St. Cloud building department

St. Cloud’s Building Safety Department handles permits, plan review and inspections for building, plumbing, HVAC and electrical work inside the city, and it also licenses several trades locally. The counter is on the main floor of City Hall at 1201 7th Street South, open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. Inspectors keep short office windows — 8:00–9:00 a.m., 1:00–1:30 p.m. and 4:00–4:30 p.m. — and are in the field from 9:00 to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Applying in Accela

Building Safety permits and licenses are filed in Accela Citizen Access. Accounts from the city’s pre-2024 system did not carry over, so everyone needs a new public user account. Help with account setup is available weekdays 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at 320-650-3305.

How you get started depends on who you are:

• Homeowners create an account, open the Building tab and choose “Create an Application.”
• Contractors cannot apply until the city has linked their account to a license. City-licensed trades apply for that license in Accela; contractors licensed only by the state (residential, electrical, specialty and similar) email [email protected] with their account email, state license number and, where applicable, EPA lead firm certificate number.
• Architects and designers submitting for plan review before a contractor is chosen email their name and license number to be linked.

Residential and commercial roofing, siding, window and door projects each have their own permit type. A commercial contractor doing both mechanical and ventilation work can file a single Commercial HVAC permit.

The Accela address lookup works best with just the house number; enter numbered streets as digits (5, not 5th). A “No records found” result means the address is wrong or outside city limits — the city’s Property Search GIS can confirm.

Plan formats

Paper plans must be full scale on 11 x 17 paper or smaller. Commercial sheets larger than 11 x 17 must be uploaded through Accela. Commercial projects that change water use or fixture counts, change occupancy, or involve a new building need a WAC/SAC/TAC form with the application, and any project disturbing 5,000 square feet or more of land needs a city Land Disturbance Permit.

When a permit is required

The city’s residential list includes accessory structures over 200 square feet, decks, finished basements, fences over 7 feet, retaining walls over 4 feet, re-roofing, re-siding, replacement windows and exterior doors, wood stoves, and interior work exposing 96 square feet or more of existing framing.

No building permit is needed for a detached accessory structure of 200 square feet or less, a detached deck with a walking surface under 30 inches, or a fence under 7 feet. Those items still have to meet zoning: the Planning office issues a Land Use/Zoning permit for accessory structures between 100 and 200 square feet and for decks or platforms 7 to 30 inches above grade without frost footings.

Temporary pools up less than six months a year need no permit; a permanent pool needs one if it is over 24 inches deep and holds 5,000 gallons or more.

Fees

The department links Section 553 of the city code for building permit fees (the posted document carries no effective date). Highlights:

Item	Fee
Minimum building permit fee	$23.00
Single-family basement finish minimum	$65.00
Residing	$60.00 ($75.00 with replacement windows)
Reroofing with residing	$75.00
Replacement windows	$60.00
Deck	$60.00
Extra inspections or plan revisions	$53.00 per hour

Plan review runs 65% of the permit fee, or 40% for single-family dwellings, apartments and their accessory structures; repetitive plans are 25%. Starting work before getting a permit doubles the fee. Electrical fees follow a separate Section 550 schedule.

Expired permits

Work must begin within 180 days of issuance and cannot stop for more than 180 days; the city expects an inspection at least every six months. Reissuing an expired permit costs half the original fee or the minimum fee, whichever is greater, up to $100. Closing a permit without required inspections can bring an administrative citation of $250 to $1,000. Residential electrical permits expire 12 months after issuance.

Scheduling inspections

Each trade has its own inspector and phone line, and every inspection is scheduled separately with 24 hours’ notice on a first-come basis:

Inspection	Phone
Building	320-255-7238
Plumbing	320-255-7234
HVAC	320-255-7233
Commercial electrical	320-255-7235
Residential (1–2 family) electrical, replacement furnace	320-650-3143

Voicemail is checked three times a day; leave your name, phone, address or permit number, inspection type and preferred time, and wait for a callback confirming the slot. The inspection record card must be posted where it is visible from the street, and an adult must be present if the inspector needs to go inside. Photos of residential roofing and siding tear-offs go to [email protected].

Codes in force

The city enforces the Minnesota State Building Code through Ordinance Chapter III, Section 300; local amendments are not allowed. The department lists the 2020 Minnesota Building, Residential, Accessibility, Fire, Mechanical/Fuel Gas and Plumbing codes, the 2015 Residential Energy Code, the 2024 Commercial Energy Code and the 2026 Minnesota Electrical Code. St. Cloud has not adopted optional Minnesota Rules Chapter 1306.

Contractor licensing

St. Cloud issues its own licenses for commercial building, heating, plumbing, ventilation, sewer cleaning and sign hanging contractors. Only a city-licensed commercial contractor may pull a commercial building permit. Each city license requires liability coverage of $100,000/$500,000/$250,000 naming the city as certificate holder, plus workers’ compensation proof or an exemption form. Bond amounts vary — $25,000 for commercial contractors, $5,000 for sewer cleaners, $10,000 (or a state sign bond) for sign hangers.

A heating contractor license requires a St. Cloud Master A or B Mechanical Installer certificate earned by city exam. The 2027 tentative test dates are February 18 (applications due January 21), April 15 (due March 18) and September 16 (due August 19).

Residential building contractors and electricians are licensed by DLI instead; contractors working on homes built before 1978 also need EPA lead firm certification.

Owner-performed work

Owners of a residential home may do their own building work. Owners who also live there may do their own plumbing, HVAC and electrical work, provided the home is not a licensed rental or daycare.

Records and zoning contacts

Permit history for an address requires a Building Safety data request form, which can take up to 10 business days; Accela’s Building tab also offers a public record search. Zoning, setback and pool siting questions go to Planning and Zoning at 320-255-7218.