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Change of Use / Change of Occupancy Permit in Unincorporated Coconino County, Arizona

Required when the use of an existing property, building or structure changes in unincorporated Coconino County. The Zoning Ordinance requires a Building Permit prior to any change in use and bars issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy until the Community Development Director has authorized the change; the county's fee schedule prices it as a 'Change in tenant occupancies' item, with any accompanying tenant improvements billed on bid value.

Verified 2026-08-15 · Source

When you need this permit

  • Zoning Ordinance Section 1.12.A.1 (Zoning Compliance Review): a Building Permit or Engineering Permit as required by the Building Code and the Engineering Design and Construction Manual 'shall be obtained prior to the construction, reconstruction, alteration, relocation, or change in use of any property, building or other structure. Plan review, by the Community Development Director or designee, is required for all uses and/or developments prior to the issuance of a building and/or grading permit.'
  • Zoning Ordinance Section 1.12.A.2: no building permit or other permit required by the Ordinance may be lawfully issued, 'nor shall a Certificate of Occupancy be granted until the Community Development Director or designee has given authorization indicating all requirements of this Ordinance, all conditions and stipulations of approval, and any other specific project-related requirements have been met'
  • Zoning Ordinance Section 1.12.A.5: if a use permit or Variance is required for the new use, it must be obtained BEFORE issuance of any building or construction permit
  • Zoning Ordinance Section 1.12.A.6: a Floodplain Permit is required prior to any change in use of a building or structure located in a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area
  • The technical requirements for a change of occupancy come from the adopted International Existing Building Code — the 2024 IEBC under Ordinance 2026-03 (effective June 2, 2026), with plan sets designed to the 2018 IEBC accepted through December 31, 2026
  • Apply online through the SmartGov portal (co-coconino-az.smartgovcommunity.com); only PDF format is accepted for plan review

Required documents

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Fee schedule

Change in tenant occupanciesCoconino County Building Permitting Fees, effective 09/01/2021, 'Other Inspections' table — PDF page 6, read from a 200 dpi rendered image of the page. This figure is unchanged in the newly adopted schedule: Ordinance 2026-04, 'Other Inspections' table, ordinance page 6 of 8, also reads $120.00 (read from a 150 dpi render of the scanned ordinance).
$120.00
Tenant improvements accompanying the change of useCoconino County Building Permitting Fees, effective 09/01/2021, 'Other Inspections' table — PDF page 6, read from a 200 dpi render. The same line reads 'Per bid value' in Ordinance 2026-04, ordinance page 6 of 8. The 09/01/2021 schedule separately states that bid value will be used for any commercial project valuation in excess of $5,000.00.
Per bid value
UPCOMING — temporary certificate of occupancy, effective 1/1/2027 (Ordinance 2026-04)Ordinance 2026-04, 'Other Inspections' table, ordinance page 6 of 8, read from a 150 dpi render. Recorded here only for the new schedule because these two lines were NOT read from a render of the 09/01/2021 schedule — text extraction placed them on a page that was not rendered, and this campaign's extraction output for this document has already been proven unreliable, so no 2021-schedule temporary-CofO figure is asserted.
$120.00 residential; $300.00 commercial

Review timeline

Plan review
Not published — contact the department

How long did your Change of Use / Change of Occupancy Permit permit actually take in Unincorporated Coconino County?

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

Inspection process

  1. 1

    Change of occupancy inspection

    Verifies the space as altered complies with the adopted International Existing Building Code for the new occupancy classification; billed as the 'Change in tenant occupancies' item on the county's Other Inspections fee table

  2. 2

    Final / Certificate of Occupancy

    A Certificate of Occupancy cannot be granted until the Community Development Director or designee authorizes that all Zoning Ordinance requirements and conditions of approval have been met (Zoning Ordinance Section 1.12.A.2)

See the full Unincorporated Coconino County inspection guide — scheduling & re-inspection fees →

Tips

  • Get the zoning question answered first. Section 1.12.A.5 requires any use permit or variance for the new use to be in hand BEFORE a building or construction permit can be issued — starting with the building application will stall the project.
  • The $120.00 'Change in tenant occupancies' line is the occupancy-change item only. Any physical work that comes with it — a tenant improvement build-out — is billed separately on bid value, and bid value is used for any commercial project valuation over $5,000.00.
  • Code edition timing matters right now: Ordinance 2026-03 put the 2024 IEBC in force June 2, 2026, but the county will accept fully submitted applications designed to the 2018 IEBC through December 31, 2026. Choosing the edition changes the compliance path for a change of occupancy.
  • If the building sits in a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area, Section 1.12.A.6 requires a Floodplain Permit for a change in use — even where no construction is proposed.
  • Coconino County adopts no International Fire Code; where the new occupancy triggers fire-code questions, the fire district having jurisdiction is the authority, not the County.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Zoning Ordinance Section 1.12.A.1 requires a Building Permit (or Engineering Permit) prior to the change in use of any property, building or other structure, with plan review by the Community Development Director or designee required before issuance. Source: https://www.coconino.az.gov/DocumentCenter/View/61314/Coconino-County-Zoning-Ordinance---Final-Approved-June-9-2022---updated-January-2024

The county's fee schedule prices a 'Change in tenant occupancies' at $120.00, with any accompanying tenant improvements billed per bid value. The $120.00 figure appears at the same amount in both the operative 09/01/2021 schedule and the newly adopted Ordinance 2026-04 schedule that takes effect 1/1/2027. Source: https://www.coconino.az.gov/DocumentCenter/View/45541/Building-Permitting-Fees---effective-09-01-21

Unincorporated Coconino County does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact Coconino County Community Development Department, Building and Safety Division at 928-679-8850 (toll-free 800-559-9289); fax 928-679-8851 for current turnaround.

You'll need: Online Permit Applications Portal Submission. Depending on your project, Unincorporated Coconino County may also ask for: Planning and Zoning entitlement (Use Permit / Conditional Use Permit / Variance). See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

Unincorporated Coconino County requires 2 inspection(s) for a change of use / change of occupancy permit, in order: Change of occupancy inspection, Final / Certificate of Occupancy. Schedule each through Coconino County Community Development Department, Building and Safety Division (928-679-8850 (toll-free 800-559-9289); fax 928-679-8851).

Apply through Coconino County Community Development Department, Building and Safety Division at 2500 N. Fort Valley Road, Building 1, Flagstaff, AZ 86001-1287. Phone: 928-679-8850 (toll-free 800-559-9289); fax 928-679-8851, email: plansubmittals@coconino.az.gov. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Director: Jay Christelman; Assistant Director: Jess McNeely. All building permit applications and document submittals for unincorporated Coconino County are made online through the Online Permit Applications portal (co-coconino-az.smartgovcommunity.com); only PDF files are accepted for plan review submittals.. Official information: https://www.coconino.az.gov/624/Building-and-Safety.

Unincorporated Coconino County, 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 (A.R.S. Title 11 for counties). Coconino County Community Development Department, Building and Safety Division, is the code enforcement agency and building official for all unincorporated areas of the county (areas outside Flagstaff, Page, Fredonia, Tusayan, and Williams, and outside the Coconino County portion of Sedona).; As of this record's verification date (July 2026), the Coconino County Building Division's current adopted codes are: 2018 International Residential Code (IRC); 2018 International Building Code (IBC); 2018 International Mechanical Code (IMC); 2018 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC); 2018 International Plumbing Code (IPC); 2018 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC); 2018 International Existing Building Code (IEBC); and 2017 National Electrical Code (NEC). Adopted via County Ordinance 2019-10 ('2019-10 Coconino County Building Ordinance — adopting the 2018 Suite of Building Codes with Amendments'). Source: Coconino County Building Codes, Ordinances, Design Criteria page (coconino.az.gov/2391/Building-Codes-Ordinances-Design-Criteri), 'Current Codes and Ordinances' section, rendered/read directly July 2026.; Every six years the Community Development Department, in partnership with the Building Safety Advisory Board (BSAB), leads a process to adopt updated codes. As of this record's date, the County has begun a public process toward adopting the 2024 ICC code suite and 2023 NEC — an open house was held March 23, 2026 at 2500 N. Fort Valley Rd. (Thomas Auditorium), and a slide deck covering the 2024 IECC, IBC, IPC, IMC, IFGC and 2023 NEC changes was presented — but as of this record's lastVerified date that update had NOT yet been formally adopted. The 2018 ICC / 2017 NEC baseline remains the current, controlling code. Source: Coconino County Building Codes, Ordinances, Design Criteria page, 'Building Code Adoption' section.; Additional adopted county ordinances/codes beyond the base ICC/NEC suite: Potable Rainwater Collection and Distribution Systems Code (an amendment to the IRC); 2020-11 Earthen Building and Construction Ordinance (regulating quality, type of material, testing, and workmanship for earthen buildings/structures). Source: Coconino County Building Codes, Ordinances, Design Criteria page.; The Innovative Materials and Systems Pilot Program (part of the 2019-10 Ordinance) allows owner-builders to seek an exemption from standard adopted-code provisions when building with alternative methods and materials, under conditions evaluated by the Building Official — administered in coordination with the County's broader 'Building with Alternative Methods and Materials' / Alternative Methods and Materials Permit Program (ATAG certification and consultation process) run out of the Community Development Department. Source: Coconino County Building Codes, Ordinances, Design Criteria page; Coconino County Community Development page (coconino.az.gov/136/Community-Development), 'Building with Alternative Methods and Materials' section.; Manufactured homes and factory-built buildings follow a joint state/local structure: the Arizona Department of Fire, Building and Life Safety (Office of Manufactured Housing) sets manufacturer/installer/retailer licensing and issues state-level installation permits, while local site/foundation/utility compliance is handled by Coconino County under a dedicated Manufactured Homes and Factory Built Building Permit fee schedule (Part III of the county's Building Permitting Fees) and a 7-business-day review ceiling under the county's own timeframes policy. Source: Coconino County Online Permit Applications page (coconino.az.gov/2390/Online-Permit-Applications), 'Manufactured Homes & Factory Built Projects' section; Coconino County Building Permitting Fees schedule, Part III.; Properties within the Sedona Fire District (including Oak Creek Canyon) are additionally subject to the 2018 Wildland and Urban Interface Codes as adopted by that fire district; fire suppression systems are required in addition to Wildland-Urban-Interface-code compliance, and the Sedona Fire Marshal conducts concurrent plan reviews with Coconino County to ensure compliance. Source: Coconino County Building Codes, Ordinances, Design Criteria page, 'Building Within the Sedona Fire District' section.. Local amendments apply — see the Unincorporated Coconino County overview page for the full list.

No. Zoning Ordinance Section 1.12.A.2 bars the grant of a Certificate of Occupancy until the Community Development Director or designee has authorized that all Ordinance requirements, conditions and stipulations of approval, and project-specific requirements have been met. Source: https://www.coconino.az.gov/DocumentCenter/View/61314/Coconino-County-Zoning-Ordinance---Final-Approved-June-9-2022---updated-January-2024

Other permits in Unincorporated Coconino County

Residential Building Permit (Single-Family Dwelling, ADU, Model Home, Tiny House)Residential Miscellaneous Permit (Additions, Remodels, Decks, Fences, Sheds, Pools, Re-Roofing, and More)Electrical PermitPlumbing PermitMechanical / HVAC PermitSolar PV Permit — Self-Issue Residential Rooftop (Grid-Tied) and Residential Miscellaneous (All Other Solar)EV Charger / EVSE PermitManufactured Home / Factory-Built Building PermitCommercial Building Permit (New Construction, Tenant Improvement, Remodel)Demolition PermitSign PermitFire Sprinkler / Fire Alarm Permit (Fire Protection System)

Change of Use / Change of Occupancy Permit in other cities

Apache Junction, ArizonaBuckeye, ArizonaCamp Verde, ArizonaCocopah Indian Tribe, ArizonaDewey-Humboldt, ArizonaDuncan, ArizonaEagar, ArizonaFort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Arizona

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