Residential Building Permit (New Construction) in Douglas, Arizona

Douglas requires a residential building permit (new construction) for: Building permit required for new home construction within Douglas city limits; Plans must comply with the City's adopted 2006 IBC/IRC; Application must identify site address, legal description, and parcel number; existing use of property; work to be done and value of new construction; and area of construction in square feet; Site plan required: property lines with dimensions, north arrow, engineering scale (1 in. = 10 ft. or 20 ft.), easements, adjoining streets, driveway/curb/sidewalk details, and location/height/material of walls and fences; Construction plans required: floor plan, foundation-plumbing plan, roof plan, elevations plan, section details, and electrical-mechanical plan; Contractor Affidavit required for all permit applications — either a licensed Arizona ROC contractor's information, or an owner/builder exemption under A.R.S. § 32-1121.A.5 or an owner/developer exemption under A.R.S. § 32-1121.A.6; FEMA floodplain disclosure required; if the site is in a designated floodplain, a flood elevation certificate/flood insurance policy and State-registered civil engineer or surveyor documentation is required; All new construction incurs Water and Wastewater Impact Fees (by meter size) plus a Water Tap Fee, in addition to building/plan review fees; New single-family dwelling permits are valid for 18 months (vs. the standard 6 months/180 days for other permit types). If your project isn't listed, confirm with City of Douglas Development Services Department (Building Safety / Planning and Zoning Divisions) at 520-417-7329 before starting work.

In Douglas, the published Plan Review and Inspection Fee — Based on Valuation is: $1-$500: $23.50 + $10 filing fee; $501-$2,000: $23.50 + $3.05 per additional $100 (or fraction) + $10 filing fee; $2,001-$25,000: $69.25 + $14 per additional $1,000 (or fraction) + $15 filing fee; $25,001-$50,000: $391.25 + $10.10 per additional $1,000 (or fraction) + $15 filing fee; $50,001-$100,000: $643.75 + $57.00 per additional $1,000 (or fraction); $100,001-$500,000: $993.75 + $5.60 per additional $1,000 (or fraction) + $30 filing fee; $500,001-$1,000,000: $3,233.75 + $4.75 per additional $1,000 (or fraction) + $40 filing fee; $1,000,001 and up: $5,608.75 + $3.65 per additional $1,000 (or fraction). Additional published fees: Residential Living valuation rate (for calculating project value) — $52.00 per square foot; Plan Review (fixed fee) — 65% of Project Valuation; Certificate of Occupancy, Residential — $25.00; Zoning Compliance Review Fee — $20.00; Water Impact Fee (3/4" meter, new residential) — $1,400; Wastewater Impact Fee (3/4" meter, new residential) — $2,100; Water Tap Fee — $943; Work Begun Without a Permit — $125.00. These are the jurisdiction's own published figures — see the fee schedule table and source citations on this page.

Per the City of Douglas Development Services FAQ (Bilingual), new residential construction applications typically require around a one-week review period (approximately 5 business days), compared to about four weeks for new commercial construction.

You'll need: Residential Building Permit Application; Residential Building Permit Application Checklist; Site Plan; Construction Plans; Contractor Affidavit. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

Douglas requires 3 inspection(s) for a residential building permit (new construction), in order: Foundation/Footing, Framing, Final / Certificate of Occupancy. Schedule each through City of Douglas Development Services Department (Building Safety / Planning and Zoning Divisions) (520-417-7329).

Apply through City of Douglas Development Services Department (Building Safety / Planning and Zoning Divisions) at 425 E. 10th Street, Douglas, AZ 85607 (City Hall, 2nd Floor). Phone: 520-417-7329, email: permits@douglasaz.gov. Office hours: Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Building Permit Applications (Residential Building Permit Application, used for all single-family, multifamily, and mobile-home-related projects including electrical/plumbing/mechanical work; and the Commercial Building Permit Application) are submitted in person or by contacting Development Services at permits@douglasaz.gov; current staff contact is William D. Osborne, AICP, City Planner (William.Osborne@douglasaz.gov, 520-417-7314), with a Reception Desk at 520-417-7302 (English or Spanish) and general Permitting line 520-417-7329.. Official information: https://www.douglasaz.gov/593/Building-Permit-Plan-Review.

Douglas, Arizona has adopted: Arizona has NO statewide mandatory building code floor for general construction — code adoption is a per-city/county authority under state enabling statutes (e.g., A.R.S. Title 9 for municipalities). The City of Douglas independently adopts and administers its own construction codes through its Development Services Department (Building Safety and Planning & Zoning Divisions). Source: City of Douglas Building Permit & Plan Review page (douglasaz.gov/593/Building-Permit-Plan-Review) and City of Douglas Development Services FAQ (Bilingual), DocumentCenter View 5479.; 2006 International Building Code (IBC) and 2006 International Residential Code (IRC), as published by the International Code Council, used by the City of Douglas for plan review and inspections. Source: City of Douglas Development Services FAQ (Bilingual) ("What Codes does the City of Douglas use for inspections?" — "2006 International Building Code (IBC), International Residential Code (IRC)..."), DocumentCenter View 5479; confirmed independently by the earlier Building Safety, Planning and Zoning FAQ (DocumentCenter View 210).; 2006 International Mechanical Code (IMC), used by the City of Douglas for plan review and inspections. Source: City of Douglas Development Services FAQ (Bilingual), DocumentCenter View 5479.; 2005 National Electrical Code (NEC/"NEL"), used by the City of Douglas for electrical plan review and inspections — this is an older edition than most Arizona municipalities in the PermitBase dataset (compare Buckeye's 2023 NEC), and was independently verified as still current via the City's live 'Building Code Update Notice' (posted on the Building Permit & Plan Review page as of this review), which states the City is 'currently reviewing the International Building Code (IBC) and the International Residential Code (IRC) for potential adoption for updated standards' — i.e., as of this review the update has NOT yet been formally adopted, so the 2006/2005 code set remains the officially adopted baseline. Source: City of Douglas Development Services FAQ (Bilingual), DocumentCenter View 5479; City of Douglas Building Permit & Plan Review page, live 'Building Code Update Notice' banner, douglasaz.gov/593/Building-Permit-Plan-Review.; Fire Code: generally the 2006 International Fire Code (IFC) for standard projects, but for commercial projects the City applies the most recent Fire Code edition adopted by the Arizona State Fire Marshal (Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management), rather than the City's own older IFC edition. Source: City of Douglas Development Services FAQ (Bilingual), DocumentCenter View 5479.; Work requiring a licensed contractor: any work requiring a permit (except interior non-structural remodeling under $1,000 in project value) must be performed by an Arizona Registrar of Contractors (ROC) licensed contractor, unless the owner qualifies for the owner/builder/occupant exemption under A.R.S. § 32-1121.A.5 (owner-occupant, no rental/sale within one year) or the owner/developer exemption under A.R.S. § 32-1121.A.6 (contracting with ROC-licensed contractors, listed on the application). Source: City of Douglas Development Services FAQ (Bilingual), DocumentCenter View 5479; City of Douglas Residential Building Permit Application, Contractor Affidavit section, DocumentCenter View 5855.; Manufactured/mobile homes are permitted through the same Residential Building Permit Application used for single-family, multifamily, and mobile-home-related projects; a residential building permit is required for placing a manufactured home where appropriate. Source: City of Douglas Development Services FAQ (Bilingual), DocumentCenter View 5479.. Local amendments apply — see the Douglas overview page for the full list.

The City of Douglas uses the 2006 International Building Code (IBC) and 2006 International Residential Code (IRC) for plan review and inspections, per the City's Development Services FAQ. As of this review, the City has posted a 'Building Code Update Notice' stating it is reviewing the IBC/IRC for potential adoption of updated standards, but no new edition has been formally adopted yet.