Pima building permits

Building department

Address

110 W. Center St. / PO Box 426, Pima, AZ 85543

Phone

928-485-2611

Email

building@pimatown.az.gov

Office hours

Planning & Zoning Administrator: Joe Carpenter, 928-322-4860, building@pimatown.az.gov. The Planning & Zoning Board meets the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM. Building, Addition/Remodel, and Solar/Electrical/Gas/Cell-Tower permit applications (plans required as uploads) plus Sign/Fence permits are submitted through the Town's online iWorq Citizen Portal (pimaaz23.portal.iworq.net/portalhome/pimaaz23); a paper Mobile/Manufactured Home Installation Permit application and a Building & Sub-Contractors Information form are also available directly from the Town.

Website

Official site

Permit portal

Apply online at Pima's portal

Inspection guide

See how inspections work in Pima — sequence, scheduling & re-inspection fees.

Codes adopted

Arizona has no statewide building code for non-state buildings; codes are adopted locally. According to the International Code Council, codes are adopted locally in Arizona and are predominantly the I-codes, with different cities and counties choosing their own editions and local amendments. The Arizona State Fire Code (adopting the 2018 IFC) applies only to state and county buildings, public and private schools, and non-residential occupancies in areas without a locally adopted fire code — it does not establish a statewide residential or commercial building code floor. Each city and county adopts its own code editions independently, resulting in different I-Code years and amendment sets across jurisdictions. There is no state-mandated minimum edition; enforcement is entirely local. Always confirm the adopted edition and any local amendments with the specific jurisdiction before submitting plans.

• 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 Town of Pima independently operates its own Planning & Zoning Department / Building Division with its own Planning & Zoning Board, building inspector, building official, permit intake (iWorq portal), and Certificate of Occupancy process — it is NOT administered by Graham County. Source: Town of Pima Planning and Zoning page (pimatown.az.gov/departments/planning_and_zoning.php); Town of Pima Building & Sub-Contractors Information form (references 'the building department,' 'building inspector,' 'ordinances of the Town of Pima,' and a Certificate-of-Occupancy requirement 'obtained from the building inspector').
• CODE EDITION CONFIRMED, AND RE-VERIFIED 2026-07-23 WITH A CHAPTER-NUMBERING CORRECTION: the Town's own 'Town Code' PDF, linked live from the Town Code page (current filename 'Town Code 2024_edited_3-23-2026.pdf' as of both the 2026-07-16 and 2026-07-23 passes), directly fetched and text-extracted again on 2026-07-23, confirms Chapter 7 (Building) is organized as: Article 7-1 Building Code, 7-2 Electrical Code, 7-3 Mechanical Code, 7-4 Plumbing Code, 7-5 Building Officials, 7-6 Utility Hookups, 7-7 Building Inspections, 7-8 Residential Code, 7-9 Uniform Fire Code, 7-10 Fuel Gas Code, 7-11 Existing Building Code, 7-12 Sewer Service Taps, 7-13 Certificate of Occupancy Requirements. This CORRECTS the prior pass's claim that Article 7-6 is the Residential Code — Article 7-6 is actually 'Utility Hookups' (a short unlawful-hookup-without-a-permit provision); the Residential Code is Article 7-8. Exact adoption language confirmed by direct quote: Article 7-1 Sec. 7-1-1, 'That certain code entitled International Building Code, 2009 edition is hereby adopted as the Building Code of the Town of Pima'; Article 7-8, 'That certain code entitled International Residential Code, 2009 Edition ... is hereby adopted as Residential Code of the Town of Pima'; and Article 7-11, 'That certain code entitled International Existing Building Code, 2009 Edition ... is hereby adopted as the Existing Building Code of the Town of Pima.' NEWLY CONFIRMED on this pass (previously missing from this file): Article 7-2 adopts 'International Electrical Code (70), 2011 Edition, published by the National Fire Protection Association' (i.e. NFPA 70 / National Electrical Code, 2011 Edition — NOT a 2009-family ICC code, and a different, newer edition than the rest of Chapter 7); Article 7-3 adopts the International Mechanical Code, 2009 Edition; Article 7-4 adopts the International Plumbing Code, 2009 Edition; Article 7-9 adopts the International Fire Code, 2009 Edition (the code text attributes publication to NFPA, quoted as written); Article 7-10 adopts the International Fuel Gas Code, 2009 Edition. No Municode/American Legal Publishing/CivicPlus code library exists for the Town of Pima — the Town's own compiled PDF Code of Ordinances is the sole publication. PENDING CHANGE FLAGGED, NOT YET LAW: the Town of Pima Planning & Zoning Commission, at its regular meeting July 21, 2026 (Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Planning & Zoning Commission, Tuesday, July 21, 2026), voted unanimously to recommend that the Town Council adopt a new building code under attached Ordinance 2026-05, with P&Z Administrator Joe Carpenter stating that Graham County, the Town of Thatcher, and the City of Safford are all adopting the same new code and that Pima had not yet done so; the specific proposed code edition was not stated in the minutes text and the attached ordinance exhibit is a scanned/image-only PDF not machine-readable in this pass. As of 2026-07-23 this is only a Commission recommendation — the Town Council's own posted agendas/minutes run through July 14, 2026 (before the July 21 P&Z recommendation) with no August 2026 meeting yet posted, so Ordinance 2026-05 has NOT yet been voted on by Council and the 2009 IBC/IRC/IEBC + 2011 NEC editions quoted above remain the currently codified, live law. Recheck this file after a Town Council vote on Ordinance 2026-05 is posted.
• Manufactured/mobile home installation is separately regulated: units are subject to the Arizona Mobile and Manufactured Housing Standards Board's statewide rules (1980 Revision cited on the Town's own application form) for the unit itself, with the Town issuing a separate local installation permit (siting, utility connections, accessory structures, plot plan, and pressure testing per Uniform Plumbing Code 1979 Edition Sec. 1206-2, per the Town's own application form). Source: Town of Pima Application for Mobile/Manufactured Home Installation Permit.

Permit types & fees

• Building / Addition / Remodel Permit

  Required for new construction, additions, and remodels within Town of Pima limits. Applications, including uploaded building plans, are submitted through the Town's iWorq Citizen Portal. The Town's own compiled Code of Ordinances (Article 7-1 Building Code, Article 7-6 Residential Code, Article 7-11 Existing Building Code — linked live from the Town Code page) adopts the 2009 International Building Code, 2009 International Residential Code, and 2009 International Existing Building Code by reference; confirm with the Building Division whether later amendments apply before design.

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• Solar / Electrical / Gas / Cell Tower Permit

  Required for solar photovoltaic installations, electrical work, gas-line work, and cell tower installations within Town of Pima limits. Applicants must separately coordinate utility interconnection approval with Graham County Electric (the local rural electric cooperative). Applications are submitted through the Town's iWorq Citizen Portal.

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• Mobile/Manufactured Home Installation Permit

  Required for installation of a mobile or manufactured home within Town of Pima limits, whether on private land or elsewhere in town. Covers siting, utility connections, accessory structures on the sales contract, and pressure testing of gas connections. This is the one permit type for which the Town publishes a fixed, verified fee.

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• Sign / Fence Permit

  Required for installation of signs or fences within Town of Pima limits. Applications are submitted through the Town's iWorq Citizen Portal under a dedicated Sign/Fence application category. The Town's own live Town Code (Section 12-3-2.B.7/B.8, AR Zone) publishes specific fence-height and small home-occupation-sign standards, and the Town's live Schedule of Fees and Charges publishes specific fees for both.

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• EV Charger / EVSE Permit

  The Town of Pima has no EV-charger-specific permit type, application, or fee. An EV charger (EVSE) installation is electrical work and is filed under the Town's combined Solar/Electrical/Gas/Cell Tower Permit category on the iWorq Citizen Portal, the same as any other electrical work in Town limits. Utility interconnection (where applicable) must be separately coordinated with Graham County Electric, the local rural electric cooperative. No published fee amount was found for this combined electrical category, EV-specific or otherwise.

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