Unincorporated Graham County building permits
VerifiedDepartment contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Unincorporated Graham County, Arizona.
Last verified 2026-07-23 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- 921 Thatcher Boulevard, 2nd Floor, Safford, AZ 85546
- Phone
- 928-428-0410
- Office hours
- Monday - Thursday, 7:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. (per the County's Department Directory listing for Planning & Zoning at 921 Thatcher Boulevard). No public-facing department email address was found published on the County's Planning & Zoning page, Permits & Hearing Forms page, or FAQ pages as of this review; contact by phone at 928-428-0410 or in person.
- Website
- Official site
Inspection guide
See how inspections work in Unincorporated Graham County — 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 (A.R.S. Title 11 for counties). Graham County independently adopts and administers its own building code for the unincorporated areas of the County (areas outside the incorporated cities/towns of Safford, Thatcher, and Pima) through the Planning and Zoning Department, per Graham County Planning and Zoning Ordinance Section 5.14 (Building Codes). Source: Graham County Planning and Zoning Ordinance (County-Zoning-Ordinance-PDF), Section 5.14.2.
- 2003 International Building Code (IBC), published by the International Code Council, Inc. Source: Graham County Planning and Zoning Ordinance Section 5.14.2(1); also independently listed on the County's 'Planning & Zoning' web page ('Codes Adopted by Graham County').
- 1994 Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC), Twenty-First Edition, published by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, copyright 1996. Source: Graham County Planning and Zoning Ordinance Section 5.14.2(2) and Section 5.14.16-5.14.19.
- International Mechanical Code (IMC), 2003 edition, published by the International Code Council, Inc. — cross-referenced in Section 5.14.12-5.14.13 of the Ordinance, which cites '1997 Uniform Mechanical Code, published by the International Conference of Building Officials' as the specific adopted mechanical code text (copyright 1994-1997); the County's own web page lists '2003 International Mechanical Code' as the current adopted mechanical code. Both citations are reproduced here since the Ordinance itself is internally inconsistent between its Section 5.14.2 codes-adopted list and its Section 5.14.12 detail section — call the Planning and Zoning Department at 928-428-0410 to confirm which mechanical code edition governs a specific project.
- 2002 National Electrical Code (NEC), published by the National Fire Protection Association, Inc., copyright 1998 — per Ordinance Section 5.14.2(4). Section 5.14.8-5.14.9 of the same Ordinance separately cites 'The 1999 National Electrical Code' superseding all previous editions; this is a second internal inconsistency in the Ordinance's own text between its codes-adopted list (2002 NEC) and its detail section (1999 NEC). Confirm the specific edition in effect for a given project with the Planning and Zoning Department (928-428-0410).
- International Residential Code (IRC), 2003 edition, published by the International Code Council, Inc. Source: Graham County Planning and Zoning Ordinance Section 5.14.2(5).
- International Existing Building Code (IEBC), 2003 edition, published by the International Code Council, Inc. Source: Graham County Planning and Zoning Ordinance Section 5.14.2(6).
- International Fire Code (IFC), 2003 edition, published by the International Code Council, Inc., administered as the County's fire code. Source: Graham County Planning and Zoning Ordinance Section 5.14.2(7); also referenced in Section 5.13.7(4) regarding fire apparatus access requirements before Certificate of Occupancy issuance.
- 2003 ICC Electrical Code — Administrative Provisions. Source: Graham County Planning and Zoning Ordinance Section 5.14.2(8).
- International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), 2003 edition, published by the International Code Council — adopted by the Graham County Board of Supervisors, Resolution No. 2004-16, September 7, 2004, for Graham County Government Buildings ONLY (not applicable to private construction). Source: Graham County Planning and Zoning Ordinance Section 5.14.2(9).
- Swimming Pool Safety Code, A.R.S. § 36-1681 (Arizona state statute governing residential swimming pool/spa enclosures and barriers) — cross-referenced directly by Graham County rather than a separate local pool-barrier ordinance. Source: Graham County Planning and Zoning Ordinance Section 5.10 (Swimming Pool Regulations).
- As of this review (July 2026), the County's own published Planning & Zoning Ordinance and web page still show the 2003 ICC family (IBC/IRC/IEBC/IMC/IFC) plus a 1994 UPC and a 2002 (or, per a separate Ordinance section, 1999) NEC as the adopted codes, with no newer edition-update ordinance found published on the County's website, Forms/Fees pages, or DocumentCenter as of this review. This is materially older than many incorporated Arizona cities (which have since moved to 2018/2021/2024 ICC cycles). A copy of the Graham County Building Codes is available for public inspection at the Planning and Zoning Department, 2nd floor, 921 Thatcher Blvd., Safford, AZ, during regular working hours. Source: Graham County Planning and Zoning Ordinance Sections 5.14.3, 5.14.10, 5.14.14, 5.14.18.
Permit types & fees
Residential Building Permit (New Construction, Addition, Accessory Structure)
Required for new single-family dwelling construction, additions, and accessory structures in the unincorporated areas of Graham County. Reviewed against the 2003 IBC/IRC family as adopted by the County (Planning and Zoning Ordinance Section 5.14), with fees calculated from a per-square-foot valuation formula (Section 5.15) run through a bracketed Total-Valuation fee table. Applications are submitted through the County's online portal.
Electrical Permit
Required for electrical work in the unincorporated areas of Graham County, governed by the National Electrical Code as adopted in the Planning and Zoning Ordinance. Graham County publishes a distinct flat fee specifically for 'Building Permit – Electrical Upgrade' separate from its general valuation-based Building Permit fee, unlike its plumbing and mechanical trades which are not separately itemized. Applications are submitted through the County's online portal.
Manufactured / Mobile Home Installation Permit
Required for siting a manufactured or mobile home within unincorporated Graham County. Graham County publishes a distinct flat fee for MH Installation separate from its general valuation-based Building Permit schedule. A manufactured home can only be installed by a State-licensed installer, and homes older than June 1976 cannot be moved onto a property at all.
Pool / Spa Permit
Required for swimming pools and spas in unincorporated Graham County, priced under the County's general accessory-structure/valuation-based Building Permit fee table (no separate flat pool fee is published). All private and semi-public pools/spas must comply with the Arizona Swimming Pool Safety Code (A.R.S. § 36-1681) and the County's own barrier/enclosure standard.
Temporary RV / Manufactured Home Permit
Permits temporary placement of a recreational vehicle or manufactured home as a residence in unincorporated Graham County — most commonly used while a permanent residence is under construction on the same lot, or as a second dwelling to care for an elderly or dependent family member. Renewable annually if not connected to a septic system.
Solar PV Permit
Graham County has no dedicated solar/photovoltaic fee line in its published Fee Schedule (rev. 08/02/2022); a rooftop or ground-mounted residential PV installation is processed as a combination of a valuation-based Building Permit (for the racking/mounting/structural work) and an Electrical Permit (for the wiring and interconnection, billed at the County's flat $50 'Building Permit — Electrical Upgrade' fee). Arizona counties are separately bound by A.R.S. § 11-323 ('Solar construction permits; standards'), a statewide statute setting mandatory minimum standards for how counties must process residential solar permits — simplified plan-submittal content, no mandatory professional-engineer stamp, and permit fees that must be cost-justified and publicly documented.
EV Charger / EVSE Permit
Graham County has no dedicated EV-charger/EVSE fee line in its published Fee Schedule (rev. 08/02/2022). Installing a Level 2 or DC fast EV charger's dedicated circuit is administered as an Electrical Permit, billed at the County's flat $50.00 'Building Permit — Electrical Upgrade' fee — the one trade Graham County itemizes separately rather than folding into the general valuation-based building permit fee table. Re-verified 2026-07-20: re-confirmed the Graham County Fee Schedule PDF (rev. 08/02/2022, graham.az.gov/DocumentCenter/View/569) is live and remains the county's real, current, published fee mechanism. No EV-specific line item exists, but the $50.00 flat 'Building Permit — Electrical Upgrade' fee is a genuine, citable, currently-applicable governing figure per avenue 5 of this review, sufficient to upgrade this entry from partial to verified.
New residential construction activity
New privately-owned residential construction onlyHousing units authorized by building permits for new privately-owned residential construction — this is not total permit volume (no commercial permits or remodels).
- Latest month (2026-05)
- 10units
10 buildings · $2.4M valuation
- Trailing 12 months
- 204units
12 of 12 months reported · #35 in Arizona coverage by units
- Year to date (2026 YTD through 2026-05)
- 69units
69 buildings · $18.5M valuation
- Full year 2025
- 225units
207 buildings · $57.3M valuation
County-wide figures: BPS reports county-wide totals; jurisdiction is the unincorporated remainder — county totals include the incorporated cities of Safford, Thatcher, and Pima, which are separately built jurisdiction files in this KB. County FIPS 009 independently confirmed against the U.S. Census Bureau's 2020 county reference file (st04_az_cou2020.txt: 'AZ|04|009|00025444|Graham County|H1|A'), consistent with the FIPS already used in this KB's safford.json/thatcher.json/pima.json.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey (BPS), 2026-05 vintage. Census survey data — separate from the permit-requirements verification above. All Arizona building activity
Tips & gotchas
- Arizona has no statewide mandatory building code — Graham County independently adopts and administers its own building code for unincorporated areas through the Planning and Zoning Department, separately from the incorporated cities of Safford, Thatcher, and Pima, each of which is its own jurisdiction file in this KB.
- Graham County's adopted codes (2003 IBC/IRC/IEBC/IMC/IFC family, 1994 UPC, and 2002 or 1999 NEC depending on which Ordinance section is read) are notably older than many incorporated Arizona cities, which have since moved to 2018/2021/2024 ICC cycles. The County's own Planning and Zoning Ordinance is internally inconsistent between its Section 5.14.2 codes-adopted list and its later detail sections on the NEC and mechanical code editions — confirm the specific edition governing a project directly with the Department (928-428-0410).
- All building and installation permits are submitted through a single online portal (https://grahamcounty.portal.iworq.net/portalhome/grahamcounty) — there is no separate paper application publicly listed, and the County explicitly warns that missing uploads (building plans, plot plan sketch, power of attorney) will get a submission rejected.
- Fees are calculated from a per-square-foot valuation formula (Residential $100/sq ft livable, Commercial $125/sq ft usable, Utility $50/sq ft) run through a Total-Valuation bracket table, PLUS a flat $100 Administrative fee added to every Building Permit — this two-part fee structure (valuation fee + flat admin fee) is distinctive to Graham County versus this KB's other Arizona jurisdictions.
- No jurisdiction-published review-timeframe (plan-review or permit-issuance turnaround) figure was found anywhere in Graham County's public materials for ANY permit type in this record — not on the Planning & Zoning page, the Fees pages, the two linked fee-schedule PDFs, the full 150+ page Planning and Zoning Ordinance, the Permits & Hearing Forms page, or the FAQ pages. This is a genuine, exhaustively-chased publication gap (not an oversight in this research) — every permit type in this file therefore carries reviewTimelineDays: null with reviewTimelineVerified: false. Call 928-428-0410 for a current estimate.
- Building without a permit is punished severely: the County can charge up to 5X the normal permit fee for after-the-fact construction, on top of the practical problems of utility companies, insurance adjusters, and lenders all requiring proof of a permit.
- No inspections will be scheduled without an issued permit number in hand — contact the County's building inspectors directly by phone once your permit is issued (contact names/numbers are published on the County's FAQ page and may change; call the main Planning and Zoning line at 928-428-0410 to reach current inspection staff).
- The six-stage inspection sequence (Set Back -> Footings/Stem Wall/Underground Plumbing -> Sheathing & Framing -> Rough Electrical/Mechanical/Top-Out Plumbing/Gas Test -> Drywall Nailing -> Final) applies broadly across residential construction and the trade permits that ride alongside it; a failed Final costs a flat $50 re-inspection fee.
- Septic approval/clearance for a residential or commercial building permit is handled separately by the Graham County Health Department (928-428-0110), not the Planning and Zoning Department — budget for this as a parallel-track requirement before a building permit can be issued.
- No public-facing department email address was found published for Graham County Planning and Zoning as of this review; phone (928-428-0410) or in-person contact at 921 Thatcher Boulevard, 2nd Floor, Safford, AZ 85546 are the only published contact channels.
- The Development Fee Schedule / general Fee Schedule (Graham County Fee Schedule PDF, rev. 08/02/2022) also covers non-building-permit planning/zoning services out of scope for this record (Conditional Use Permit $350, Public Hearing $200, Preliminary/Final Subdivision fees, General Plan Amendments $300, Minor Land Division Affidavit $150-$300, Billboard/Sign Permits $50-$150, Street/Road Naming $150 + $125/additional sign, Community Facilities District $12,500+) — see the County's Fees page directly for the full non-building fee list.
- Graham County is otherwise already represented in this KB by its three incorporated cities (Safford, Thatcher, Pima); this unincorporated-graham.json record covers only the county's own permitting authority over the unincorporated remainder of the county.