Des Moines building department

The City of Des Moines Permit and Development Center (PDC) issues building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, demolition, and right-of-way obstruction permits inside Des Moines city limits; the main line is (515) 283-4200 and the permits email is [email protected]. The PDC has moved to the T.M. Franklin Cownie City Administration Building (City Hall), 1200 Locust Street, and is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Some older PDC handouts still show the former Armory address, 602 Robert D. Ray Drive. A Des Moines mailing address can sit in a suburb or unincorporated Polk County, which permit separately, so confirm the jurisdiction first. City code requires a separate permit for each building, each address, and each trade.

What does not need a building permit

Municipal Code Sec. 26-302 (as amended by Ordinance 15,597 in 2017) exempts these from a building permit. Separate electrical, plumbing, or mechanical permits may still be required, and zoning rules still apply.

Work	Exempt when
Shed, playhouse, pet shelter (one story, detached)	120 sq ft or less, at least 2 ft from any property line and 3 ft from any dwelling, and meets zoning
Fence	Chain-link or wire 4 ft or less; any other fence 3 ft or less
Retaining wall	4 ft or less from bottom of footing to top of wall, not supporting a surcharge or impounding flammable liquids
Platforms, walks, driveways	30 in. or less above grade and not over a basement or story below
Water tank on grade	5,000 gallons or less, height-to-width ratio 2:1 or less
Window awnings (one- and two-family)	Project 54 in. or less
Finish work, playground equipment	Painting, papering, and similar

Minor repair policy (effective July 1, 2023): these are treated as exempt minor maintenance:

• Reroofing and residing that do not alter sheathing, decking, or framing (residing only on walls that are not required to be fire rated from the outside)
• Same-size window replacement, as long as the egress opening is not reduced and the window does not need safety glazing or fire protection
• Replacing deck boards on open wood decks
• Replacing non-rated doors with doors of the same size and swing
• Tuckpointing
• Drywall or plaster patching up to about a 64 sq ft area
• Foundation wall stabilization with anchors, plates, or braces

Helical and push-pier foundation repairs, and replacing finishes on an entire wall or ceiling, do need a permit. The asphalt-shingle handout adds that a permit is needed if roof sheathing or rafters are repaired or replaced. A roof recover (overlay) is not allowed over two or more existing layers, over wood shake, slate, clay, or cement tile, or over a water-soaked or deteriorated roof.

Fences: you need a permit for chain-link over 4 ft or any other fence over 3 ft. Front-yard fences are limited to 3 ft and must be picket or metal. Side and rear fences are limited to 6 ft. Fences within 5 ft of the house are limited to 4 ft. Privacy and chain-link fences are not allowed in front yards, and chain-link is not allowed in local historic districts. Fences may not be in the right-of-way or intersection vision clearance. Fence permits take 7 to 10 days. Historic-district properties need a Certificate of Appropriateness for other materials, taller fences, or setback changes. Zoning questions: (515) 283-4192 or [email protected].

Applying through CSS

Applications are filed in the city’s EnerGov Customer Self Service portal (css.dmgov.org). For example, decks are filed as a “Residential Other Building Permit.” The deck handout asks for a site plan with approximate distances to property lines, plus a deck plan showing height above grade, footing sizes and locations, posts, beams, joists, decking, stairs, guards, and handrails. Deck footings must reach the 42-inch frost depth and be at least 12 inches thick. Hot tubs on decks require structural engineering.

New homes and additions need plans drawn to scale and fully dimensioned; hand-drawn plans done without a straight edge are rejected. The site plan must show lot dimensions and area, impervious surfaces, driveway and approach widths, utility connections, easements, and all trees, including those in the right-of-way. Street-frontage sidewalks must be 5 ft wide. An energy compliance review is also required. Commercial projects follow the PDC’s Building Plan Submittal Checklist. Fire alarm and sprinkler plans go to the Fire Prevention Bureau.

Codes

Effective January 1, 2026, Des Moines enforces the 2024 International Building, Residential, Existing Building, and Fire Codes, with local amendments in Municipal Code Chapter 26. These replaced the 2021 editions adopted by Ordinance 16,317 in January 2024, which some PDC handouts still cite. The PDC publishes these local design criteria:

Criterion	Value
Ground snow load (IRC buildings)	33 psf
Wind speed	115 mph
Seismic design category (IRC)	A
Frost line depth	42 in.
Weathering	Severe
Termite	Moderate to heavy
Winter design temperature	0 F
Ice shield required	Yes

Fees (schedule effective February 1, 2025)

Residential permit	Fee
New single-family home, up to 1,200 sq ft finished	$1,050
New single-family home, 1,201 to 2,000 sq ft	$1,350
New single-family home, over 2,000 sq ft	$1,750
Addition to a dwelling	$250
Renovation of a dwelling	$150
New detached shed or garage	$175
Deck, fence, retaining wall, pool, hot tub, other accessory structure	$75
Electrical, mechanical, or plumbing for alterations/additions	$75 each
New-home electrical / mechanical / plumbing	$225 / $125 / $200
Residential demolition	$50 per building

Commercial building permits are based on valuation, starting at $64.38 for work under $2,000. Plan checking adds 65% of the building permit fee for buildings valued over $1,000, and energy review adds 2% (minimum $21). A certificate of occupancy is $50. Overtime inspections are $150 for up to 2 hours.

Inspections

Request inspections from your permit’s page in CSS. Inspection results and permit activity are public in the CSS search, and the PDC links inspector contact information through its Show Me My House tool (showmemyhouse.dsm.city), which also confirms whether a property is in the city’s jurisdiction. For decks, inspections are: footings before concrete; framing before decking or skirting is installed (this can be combined with the final if every connection is visible); and a final once stairs, guards, and handrails are done. Fence inspections are also scheduled in CSS.

Homeowner trade permits

Under the city code (Ordinance 15,545), an owner-occupant of a detached single-family home that is their homesteaded primary residence may get electrical, mechanical, or plumbing permits. To do so, the owner must first show the discipline inspector they are competent to do the specific work. Refrigerant recovery or charging still requires federal certification. Otherwise, trade permits are issued in the licensed contractor’s name.