Colorado building departments
Find local permit offices, inspection services, and official resources across Colorado.
How permitting works in Colorado
Local codes; state energy-code minimums. Colorado has no statewide building code for private construction. Each city and county sets its own code and permit rules, and since 2023 any local code update must include a qualifying energy code.
A county name is only a geographic starting point. Depending on the address, a city, town, borough, township, or county office may issue your permit. How to check who issues your permit.
Colorado building codes and licensing
- Residential code
- No statewide residential code; counties and municipalities adopt their own, and state law sets minimum energy code rules when they update
- Outside city limits
- Counties adopt and enforce building codes for unincorporated areas. When a county updates a building code, it must also adopt a qualifying energy code under state law.
What is different in Colorado
- Under HB22-1362, a city or county that updates any building code between July 1, 2023 and July 1, 2026 must adopt an energy code at least as strong as the 2021 IECC, plus Colorado's model electric-ready and solar-ready code.
- Under HB22-1362, local code updates from July 1, 2026 on must meet the state's model low energy and carbon code. Rural counties that don't get a substantial training grant may use one of the three most recent IECC editions instead.
Colorado department guides
Browse Colorado counties
Adams CountyAlamosa CountyArapahoe CountyArchuleta CountyBaca CountyBent CountyBoulder CountyBroomfield CountyChaffee CountyCheyenne CountyClear Creek CountyConejos CountyCostilla CountyCrowley CountyCuster CountyDelta CountyDenver CountyDolores CountyDouglas CountyEagle CountyElbert CountyEl Paso CountyFremont CountyGarfield CountyGilpin CountyGrand CountyGunnison CountyHinsdale CountyHuerfano CountyJackson CountyJefferson CountyKiowa CountyKit Carson CountyLake CountyLa Plata CountyLarimer CountyLas Animas CountyLincoln CountyLogan CountyMesa CountyMineral CountyMoffat CountyMontezuma CountyMontrose CountyMorgan CountyOtero CountyOuray CountyPark CountyPhillips CountyPitkin CountyProwers CountyPueblo CountyRio Blanco CountyRio Grande CountyRoutt CountySaguache CountySan Juan CountySan Miguel CountySedgwick CountySummit CountyTeller CountyWashington CountyWeld CountyYuma County
Planning a project in Colorado?
Start with what the model codes say, then confirm local rules with the department that serves your address.