Glendale building department

The City of Glendale Building Safety Division, part of Development Services, issues building permits and performs inspections for property inside Glendale city limits. Glendale is in Maricopa County. County islands and unincorporated parcels near Glendale use Maricopa County Planning and Development instead.

Before you apply: zoning and HOA

Glendale requires a Zoning Clearance Letter (ZCL) from the Planning Division before you submit a building permit for single-family accessory structures, additions, or accessory dwelling units. For commercial tenant improvements, the city recommends confirming the proposed use with Planning first. Both go through Planning’s online Planning Service Request Form. The city also strongly recommends checking HOA requirements before submitting plans.

How to submit plans

Property owners, licensed contractors, or authorized agents may apply. Glendale reviews plans electronically. Solar, pool, sign/banner, and new-house submittals use the dedicated links on the city’s Submit Electronic Plans page. All other project types are emailed to [email protected]. The city’s file rules:

• Construction plans go in one complete PDF, not individual pages. Sheets must be between 24” x 36” and 30” x 42”.
• The permit application, planning approval letters, calculations, and specifications each go in a separate PDF.
• Use TrueType fonts (Arial, Times New Roman, Courier, or Helvetica), and don’t use red ink anywhere in the drawings.

Plan review targets

The city’s published target turnaround times (effective January 29, 2018) count business days, starting the day after a complete submittal:

Residential project	1st review	2nd and later
Custom home plans	15	13
Standard home plans	20	15
Room additions and accessory buildings	10	10
Retaining walls, fences, pool engineering	10	10
Permit processing (pools, signs, misc.)	10	10

Commercial targets are 25/15 days for new buildings, 15/13 for remodels, and 10/10 for tenant improvements. Expedited review takes half the listed time, needs the Building Safety Official’s approval, and costs 300% of the normal plan review fee.

Common permit questions

The city’s permit Q&A and fee schedule answer several homeowner questions:

• Water heater or HVAC replacement: no permit is required for residential work installed by a licensed contractor.
• Windows: a permit is needed only for structural changes, such as changing the window size. Replacing broken glass needs no permit.
• Electrical, gas, and drain work: adding outlets, gas piping, or drain piping requires a permit. Replacing a loose receptacle does not.
• Fences and walls: the fee schedule lists fence/wall permits for fence walls over 6 ft and for retaining walls of any height.

Fees

Glendale’s current posted fee schedule is dated May 10, 2019. Permits for new buildings, additions, and pools are based on valuation, using ICC Building Valuation Data. Plan review fees are a percentage of the building permit fee, are due at submittal, and are charged on top of the permit fee. Rows from Table 3A of the schedule:

Total valuation	Building permit fee
$1–$500	$29.79
$2,001–$25,000	$86.64 for the first $2,000 + $17.74 per additional $1,000
$25,001–$50,000	$494.66 for the first $25,000 + $12.78 per additional $1,000
$50,001–$100,000	$814.16 for the first $50,000 + $8.86 per additional $1,000
$100,001–$500,000	$1,257.16 for the first $100,000 + $7.07 per additional $1,000

Plan review of revisions is billed at $122.88 per hour. Development impact fees are listed separately in the Impact Fee Schedule (effective September 8, 2025, revised June 24, 2026).

Codes in effect

Glendale adopted the 2024 IBC, IRC, IMC, IPC, IECC, IFGC, IFC, IEBC, and IPMC and the 2023 National Electrical Code, with city amendments effective January 9, 2026. Fire code amendments are codified in city ordinance.

Inspections

Schedule inspections through the automated phone system at (623) 915-3263, in English or Spanish. You’ll need the numeric part of the permit number and the three-digit inspection code from the city’s code list. To get a next-business-day inspection, call before 4:00 a.m. The system gives you a confirmation number.

A red tag means the work must be corrected and re-inspected. A green tag means the work passed. No part of the work may be concealed, covered, or put into use until it passes.

Permit expiration

A permit is valid for six months from issuance. Once you pass the first inspection, it stays valid as long as work continues and inspections are called in. According to the city’s Q&A, you must pass at least one inspection every 180 days, and projects have a 2-year maximum. If work stops for more than six months, the permit expires. After more than a year, you need a new permit with new plans and full fees. The Q&A puts the extension fee at 50% of the original permit fee and the renewal of an expired permit at 100%. Email extension or renewal requests to the Building Inspection Supervisor with the permit number and reason.

Certificate of occupancy

After all final inspections pass, email [email protected] with the project name, address, building permit number, and your contact details. Processing takes 5 business days, and the certificate is emailed. Copies of older certificates are requested through a public records request.

Office hours

Development Services at 5850 W. Glendale Avenue is open Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.