Ordinance 803 on November 25, 2025, with the state’s plumbing, mechanical and electrical editions.
How much notice do inspections need?
At least 24 hours; commercial final inspections need three days.
How do I appeal a building code decision in Grimes?
File with the Building Regulations Board of Appeals, a citizen board of at least five members; the application fee is $150.
Is Grimes City Hall moving?
The city is building a Public Administration Building at Waterworks Park, expected to open in 2027, to house City Hall and Grimes Community Complex staff.
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Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in Iowa. 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.
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Read guide →This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Grimes permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.