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Change of Use (Zoning Clearance and Certificate of Occupancy) in Queen Creek, Arizona

Queen Creek regulates change of use, but does NOT publish a standalone permit product called a 'Change of Use Permit' — there is no change-of-use application form on the Town's Building Requirements/Checklists/Applications page and no change-of-use line item in the adopted Development Services Fee Schedule. Instead the Zoning Ordinance routes a change of use through two existing authorizations. Section 3.2.C.1 (Zoning Clearance and Building Permit) states: 'No person shall construct any structure, use any land, or change the use of any structure or land until a zoning clearance has been obtained from the Development Services Department and a building permit had been obtained from the Building Department.' Section 3.2.L.1 (Certificate of Occupancy) states: 'No vacant land or building shall be occupied or used (including change of use) or hereafter erected or structurally altered until a certificate of occupancy has been issued by the Building Official.' The Ordinance defines CHANGE IN USE as 'A change from one (1) principal use of a building or land to another principal use of the building or land whether or not there is an increase in the size of the existing building or extent of the use of the land.' A third, narrower reference exists at Section 2.7.C.1, which uses the phrase 'change of use permit' only in the non-conforming-use context: 'A change of use permit may be granted for non-conformity only if the change in use is to principal use permitted in the district. Once the change from non-conformity to a principal permitted use is completed, no conversion to the previous non-conforming use shall be permitted.'

Reviewed 2026-08-15 · Source

When you need this permit

  • Zoning Ordinance Section 3.2.C.1: no person shall change the use of any structure or land until a zoning clearance has been obtained from the Development Services Department AND a building permit has been obtained from the Building Department
  • Zoning Ordinance Section 3.2.L.1: no building shall be occupied or used (including change of use) until a certificate of occupancy has been issued by the Building Official
  • Zoning Ordinance Section 3.2.C.4.b: the proposed building plan shall be in conformance with the land uses permitted in the zoning district in which the development project will be constructed
  • Zoning Ordinance Section 3.2.C.5 (Validity): the building permit is valid for the use for which the zoning clearance was granted, as long as the use complies with applicable codes, provided that within six (6) months of issuance of the clearance a certificate of occupancy has been obtained; a new zoning clearance and any applicable fee are required for any approved project that did not commence construction within that six-month period
  • Zoning Ordinance Section 3.2.L.2.a: the applicant shall submit the required materials with a request for final inspection, to the Planning Administrator
  • Where the change of use involves physical work, the work is permitted under the Town's ordinary building/tenant-improvement track (see this file's commercial-tenant-improvement-permit entry) — including the requirement that each tenant space have its own application and building permit
  • Fire sprinklers, fire alarms, and commercial kitchen hood fire suppression are permitted separately by Fire Prevention (see this file's fire-sprinkler-alarm-permit entry); a change to a higher-hazard occupancy commonly triggers those
  • A Town of Queen Creek Business License is separately required before opening for business
  • For a non-conforming use, Zoning Ordinance Section 2.7.C.1 permits a change of use only where the new use is a principal use permitted in the district, and the change is one-way — reverting to the former non-conforming use is not permitted
  • Where the change of use is to a use requiring discretionary approval, a Conditional Use Permit may be required (Zoning Ordinance Section 3.5); the fee schedule prices Conditional Use at $250 + $30/acre + $50 fire review for residential and $1,000 + $30/acre + $50 fire review for commercial

Required documents

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Fee schedule

Certificate of Occupancy issued at conclusion of all code required constructionTown of Queen Creek Development Services Fee Schedule, 'Valuation Data Updated - Effective 4/1/2026', document page 7 (PDF page 8), 'Miscellaneous Building Safety Permitting Fees' table, row 1. Read from a rendered page image — the fee schedule is a scanned PDF with no extractable text layer.
No additional charge (included with permit fee)
Occupancy verification (no construction required)Same fee schedule, document page 6 (PDF page 7), 'Permit Fees' table, row 23. This is the closest published fee line to a change of use that involves no physical construction. Read from a rendered page image.
$75/hour (two hour minimum which includes the inspection)
Residential Certificate of OccupancySame fee schedule, document page 7 (PDF page 8), 'Miscellaneous Building Safety Permitting Fees' table, row 12. Read from a rendered page image.
$40
Temporary Certificate of OccupancySame fee schedule, document page 8 (PDF page 9), 'Miscellaneous Building Safety Permitting Fees' continuation, row 15. Read from a rendered page image.
Initial issuance: No Charge. Subsequent extensions: $250/extension (non-refundable).
Zoning Confirmation Letter / Zoning Interpretation LetterSame fee schedule, document page 2 (PDF page 3), 'Planning Administrative Fees' table, rows K and L. Not a change-of-use fee as such, but the published route to a written zoning determination on whether a proposed new use is permitted. Read from a rendered page image.
$250 each
Construction/alteration work accompanying the change of useSame fee schedule, Building Safety section, documents pages 4-6 (Fee Table and Permit Fees) and page 6 ('Building Safety plan review Fees', row 2). Read from rendered page images.
Per the Town-wide valuation-based Fee Table, with plan review at 65% of the applicable permit fee for other-than-single-family work. No separate change-of-use surcharge is published.

Review timeline

Plan review
Not published — contact the department

How long did your Change of Use (Zoning Clearance and Certificate of Occupancy) permit actually take in Queen Creek?

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

Inspection process

  1. 1

    Final Inspection / Certificate of Occupancy

    Per Zoning Ordinance Section 3.2.L.2.a, the applicant submits the required materials with a request for final inspection to the Planning Administrator; the Certificate of Occupancy is then issued by the Building Official before the space may be occupied under the new use.

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

Tips

  • There is no form called 'Change of Use' in Queen Creek. The Town's published Applications list (Permit Application, Master Community Permit Application, Standard Plan Permit Guidelines, Permanent Sign Permit Application) contains no change-of-use application, and the adopted fee schedule contains no change-of-use line. The change of use is authorized through a zoning clearance plus a building permit plus a Certificate of Occupancy.
  • A change of use needs a Certificate of Occupancy EVEN IF you do no construction. Zoning Ordinance Section 3.2.L.1 covers occupancy 'including change of use' independently of whether the building was erected or structurally altered — and the fee schedule prices exactly that case at $75/hour with a two-hour minimum ('Occupancy verification (no construction required)').
  • The zoning clearance has a six-month clock. Under Section 3.2.C.5 the building permit is valid only for the use the zoning clearance was granted for, and a certificate of occupancy must be obtained within six months of the clearance being issued; otherwise a new zoning clearance and any applicable fee are required.
  • Changing out of a legal non-conforming use is a one-way door: Section 2.7.C.1 allows the change only if the new use is a principal permitted use in the district, and once completed 'no conversion to the previous non-conforming use shall be permitted.'
  • If you are unsure whether the new use is permitted in the district, the published instrument is a Zoning Confirmation Letter or Zoning Interpretation Letter at $250 each, rather than an application you can file and have rejected.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Zoning Ordinance Section 3.2.L.1 applies to occupancy 'including change of use' regardless of whether anything is built or structurally altered. The Development Services Fee Schedule prices that case directly as 'Occupancy verification (no construction required)' at $75/hour with a two hour minimum which includes the inspection.

In Queen Creek, the published Certificate of Occupancy issued at conclusion of all code required construction is: No additional charge (included with permit fee). Additional published fees: Occupancy verification (no construction required) — $75/hour (two hour minimum which includes the inspection); Residential Certificate of Occupancy — $40; Temporary Certificate of Occupancy — Initial issuance: No Charge. Subsequent extensions: $250/extension (non-refundable).; Zoning Confirmation Letter / Zoning Interpretation Letter — $250 each; Construction/alteration work accompanying the change of use — Per the Town-wide valuation-based Fee Table, with plan review at 65% of the applicable permit fee for other-than-single-family work. No separate change-of-use surcharge is published.. These are the jurisdiction's own published figures — see the fee schedule table and source citations on this page.

Queen Creek does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact Town of Queen Creek Development Services Department — Building Safety Division at 480-358-3003 for current turnaround.

You'll need: Permit Application; Zoning Clearance; Certificate of Occupancy. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

Queen Creek requires 1 inspection(s) for a change of use (zoning clearance and certificate of occupancy) permit, in order: Final Inspection / Certificate of Occupancy. Schedule each through Town of Queen Creek Development Services Department — Building Safety Division (480-358-3003).

Apply through Town of Queen Creek Development Services Department — Building Safety Division at Municipal Services Building, 22358 S. Ellsworth Road, Queen Creek, AZ 85142. Phone: 480-358-3003, email: development@QueenCreekAZ.gov. Office hours: Monday - Thursday, 7 a.m. - 6 p.m.; closed Fridays (Town offices closed Friday-Sunday). Applications are submitted electronically through the Development Nexus / Accela Citizen Access online portal (aca-prod.accela.com/QC). Building inspections are scheduled through Development Nexus or by phone/text; the cutoff for next-business-day inspection requests is 6:00 p.m. Inspection hours are 6 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Mon-Thu and 6-10 a.m. Fri (September-May), and 5:30 a.m.-12 p.m. Mon-Thu and 5:30-10 a.m. Fri (June-August). Building Official: Michael Williams, CBO, Building Safety Manager, Michael.Williams@QueenCreekAZ.gov, 480-358-3009.. Official information: https://www.queencreekaz.gov/government/development-services/building-safety.

Not as a standalone permit product. The Town publishes no change-of-use application form and no change-of-use fee line. Instead, Zoning Ordinance Section 3.2.C.1 requires a zoning clearance from Development Services plus a building permit before you may change the use of any structure or land, and Section 3.2.L.1 requires a Certificate of Occupancy from the Building Official before the space may be occupied under the new use.

The Zoning Ordinance defines CHANGE IN USE as 'A change from one (1) principal use of a building or land to another principal use of the building or land whether or not there is an increase in the size of the existing building or extent of the use of the land.' The size of the building and the intensity of the land use are explicitly irrelevant to whether it counts.

Other permits in Queen Creek

Residential Building Permit (New Single-Family Construction)Residential Addition / Remodel PermitElectrical PermitPlumbing PermitMechanical / HVAC PermitRe-Roofing PermitSingle Family Residential Solar Photovoltaic (PV) System PermitDemolition PermitFence and Wall PermitSwimming Pool and Spa PermitEV Charging Station Permit (Electrical Permit)Commercial Building Permit (New Construction)Commercial Tenant Improvement PermitSign PermitFire Sprinkler and Fire Alarm Permit

Change of Use (Zoning Clearance and Certificate of Occupancy) in other cities

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

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