Bernalillo County's Planning and Development Services Department, in the Simms Building at 415 Silver Avenue South West, permits and inspects construction in the unincorporated county — everything outside Albuquerque, Los Ranchos and Tijeras. The county is the most populous in New Mexico, and its unincorporated territory divides into three quite different places: the South Valley along the Rio Grande, the East Mountains on the far side of the Sandias, and the North Valley villages.
Those areas differ in almost every respect that matters to a building. The South Valley carries acequia easements, high groundwater and a large stock of older informal construction; the East Mountains bring slope, wildland fire exposure, well and septic dependence and snow load at altitude; the North Valley sits in the floodplain with its own irrigation network. The code is the same throughout — the state's, adopted by the Construction Industries Division — but almost nothing else is.
This guide covers unincorporated Bernalillo County. The City of Albuquerque, the Village of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, the Village of Tijeras and the Village of Corrales in Sandoval County permit their own construction; Isleta Pueblo land is outside county jurisdiction entirely.
One county, three building environments. Unincorporated Bernalillo County covers the South Valley with its acequias and high groundwater, the East Mountains with slope, wildfire exposure, wells, septic systems and snow load, and the North Valley in the floodplain. The state code applies identically across all three; the site conditions do not, and they decide most of what a project actually costs.
What requires a building permit in Bernalillo County?
New Mexico sets its codes once, at state level, and then divides the enforcement. The Construction Industries Division of the Regulation and Licensing Department adopts the statewide codes under the Construction Industries Licensing Act — the New Mexico Commercial Building Code at 14.7.2 NMAC and the New Mexico Residential Building Code at 14.7.3 NMAC, both adopting the 2021 International Codes as amended by the state, alongside the existing building, energy, mechanical, plumbing and electrical codes in the same chapter. Those codes are the standard everywhere in the state. What changes is who administers them: a municipality or county certified as a Local Enforcement Agency issues its own permits and carries its own inspections, and where no such agency exists the division does both itself. A home rule municipality may also adopt amendments more stringent than the state code, in which case the stricter provision governs. In Bernalillo County the practical questions are which authority issues the permit, whether local amendments apply, and the county's zoning and its varied unincorporated terrain.
The adopted codes draw the exemption line. Ordinary repairs need no permit; construction, alteration, relocation, enlargement, replacement, repair, change of use or occupancy, and demolition of a building or structure all do. Detached one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses of not more than three storeys fall under the residential code; other buildings under the commercial code; and an existing building undergoing a change of occupancy, repair, alteration or addition falls under either the commercial code or the existing building code as applicable. Electrical, mechanical and plumbing work carries its own permits and its own state licences.
Typically permit required
- Construction, alteration, relocation, enlargement, replacement, repair, change of occupancy or demolition in unincorporated territory
- Zoning and platting approval from the county ahead of the building permit
- Well and on-site liquid waste approval where the parcel is unserved, which is most of the East Mountains
- New buildings, additions and structural work, under the commercial or residential code as applicable
- Alteration, relocation, enlargement, replacement and repair of a building or structure
- Any change of use or occupancy, which brings the existing building code into the analysis
Often exempt
- Ordinary repairs that do not alter structure, egress or systems, and work the adopted codes place below the permit threshold
- Ordinary repairs that do not alter structure, egress or systems
- Painting, papering, flooring, cabinets and similar finish work
- Like-for-like replacement the adopted codes place below the permit threshold
- Small accessory structures below the threshold — zoning and any local amendment still apply
Local Enforcement Agencies and what they change
A Local Enforcement Agency is a municipality or county certified to administer permitting and inspections itself. In an agency jurisdiction the enforced code is still the state's, but the procedural pathway is local: the local building department takes the application, reviews the plans and inspects the work. Outside those jurisdictions the Construction Industries Division does all of it directly from its own offices. A home rule municipality may go further and adopt amendments more stringent than the state code, and where the two differ the stricter provision governs. Bernalillo County's layer is therefore its status, any amendments it has adopted, its zoning and platting, its fee schedule, and the three very different building environments the county's unincorporated territory contains.
Who handles permitting in Bernalillo County?
Planning and Development Services is the permitting authority for unincorporated Bernalillo County, administering the state code alongside the county's zoning and platting. The City of Albuquerque and the villages permit their own, the Construction Industries Division licenses contractors statewide, and Isleta Pueblo land is outside county jurisdiction.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Department | Bernalillo County Planning and Development Services |
| Office | Simms Building, 415 Silver Avenue South West, second floor, Albuquerque, NM 87102 |
| Phone | (505) 314-0350 |
| Scope | Unincorporated Bernalillo County |
| Codes | State codes at 14.7 NMAC, 2021 I-codes as amended |
| Contractor licensing | Construction Industries Division, statewide |
Permit types
Residential permits
A house in unincorporated Bernalillo County is permitted by the county against the New Mexico Residential Building Code as amended, with zoning cleared first. In the East Mountains that usually means a well and an on-site liquid waste system, a defensible-space assessment for wildfire exposure and a snow load appropriate to the altitude; in the South Valley it means the acequia and groundwater questions instead.
How New Mexico contractor licensing works
Unlike several of its neighbours, New Mexico licenses contractors at state level. The Construction Industries Division issues contractor licences under the Construction Industries Licensing Act across general building, general engineering, mechanical, electrical and plumbing classifications, each tied to a qualifying party who has passed the trade and business examinations. A licence is valid throughout the state, so the credential does not have to be re-earned in each jurisdiction — though a municipality may still require a local business registration. The division also licenses journeymen in the trades, and unlicensed contracting is an enforcement matter for the division rather than for Bernalillo County.
Commercial permits
Commercial work in unincorporated Bernalillo County clears the county's zoning and site development, then plan review against the New Mexico Commercial Building Code, with the county carrying both. The South Valley's industrial corridors and the East Mountains' small commercial centres present very different fire access and water supply positions.
Which authority issues the permit
The first question on any New Mexico project is not which code applies — that is settled statewide — but which office administers it. The larger municipalities operate as Local Enforcement Agencies with their own building departments; much of the rest of the state, including a good deal of unincorporated county territory, is permitted and inspected by the Construction Industries Division directly. Confirming jurisdiction before submitting an application is the step out-of-state design teams most often miss. Zoning, platting and site development are separately local in every case, and the division has no authority over them. In unincorporated Bernalillo County the Rio Grande floodplain and acequia network govern the valleys, the East Mountains bring slope, wildland fire exposure and altitude snow loads, and Isleta Pueblo land is outside county jurisdiction.
Bernalillo County permit costs and fees
Fees follow the county's schedule for unincorporated territory, with well and liquid waste approvals charged separately and contractor licensing charged by the state.
| Item | Fee or rule |
|---|---|
| Building permit | The county's fee schedule, for unincorporated territory |
| Zoning and platting | County approval ahead of the permit |
| Well and liquid waste | Separate approvals where the parcel is unserved |
| Trade permits | Electrical, mechanical and plumbing, by state-licensed contractors |
| Contractor licence | Issued by the Construction Industries Division, valid statewide |
| City permits | Albuquerque and the villages issue their own |
The East Mountains are a different build. A house in the East Mountains typically needs a well, an on-site liquid waste system, defensible space for wildfire exposure and a snow load set by altitude — none of which a South Valley project faces. The two sit in the same county under the same code, and their construction budgets are not comparable.
Trade permits and who may pull them
Electrical, mechanical and plumbing work is permitted separately and performed by contractors holding the matching state licence from the Construction Industries Division.
Permit required
- Unserved parcels — well and on-site liquid waste approvals alongside the building permit
- Electrical — state-licensed electrical contractor; separate permit and inspection
- Mechanical — state-licensed mechanical contractor; separate permit, covering heating, cooling and refrigeration
- Plumbing and gas — state-licensed plumbing contractor; separate permit under the plumbing and gas codes
- Liquefied petroleum gas work, which the division regulates separately
Typically exempt
- Like-for-like replacement the adopted codes place below the permit threshold
- Work a homeowner may perform on their own residence where the administering authority allows it
How to apply for a Bernalillo County building permit
A Local Enforcement Agency issues its own permits; elsewhere the Construction Industries Division does it directly.
Zoning, platting and site development are local in every case, and the division has no authority over them.
A home rule municipality may adopt provisions more stringent than the state code, and the stricter provision governs.
The division licenses contractors statewide in the classification matching the work.
The commercial code, the residential code or the existing building code, depending on the building and the work.
Footing to final with the authority that issued the permit, then the certificate of occupancy.
Review, corrections and what actually causes delay
Bernalillo County reviews unincorporated work against the state code. What delays a file here is an East Mountains house designed without the well, waste and fire questions settled, and a parcel assumed to be inside Albuquerque or one of the villages.
Inspections in Bernalillo County
Inspections follow the adopted codes' sequence — footing, foundation, framing, rough trades, insulation and final — and are requested from whichever authority issued the permit, with the trades inspected on their own permits. Work that passes final receives a certificate of occupancy for new buildings and changes of occupancy. Bernalillo County inspects the work it permits in the adopted codes' sequence, with the trades inspected on their own permits; inside Albuquerque and the villages, inspection is theirs.
Bernalillo County permit search and official resources
- Bernalillo County Planning and Development Services — the department, its zoning and its permitting
- New Mexico Construction Industries Division — the statewide codes and contractor licensing
- 14.7.3 NMAC — New Mexico Residential Building Code — the 2021 International Residential Code as amended by the state
- New Mexico Construction Industries Division — the statewide codes, contractor licensing and the division's own permitting
- 14.7.2 NMAC — New Mexico Commercial Building Code — the 2021 International Building Code as amended by the state
- 14.7.3 NMAC — New Mexico Residential Building Code — the 2021 International Residential Code as amended by the state
Frequently asked questions
Does the county permit inside Albuquerque?
No. Albuquerque is its own local enforcement agency; the county permits unincorporated territory and the villages permit their own.
What is different about the East Mountains?
Slope, wildland fire exposure, well and septic dependence and altitude snow loads — a materially different build from a valley project under the same code.
Do I need a well and septic approval?
On unserved parcels, yes — which is most of the East Mountains. Both are separate approvals alongside the building permit.
What are acequias?
Traditional irrigation ditches crossing many valley parcels, carrying easements and access rights that constrain siting.
Which code applies?
The state code adopted by the Construction Industries Division, on the 2021 International Codes as amended.
Is pueblo land inside county jurisdiction?
No. Isleta Pueblo land is outside county permitting jurisdiction entirely.
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More New Mexico permitting guides
More New Mexico permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Bernalillo County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.