San Juan County's Community Development Department at 209 South Oliver Drive in Aztec permits and inspects construction in the unincorporated county, in the far north-west corner of New Mexico. The office works a compressed week — long days Monday to Thursday and closed on Friday — which is worth planning around, because a Thursday afternoon question becomes a Monday morning one.
A large part of the county is Navajo Nation land, sovereign territory outside county and state building jurisdiction with its own governing authorities and processes; the Ute Mountain Ute reservation reaches the county's northern edge. The San Juan Basin's oil and gas field covers much of the remainder, leaving wells, pipelines and easements across rural parcels that constrain siting before any code question arises. Farmington, Aztec and Bloomfield permit their own construction.
This guide covers unincorporated San Juan County in New Mexico. Farmington, Aztec and Bloomfield permit their own; Navajo Nation and Ute Mountain Ute lands are sovereign territory outside county jurisdiction; and the San Juan Counties in the states to the north and west are unrelated jurisdictions.
Four days, and a great deal the county does not permit. The department is open Monday to Thursday and closed on Friday. And across the county, Navajo Nation land is sovereign territory outside county and state building jurisdiction — a project there follows the Nation's own process, not the county's. Both facts change how a project here is scheduled and where it is filed.
What requires a building permit in San Juan 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 San Juan County the practical questions are which authority issues the permit, whether local amendments apply, and the county's zoning and the jurisdictions it does not hold.
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
- 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. San Juan County's layer is therefore its status, any amendments it has adopted, its zoning and platting, its fee schedule, and the tribal land outside county jurisdiction and the energy field's wells and easements.
Who handles permitting in San Juan County?
Community Development is the permitting authority for unincorporated San Juan County, administering the state code alongside county zoning and platting. Farmington, Aztec and Bloomfield permit their own, Navajo Nation and Ute Mountain Ute lands are governed by their own authorities outside county jurisdiction, and the Construction Industries Division licenses contractors statewide.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Department | San Juan County Community Development |
| Office | 209 South Oliver Drive, Aztec, NM 87410 |
| Phone | (505) 334-4550; building inspector (505) 334-4313 |
| Hours | Monday to Thursday, long days; closed Friday |
| Outside jurisdiction | Navajo Nation and Ute Mountain Ute lands |
| Contractor licensing | Construction Industries Division, statewide |
Permit types
Residential permits
A house in unincorporated San Juan County is permitted by the county against the New Mexico Residential Building Code as amended, with zoning cleared first and well and liquid waste approvals where the parcel is unserved. On rural land the oil and gas easements and any legacy wells should be identified from the title before siting, since they constrain the buildable envelope.
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 San Juan County.
Commercial permits
Commercial and industrial work in unincorporated San Juan County is dominated by the energy sector — gas processing, service yards and the infrastructure supporting the San Juan Basin — alongside the retail and service development around Farmington. Each clears the county's zoning and site development, then plan review against the New Mexico Commercial Building Code.
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 San Juan County the Navajo Nation and Ute Mountain Ute lands sit outside county jurisdiction, the San Juan and Animas river corridors bring floodplain review into the file, and oil and gas wells, pipelines and easements cross a great many rural parcels.
San Juan 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 | Farmington, Aztec and Bloomfield issue their own |
Energy easements bind the building envelope. The San Juan Basin leaves wells, gathering lines and easements across a great many rural parcels, with setback and access obligations that reduce the buildable area before zoning is considered. They are title and survey matters rather than code matters, and they are cheapest to identify before the parcel is committed to.
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
- Any parcel — establish whether it is county, municipal or tribal jurisdiction from the record
- 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 San Juan 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
San Juan County reviews unincorporated work against the state code, on a four-day week. What delays a file here is a Friday assumption, a parcel whose jurisdiction was not established, and an energy easement discovered after siting.
Inspections in San Juan 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. San Juan County inspects the work it permits in the adopted codes' sequence within its four-day week, with the trades inspected on their own permits; inside the cities, inspection is theirs.
San Juan County permit search and official resources
- San Juan County — the county government and Community Development
- 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
When is the county office open?
Monday to Thursday on long days; the office is closed on Fridays.
Does the county permit on Navajo Nation land?
No. It is sovereign territory outside county and state building jurisdiction, with its own governing authorities and process.
Which San Juan County is this?
San Juan County in the far north-west of New Mexico, with Aztec as its seat. The San Juan Counties in the states to the north and west are unrelated jurisdictions.
What should I check on a rural parcel?
Oil and gas wells, gathering lines and easements, which cross many parcels and reduce the buildable area before zoning is considered.
Which code applies?
The state code adopted by the Construction Industries Division, on the 2021 International Codes as amended.
Do I need a well approval?
On unserved parcels, yes — well and on-site liquid waste approvals run alongside the building permit.
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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 San Juan County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.