Chandler building department

Chandler’s Development Services Department handles building plan review, permits, and inspections for property inside Chandler city limits. The office is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., except holidays. Maricopa County permitting does not apply to parcels inside the city.

Adopted codes and Chandler amendments

Chandler has adopted the 2024 International Building, Residential, Plumbing, Mechanical, Fuel Gas, Energy Conservation, Existing Building, and Swimming Pool and Spa codes, plus the 2023 National Electrical Code. Ordinance No. 5108 amends City Code Chapter 29 and Ordinance No. 5111 adopts the 2024 International Fire Code. Plans submitted on or after July 1, 2025 must meet these editions. Local amendments worth knowing:

• Fire sprinklers: Chandler requires automatic sprinklers throughout Group A, B, E, F, H, I, M, R, and S buildings. Detached one- and two-family (R-3) dwellings are exempt, and the city deleted the IRC section that would require sprinklers in new houses.
• Energy: In climate zone 2, the maximum Energy Rating Index for the IRC/IECC performance path is raised to 57.
• Expired permits: The Building Official can reinstate a permit that has been expired for one year or less if the code requirements affecting the project haven’t changed. The reinstatement fee is 50% of the current permit fee.

Work that does not need a permit

These exemptions come from Chandler’s amended IRC R105.2 and its Homeowner’s Building Permit Manual (rev. 4/09/26):

Work	Exempt when
Detached one-story shed or accessory structure	120 sq ft or less and 7 ft tall or less. Height can go up to 9 ft if you add 2 ft of setback for each extra foot of height
Fences	7 ft tall or less. Zoning clearance is still required for every fence or wall
Retaining walls	4 ft or less from bottom of footing to top of wall, with no surcharge. A fence on top of a retaining wall needs a permit
Re-roof	New covering’s classification equals or exceeds the existing one and adds no structural load
Like-for-like equipment	Water heaters, water softeners and treatment units, furnaces, evaporative coolers, pool/spa heaters, and circuit breakers of the same or lower rating, in the same location
Other	Sidewalks and driveways, finish work (paint, tile, cabinets, counters), playground equipment, prefab pools under 18 in. deep, window awnings projecting 54 in. or less

A re-roof does need a permit if you switch to a heavier material such as concrete tile or if the existing roof already has more than two layers. All pools and spas deeper than 18 inches need a permit. The barrier must be at least 6 ft tall, and gate latches must be at least 54 in. high. For questions about whether a permit is needed, call the Plan Reviewer of the Day at (480) 782-3078 ([email protected]).

Applying and electronic plan review

Chandler takes building permits through Citizen Access (Accela). To register, choose “Register for an Account” and allow pop-ups. Electronic submittals don’t need a separate paper application. When you create the record, enter only the street number, direction, and name, then the permit type and job valuation. Staff fill in the rest.

PDFs can be up to 99 MB each and must be flattened, with no layers or editable text. Start each file name with the discipline (for example, “Architectural …”), not the job name. Civil sheets must be 24” x 36”.

A free pre-technical review is required before submitting a subdivision, a site plan, a new building, or a substantial addition. Walk-in plan review for residential and small commercial work runs Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Registered design professionals who hold ICC Commercial Building Plans Examiner certification and are pre-approved by the Building Official can self-certify IRC interior remodels and some commercial tenant improvements. Normal fees still apply.

Homeowners can pull permits and do their own work. Under the city manual (citing A.R.S. 32-1121), a licensed contractor must get the permit if the home is leased or rented to others.

Fees

Fees follow City Code §29-1, fee schedule section 4.6 (Res. 4703). Plan review fees are due at submittal. Work done without a permit can be charged double.

Item	Fee
Permit, valuation $1 to $500	Fee schedule lists $50.00
Permit, valuation $100,000	$893.00 (then $5.00 per additional $1,000 up to $500,000)
Building plan review	65% of the permit fee. Expedited review (at the Building Official’s discretion) is double
Re-inspection	$60/hour, 1-hour minimum
After-hours inspection	$75/hour, 2-hour minimum
Residential pool / spa	$110 / $55
Residential solar PV or solar water heating	$150
Minor residential work (1 to 6 gas outlets or plumbing openings, 1 to 2 circuits)	$100

Inspections

You can request inspections four ways:

• Online through Citizen Access
• By phone through the IVR at (480) 782-3100, with your permit number and the three-digit inspection code. Call before midnight for a next-day inspection
• By text to 844-281-3520, for example S BLD200000 701 10/12 (permit number, code, date). C cancels, RESCHED reschedules, and RESULT returns results.
• In person at 215 E. Buffalo St.

Common codes include 700 footing, 713 rough frame, 754 rough electric, 733 rough plumbing/top-out, and 799 final. To find out who your inspector is and when to expect them, call the zone supervisor between 6 and 6:30 a.m.

Related offices

• Planning (Planner of the Day): (480) 782-3050, [email protected]. Handles setbacks, fence and wall clearance, and addition zoning.
• Civil (Reviewer of the Day): (480) 782-3079, [email protected]
• Permitting (Rep of the Day) and permit status: (480) 782-3074, [email protected]
• Records: permit history is searchable in Citizen Access. Copies of permits, plans, and certificates of occupancy require a public records request to [email protected].