Building permits in St. George are issued by the Building Department within Community Development, at 61 S Main St (435-627-4100). Washington County, which grew about 18.5% between 2020 and 2025 according to the Census Bureau, permits the unincorporated remainder.
This guide covers the CityInspect portal and the shared registration that lets one login reach several Utah municipalities, the design inputs to confirm with the Building Department, how the statewide Title 15A codes apply, and how inspections are booked.
This guide covers work inside St. George city limits. Washington City, Hurricane, Ivins and Washington County are separate.
Confirm the design criteria with the Building Department. The city no longer publishes a design criteria table on its building page; it says all design criteria must follow the currently adopted building codes, under Utah’s House Bill 65 construction code amendments. Southern Utah still has real structural inputs — seismic design, soils, snow load, frost depth and termite exposure — so get the values for the site rather than assuming the desert means no structural constraints.
What requires a permit in St. George?
The St. George Building Department, part of Community Development, issues building permits for work inside the city limits. The department is at 61 S Main St, St. George, UT 84770 (435-627-4100), and City Hall is open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. St. George is the largest city in southern Utah, with 108,713 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. Washington County permits the unincorporated remainder, and Washington City, Hurricane, Santa Clara and Ivins each permit their own work.
Permits are requested through the city's CityInspect portal, and the registration arrangement is genuinely useful: all users create an account, and the city notes that if you are already a user with a different municipality you should register using the same credentials so that one login reaches all participating municipalities. For a contractor working across several southern Utah cities, that removes a recurring administrative nuisance.
Permit required
- New residential and commercial construction, additions and remodels
- Structural alterations, relocation and demolition
- Electrical service changes, panel work and new circuits
- Plumbing, gas piping, water heaters and fixture work
- Mechanical installations and equipment replacements
- Solar photovoltaic systems and battery storage
- Swimming pools and spas, with barrier compliance
- Re-roofing and exterior envelope work
Typically exempt
- Purely cosmetic finish work that alters no regulated system
- Like-for-like minor repairs not affecting structure or a system
- Routine maintenance that does not extend or reroute a system
- Work the city's published guidance identifies as exempt
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
St. George building department: who handles permitting
The Building Department sits within Community Development at City Hall, 61 S Main St, alongside Planning and Zoning. Submitting building permits online is the standard route, and the city publishes both a registration link for new users and a login link for existing ones.
24 hours' notice is expected for inspections once work is completed and ready. Given the pace of construction here, booking promptly and only when the work is genuinely ready matters more than in a slower market — an inspector's day fills quickly in a city growing this fast.
The city does not publish a site-by-site design criteria table, so the structural and mechanical inputs — snow load, seismic design category, frost depth, termite exposure and design temperatures — are worth confirming with the Building Department at the start of design rather than at plan review.
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Get a free quote →| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Authority | St. George Community Development, Building Department |
| Office | 61 S Main St, St. George, UT 84770 · 435-627-4100 |
| Hours | City Hall, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
| Portal | CityInspect, at the Utah CityInspect address |
| Registration | One login can reach multiple participating municipalities |
| Inspection notice | 24 hours once work is complete and ready |
| Design criteria | Must follow the currently adopted codes (Utah House Bill 65); confirm site values with the Building Department |
| Governing code | Utah Title 15A statewide adopted editions |
| County | Washington County permits the unincorporated remainder |
One registration, several cities. The city asks all users to create a CityInspect account, and notes that a contractor already registered with a different municipality should register here using the same credentials so that one login reaches all participating municipalities. For anyone building across southern Utah that is worth setting up deliberately rather than creating a fresh account per city and losing the benefit.
St. George is not Washington County, and it is not Washington City. Three separate authorities operate here with confusingly similar names: the City of St. George, the City of Washington immediately east, and Washington County, which permits the unincorporated remainder with its own electronic-only process. Hurricane, Santa Clara, Ivins and La Verkin are separate again, and Zion and substantial federal land sit outside all of them.
In 2025, building permits issued in St. George authorized 936 new privately owned housing units, 822 of them single-family homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey.
St. George permits: record types and what each covers
The record catalog is conventional; what matters in St. George is confirming the design inputs behind each record before plan review.
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 |
| Shared portal registration | Contractors working across southern Utah | One login can reach all participating municipalities | No fee |
| Structural engineering | Projects where the site’s seismic design category requires engineering | Confirm the seismic design category and soils requirements with the Building Department | A design cost |
Not sure this scope needs a permit?
Get a free quote →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 |
| Commercial building permit | New commercial construction and tenant improvement | Filed through the same CityInspect portal | Per the city schedule |
| Termite protection detailing | Projects where termite protection is required | Confirm the termite exposure for the site with the Building Department | A detailing requirement |
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 St. George
| Record | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Residential building permit | New homes, additions, remodels and accessory structures |
| Commercial building permit | New commercial construction and tenant improvement |
| Trade permit | Electrical, plumbing, mechanical and gas by the licensed contractor |
| Solar photovoltaic permit | Arrays, inverters and battery storage |
| Swimming pool and spa permit | Pools, spas and required barrier compliance |
| Re-roof permit | Roof covering replacement and structural deck repair |
| Demolition permit | Removal of a building or structure |
| Third-party inspection | Where the city cannot inspect within three business days |
| Certificate of occupancy | Once every required inspection is clear |
Rather not deal with the building department?
Get a free quote →Solar permits in St. George
Solar in St. George is permitted and inspected by the city, with the structural attachment and the electrical scope reviewed together. 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. Southern Utah’s solar resource means arrays here are among the largest in the state, so service capacity behind the interconnection is a genuine design question. Confirm the seismic design category for the site when detailing the attachment.
Roofing permits in St. George
A roof covering replacement is permitted work and follows the ordinary sequence. Confirm the roof snow load for the site with the Building Department rather than assuming a desert value of zero. Roofing here is designed against sustained heat and ultraviolet exposure as well, so assembly selection turns on thermal movement and long-term stability.
Solar and roofing work follow the statewide code, and utilities run interconnection on their own timeline. Utah rules
St. George permit cost
Permit fees follow the city's adopted schedule, with building fees valuation-driven and plan review assessed alongside, and trade permits charged per discipline. Applications, fees and inspection requests all run through the same portal.
The design costs specific to St. George are structural. Where the site’s seismic design category or soils call for it, soils investigation and structural engineering apply to projects that would be prescriptive elsewhere, and termite protection can be a real detailing requirement. Utah jurisdictions commonly double permit fees where work has been started or completed without a permit, and several publish that rule explicitly. Treat it as the default expectation rather than an unusual penalty.
| Fee component | How it works |
|---|---|
| Building permit fee | Valuation-based under the city's adopted schedule |
| Plan review | Assessed alongside the building permit |
| Trade permits | Electrical, plumbing, mechanical and gas per discipline |
| Soils and structural engineering | Driven by the site’s seismic design category |
| Termite protection | A detailing requirement where termite protection applies |
| Fire review | Through the local fire authority alongside the building permit |
| Re-inspection | Charged where an inspection has to be repeated |
Want a precise number for a specific St. George project? Send us the scope and we will price the permit path before you file.
St. George trade permits
The trades are permitted and inspected by the city under Utah's statewide adopted editions. There is no central state electrical permit, so the record sits with the city while the licence 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 confirm the edition rather than inferring it. Southern Utah's solar resource means array sizes here are among the largest in the state.
Plumbing and gas permits
Required for new piping, repipes, fixtures, water heaters and gas piping. Water conservation considerations shape fixture and landscape decisions across this region more than anywhere else in Utah.
Mechanical permits
Required for furnaces, air conditioning, heat pumps and ductwork. Summer design temperatures here are high, so cooling capacity and duct design dominate rather than heating.
Structural and soils
Not a trade permit, but the discipline the design inputs most affect. Where the site’s seismic design category and soils call for it, a structural approach that would be prescriptive elsewhere may need engineering here.
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
St. George permit application: how to apply step by step
Here is how to get a building permit in St. George, from confirming the requirement through to close-out. Each step below corresponds to a real decision point where projects commonly stall.
Washington City, Hurricane, Santa Clara and Ivins permit their own work, and Washington County permits the unincorporated remainder through a separate electronic-only process.
Create a CityInspect account, and if you are already registered with another municipality use the same credentials so one login reaches all participating cities.
Confirm the snow, seismic, frost line, termite and design temperature values for the site with the Building Department rather than assuming southern Utah imposes no structural constraints.
Title 15A sets the editions. Keep the split straight: the residential code stayed on 2021 while the building, plumbing and mechanical codes moved to 2024.
Applications, plans, fees and inspection requests all run through the same system.
Request once the work is complete and ready. In a city growing this fast, inspector capacity is genuinely constrained.
Inspections in St. George
Inspections are requested through the portal with 24 hours' notice once the work is completed and ready. The city runs a permits and inspections page alongside the building department page, and the same account covers both applying and requesting.
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 certificate of occupancy once every required inspection has passed. On a project that also involved fire review or public works scopes, those approvals have to be clear as well.
Utah law lets you use a third-party inspection firm when the building department cannot inspect within three business days. Utah rules
St. George permit search and official resources
These are the primary St. George 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 →- St. George Building Department
- St. George permits and inspections
- 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 Construction Registry
Frequently asked questions
How do I apply in St. George?
Through the city's CityInspect portal. All users create an account, and if you are already a user with a different municipality the city asks you to register with the same credentials so that one login reaches all participating municipalities.
Does the city publish design criteria?
Not as a table any more. The city’s building page says all design criteria must follow the currently adopted building codes, under Utah’s House Bill 65 construction code amendments. Confirm the snow load, seismic design category, frost depth, termite exposure and design temperatures for the site with the Building Department.
Is southern Utah seismically active?
Yes. Treat seismic design as a real input and confirm the seismic design category for the site with the Building Department. It is the entry out-of-state designers most often miss, because they assume the desert south-west means low seismic demand.
Do I need termite protection?
It can be. Confirm the termite exposure for the site with the Building Department and address it in the design rather than at inspection.
How much notice do inspections need?
24 hours once the work is completed and ready. In a city growing this quickly, inspector capacity is genuinely constrained, so book promptly and only when the work is actually ready.
Which codes apply?
Utah's statewide adopted editions under Title 15A rather than a city-chosen edition. 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.
Is St. George the same as Washington City?
No, and this is the most common confusion in the area. The City of St. George, the City of Washington and Washington County are three separate authorities. Hurricane, Santa Clara, Ivins and La Verkin permit their own work again.
What if the city cannot inspect in time?
Utah law lets you use a third-party inspection firm when the city or county cannot inspect within three business days of your request. Pick a firm from the building department's approved list and tell the building department which firm you will use before you hire it.
Do I need fire sprinklers in a new house?
Not by force of the state residential code, which Utah amended to remove the model requirement for automatic sprinklers in new one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses. Local fire requirements can still apply.
Does my permit affect lien rights?
Yes. A city, town or county that issues a building permit for a private project must send the permit information to the State Construction Registry within 15 days, and the contractor must post a copy of the permit at the site. The permit holder is responsible for its accuracy.
What happens if I build without a permit?
Utah jurisdictions commonly double permit fees for work started or completed without a permit, and several publish that rule explicitly. Treat it as the default expectation.
Do I need a licensed contractor?
In almost all cases. Utah licenses contractors through the Division of Professional Licensing, and a business licence must name a 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 St. George permitting with Alliance Permitting
St. George runs a portal that spans municipalities, and its design inputs are best confirmed with the Building Department before design is fixed. Alliance Permitting prepares, files and tracks St. George 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 St. George because the work is done by people who have stood at the counter:
- We confirm the site’s design criteria with the city rather than relying on a generic southern-desert assumption.
- We set the shared portal registration up once so it works across southern Utah cities.
- We separate city, Washington City and Washington County at the outset, since the names collide.
- We book inspections only when work is genuinely ready, because capacity here is tight.
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 St. George permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.