Salt Lake County Permits Required: Wasatch Front Homeowner Guide (2026)

Which jurisdiction governs your address?

Salt Lake County has 17 incorporated cities/towns plus several unincorporated areas. The big ones every homeowner should know:

• ✓ Salt Lake City, handled by SLC Building Services. Portal: Accela Citizen Access. Phone: (801) 535-7968.
• ✓ West Valley City, handled by West Valley Community & Economic Development. Phone: (801) 963-3220.
• ✓ Sandy, handled by Sandy Building Division. Phone: (801) 568-7250.
• ✓ West Jordan, handled by West Jordan Community Development. Phone: (801) 569-5060.
• ✓ South Jordan, handled by South Jordan Building Division. Phone: (801) 446-4357.
• ✓ Draper, handled by Draper Community Development. Phone: (801) 576-6539.
• ✓ Murray, handled by Murray City Community & Economic Development. Phone: (801) 264-2620.
• ✓ Holladay, handled by Holladay Community Development. Phone: (801) 527-3890.
• ✓ Cottonwood Heights, handled by CH Community Development. Phone: (801) 944-7000.
• ✓ Millcreek, handled by Millcreek Planning & Building. Phone: (801) 214-2700.
• ✓ Riverton, handled by Riverton Community Development. Phone: (801) 208-3157.
• ✓ Taylorsville, handled by Taylorsville Community Development. Phone: (801) 955-2013.
• ✓ Bluffdale, handled by Bluffdale Community Development. Phone: (801) 254-2200.
• ✓ Herriman, handled by Herriman Community Development. Phone: (801) 446-5323.
• ✓ Unincorporated areas (e.g., Magna, Kearns, White City, Copperton, Emigration Canyon), handled by the Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District (MSD) or Salt Lake County Building Services depending on specific location. Phone: (385) 468-6700.

The fastest way to figure out which jurisdiction governs YOUR address: go to slco.org/recorder and look up your parcel. The recorder’s record shows your municipality.

What triggers a permit requirement in Salt Lake County jurisdictions

All Salt Lake County jurisdictions follow the same baseline: the 2024 IRC adopted by Utah HB 65 on July 1, 2026. The big-picture permit triggers are consistent across cities:

• ✓ Structural changes, moving walls, removing walls (load-bearing or not), adding rooms, building additions
• ✓ New electrical circuits, new panels
• ✓ New plumbing fixtures (new bathroom, new sink in a new location, etc.)
• ✓ New gas lines
• ✓ Basement finishing
• ✓ Decks more than 30 inches above grade
• ✓ Roof replacement (most jurisdictions, even for like-for-like)
• ✓ Detached structures over 200 sqft
• ✓ Mechanical (HVAC) installations and replacements
• ✓ Water heater replacements (almost universally permit-required)
• ✓ Egress window installation
• ✓ Solar panel installation
• ✓ Pool installation (in-ground or above-ground over a certain depth)

• ✓ Interior paint and wallpaper
• ✓ Carpet, vinyl plank, hardwood overlay flooring
• ✓ Fixture replacement in existing location (faucet swap, light fixture swap, toilet swap, ceiling fan swap)
• ✓ Cabinet replacement using existing layout
• ✓ Countertop replacement using existing layout
• ✓ Tile and grout
• ✓ Cosmetic exterior work (paint, re-staining)
• ✓ Sub-200 sqft detached storage sheds (most jurisdictions)
• ✓ Decks 30 inches or less above grade (most jurisdictions)

Important: “Permit-exempt” doesn’t mean “code-exempt.” Even when you don’t need a permit, the work still has to meet code. A future inspector or pre-sale inspection can flag non-code work and require it to be brought up to standard.

Permit fees in Salt Lake County jurisdictions

Salt Lake County jurisdictions use a valuation-based fee system. The bigger the project’s “fair market valuation” (cost of work including labor and materials), the bigger the permit fee.

General fee ballparks (varies by city):

• ✓ Minor permits (water heater swap, basic electrical circuit, single fixture install): $50 – $150
• ✓ Bathroom remodel permit: $200 – $400
• ✓ Basement finishing permit: $400 – $1,200 (varies heavily by valuation and city)
• ✓ Kitchen remodel permit: $300 – $800
• ✓ Roof replacement permit: $80 – $200
• ✓ Deck construction permit: $150 – $400
• ✓ Addition / new construction: $1,500 – $15,000+ depending on size and valuation

Each city publishes its fee schedule online. Salt Lake City’s is at slc.gov/buildingservices. Most other SLC County jurisdictions publish theirs on their building department page.

The owner-builder exemption (Utah state law)

Utah state law allows homeowners to pull permits for their own primary residence in most jurisdictions. The conditions:

• ✓ The structure must be your primary residence (not a rental, not a flip)
• ✓ You must sign an Owner/Builder Certification (form provided by jurisdiction)
• ✓ You’re personally responsible for the work meeting code
• ✓ You cannot resell the home within 1 year of completion without disclosing the owner-built work
• ✓ You cannot hire unlicensed contractors to do work that requires licensing

For maintenance/repair work valued under $3,000 (excluding anything structural), property owners or their representatives can pull a permit without the formal owner-builder certification. Salt Lake City specifically allows roofing under this exception.

How to actually pull a permit in Salt Lake City

SLC has the most digital-forward process in the county. Use it as the model.

• ✓ Go to the SLC Citizen Access Portal (Accela): aca-prod.accela.com/SLCREF
• ✓ Create an account using your email
• ✓ Click “Apply for a Permit” → select project type
• ✓ Enter project address, valuation, scope description
• ✓ Upload plans (required for most permits beyond minor): submit through ProjectDox (the City’s electronic plan review system)
• ✓ Pay application fee via Teller (the City’s online payment portal)
• ✓ Wait for plan review: minor permits same-day to 1 week; complex permits 2-6 weeks
• ✓ Once approved, schedule required inspections at each project stage
• ✓ Receive final inspection approval / certificate of occupancy

For other SLC County jurisdictions: each city has a similar portal (most use Accela, some use Tyler Munis or proprietary systems). Phone the building department to confirm the right URL before starting.

What happens if you skip the permit and get caught

Working without a required permit in Salt Lake County jurisdictions results in:

• ✓ Stop Work Order (RED TAG): The City posts a red notice on your property requiring all work to stop immediately.
• ✓ Double permit fees: Most SLC County jurisdictions charge 2x the normal permit fee as a penalty.
• ✓ Retroactive inspection: Inspectors review work after-the-fact, often requiring tear-out of finishes (drywall, flooring) to inspect underlying work.
• ✓ Tear-out and redo: If work doesn’t meet code, you’ll be required to remove it and redo it correctly. This can mean ripping out a finished basement to reinspect framing/electrical/plumbing.
• ✓ Selling the home becomes harder: Pre-listing inspectors flag unpermitted work. Mortgage appraisers see unpermitted additions and refuse to value them. Buyers often walk or demand significant credit.
• ✓ Insurance claim denial: If unpermitted work causes damage (electrical fire from non-code wiring, flood from non-code plumbing), your homeowner’s insurance can deny the claim.

The cost-benefit math is straightforward: a $400 permit and a few inspections is always less expensive than a forced retroactive permit, tear-out, and pre-sale negotiation hit.

Common Salt Lake County homeowner projects and their permit status

For specific scenarios, open-concept kitchen, adding a bathroom, finishing a basement, replacing windows, replacing a water heater, adding a deck, see the detailed breakdown in our Utah 2026 Building Code homeowner guide.

What HMJ can help with on Salt Lake County projects

For permit-exempt residential work (paint, fixture swaps, cosmetic repairs, deferred maintenance), HMJ handles the work directly. For permit-required projects, we coordinate with licensed sub-contractor partners (DOPL #14195166-5501 on our company license). Owner Kris Bowen is a Utah real estate broker and understands the pre-listing implications of unpermitted work better than most contractors. We’ll tell you straight whether your project needs a permit, whether it needs a licensed contractor, and what the realistic cost looks like.

Not sure if your project needs a permit?

Send us photos or video. We’ll tell you straight whether your project needs a permit in your specific Salt Lake County jurisdiction, whether it needs a licensed contractor, and what it’ll cost. Free, no commitment.

About Handyman Jacks

Licensed Utah General Contractor (DOPL #14195166-5501). Fully insured. Holladay-based, serving the entire Wasatch Front. We handle the full range of residential repairs and improvements across Salt Lake County and adjacent counties.

This guide is general information, not legal or permit advice. Final permit decisions belong with your specific jurisdiction’s building department. Codes, fees, and processes can change; we update this guide quarterly. Updated June 2026; next refresh September 2026.