The City of Livingston Building Department reviews plans, issues building permits and inspects work inside city limits, and it does so for houses as well as commercial buildings. You apply with the City’s Permit Application and two sets of plans. Fees follow the valuation table in Resolution 5181 (approved February 3, 2026): a $200,000 project pays $1,553.75, plus a 65% plan review fee of $1,009.94, and new homes also pay impact fees. The City does not permit or inspect electrical, plumbing or HVAC work; the State does.
What needs a permit in Livingston?
The City says a building permit is required for any structural work on a building. Livingston’s code applies the building codes to every building in its enforcement area, including houses with fewer than five units, farm and ranch buildings and private garages, so the State exemptions for those buildings do not apply inside the city.
Permit needed
- New buildings, additions and structural alterations
- Re-roofing
- Changing door or window openings
- Moving or adding walls
- Exterior decks
- Changes to a commercial building, even minor ones in most cases
- Moving or demolishing a building
- Signs
- Irrigation, monitoring and remediation wells
No building permit
- Detached, one-story residential storage buildings not larger than 120 square feet
The Zoning Coordinator also issues a zoning permit for all construction, expansion or movement of buildings, and a sign permit for signs. In the Downtown Historic District, any project that changes a building’s exterior needs a Historic District Review Certificate first, even when no building permit is required.
Who issues permits in Livingston?
Livingston is certified by the State for building and pool permits inside its city limits. The Building Department is at 330 Bennett Street; Brad Haefs is the Building Director. The Planning Department at City Hall handles zoning, site plan review, floodplain permits and historic review.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Building permits | City of Livingston Building Department, 330 Bennett Street |
| Building Department phone | (406) 222-0083 |
| Planning Department | 220 E. Park Street, Livingston, MT 59047; (406) 222-4903 |
| City Hall | (406) 222-2005 |
| Electrical, plumbing and HVAC permits | State of Montana Building Codes Program |
Short on time to read all of this?
Get a free quote →The City’s zoning and building jurisdiction stops at the corporate limits. Land outside them is in Park County, which has no building department: the State Building Codes Program permits commercial buildings there, and County Planning administers the county’s zoning districts and floodplain rules.
Permit types and forms
Livingston uses one Building Department Permit Application for five kinds of work. You tick Residential, Commercial, Sign, Well or Demolition, give the project cost, site address, legal description and zoning, and name the owner, general contractor, architect, engineer, plumber and electrician. The form has to be approved by the appropriate City departments before a permit is issued, and an unsigned application is not accepted.
Other City approvals a project may need:
- Zoning permit and sign permit from the Zoning Coordinator.
- Site plan review by the Planning Department for larger projects (thresholds below).
- Historic District Review Certificate from the Historic Preservation Commission.
- Floodplain development permit from Planning.
- Public Works permits: sidewalk, driveway, approach and curb cut; street cut; utility occupancy; temporary street, alley or sidewalk closure; and boulevard tree planting, removal or pruning.
Where curbs, gutters, sidewalks, storm drains or street paving are missing at the site, the building permit applicant and owner must sign a waiver of the right to protest a future special improvement district. The City records it with the Park County Clerk and Recorder.
Livingston permit fees
Building fees are set by the City Fee Schedule, Resolution 5181, approved February 3, 2026. The fee is read from the total valuation of the project.
| Total valuation | Building permit fee |
|---|---|
| $1 to $500 | $23.50 |
| $500.01 to $2,000 | $23.50 for the first $500, plus $3.05 for each additional $100 or fraction |
| $2,000.01 to $25,000 | $69.25 for the first $2,000, plus $14.00 for each additional $1,000 or fraction |
| $25,000.01 to $50,000 | $391.25 for the first $25,000, plus $10.10 for each additional $1,000 or fraction |
| $50,000.01 to $100,000 | $643.75 for the first $50,000, plus $7.00 for each additional $1,000 or fraction |
| $100,000.01 to $500,000 | $993.75 for the first $100,000, plus $5.60 for each additional $1,000 or fraction |
| $500,000.01 to $1,000,000 | $3,233.75 for the first $500,000, plus $4.75 for each additional $1,000 or fraction |
| Over $1,000,000 | $5,608.75 for the first $1,000,000, plus $3.65 for each additional $1,000 or fraction |
Not sure this scope needs a permit?
Get a free quote →A separate plan review fee equal to 65% of the building permit fee is charged on every permit for work valued above $15,000. For example, a $200,000 project pays $993.75 plus 100 × $5.60, which is $1,553.75, and a plan review fee of $1,009.94, for $2,563.69 before impact fees. An older City FAQ says commercial projects pay only a permit fee at a higher rate; the adopted 2026 schedule has a single table and applies the plan review fee to both.
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Inspection outside normal business hours | Assistant building inspector’s overtime rate plus benefits, currently $53.89; 2-hour minimum |
| Extra plan review for changes or revisions | Same rate; half-hour minimum |
| Irrigation well permit | $300, plus $50 annual inspection |
| Site plan review | $1,000 plus ongoing billing at $100 per hour |
| Floodplain development permit | $400 |
| Variance | $500 |
| Zoning verification letter | $50 |
| Sidewalk or driveway curb cut permit | $50 |
| Street cut permit | $100, plus $1.00 to $3.50 per sq ft by age of the street |
| Water tap and sewer tap, single unit | $200 each, plus staff time, equipment and materials |
| Sewer and water service inspection | $100 each |
Impact fees are charged on projects that add demand on City systems. The City’s schedule (updated 2021) sets $4,309 for a single-family home: $106 police, $966 fire, $1,852 transportation and $1,385 parks. A new water and sewer connection on a 5/8 or 3/4 inch meter adds $3,542 and $4,506. Multifamily units pay $3,330 each before water and sewer, and an accessory dwelling unit pays half. No building permit is issued until outstanding planning fees are paid.
Rather talk it over?
Call 1-855-478-4290 →Electrical, plumbing and HVAC permits
The City of Livingston does not issue permits or carry out inspections for electrical, plumbing or HVAC work. Those permits come from the State of Montana, and State inspectors inspect the work. The City’s Board of Appeals, three members who know the construction industry, does not act on electrical, plumbing or mechanical questions.
Fire review stays local. The City Fee Schedule lists fire inspection fees by floor area, from $100 for up to 2,000 square feet to $225 over 50,000 square feet, and $50 per hour for review of fire suppression systems. A commercial or industrial project in the Source Water Protection Area must send a hazardous material identification plan to the Fire Chief with its building permit application.
Application documents and plan review
Every building permit
- Completed and signed Permit Application
- Two complete sets of plans
- Site plan
- Cross-sections and elevations
- Foundation plan and floor plan
- Specifications sufficient to show the project meets the codes in effect
Site plan review (Planning)
- Application form and vicinity map with adjacent roads and zoning
- Engineering design report
- Copy of the most recent plat
- Proposed use of every structure
- Number and density of dwelling units
Site plan review applies to 10 or more dwelling units on one lot, 10,000 or more gross square feet of commercial or industrial floor area, 10,000 or more square feet of outdoor storage, 20 or more parking spaces, and additions that reach any of those figures. No building permit is issued until the Zoning Coordinator has approved the site plan in writing.
The Building Department reviews the plans, notes any deficiencies and issues the permit once the applicant has corrected them. The City calculates the impact fee within 30 days of receiving complete permit plans for a residential project and within 60 days for a commercial one.
How to apply: 6-step Livingston process
City permits apply only within the corporate limits; outside them the project is in Park County.
Talk to the Planning Department at (406) 222-4903 about the zoning permit, site plan review and, downtown, the Historic Preservation Commission.
Tick the type of work, enter the project cost and list the design team and trades.
Deliver the application and plans to the Building Department at 330 Bennett Street.
Fix the deficiencies noted in plan review, then pay the permit, plan review and impact fees.
Electrical, plumbing and HVAC permits come from the State; City inspections follow the list issued with the permit.
Rather not deal with the building department?
Get a free quote →Livingston inspections
The City gives the permit holder a list of required inspections when the permit is issued. It is the holder’s job to see that each one is made at the right time, by calling the Building Department at (406) 222-0083. The Building Inspector, the Fire Inspector or both make the visits.
Inspections outside normal business hours are billed at the overtime rate in the fee schedule with a 2-hour minimum. Public Works inspects new sewer and water service lines for $100 each. Electrical, plumbing and HVAC inspections are made by State inspectors under the State permits.
Local Livingston details that matter
Historic districts: Livingston has four districts on the National Register: Westside Residential, Eastside Residential, B Street and Downtown. In the Downtown Historic District, the Historic Preservation Commission reviews every exterior change, including facades, painting, signage and window displays. It meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 3:30 p.m. in the City-County Building, 414 East Callender Street, and applications are due at the Planning Department at least 10 days before the meeting.
Who may do the work: an owner may do any or all of the work on their own private residence. Permits for any other structure must be taken out, and the work completed, by a licensed professional in that field.
Fences: in residential zones the limit is 4 feet along the front and street side and 6 feet along the remaining side yards and the rear line. Electric fences are banned citywide and barbed wire is banned in residential zones.
Code editions: Chapter 6 of the Municipal Code adopts the 2021 IBC, IRC, IEBC, IECC and ISPSC with Montana’s amendments (Ordinance 3035, August 23, 2022), and the City’s page still announces the 2021 codes. The State of Montana moved to the 2024 editions on September 26, 2026. State rules give a certified city 90 days from the State’s notice to bring its code into line, and Livingston’s ordinance adopts the State’s amendments as they change from time to time.
Tiny homes: the City has adopted Appendix Q, Tiny Homes, of the 2018 International Residential Code.
Trees and curb cuts: a boulevard tree cut permit is $50 and a planting permit $25; a curb cut inside a 2-hour parking zone costs $200.
Want this handled start to finish?
Get a free quote →Zoning rewrite: the City is updating its zoning code and has asked for public feedback.
Montana building code
Montana adopts one building code, based on the 2024 International Codes from 26 September 2026; a certified local program or the state Building Codes Program enforces it, and the state code does not reach houses of fewer than five units, farm and ranch buildings or private garages unless a local government has made it apply to them. How Montana’s statewide code works
Official Livingston permitting resources
These are the primary sources behind this guide. Codes, fee schedules and procedures change — confirm the position for your filing date.
- Montana building and trade permits
- Current Montana construction codes
- Livingston Building Department
- Livingston Building and Planning Document Center
- Livingston Building Department documents
- Livingston Building Department Permit Application (PDF)
- City Fee Schedule, Resolution 5181, approved February 3, 2026 (PDF)
- Livingston impact fee schedule (PDF)
- Livingston Municipal Code
- Livingston historic preservation and design review
- Livingston Public Works permits and applications
- City of Livingston FAQs
- Montana electrical permits
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →Livingston permit FAQs
Who issues building permits in Livingston?
The City of Livingston Building Department, 330 Bennett Street, (406) 222-0083, for property inside city limits.
How much is a building permit in Livingston?
It depends on the project’s valuation. Under Resolution 5181, a $200,000 project pays $1,553.75 plus a 65% plan review fee of $1,009.94. New homes also pay impact fees.
Do I need a permit to re-roof or build a deck?
Yes. The City lists re-roofing, changing door or window openings, moving or adding walls and building exterior decks as work that needs a building permit.
Do I need a permit for a shed?
Not for a detached, one-story residential storage building of 120 square feet or less. It still has to meet zoning setbacks.
Does Livingston issue electrical or plumbing permits?
No. Electrical, plumbing and HVAC permits and inspections are handled by the State of Montana.
Can a homeowner pull a permit?
Yes. The City says anyone may do any or all of the work on their own private residence; other buildings need licensed professionals.
What are the impact fees for a new house?
$4,309 for police, fire, transportation and parks, plus $3,542 for water and $4,506 for sewer on a 5/8 or 3/4 inch meter.
Do I need approval to repaint a downtown building?
Yes. In the Downtown Historic District the Historic Preservation Commission reviews exterior changes, including painting and signage, before work starts.
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More Montana permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Livingston permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.