Building permits in unincorporated Salt Lake County are issued by the Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District, which also serves Magna, Kearns, White City, Emigration Canyon, Copperton and Brighton. It is not a county building department, and that distinction decides where your application goes.
This guide covers what requires a permit in the district's service area, the CityWorks portal and the notarised contractor authorisation behind it, Utah's statewide Title 15A codes and the edition split now running through them, the grading and floodplain scopes the district also owns, and how inspections are booked.
This guide covers unincorporated Salt Lake County and the MSD member communities. The valley's cities each permit their own work.
Utah adopts one construction code for the whole state. Title 15A sets the editions and they apply in every city, town and county, so the question here is not which edition this jurisdiction uses — it is the same everywhere — but which local amendments, zoning standards, fire authority and service district apply on top of it. That is the opposite of how permitting works in neighbouring states.
What requires a permit in Salt Lake County?
Building permits for unincorporated Salt Lake County are issued by the Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District, not by a county building department. That is the single most useful thing to know before filing here. The district’s building department reviews building, fire, mechanical, electrical and plumbing drawings and carries out the inspections. Its Building Permits and Inspections office is at 860 W Levoy Drive, Suite 300, Taylorsville, UT 84123 ((385) 910-7138, Monday to Friday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm).
The district serves a specific list of communities alongside the unincorporated county: Magna, Kearns, White City and Emigration Canyon, and the towns of Copperton and Brighton. Those communities voted in 2015 to be served this way, Brighton incorporated as a member in 2020, and state legislation in 2024 dropped the older metro township terminology so that they are now described as cities. The district is governed by a board of trustees made up of mayors and council members from its member communities.
Everything else in the Salt Lake Valley is somebody else’s desk. Salt Lake City, West Valley City, West Jordan, Sandy, South Jordan, Murray, Draper, Taylorsville, Millcreek, Herriman, Riverton, Midvale, Holladay, Cottonwood Heights, Bluffdale and South Salt Lake all run their own permitting. The district publishes an address lookup for checking an address against jurisdictional boundaries, because the question comes up so often.
Permit required
- New residential and commercial construction, additions and remodels
- Detached accessory structures above the district's published size thresholds
- Retaining walls above the published height threshold
- Structural alterations, relocation and demolition
- Electrical service changes, panel work, solar and EV charging
- Plumbing, water heaters, gas piping and fixture relocations
- Mechanical replacements including furnaces and air conditioning
- Grading and floodplain work, both administered by the district
Typically exempt
- Purely cosmetic finish work that alters no regulated system
- Like-for-like minor repairs not affecting structure or a system
- Small detached structures below the published thresholds without utilities
- Routine maintenance that does not extend or reroute a system
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
Salt Lake County building department: who handles permitting
Applications run through the district's CityWorks public portal, with applications reviewed in the order they are received electronically. The district's planning and development function covers a wider remit than a building counter usually does: planning and zoning, addressing, building and grading permits and inspections, plan review, current and long-range planning, floodplain permits, stormwater management planning and engineering all sit in the same organisation.
Some services are contracted back to Salt Lake County rather than run by the district — animal services, parks maintenance, and construction and maintenance of rights of way among them. So the district is your building authority, while a right-of-way question may still land with county public works. Establish which body owns each scope on a project that touches the street as well as the lot.
Short on time to read all of this?
Get a free quote →Owner-builder is available but narrow. To qualify, you must be the sole owner of the property, and the proposed work has to be for personal, non-commercial and non-public use, meeting the state licensing division's requirements. If applying as an owner-builder on a residential permit, the owner-builder form is submitted with the application. Joint ownership or any commercial intent takes you outside the route.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Authority | Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District building department |
| Office | 860 W Levoy Drive, Suite 300, Taylorsville, UT 84123 · (385) 910-7138 · Monday to Friday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm |
| Serves | Magna, Kearns, White City, Emigration Canyon, Copperton, Brighton |
| Also serves | Unincorporated Salt Lake County |
| Portal | CityWorks public portal, reviewed in order of electronic receipt |
| Inspection hotline | (385) 910-5830 |
| Inspection email | inspections@msd.utah.gov |
| Inspection cut-off | Before 3 p.m. for the following business day |
| Plans on site | MSD stamped plans must be on site, printed full size |
| Contractor set-up | New contractor form, plus a notarised authorisation form |
| Codes | Utah Title 15A statewide adopted editions, with local standards |
Book inspections before three in the afternoon. The district takes inspection requests on its building inspection hotline or by email, and asks for the request before 3 p.m. to schedule for the following business day. The other half of the rule matters just as much: MSD stamped plans must be on site, printed full size. Not on a tablet, not reduced to letter paper. An inspector who arrives to find no full-size stamped set has made the trip for nothing.
Salt Lake County is the most crowded jurisdictional map in Utah. 16-plus cities permit their own work, the Municipal Services District permits the unincorporated county and its member communities, and Salt Lake City is a separate authority again with its own department and portal. The communities the district serves were called metro townships until state legislation dropped the term in 2024, so older guidance uses vocabulary that no longer matches. Confirm from the parcel, using the published boundary map, before assembling anything.
In 2025, building permits issued in unincorporated Salt Lake County authorized 265 new privately owned housing units, 251 of them single-family homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey.
Salt Lake County permits: record types and what each covers
The district's record catalog is wider than a typical building counter, because planning, addressing, floodplain and engineering sit in the same organisation as building permits.
Not sure this scope needs a permit?
Get a free quote →Residential permit types
| Permit type | What triggers it | Review path | Fee basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| New construction | New dwellings, additions, and accessory structures above the local size threshold | Plan review against the state-adopted 2021 International Residential Code with Utah amendments, plus zoning and setbacks | Valuation-based |
| Addition | Added conditioned or unconditioned space attached to an existing dwelling | Structural and energy review; since 1 July 2026 houses follow Utah's own energy chapter in the residential code, with one set of insulation values statewide | Valuation-based |
| Renovation / alteration | Structural changes, layout changes, or added plumbing, mechanical, or electrical | Plan review scaled to scope; a change that alters egress, structure, or a system is reviewed even where the footprint does not move | Valuation-based |
| Reroof | Roof covering replacement, recover, and structural deck repair | Deck and dry-in inspection; plan review rarely required, but a change of assembly type can trigger a structural check | Valuation or squares |
| Solar photovoltaic | Rooftop or ground-mount arrays, with or without battery storage | Single local review covering both the structural attachment and the electrical scope; there is no separate state electrical record in Utah | Flat or system-size based |
| Battery energy storage | Wall or floor-mounted storage added to a dwelling | Electrical review plus fire separation, ventilation, and location check | Flat or per-permit minimum |
| Electrical | Service changes, panel upgrades, new circuits, EV chargers, meter sets, and rewiring | Local trade review and local inspection against the 2023 National Electrical Code, which applies statewide | Per-permit or per-device |
| Plumbing | New piping, repipes, fixtures, gas piping, and water heater replacement | Local trade review; performed by a contractor holding the matching state licence classification and qualifier | Per-permit minimum or per-fixture |
| Mechanical / HVAC | Changeouts, new ductwork, and refrigeration | Local trade review; changeout volume is heavy given Utah heating loads and wide seasonal swings | Per-permit minimum or per-unit |
| Patio cover and shade structure | Attached and detached covers, ramadas, and carports | Structural review for wind uplift and attachment, plus zoning for setbacks and lot coverage | Valuation or flat |
| Swimming pool | In-ground and above-ground pools and spas | Barrier, bonding, and electrical review; the state code adopts the residential provisions of the 2024 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code | Valuation or flat |
| Manufactured home set-up | Placing or re-siting a manufactured or modular home | Federal HUD label for manufactured homes or a state decal for modular units, with local zoning, floodplain, foundation, and utility connection review | Flat or per-unit |
| Demolition | Full or partial demolition of a dwelling or accessory structure | Utility disconnect confirmation, dust control where earthmoving is involved, and site restoration check | Flat |
| Owner-builder permit | Sole owners building for personal, non-commercial use | Owner-builder form filed with the residential application | Per the district's current fee schedule |
| Contractor authorisation | Any contractor pulling permits with the district | Notarised by a qualifier named on the state licence | No fee; a prerequisite to filing |
Rather talk it over?
Call 1-855-478-4290 →Commercial permit types
| Permit type | What triggers it | Review path | Fee basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| New commercial construction | Ground-up commercial, industrial, and institutional buildings | Concurrent review against the state-adopted 2024 International Building Code with Utah amendments, plus fire and zoning | Valuation-based |
| Tenant improvement / upfit | Interior fit-out of an existing tenant space | Building, trade, and life-safety review; accessibility attaches on change of use | Valuation-based |
| Change of occupancy | Converting a building or space to a different use group | Occupancy classification, egress, and accessibility review | Valuation or flat |
| Commercial electrical | Service, distribution, and branch circuit work | Local trade review and local inspection; Utah has no central state electrical permit for either residential or commercial work | Per-permit or valuation |
| Commercial plumbing | Process piping, fixtures, backflow, and grease waste | Local trade review; backflow and grease interceptor sign-off where applicable | Per-fixture or valuation |
| Commercial mechanical | Rooftop units, kitchen exhaust and hood systems, and refrigeration | Local trade review; hood and suppression systems draw fire review alongside mechanical | Per-unit or valuation |
| Commercial reroof | Roof covering replacement on a commercial structure | Deck, dry-in, and attachment inspection | Valuation or squares |
| Signage | Wall, ground, and illuminated signs | Zoning review for size and placement, plus electrical where illuminated | Flat or per-sign |
| Grading and drainage | Clearing, grading, and site work that alters drainage | Civil review of grading and drainage, separate from the building permit | Acreage or valuation |
| Dust control permit | Earthmoving, trenching, and construction dust on a qualifying site | Utah Division of Air Quality, not the building department; a fugitive dust control plan is required for qualifying sites larger than a quarter acre | Set by the Utah Division of Air Quality where a dust control plan is required |
| Commercial demolition | Full or partial demolition of a commercial structure | Utility disconnect, asbestos notification, dust control, and site restoration | Flat or valuation |
| Grading permit | Site grading in the district's service area | Administered by the same district as the building permit | Per the district's current fee schedule |
| Floodplain permit | Development within the regulated floodplain | Also administered by the district, alongside stormwater and engineering | Per the district's current fee schedule |
Residential
- Building and trade permits are issued and inspected by the same local authority
- There is no separate state electrical permit — electrical is a local record
- A state contractor licence in the correct classification is required, with a named qualifier where the classification demands one
- Properties on septic need on-site wastewater approval before ground is broken
Commercial — multi-discipline
- Concurrent review across building, trades, fire, and zoning
- Signed and sealed plans across every affected discipline
- The licensee's classification must match the actual scope of work
- Accessibility and life-safety review attach to any change of occupancy
Records you will actually see in Salt Lake County
| Record | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Building permit | Construction, alteration and demolition in the district's service area |
| Grading permit | Site grading, administered by the district |
| Floodplain permit | Development within the regulated floodplain |
| Trade permit | Electrical, plumbing, mechanical and gas by the licensed contractor |
| Owner-builder permit | Sole owners only, for personal non-commercial use |
| Contractor authorisation | Notarised by a qualifier named on the state licence |
| Addressing request | Through the district's addressing function |
| Business permit | Through the district's separate business permit portal |
| Solar photovoltaic permit | Arrays, inverters and battery storage |
Rather not deal with the Salt Lake County building department?
Get a free quote →Solar permits in Salt Lake County
Solar in the district's service area is permitted and inspected locally, with the structural attachment and the electrical scope reviewed together. The Utah-specific point is the edition: the state's adopted electrical code did not move in the 2026 transition, so it sits a cycle behind the building code family. A designer who reads the building code year and infers the electrical year will get rapid shutdown, labelling and conductor requirements wrong. Snow load at Salt Lake Valley elevations is a real structural input on an array, and interconnection stays with the serving utility.
Roofing permits in Salt Lake County
A roof covering replacement is permitted work here and follows the ordinary sequence, with the deck and dry-in available for inspection before the covering goes on. Two district rules govern the visit: requests go in before 3 p.m. for the following business day, and stamped plans must be on site printed full size. Salt Lake Valley roofing is designed against snow load, freeze-thaw and ice damming rather than the sustained heat that governs the desert south-west.
Solar and roofing work follow the statewide code, and utilities run interconnection on their own timeline. Utah rules
Salt Lake County permit cost
Permit fees follow the district's current fee schedule, with building fees valuation-driven and plan review assessed alongside. Because the district also administers grading, floodplain and engineering scopes, a project on a sloped or flood-prone parcel can carry several district fees rather than one.
The statewide code position affects cost more than most applicants expect. Two things follow from a transition this recent. First, local documents lag the statute: city permit packets, design-criteria sheets and policy PDFs across Utah still cite the previous editions, and the statute governs rather than the un-updated handout. Second, the adopted energy provisions carry statewide amendments, and a number of Utah jurisdictions describe their residential energy requirements at an older level than the adopted edition would suggest. Confirm the residential energy path with the jurisdiction rather than inferring it from the adopted year.
| Fee component | How it works |
|---|---|
| Building permit fee | Valuation-based under the district's current fee schedule |
| Plan review | Assessed alongside the building permit |
| Grading permit | Administered by the district as its own scope |
| Floodplain permit | Also administered by the district |
| Trade permits | Electrical, plumbing, mechanical and gas per discipline |
| Engineering and stormwater | Assessed separately where the scope applies |
| Re-inspection | Charged where an inspection has to be repeated |
Want a precise number for a specific Salt Lake County project? Send us the scope and we will price the permit path before you file.
Salt Lake County trade permits
The trades are permitted and inspected by the district under Utah's statewide adopted editions. There is no central state electrical permit, so the whole trade record sits locally — but the licence behind it is a state licence.
Electrical permits
Required for service changes, panel work, new circuits, solar and EV charging. Utah's adopted electrical code did not move in the 2026 transition, so the electrical edition is a cycle behind the building code family — a detail worth confirming rather than inferring from the building code year.
Plumbing and gas permits
Required for new piping, repipes, fixtures, water heaters, sewer and water connections and gas piping. The plumbing code did move in the transition, so plumbing and building now sit on the same newer edition while the residential code does not.
Mechanical permits
Required for furnaces, boilers, air conditioning, heat pumps, ductwork and ventilation. Salt Lake Valley design conditions carry a real heating load alongside summer cooling, so equipment sizing is a two-sided calculation rather than a cooling-only one.
Fire and specialty
Fire review in Utah splits between two levels and the division is worth settling before you file. The State Fire Marshal carries plan review responsibility for state-owned buildings, schools and hospitals along with certain fire and life-safety licensing, while local fire authorities review most ordinary city and county work. Fire alarm, sprinkler, suppression, hood, hazardous materials and access approvals then run alongside the building permit rather than inside it.
Want this handled start to finish?
Get a free quote →Contractors are licensed by the state Division of Professional Licensing, and a business licence must name a qualifier. Utah rules
Salt Lake County permit application: how to apply step by step
Here is how to get a building permit in Salt Lake County, from confirming the requirement through to close-out. Each step below corresponds to a real decision point where projects commonly stall.
Unincorporated county and the district's member communities go to the Municipal Services District. Salt Lake City and the valley's other cities permit their own. Use the published boundary map rather than the postal address.
New contractors complete a contractor form to join the system, and the authorisation form listing permit-pulling employees must be signed and notarised by a qualifier named on the state licence.
Utah adopts one code set statewide. The building, plumbing, mechanical, fuel gas, energy, existing building and pool codes moved to their newer editions in July 2026; the residential and electrical codes did not.
Applications are reviewed in the order they are received electronically, so a complete first submittal is worth more than an early incomplete one.
Grading, floodplain, stormwater and engineering all sit with the same district. On a sloped or flood-prone parcel, open those early rather than after building review.
Stamped plans must be on site and printed full size, and inspection requests go in before 3 p.m. for the following business day.
Inspections in Salt Lake County
Inspections are booked on the district's building inspection hotline or by email to its inspections address, with requests in before 3 p.m. scheduled for the following business day. The district is explicit that stamped plans must be on site and printed full size — a requirement that catches out teams working from tablets.
In Utah the building permit is a lien document, and the mechanism is unusual enough to be worth stating plainly. Under the state's lien provisions, the local government entity that issues a building permit must, within 15 days of issuing it, transmit the building permit information to the State Construction Registry — and that transmitted information forms the basis of the notice of commencement for the project. You do not file it; the jurisdiction does, automatically, because your permit issued.
Two consequences follow. The person to whom the permit is issued is responsible for the accuracy of the information in that permit application, so an error entered at the permit counter propagates into the lien registry rather than staying a clerical detail. And because subcontractor preliminary notice deadlines run from the registry filing, the date your permit issues is effectively the date the downstream notice clock starts for everyone on the job. Check the registry entry after issuance rather than assuming it is right.
Close-out follows the ordinary sequence to the occupancy approval once every required inspection has passed. Where the project also carried grading, floodplain or engineering scopes, those sign-offs are part of getting there, and they sit with the same district rather than a separate agency.
Salt Lake County permit search and official resources
These are the primary Greater Salt Lake MSD and Utah sources behind this guide. Adopted editions changed recently, so confirm the position for your filing date.
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →- Greater Salt Lake MSD building services
- Greater Salt Lake MSD building permits
- Greater Salt Lake MSD building permit application
- Greater Salt Lake MSD planning and development
- Utah Code Title 15A, State Construction and Fire Codes Act
- Utah Code Section 15A-2-103, adopted code editions
- Utah DOPL contracting
Frequently asked questions
Who issues building permits in unincorporated Salt Lake County?
The Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District, not a county building department. Its building department reviews building, fire, mechanical, electrical and plumbing drawings and performs the inspections for the unincorporated county and its member communities.
Which communities does the district serve?
Magna, Kearns, White City and Emigration Canyon, the towns of Copperton and Brighton, and unincorporated Salt Lake County. Those communities voted in 2015 to be served this way, and Brighton incorporated as a member in 2020.
What happened to the term metro township?
State legislation in 2024 dropped it, so communities previously described as metro townships are now described as cities. Older guidance still uses the earlier vocabulary, which is one reason second-hand summaries of this county tend to be out of date.
Does Utah have a statewide building code?
Yes. The State Construction and Fire Codes Act in Title 15A of the Utah Code adopts construction code editions that apply across the entire state, rather than leaving each city and county to choose. What varies locally is amendments, zoning, fire authority and service district — not the edition.
Are all the Utah codes on the same edition year?
No, and this is the most common Utah code error. Effective July 2026 the building, plumbing, mechanical, fuel gas, energy, existing building and pool and spa codes moved to their 2024 editions, while the residential code remains 2021 and the electrical code remains 2023.
Do I need fire sprinklers in a new house?
Not by force of the state residential code. Utah amended the residential code to remove the model requirement for automatic fire sprinkler systems in new one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses. A prototype drawn for a jurisdiction that enforces the model requirement is not the same building here.
How do I schedule an inspection?
Through the district's building inspection hotline or by emailing its inspections address, with the request in before 3 p.m. to be scheduled for the following business day. Stamped plans must be on site and printed full size for the inspection to proceed.
What does the contractor authorisation form require?
It lists every employee with authority to obtain permits for your company, and it must be signed and notarised by one of the qualifiers listed on your state licence. Contractors who have not permitted with the district before also complete a new contractor form to be added to the system.
Can I permit as an owner-builder?
Only within narrow limits. You must be the sole owner of the property, and the proposed work must be for personal, non-commercial and non-public use, meeting the state licensing division's requirements. The owner-builder form is submitted with a residential application.
Does my building permit affect lien rights?
Yes, and more directly than in most states. The local government entity issuing a building permit must transmit the permit information to the State Construction Registry within 15 days of issuing it, and that information forms the basis of the notice of commencement. The permit holder is responsible for the accuracy of that information.
Who handles floodplain and grading?
The same district. Its planning and development function covers planning and zoning, addressing, building and grading permits and inspections, plan review, floodplain permits, stormwater management planning and engineering. Some other services, including rights of way, are contracted back to Salt Lake County.
Do I need a licensed contractor?
In almost all cases. Utah licenses contractors through the Division of Professional Licensing, with classifications covering general, residential and building contractors plus the trades and specialty scopes, and several classifications require a named qualifier. The licence is valid statewide; besides it, state law requires only a business licence from the city or county where the contractor's main office is.
Simplify Salt Lake County permitting with Alliance Permitting
The most expensive mistake in Salt Lake County is filing with the wrong body — the county, a neighbouring city, or a district that does not cover the parcel. Alliance Permitting prepares, files and tracks Salt Lake County permits with the Municipal Services District through issuance.
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- We confirm the permitting body from the parcel before a package is assembled.
- We get the notarised qualifier authorisation in place ahead of the first filing.
- We design to the statewide editions and keep the residential and electrical split straight.
- We open grading and floodplain scopes early, since the same district owns them.
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.
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More Utah permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Salt Lake County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.