Orem, Utah Building Permit Guide

Building permits in Orem are issued by the Building Safety Division of the city’s Community Development Department, 56 North State Street (801-229-7198), with applications through the city’s online submittal system, My City Inspector. Fees are set in the city budget: the building fee is worked out from ICC valuation data and the 1997 Uniform Administrative Code tables, plan review is the lesser of 65% of the permit fee or the actual cost, and a failed inspection that needs a call-back costs $125. Orem permits separately from Provo and from Utah County, whose Building Division serves unincorporated areas only.

Work inside Orem city limits. Provo, Vineyard, Lindon and Utah County are separate authorities.

What requires a permit in Orem?

The City of Orem Building Safety Division issues building permits for work inside Orem city limits. Orem sits immediately north of Provo in Utah County and permits entirely separately from it, and from Utah County, whose Building Division serves unincorporated areas only. The Provo-Orem boundary runs through continuous urban development, so the postal address does not settle which city permits a lot.

The city requires full online submittal for building permits, which means creating an account in the online submittal system before you can file. Once registered, the Building Permit Portal is where you check the progress of an application and schedule or view inspections.

Utah adopts one construction code for the whole state; cities and counties enforce it, and any local amendments are set by the Legislature. Utah rules

Orem building department: who handles permitting

Registration comes first. The city requires full online submittal, so you register on CityInspect (which the city calls My City Inspector), receive a temporary password by email and then set your own. Each building needs a separate application, plans go in as PDFs in the field labeled for each document type, and on commercial work the application names the tenant rather than the corporate owner. Residential jobs that need no plans, such as a re-roof, siding, a new air conditioner or an electrical service change, are still filed online; they take at least one business day to process, and some are approved the same day. New commercial or multi-family buildings and additions need site plan approval through the city’s development review process first.

The fence rule follows the structure. An ordinary fence is a zoning question — height, location, sight lines — and goes through the separate online fence permit. Masonry or concrete fences, and fences that include a retaining wall, go through the building permit portal; the city’s 2026 permit list names masonry or concrete fences over 7 feet and retaining walls 4 feet or more high, and the planning fee schedule charges $440 to review a concrete or masonry fence.

Building without a permit doubles the fees here — all of them. The schedule doubles the building permit fee including its plumbing, electrical and mechanical portions, rather than the building portion alone. A call-back for a re-inspection costs $125, other inspections with no listed fee cost $73, and inspections outside normal working hours start at $151.

Orem, Provo and Utah County are three different permitting authorities. Orem and Provo share a boundary running through continuous urban development, and Utah County's Building Division serves unincorporated areas only — it cannot permit an Orem address at all. Vineyard, Lindon, Pleasant Grove and Springville are separate again.

In 2025, building permits issued in Orem authorized 26 new privately owned housing units, all of them single-family homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey.

Orem permits: record types and what each covers

The record catalog is conventional. Orem’s one-page permit list spells out which routine replacements need a permit and which jobs need no building permit at all.

Residential permit types

Building or remodeling a home here? Alliance handles residential permit filing, so the crew isn't waiting on the counter.

Commercial permit types

Records you will actually see in Orem

Solar permits in Orem

Solar in Orem is permitted and inspected by the city under Utah's statewide adopted editions, filed through the city's online submittal system. The Utah rule governing every trade here is the edition split: the building, plumbing, mechanical, fuel gas and energy codes moved to their 2024 editions in July 2026, while the residential code stayed on 2021 and the electrical code on 2023. Reading the building code year and inferring the electrical year gets rapid shutdown, labelling and conductor requirements wrong. The city’s solar checklist asks for a site plan, the mounting system with roof weights and rafter or truss details, a one-line diagram, module and inverter specification sheets (inverters listed to UL 1741), and the total array power, and residential snow load is taken from the USU snow load calculator linked on the codes page.

Installing here? Alliance handles solar permit filing and the utility interconnection paperwork.

Roofing permits in Orem

A roof covering replacement is permitted work and follows the ordinary sequence. Reroofing and siding appear on the city’s list of outside work that needs a permit, and a re-roof is one of the plan-free jobs the city can approve the same day. Ice shield underlayment is required.

Solar and roofing work follow the statewide code, and utilities run interconnection on their own timeline. Utah rules

Roofing crews can hand this off: Alliance takes care of roofing permit expediting through to the issued permit.

Orem permit cost

Orem’s code says permit fees are whatever the City Council sets in the annual budget, and the schedule sits in Exhibit B of the budget. The building safety figures are the same in the “FY 2026 Adopted” and “FY 2027 Proposed” columns of the FY 2026-27 tentative budget, and the council adopted the final budget after its August 27, 2026 hearing. The schedule prices a building permit from ICC valuation tables and the 1997 Uniform Administrative Code tables, which it does not reprint, so the exact permit fee comes from the city’s assessment in the portal.

Orem collects these impact fees itself; the budget describes its fire impact fee as a one-time charge imposed at building permit issuance. The city also runs the water and sewer utilities that charge the connection fee, and lots in the Southwest Service Area pay higher water, sewer and storm water impact fees.

Orem trade permits

The trades are permitted and inspected by the city under Utah's statewide adopted editions. A stand-alone electrical, mechanical or plumbing permit carries a $40 base fee plus the matching 1997 Uniform Administrative Code table.

Contractors are licensed by the state Division of Professional Licensing, and a business licence must name a qualifier. Utah rules

Orem plan submittal checklist

Building Safety publishes checklists for residential plans, basement finishes, remodels, swimming pools, solar, mobile homes in existing parks, demolition and commercial plans. The residential checklist says plans cannot be reviewed without these items, and mirrored-image plans are not accepted:

• A complete application: contractor with Utah licence number, owner, architect and structural engineer contacts, project address and legal description
• A plot plan with lot dimensions, the footprint and distances to every property line, easements, corner elevations, sewer and water laterals and any retaining walls (walls 4 feet or higher need their own permit)
• Foundation, floor and framing plans, all four elevations with finish materials, and cross-sections specific to the building
• Wet-stamped structural calculations; truss layouts and engineering, usually deferred until delivery, with the engineer of record’s approval letter
• HVAC plan with Manual J heat loss calculations, ductwork layout and gas line drawing; plumbing fixture and floor drain locations; electrical plan with service size, sub-panels, GFCI, smoke and CO detectors
• Stair, handrail and guardrail details, roof ventilation calculations and energy compliance

The residential checklist still prints the 2021 IBC and 2015 residential energy provisions; the city’s adopted codes page, updated for July 1, 2026, is the current list. An owner acting as builder files the city’s owner-builder form. Properties on septic need onsite wastewater approval from the Utah County Health Department’s Environmental Health division (151 South University Avenue, Provo; 801-851-7525) before ground is broken.

Orem permit application: how to apply step by step

Here is how to get a building permit in Orem, from confirming the requirement through to close-out. Each step below corresponds to a real decision point where projects commonly stall.

Inspections in Orem

Building Safety asks you to call 801-229-7198 to schedule inspections; its 2025 inspection handout and the city directory give 801-229-7060 as the inspection request line. Have the job address, the permit number and the inspection type ready. The inspections record in the portal lists the inspections a job may need, results are posted there, and the handout says to call before covering anything up. A required call-back for a re-inspection costs $125.

The common sequence is footing (setbacks measured and the Ufer ground located before concrete), foundation, underground plumbing, electrical and mechanical, shear, weather barrier and flashing, the rough inspection once the roof, windows, doors and all systems are in, lath or stucco, permanent power so Rocky Mountain Power can set the meter, and the final once fixtures are in and exterior grading and any retaining walls are complete. Commercial jobs add accessibility, above-grid and special inspections, and fire sprinkler and alarm tests ending in a fire marshal final.

Close-out follows the ordinary sequence to the certificate of occupancy once every required inspection has passed. A temporary certificate of occupancy for a house costs $250, with $100 refunded if the work is finished within 30 days.

Utah law lets you use a third-party inspection firm when the building department cannot inspect within three business days. Utah rules

Orem permit search and official resources

These are the primary Orem and Utah sources behind this guide. The city’s adopted codes page lists the editions in force from July 1, 2026.

• City of Orem building permits
• Utah Code Title 15A, State Construction and Fire Codes Act
• Utah Code Section 15A-2-103, adopted code editions
• Utah DOPL contracting
• Utah DOPL licence lookup
• Utah State Fire Marshal plan review
• Utah State Construction Registry
• Orem Building Safety Division
• Orem building permit account registration (CityInspect)
• Orem guide to submitting through My City Inspector
• Orem: when do I need a building permit? (2026)
• Orem adopted codes and design criteria (July 1, 2026)
• Orem forms, applications and submittal checklists
• Orem building inspection information
• Orem electric service change scheduling
• Orem FY 2026-27 tentative budget, Exhibit B fee schedule (building fees unchanged from FY 2026)
• Orem city finances and budget documents

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a permit to replace my furnace or air conditioner?

Yes. Orem’s permit list includes heating and air conditioning installations or replacements. A permit for this kind of minor work is normally completed within one business day, and work started without one pays double fees.

Do I need a permit to replace a water heater?

Yes. Water heater installations and replacements are on the city’s permit list; a tankless unit also needs a gas line drawing of every existing and new appliance.

Do I need a permit for a fence?

Not a building permit, but a Fence Permit. Orem states that fence permits do not require building permits and asks that you not apply for them through the building permit portal — they are submitted online as a separate Fence Permit — unless the fence is masonry or concrete, or includes a retaining wall, in which case a building permit is needed.

How do I apply?

Through full online submittal. The city requires it, which means creating an account in the online submittal system. After registering, the Building Permit Portal is where you check application progress and schedule or view inspections.

What happens if I build without a permit?

The city doubles all permit fees — building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical — rather than only the building record. On a project that should have carried several trade permits, that is a substantial multiple.

Is there a re-inspection fee?

Yes. A required call-back for a re-inspection costs $125 under the budget fee schedule, and other inspections with no listed fee cost $73.

How much is a building permit in Orem?

The fee depends on the project’s valuation from ICC tables and the 1997 Uniform Administrative Code fee tables, which the city applies in the portal. Plan review adds the lesser of 65% of the permit fee or the actual cost, and stand-alone trade permits start at a $40 base fee. A new single-family home also pays impact fees, such as $2,903.80 for parks and $1,603.01 for water in the City Service Area.

Do I need a permit for a shed or deck in Orem?

Not for a one-story storage shed of 200 square feet or less on a one- or two-family lot, or a wood deck under 30 inches high with no roof and no guard rail needed. Larger sheds, decks over 30 inches and any patio cover need a building permit.

Which codes apply?

Utah's statewide adopted editions under Title 15A. The building, plumbing, mechanical, fuel gas, energy, existing building and pool codes moved to 2024 editions in July 2026; the residential code remains 2021 and the electrical code 2023.

Can Utah County permit my Orem project?

No. Utah County's Building Division serves only unincorporated areas of the county and says so on its own page. Orem permits its own work, as do Provo, Vineyard, Lindon, Pleasant Grove and Springville.

Do I need a permit for a retaining wall in Orem?

Yes, once the wall is 4 feet or more above grade, or at any height if it supports a surcharge. It is filed through the building portal, and the residential plans checklist treats a wall 4 feet or higher as a separate permit from the house.

How do I schedule an electric service change?

Give Rocky Mountain Power 48 hours’ notice for the disconnect and the city 24 hours’ notice for the meter-change inspection on 801-229-7060, between 8am and 5pm. Rocky Mountain Power reconnects only after Building Safety clears the work.

What does a temporary certificate of occupancy cost?

$250 for a house, of which $100 comes back if the work is finished within 30 days and the house was not occupied illegally, and $390 for a commercial building; apartment and condominium buildings start at $390.

Do I need a licensed contractor?

Utah licenses contractors through the Division of Professional Licensing, and a business licence must name a qualifier; Orem’s application asks for the contractor’s state licence number. An owner doing the work themselves files the city’s owner-builder form instead.

Simplify Orem permitting with Alliance Permitting

Orem publishes which replacements need a permit, which fences do not, and what unpermitted work costs. Using that clarity is most of the job. Alliance Permitting prepares, files and tracks Orem permits through issuance.

Trusted by leading builders, developers, and national contractors — 21+ years of filing in the jurisdictions we write about.

Contractors and builders choose Alliance for Orem because the work is done by people who have stood at the counter:

• We pull the furnace, air conditioning and water heater permits on Orem’s 2026 permit list.
• We route fences correctly, so ordinary fences do not clog the building queue.
• We file before work starts, because the doubling here applies across every discipline.
• We file with the city, since Utah County cannot permit an Orem address at all.

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and expediting service in Utah. We are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice, and we are not the permitting authority.

This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Orem permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.