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Commercial Building Permit in Tombstone, Arizona

Required for commercial construction, enlargement, alteration, repair, improvement, moving, conversion, or demolition within Tombstone city limits. Tombstone has NO separate commercial permit track: commercial work uses the exact same unified Building Permit Application as residential work — the form's Permit Information section is simply 'Permit Type: ☐Residential ☐Commercial' — with the same valuation-based fee table, the same 11-stage inspection sequence, and the same Certificate of Occupancy requirement. The one commercial-specific submittal requirement printed on the form itself is: 'Commercial Projects may require a Professional Architect and/or Engineer.' Because Tombstone's downtown commercial core (the Allen Street National Historic Landmark District area) sits almost entirely within the Schieffelin Historic Preservation District, most real-world commercial projects must first obtain a Historic Preservation Commission Certificate of Appropriateness (see this file's historic-district-certificate-of-appropriateness entry) before the building permit may even be submitted/approved.

Verified 2026-08-01 · Source

When you need this permit

  • Building permit required to 'Construct, Enlarge, Alter, Repair, Improve, Move, Convert, Demolish any building, utilities, or structure,' per Tombstone City Code Section 3-1-1 as restated on the Building Permit Application (Rev. 1/2024), page 3
  • Use the City's single unified Building Permit Application with the 'Commercial' Permit Type checkbox — no commercial-specific application form exists (confirmed live 2026-08-01: the Forms & Permits page lists 33 forms and only one generic 'Building Permit Application'; no commercial or tenant-improvement form)
  • 'Commercial Projects may require a Professional Architect and/or Engineer' — verbatim, bolded/underlined, on page 4 of the Building Permit Application (Rev. 1/2024); whether a stamp is required for a given project is at the Building Official's determination, and the official may also require engineering data or product information when requested
  • Reviewed against the City's adopted 2006 IBC (Tombstone City Code Section 3-1-1), 1988 NEC (Section 3-1-4), and 1988 UPC (Section 3-1-5) — see codesAdopted for the full vintage discussion
  • Full project drawing set required per the application's Minimum Requirements: Plat Plan, Floor Plan, Exterior Elevations, Crosscut Sections, Mechanical Plan, Plumbing Plan, and Electrical Plan (minimum 1/4 inch = 1 foot scale, 8.5x11 minimum sheets, consecutively numbered with title block)
  • A.R.S. Title 32 contractor licensing required: for commercial work the Owner/Builder exemption under A.R.S. 32-1121A.5 is effectively unavailable, since the form's own text limits it to property 'intended for sole occupancy by the owner, not intended for occupancy of member of the public, owner's employees or business visitors' — a commercial building fails that test; the practical alternatives are a licensed ROC contractor or the 32-1121A.6 Owner/Developer route (which itself requires contracting a licensed General Contractor and listing all contractors' ROC numbers on the application) Owner-builderContractor
  • The application's Official Use Only block records Occupancy Group, Building Type, and Building Area (under roof) — IBC occupancy classification is assigned by the Building Official at issuance
  • Properties within the Schieffelin Historic District require a Historic Preservation Commission Certificate of Appropriateness BEFORE building permit submission/approval, per the application's own bolded header notice — for exterior work, new construction, signs, and any material change in exterior appearance visible from a public street or alley (Tombstone City Code Section 10-19-4); see this file's historic-district-certificate-of-appropriateness entry for the full COA process, 21-day report timeline, and 90/180-day completion deadlines
  • Permit expires 6 months from issuance; extension of up to 60 additional days available upon application (Tombstone City Code, Title 3)
  • Certificate of Occupancy required before any new construction may be occupied or used — 'You must obtain a certificate of occupancy before you can occupy or use any new construction' (Building Permit Application, page 4)

Required documents

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Fee schedule

Building Permit Fee — Based on Valuation (same table for commercial and residential)City of Tombstone Fee Schedule, effective November 14, 2025 — re-fetched and re-read in full 2026-08-01; the schedule publishes ONE 'Permits by Valuation' table with no commercial-specific column or multiplier. Valuations are calculated from price-per-square-foot construction costs as published biannually by the International Code Council. The source PDF's known internal labeling typo persists in the copy fetched 2026-08-01: the four upper tiers print 'for the first $2,000.00' where bracket context indicates $50,000/$100,000/$500,000/$1,000,000 — base amounts are reproduced as printed, consistent with this file's residential entry.
$0 ($0-$500.99); $52.00 for the first $500 plus $4.40 per additional $100 or fraction ($501-$2,000.99); $92.00 for the first $2,000 plus $17.60 per additional $1,000 or fraction ($2,001-$25,000.99); $496.00 for the first $25,000 plus $13.20 per additional $1,000 or fraction ($25,001-$50,000.99); $826.80 base plus $9.13 per additional $1,000 or fraction ($50,001-$100,000.99); $1,283.00 base plus $7.37 per additional $1,000 or fraction ($100,001-$500,000.99); $4,231.30 base plus $6.27 per additional $1,000 or fraction ($500,001-$1,000,000); $7,366.30 base plus $4.84 per additional $1,000 or fraction ($1,000,000.01 and up)
General Plan Review (includes 1st and 2nd review)City of Tombstone Fee Schedule (effective 11/14/2025) — no separate commercial plan-review percentage exists; the same 65% line applies. Trade-specific lines (Plumbing/Electrical/Mechanical/Combination, each 65%) and the $50 Standard Plan and $100/hour Hourly Plan Review lines are documented in this file's other entries.
65% of the Building Permit Fee
Commercial Site Improvement Plan Review (Engineering)City of Tombstone Fee Schedule (effective 11/14/2025), 'Engineering Report and Plan Reviews' section — one of the few genuinely commercial-specific fee lines the City publishes (alongside 'Office and Condominium Plan Review' and 'Industrial Site Improvement Plan Review,' both also $500/sheet). The schedule does not state which project scopes trigger engineering-level site improvement review — confirm applicability with the Building Official.
$500.00 per sheet (1st and 2nd reviews); $100.00 per hour for additional reviews
Site Plan — Commercial (Planning & Zoning)City of Tombstone Fee Schedule (effective 11/14/2025), 'Planning and Zoning Application and Plan Review' section — a commercial-specific P&Z site plan fee (residential equivalent is $600 + $20/acre). The schedule does not publish which commercial projects require formal P&Z site plan review versus building-permit-only review — confirm with the City before budgeting.
$900.00 plus $30.00 per acre
Grading and DrainageCity of Tombstone Fee Schedule (effective 11/14/2025), 'Other' Building Permit fees.
$145.00 (under 100,000 cubic yards); $622.00 (over 100,000 cubic yards)
Expedited Permits, investigations, reviewsCity of Tombstone Fee Schedule (effective 11/14/2025), 'Other Fees' — the only published fast-track mechanism; no expedited turnaround day-count is published.
Double the rate
Re-Inspection / After-Hours InspectionCity of Tombstone Fee Schedule (effective 11/14/2025), 'Inspections Not Included in Building Permit' section.
$100.00 per hour (re-inspection); $100.00 per hour with 2-hour minimum for inspections outside normal business hours (7:00 AM-3:30 PM)

Review timeline

Plan review
Not published — contact the department

How long did your Commercial Building Permit permit actually take in Tombstone?

Anonymous — one question, no email. Answers are combined and only shown once at least 5 people have reported.

Inspection process

  1. 1

    Land Clearing

    Before and after any land clearing

  2. 2

    Foundation Pad

    Before work begins on the completed foundation pad

  3. 3

    Pre-Concrete / Sub-Floor

    Before placing concrete work or laying sub-floors or framed first floors

  4. 4

    Framing / Drywall / Lathing

    After nailing and before covering framing, drywall, or lathing, including exterior sheathing and roof decking

  5. 5

    Rough-In (Plumbing, Mechanical, Electrical)

    Combined rough-in inspection for all three trades

  6. 6

    Gas Piping Test

    After installation of gas lines, confirming the gas piping test

  7. 7

    Pre-Tape/Paint Drywall

    After nailing of drywall and before taping and painting

  8. 8

    Final Plumbing, Mechanical, Electrical

    Final inspection of all three trades

  9. 9

    Final Interior

    Completed interior work verified

  10. 10

    Final Exterior

    Completed exterior work verified

  11. 11

    Certificate of Occupancy

    Required before the building may be occupied or used — the same published 11-stage sequence applies to commercial and residential work alike; the application publishes no separate commercial inspection track

See the full Tombstone inspection guide — scheduling & re-inspection fees →

Tips

  • There is NO separate commercial permit process in Tombstone — confirmed live 2026-08-01 by fetching the Forms & Permits page (33 forms listed; the only building application is the single generic 'Building Permit Application') and reading the application PDF in full: commercial is a checkbox ('Permit Type: ☐Residential ☐Commercial') on the same unified form, with the same valuation fee table, plan-review percentages, 11-stage inspection sequence, and Certificate of Occupancy requirement as residential work. The commercial-specific deltas are exactly three: (1) 'Commercial Projects may require a Professional Architect and/or Engineer' (application, page 4); (2) commercial-specific Engineering and P&Z fee lines (Commercial Site Improvement Plan Review $500/sheet; Site Plan - Commercial $900 + $30/acre); (3) the practical unavailability of the A.R.S. 32-1121A.5 owner/builder exemption for buildings open to the public, employees, or business visitors. Owner-builder
  • TENANT IMPROVEMENT IS NOT A DISTINCT PERMIT TYPE in Tombstone — this is why this file has no commercial-tenant-improvement-permit entry. Chase trail (2026-08-01): the Forms & Permits page lists no TI application; the Building Permit Application's Class of Work options are New / Repair-Replace / Sign / Utility / Row / Other with no TI category (a TI would be filed as 'Commercial' + 'Repair/Replace'); the Fee Schedule (effective 11/14/2025, re-read in full) contains no TI, remodel, or build-out line item anywhere — TI work is billed on the same 'Permits by Valuation' table as everything else. Unlike large AZ cities (Phoenix, Maricopa, Queen Creek) that publish dedicated commercial TI guides, Tombstone publishes nothing TI-specific.
  • HISTORIC DISTRICT IS THE REAL COMMERCIAL GATEKEEPER: Tombstone's downtown commercial core (Allen Street and surrounds — the National Historic Landmark District that draws the city's tourism economy) sits almost entirely within the Schieffelin Historic Preservation District overlay, so in practice most commercial projects route through the Historic Preservation Commission Certificate of Appropriateness BEFORE the building permit — see this file's historic-district-certificate-of-appropriateness entry for the full process (21-day inspector-report step, Commission vote at public meeting, 10-day signature window, 90/180-day completion deadlines). Note the COA trigger standard for commercial TI work specifically: interior-only improvements not visible from a public street or alley are NOT enumerated COA triggers under Section 10-19-4, but storefront changes, signs, light fixtures, paint-scheme/material changes, and anything else 'visible from a public street or alley' ARE. Storefront signage has its own fee lines ($100 first sign including plan review and 2 inspections, $25 each additional sign) and its own form (Historic District Sign and Construction Application, current packet revision 20260303).
  • CONFIRMED GAP — commercial review timeline: re-verified 2026-08-01 that the City publishes no plan-review turnaround for commercial (or any) permits, and no A.R.S. § 9-835 time-frames posting exists on cityoftombstoneaz.gov. The only published levers on speed are the 'Expedited Permits... Double the rate' fee line and the Historic District COA's own 21-day report step. Budget schedule risk accordingly and get a verbal estimate from the Building Official (520-457-3415) before committing to a tenant possession or opening date.
  • The fee schedule's 'Commercial Site Improvement Plan Review' ($500/sheet, Engineering section) and 'Site Plan - Commercial' ($900 + $30/acre, P&Z section) exist as published fee lines, but the City publishes no threshold criteria for when a commercial project triggers engineering-level site review or formal P&Z site plan review versus building-permit-only review — this is disclosed as unknown rather than guessed; confirm scope and total fee stack with the Building Official before budgeting a project.

Frequently asked questions

Tombstone requires a commercial building permit for: Building permit required to 'Construct, Enlarge, Alter, Repair, Improve, Move, Convert, Demolish any building, utilities, or structure,' per Tombstone City Code Section 3-1-1 as restated on the Building Permit Application (Rev. 1/2024), page 3; Use the City's single unified Building Permit Application with the 'Commercial' Permit Type checkbox — no commercial-specific application form exists (confirmed live 2026-08-01: the Forms & Permits page lists 33 forms and only one generic 'Building Permit Application'; no commercial or tenant-improvement form); 'Commercial Projects may require a Professional Architect and/or Engineer' — verbatim, bolded/underlined, on page 4 of the Building Permit Application (Rev. 1/2024); whether a stamp is required for a given project is at the Building Official's determination, and the official may also require engineering data or product information when requested; Reviewed against the City's adopted 2006 IBC (Tombstone City Code Section 3-1-1), 1988 NEC (Section 3-1-4), and 1988 UPC (Section 3-1-5) — see codesAdopted for the full vintage discussion; Full project drawing set required per the application's Minimum Requirements: Plat Plan, Floor Plan, Exterior Elevations, Crosscut Sections, Mechanical Plan, Plumbing Plan, and Electrical Plan (minimum 1/4 inch = 1 foot scale, 8.5x11 minimum sheets, consecutively numbered with title block); A.R.S. Title 32 contractor licensing required: for commercial work the Owner/Builder exemption under A.R.S. 32-1121A.5 is effectively unavailable, since the form's own text limits it to property 'intended for sole occupancy by the owner, not intended for occupancy of member of the public, owner's employees or business visitors' — a commercial building fails that test; the practical alternatives are a licensed ROC contractor or the 32-1121A.6 Owner/Developer route (which itself requires contracting a licensed General Contractor and listing all contractors' ROC numbers on the application); The application's Official Use Only block records Occupancy Group, Building Type, and Building Area (under roof) — IBC occupancy classification is assigned by the Building Official at issuance; Properties within the Schieffelin Historic District require a Historic Preservation Commission Certificate of Appropriateness BEFORE building permit submission/approval, per the application's own bolded header notice — for exterior work, new construction, signs, and any material change in exterior appearance visible from a public street or alley (Tombstone City Code Section 10-19-4); see this file's historic-district-certificate-of-appropriateness entry for the full COA process, 21-day report timeline, and 90/180-day completion deadlines; Permit expires 6 months from issuance; extension of up to 60 additional days available upon application (Tombstone City Code, Title 3); Certificate of Occupancy required before any new construction may be occupied or used — 'You must obtain a certificate of occupancy before you can occupy or use any new construction' (Building Permit Application, page 4). If your project isn't listed, confirm with City of Tombstone Building Department at 520-457-3415 before starting work.

In Tombstone, the published Building Permit Fee — Based on Valuation (same table for commercial and residential) is: $0 ($0-$500.99); $52.00 for the first $500 plus $4.40 per additional $100 or fraction ($501-$2,000.99); $92.00 for the first $2,000 plus $17.60 per additional $1,000 or fraction ($2,001-$25,000.99); $496.00 for the first $25,000 plus $13.20 per additional $1,000 or fraction ($25,001-$50,000.99); $826.80 base plus $9.13 per additional $1,000 or fraction ($50,001-$100,000.99); $1,283.00 base plus $7.37 per additional $1,000 or fraction ($100,001-$500,000.99); $4,231.30 base plus $6.27 per additional $1,000 or fraction ($500,001-$1,000,000); $7,366.30 base plus $4.84 per additional $1,000 or fraction ($1,000,000.01 and up). Additional published fees: General Plan Review (includes 1st and 2nd review) — 65% of the Building Permit Fee; Commercial Site Improvement Plan Review (Engineering) — $500.00 per sheet (1st and 2nd reviews); $100.00 per hour for additional reviews; Site Plan — Commercial (Planning & Zoning) — $900.00 plus $30.00 per acre; Grading and Drainage — $145.00 (under 100,000 cubic yards); $622.00 (over 100,000 cubic yards); Expedited Permits, investigations, reviews — Double the rate; Re-Inspection / After-Hours Inspection — $100.00 per hour (re-inspection); $100.00 per hour with 2-hour minimum for inspections outside normal business hours (7:00 AM-3:30 PM). These are the jurisdiction's own published figures — see the fee schedule table and source citations on this page.

Tombstone does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact City of Tombstone Building Department at 520-457-3415 for current turnaround.

You'll need: Building Permit Application (City of Tombstone, Rev. 1/2024); Project Drawing Set (Plat Plan, Floor Plan, Exterior Elevations, Crosscut Sections, Mechanical/Plumbing/Electrical Plans). Depending on your project, Tombstone may also ask for: Architect- and/or Engineer-prepared plans; HPC Application / Historic District Sign and Construction Application. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

Apply through City of Tombstone Building Department at 611 E. Allen Street, Tombstone, AZ 85638 (City Hall: 613 E. Allen Street, Tombstone, AZ 85638). Phone: 520-457-3415, email: buildingofficial@cityoftombstoneaz.gov. Office hours: Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM (City of Tombstone Building Inspector page and Building Permit Application, Rev. 1/2024). Building Official/Inspector: Robert Hendrickson. Applications are submitted in person or by mail to the Building Department (P.O. Box 339, Tombstone, AZ 85638); the City does not appear to offer an online e-permitting portal as of this review — all forms found are static PDFs requiring paper/email submittal. Inspections are scheduled by calling 520-457-3415. Projects within the Schieffelin Historic District require Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) approval BEFORE building permit submission/approval, per the Building Permit Application's own header notice.. Official information: https://cityoftombstoneaz.gov/building-inspector/.

No. Commercial and residential projects use the same unified Building Permit Application (Rev. 1/2024) — commercial is simply a Permit Type checkbox on the form. The commercial-specific differences are that the application warns 'Commercial Projects may require a Professional Architect and/or Engineer,' the owner/builder licensing exemption is effectively unavailable for buildings open to the public, and commercial-specific Engineering/P&Z plan-review fee lines ($500/sheet site improvement review; $900 + $30/acre site plan) may apply on top of the standard valuation-based permit fee.

No. As of August 2026, Tombstone publishes no tenant-improvement-specific application, fee line, or process — a TI is filed on the same unified Building Permit Application (Permit Type 'Commercial,' Class of Work 'Repair/Replace') and billed on the same valuation-based fee table as any other building work. If the TI touches the exterior of a property in the Schieffelin Historic District (storefront, signs, or anything visible from a public street or alley), a Historic Preservation Commission Certificate of Appropriateness is required before the permit; interior-only work is not an enumerated COA trigger.

Almost always for exterior work — Tombstone's downtown commercial core is within the Schieffelin Historic Preservation District, and exterior alteration, new construction, signs, and any material change in exterior appearance visible from a public street or alley require a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission BEFORE the building permit may be submitted or approved (Tombstone City Code Section 10-19-4; the requirement is printed as a bolded header notice on the Building Permit Application itself).

Sources & verification

Verified against official sources. Last reviewed 2026-08-01.

Fees, timelines, and adopted codes are researched from each jurisdiction's published records — see how we verify. Requirements change and vary by project, so always confirm the current details with the Tombstone building department before you submit. PermitBase is an independent reference and is not affiliated with any government agency.

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