Las Cruces building department

The City of Las Cruces Community Development Department issues building permits and performs inspections for property inside Las Cruces city limits. Permits, business registrations, payments, and inspection requests all run through the city’s Accela Citizen Portal. The Permitting Counter at 700 N. Main Street is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Questions go to the permitting desk at (575) 528-3059.

Applying for a permit

Before you apply, the property needs a valid address assigned by the city. You can request or validate one through the city’s online address form. Then register for a portal account, open the Building tab, choose Create an Application, and work through the steps. The city lists residential, commercial, special use, and RV parking permit types.

The city says residential permits are processed in 0 to 3 business days. Commercial permits take 0 to 8 business days, depending on valuation. Expedited review costs $1,000 on top of the regular permit and plan check fees. See also how long a building permit takes.

Building permits are issued as a general permit. Electrical, mechanical, and plumbing work each need their own permit, pulled by a contractor holding the matching New Mexico license.

Since October 20, 2026, online payments carry a convenience fee of 3% plus $0.20 per transaction. To avoid it, pay by cash or check at 700 N. Main Street.

Fees

The fee schedule the city links from its permit page is the 2023 Schedule of Fees, effective February 1, 2023. Every permit fee below triples if work starts before a permit is approved.

Permit	Fee
New single-family, townhouse, or duplex	$0.20 per sq. ft. of gross floor area ($50 minimum)
Residential remodel or addition	Same rate, applied to the work area
Plan check (residential and commercial)	25% of the building permit fee, due at application
Residential electrical or pool	$150
Residential service, temporary, or low voltage	$75
Residential solar PV (plan review and inspections)	$250
Residential mechanical	$150 flat
Residential plumbing (new, remodel, addition)	$150 flat
Roofing	Building permit table, based on valuation
Demolition, interior non-load-bearing	$50
Demolition, all other	$175
Temporary certificate of occupancy	$150 or 25% of the building permit fee, whichever is greater

Commercial building fees use the city’s ICC-based valuation table. They start at $50 under $2,000 and reach $5,830 plus $4 per $1,000 above $1 million. Technology fees are added: $10 per trade permit, $20 per residential building permit, and the greater of $100 or 5% on commercial permits. A same-day certificate of occupancy costs $150. It is available only if all inspections are done and logged by noon.

Commercial and multifamily pre-submittal meetings

Project	Pre-submittal meeting
Commercial new construction, addition, or alteration valued at $1 million or more	Required
Multifamily, duplex or larger, any valuation	Required
Commercial work under $1 million	Optional

An owner’s representative, such as the architect or engineer, can request the meeting by emailing [email protected] with the project details. Plans must be at least 90% complete in every discipline. Meetings are held on Tuesdays, for one hour between 9 a.m. and noon, in Community Development Conference Room 1158 or on Microsoft Teams for out-of-town professionals. Requests made before noon on a Tuesday get the next available date. Reviewers from building, fire, planning, utilities, engineering, and other divisions each get two days to check completeness. If the plans aren’t ready, the meeting is cancelled.

Inspections

Request inspections in the Citizen Portal: open the record, choose Inspections, then Schedule or Request an Inspection. The rules:

• No inspection can be requested until the permit is issued.
• Only the licensed permit holder for each trade may request that trade’s inspections.
• Request only when the work is complete and ready.
• Same-day and non-working-day requests aren’t allowed. You can ask for a date up to five working days out.
• Staff book the earliest open slot on or after the requested day.

Trade	Inspection types
Building	Foundation/concrete, frame, lath, insulation, deck/roof, driveway/sidewalk, final
Mechanical	Rough-in, final
Plumbing	Rough-in, top-out, gas piping, yard line, final
Electrical	Temporary service, underground, rough-in, low voltage, final

Permit expiration

A permit is valid for 180 days. Each passed inspection extends it another 180 days, up to one year in total. An expired permit can be reinstated within 180 days of expiring, but only if it is less than 365 days from the original issuance.