Provo building department

Provo City’s Building Division is part of Development Services at 445 West Center Street, Suite 200. It reviews plans, issues building, fire, and electrical permits, and inspects construction inside Provo city limits. Orem, Springville, and unincorporated Utah County run separate permit offices, so check your parcel against the Provo city boundary before you apply. Development Services is open Monday through Thursday, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and stops issuing building permits at 5:30 p.m. The Building Division office is closed on Fridays, and the city says Friday inspections are limited.

What needs a permit

Provo’s FAQ says most construction needs a building permit. That includes new buildings, additions, remodels, repairs, demolitions, changes of use or occupancy, and most electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and gas work. The city’s residential project pages list a few exceptions:

Project	Provo’s published rule
Shed or playhouse (residential)	No building permit if detached, one story, and 200 sq ft or less
Shed or similar (commercial)	No building permit if detached, one story, and 120 sq ft or less
Attached deck	Building permit required
Fence	Usually no building permit; fences over 6 ft need one, and all fences must meet setbacks and height limits
Painting, carpet, cosmetic finishes	Generally no permit

A shed that doesn’t need a permit still has to meet zoning. In most residential zones, an accessory building can sit 3 feet from a property line only if it is more than 6 feet from the house and no more than 12 feet tall. If you aren’t sure whether a project needs a permit, the city asks you to call the Building Division at (801) 852-6428 before you start. The site’s shed permit guide covers the general rules.

Applying through Provo’s CityView portal

Provo’s online portal runs on CityView. It handles building, fire, and electrical permit applications, Public Works and joint-use permits, planning applications, rental dwelling licenses, and property searches. It also has a fee estimator for planning applications. To use it:

1. Register for a portal account.
2. Submit the application.
3. Upload your plans and required documents.
4. Pay the plan review fee. Plan review starts after payment.

For help with the portal, call Provo 311 (dial 311 inside Provo, or (801) 852-6000 from outside the city). You can also get help in person at the office. New commercial work, multifamily, residential additions, decks, demolitions, pools, and tenant improvements each have their own checklist. For questions about the permit process, the city also lists (801) 852-6450 for the Building Division.

An accessory dwelling unit needs a building permit whenever construction or remodeling is involved, including finishing a basement for the unit or building one in the backyard. ADUs must also meet Provo’s zoning requirements for the unit.

Fees

Provo says permit fees depend on the type, size, scope, and valuation of the work. The published amounts are:

• Processing fee: $12 on every permit application
• Standard trade permits: generally a $75 base fee, with possible modifiers
• Valuation-based permits: fee set by the tiers under “Inspection Fees” in the Consolidated Fee Schedule
• Plan review: 65% of the building permit fee, where plan review applies
• Extra reviews: $240 for each plan review after the second

Adopted codes

Provo notes that Utah adopted the 2024 Utah Building Code effective July 1, 2026, and the city enforces the state-amended codes:

• 2024 IBC, IMC, IPC, IFGC, IEBC, and IFC
• 2021 IRC
• 2023 NEC
• 2018 IECC, both commercial and residential
• ICC/ANSI A117.1-2017
• 2010 ADA Standards

Inspections and occupancy

You can request inspections online through Provo’s Schedule Building Inspection page, and they are booked first come, first served. Before you request one, make sure the work is complete, the site is accessible, and the approved plans and required documents are on site. For scheduling help, call (801) 852-6428. For new homes, use the city’s residential occupancy final inspection checklist. It requires every inspection to be approved and the approved plans to stay on site before the city will issue a certificate of occupancy.

Related offices

Provo Planning handles zoning, project plans, and historic properties, and can be reached at (801) 852-6419. Exterior work on a designated landmark may need a certificate of appropriateness before a permit is issued. Code Enforcement complaints can be filed through the same CityView portal. The general Development Services number is (801) 852-6400.