Paradise Valley building permits
VerifiedDepartment contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Paradise Valley, Arizona.
Last verified 2026-07-06 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- 6401 E. Lincoln Drive, Paradise Valley, AZ 85253-4399
- Phone
- 480-348-3692
- Office hours
- Monday - Friday, 7 a.m. - Noon and 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.; closed for lunch 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. The Town does not accept application submittals, payments, nor release permits after 3:30 p.m. Applications for Building, Banner, Demolition, Electrical, Fence/Site Walls, Mechanical, Plumbing, Pool/Spa, and Short-Term Rental permits are submitted via the Accela Citizen Access online portal (aca-prod.accela.com/PARADISEVLY). Building inspections are scheduled via a 24/7 interactive phone system at 480-348-3581 or the Accela portal; winter (Oct-Apr) inspection hours are 7 a.m.-3 p.m., summer (May-Sept) 6 a.m.-3 p.m., and requests received before 3 p.m. are performed the next business day.
- Website
- Official site
- Permit portal
- Apply online at Paradise Valley's portal
Inspection guide
See how inspections work in Paradise Valley — 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 Paradise Valley operates its own Building Safety Department / Community Development Department and independently adopts and administers its own construction codes. Source: Town of Paradise Valley Building page (paradisevalleyaz.gov/185/Building) and the Town's 'International Codes adopted by Town of Paradise Valley' handout (Community Development Department, updated July 2023).
- 2015 International Residential Code (IRC), adopted by the Town of Paradise Valley, with local design-criteria and administrative amendments. Source: 'International Codes adopted by Town of Paradise Valley' (Community Development Department, updated July 2023).
- 2015 International Building Code (IBC), adopted by the Town of Paradise Valley, with local amendments. Source: 'International Codes adopted by Town of Paradise Valley' (updated July 2023).
- 2015 International Mechanical Code (IMC), adopted by the Town of Paradise Valley. Source: 'International Codes adopted by Town of Paradise Valley' (updated July 2023).
- 2015 International Plumbing Code (IPC), adopted by the Town of Paradise Valley. Source: 'International Codes adopted by Town of Paradise Valley' (updated July 2023).
- 2015 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC), adopted by the Town of Paradise Valley. Source: 'International Codes adopted by Town of Paradise Valley' (updated July 2023).
- 2021 International Fire Code (IFC), adopted by the Town of Paradise Valley as its uniform fire code — the only 2021-cycle ICC code adopted by the Town, one full code cycle newer than its 2015 building/residential/mechanical/plumbing/fuel-gas set; administered with the Town Fire Marshal (480-348-3631). Source: 'International Codes adopted by Town of Paradise Valley' (updated July 2023).
- 2015 International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC), adopted by the Town of Paradise Valley. Source: 'International Codes adopted by Town of Paradise Valley' (updated July 2023).
- 2014 National Electrical Code (NEC), as published by the National Fire Protection Association, adopted by the Town of Paradise Valley — one edition behind Buckeye's 2023 NEC and two behind the current 2023 NFPA cycle; this is the edition in force as of the Town's most recently updated codes-adopted handout (July 2023). Source: 'International Codes adopted by Town of Paradise Valley' (updated July 2023).
- 2015 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), adopted by the Town of Paradise Valley. Source: 'International Codes adopted by Town of Paradise Valley' (updated July 2023).
- Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) Manual J (load calculation) and Manual S (equipment selection) compliance is mandatory for all new single-family home applications, using Town-specified outdoor design conditions (Winter Heating 99% DB = 35°F ± 2°F; Summer Cooling 1% DB = 107°F ± 2°F) and indoor design conditions (Heating 70°F at 30% RH; Cooling 75°F at 45% RH). Source: Town of Paradise Valley Building Permit Application Information handout (Building Safety Department).
Permit types & fees
Residential Building Permit (New Construction / Custom Home)
Required for new single-family residence, guest house, ramada, or other fixed-location structure construction in the Town of Paradise Valley, an affluent custom-home market where nearly all residential building is high-end, architect-designed custom construction. Reviewed in-house against the Town's adopted 2015 IRC/IBC and local design criteria. Applications are submitted through the Accela Citizen Access online portal.
Residential Addition / Remodel Permit
Required for room additions, remodels, and interior alterations to existing homes in Paradise Valley. Reviewed in-house against the Town's adopted 2015 IRC/IBC. Interior remodels are valued at half the standard per-square-foot rate.
Electrical Permit
Required for electrical installation, alteration, or repair work in Paradise Valley, governed by the 2014 NEC as adopted by the Town. Covers panel upgrades/replacements, service establishment, and lighting changes.
Plumbing Permit
Required for plumbing installation, alteration, or repair work in Paradise Valley, governed by the 2015 IPC as adopted by the Town. Covers gas lines, sewer service, water heaters, and re-piping.
Mechanical / HVAC Permit
Required for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning installations in Paradise Valley, governed by the 2015 IMC as adopted by the Town. New single-family homes must comply with ACCA Manual J/Manual S load calculations using Town-specified design conditions.
Fence / Site Wall Permit
Required for fences, walls, gates, planters, and retaining walls in Paradise Valley, one of the Town's most heavily-regulated permit categories given its Zoning Ordinance Article XXIV (Walls and Fences) height/setback rules aimed at preserving 'visual openness.' Includes a distinct fee-per-linear-foot structure and detailed masonry design standards.
Pool / Spa Permit
Required for in-ground or above-ground swimming pools, spas, and hot tubs in Paradise Valley — a very common permit type given the Town's high-end custom-home market, where private pools are near-standard. Pool construction is valued at 1% of construction cost rather than the standard per-square-foot valuation table, and pool barriers must independently meet the Town's dedicated Barrier Requirements handout.
Residential Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Permit
Required for installation of rooftop residential solar photovoltaic systems in Paradise Valley. Reviewed in-house per the standard Building Safety Department plan-review process; a Hillside Building Committee application also exists for solar/solar-hot-water additions on Hillside lots.
Demolition Permit
Required for demolition of any residential or commercial structure, wall, or fence in Paradise Valley whenever more than 12 linear feet of building wall/fence or 12 square feet of roof/structure is removed. Must be obtained before the associated building permit is issued.
Grading Permit
Required for earthwork with gradient or drainage changes in Paradise Valley, administered by the Engineering Department. Fees are based on cubic yards of earth moved, with an additional Haul Permit for large-volume dirt import/export.
EV Charger / EVSE Permit
The Town of Paradise Valley does not publish a dedicated EV charger/EVSE permit. Installation of a dedicated 240-volt EV charging circuit is permitted as hard-wired electrical work under the Town's standard Electrical Permit, governed by the 2014 NEC as adopted by the Town, and is pulled by the licensed electrical contractor performing the work. There is no EV-specific line item in the Town's Master Fee Schedule; the flat Electrical Permit Fee applies.
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)
- 7units
7 buildings · $17.1M valuation
- Trailing 12 months
- 69units
12 of 12 months reported · #47 in Arizona coverage by units
- Year to date (2026 YTD through 2026-05)
- 23units
23 buildings · $61.2M valuation
5 month(s) reported to Census
- Full year 2025
- 75units
75 buildings · $173.7M valuation
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
- Paradise Valley's Building Safety Department reviews ALL building permit applications in-house (residential, most commercial, and all fire sprinkler plans) rather than outsourcing — the 65%-of-permit-fee plan review charge and up-to-15-business-day-per-review timeline documented in the Town's Building Permit Application Information handout apply uniformly across nearly every permit type in this file.
- The Town explicitly discourages applying for multiple permit types on one property simultaneously, since each permit is only valid for 180 days from issuance — sequence separate structures (main house, guest house, pool, walls) deliberately.
- Given Paradise Valley's affluent custom-home market, three review layers are common that are rare elsewhere in the state: Hillside Building Committee review (10%+ slope lots), the $500,000+ additional-requirements threshold for new houses/remodels, and detailed Zoning Ordinance Article XXIV wall/fence rules built around a Town-wide 'visual openness' policy goal.
- Climatic/geographic design criteria per the Town's adopted-codes handout: 115 mph wind (Exposure B, site-specific), Seismic Design Category B, 34°F winter design temperature, Moderate-to-Heavy termite potential, 12-inch frost depth, 0 psf ground snow load.
- A demolition permit is required at a very low 12-linear-foot wall/fence or 12-square-foot roof/structure threshold, and must be fully obtained before any related building permit is issued.
- The Town's live fee-schedule link (paradisevalleyaz.gov/198/Fee-Schedule-PDF) redirects to a JavaScript-rendered Municode 'MuniDocs' single-page application (library.municode.com) that returns no server-side content even with a realistic browser User-Agent — this is the JS-heavy-CMS failure mode anticipated for small AZ towns. The Town's specific post-2023-amendment Master Fee Schedule PDF (DocumentCenter document 10585, 'amended by Res 2023-06 effective 10142023') IS archived on the Wayback Machine, but every attempt to download it (direct fetch, `if_` raw mode, and multiple ranged-request reconstructions) produced a file truncated at exactly 1,048,576 bytes with a corrupted PDF structure — confirmed via response headers showing the true original file is 1,255,033 bytes and Wayback's own delivery layer enforces the 1 MB cap with an explicit 'content truncated by length' warning, independent of range-request parameters. This is a genuine access limitation on the archived copy, not an unexhausted recovery avenue: the live site's redirect blocks direct access, and the one Wayback capture of the actual current-version document is undersized at the source. Flat trade-permit fees ($130 electrical/plumbing/mechanical, $260 demolition permit issuance, engineering/grading plan-check fees under §1.2) in this file are therefore sourced from the last FULLY-verified capture (Res. 2021-01, effective June 12, 2021) and flagged accordingly wherever they could not be cross-checked against a current live Town document. Building permit valuation fees, demolition plan-check fees, and grading/haul fees WERE independently reconfirmed against the Town's current, live 'Building Permit Application Information' handout and are current as of this review.
- No dedicated review timeline document separate from the Building Permit Application Information handout's 15-business-day/3-5-day figures was found on the Town's site; this single figure is treated as the verified timeline for every permit type in this file, since the handout states plan review covers 'building, electrical, grading and drainage, mechanical, plumbing, structural, and prevention plans' as one unified in-house process — no permit type in this file required the honest-gap unverified framing.