Residential Building Permit (New Construction) in Cottonwood, Arizona

Cottonwood requires a residential building permit (new construction) for: Building permit required for new single-family and two-family dwelling construction within Cottonwood city limits; Plans must comply with the 2024 IRC and City of Cottonwood amendments, including the City's Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria (110 mph wind; Seismic Design Category C; 20 psf ground snow load; 12-inch frost depth; moderate-to-heavy termite potential; A.R.S. § 36-1681 pool barrier rules where applicable); Construction documents must be prepared by an Arizona-registered design professional per A.R.S. § 32-144 and the Arizona State Board of Technical Registration; Submitted documents must identify the project scope of work and reference the City's adopted design codes and criteria; Submittal via the CloudPermit online portal (us.cloudpermit.com/gov/login); Minimum footing reinforcement required per amended IRC § R403.1.1.1 (continuous strip footings: two #4 horizontal bars 3 inches from the bottom). If your project isn't listed, confirm with City of Cottonwood Community Development Department — Building Division at 928-634-5505 before starting work.

In Cottonwood, the published Building Permit Fee — Based on Valuation is: $41.13 (valuation $1-$500); $41.13 + $5.34 per additional $100 to $2,000; $121.19 + $24.50 per additional $1,000 to $25,000; $684.25 + $17.68 per additional $1,000 to $50,000; $1,126.56 + $12.25 per additional $1,000 to $100,000; $1,739.06 + $9.80 per additional $1,000 to $500,000; $4,688.95 + $8.31 per additional $1,000 to $1,000,000; $9,815.31 + $6.39 per additional $1,000 above $1,000,000. Additional published fees: Plan Review Fee (all permits) — 65% of the calculated Building Permit Fee; Additional Plan Review (changes, additions, deferrals, alterations, or revisions to plans) — $90.47 per hour; Reinspection/re-review fees (after 2nd review) — $90.47 per hour; Expedited Building Review — Additional 25% of the Building Fee; One-time permit extension — 1/2 cost of original Building fee. These are the jurisdiction's own published figures — see the fee schedule table and source citations on this page.

As of July 2026, the City of Cottonwood does not publish a specific plan-review turnaround time (in business days) for residential building permits on its public website. The City offers an Expedited Building Review option (additional 25% of the Building Fee) for applicants who want faster processing, which implies a materially slower standard track, but no day-count is published for either track. Call the Community Development Department at (928) 634-5505 for a current estimate.

You'll need: Building Permit Application; Site/Plot Plan; Construction Drawings and Structural Calculations; Manual J / Manual S Calculations. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

Cottonwood requires 4 inspection(s) for a residential building permit (new construction), in order: Foundation/Footing, Framing, Elevated Work / Rooftop, Final / Certificate of Occupancy. Schedule each through City of Cottonwood Community Development Department — Building Division (928-634-5505).

Apply through City of Cottonwood Community Development Department — Building Division at 111 North Main Street, Cottonwood, AZ 86326 (Building Division counter also referenced at 827 N. Main St., Cottonwood, AZ 86326 in the City's online directory). Phone: 928-634-5505, email: building@cottonwoodaz.gov. Office hours: Community Development Office: Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed Fridays). Building Inspection Hours: Monday-Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Certificates of occupancy are not issued on Fridays. Permits are applied for and tracked online via CloudPermit (us.cloudpermit.com/gov/login); inspections may be requested through the online portal ('MY INSPECTION') or by calling (928) 340-2724 — inspection requests submitted before 4:00 p.m. are scheduled for the next business day, and final inspections require 48 hours' notice.. Official information: https://cottonwoodaz.gov/158/Building-Division.

Cottonwood, 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 (e.g., A.R.S. Title 9 for municipalities). The City of Cottonwood's Community Development Department (Planning Division, Building Division, and Ordinance Enforcement Division) independently adopts and administers its own construction codes under Title 15 (Buildings and Construction) of the Cottonwood City Code. Source: City of Cottonwood Building Division page (cottonwoodaz.gov/158/Building-Division).; 2024 International Building Code (IBC), including Appendices C, G, H, I, and J, adopted by reference as the City's building code (Cottonwood City Code § 15.08.020), with City of Cottonwood amendments (§ 15.08.021), effective July 1, 2025. Source: City of Cottonwood Ordinance No. 761, '2025 Technical Code Update,' adopted by City Council and approved by the Mayor May 20, 2025, effective July 1, 2025.; 2024 International Residential Code (IRC), including Appendices A, B, C, G, H, J, O, P and Q (with Appendices BB, BD, BF, BH, BO, CA, CB, CD, CE, and CF also adopted), adopted by reference as the one- and two-family dwelling code (§ 15.08.060), with City of Cottonwood amendments (§ 15.08.061), effective July 1, 2025. Source: City of Cottonwood Ordinance No. 761 (2025 Technical Code Update).; 2024 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC), including Appendices A and B, adopted by reference (§ 15.08.070), with City of Cottonwood amendments (§ 15.08.071), effective July 1, 2025. Source: City of Cottonwood Ordinance No. 761 (2025 Technical Code Update).; 2024 International Existing Building Code (IEBC), including Appendices A, B, C, and E, adopted by reference (§ 15.08.080), effective July 1, 2025. Source: City of Cottonwood Ordinance No. 761 (2025 Technical Code Update).; 2018 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) — NOTE: unlike the other ICC codes, the City's energy code was NOT advanced to the 2024 edition in the 2025 Technical Code Update; it remains the 2018 IECC (Cottonwood City Code § 15.10.010), with City amendments at § 15.10.011 (including a residential building-thermal-envelope air-leakage-test field-verification exception). The IRC's own Chapter 11 (Energy Efficiency) is separately deleted and replaced with Chapter 11 of the 2018 IRC per the Ordinance's IRC amendments. Source: City of Cottonwood Ordinance No. 761 (2025 Technical Code Update); City of Cottonwood Building Division page (confirms '2024 International Codes' adopted effective 7/1/2025 without listing IECC among the upgraded editions).; 2024 International Plumbing Code (IPC), including Appendices B, C, D, and E, adopted by reference (§ 15.12.010), with City of Cottonwood amendments (§ 15.12.011), effective July 1, 2025. Source: City of Cottonwood Ordinance No. 761 (2025 Technical Code Update).; 2023 National Electrical Code (NEC), as published by the National Fire Protection Association, adopted by reference (§ 15.16.010), effective July 1, 2025 (electrical code cycle is one edition behind the 2024 ICC set, consistent with typical Arizona NEC adoption lag). Source: City of Cottonwood Ordinance No. 761 (2025 Technical Code Update); City of Cottonwood Building Division page.; 2024 International Mechanical Code (IMC), including Appendix A, adopted by reference (§ 15.20.010), with City of Cottonwood amendments (§ 15.20.011, including a mandatory third-party test-and-balance report requirement for altered ventilation/exhaust systems where required to verify code compliance), effective July 1, 2025. Source: City of Cottonwood Ordinance No. 761 (2025 Technical Code Update).; 2024 International Fire Code (IFC), including Appendices B through O, adopted by reference (§ 15.24.010) as the City's uniform fire code, with City of Cottonwood amendments (open-flame/aerial-fireworks restrictions in high fire-risk areas; automatic fire sprinkler requirements per NFPA 13/13-R/13-D expanded beyond the base IFC thresholds; fire-permit surety-bond amounts), effective July 1, 2025. Administered by the City of Cottonwood Fire Prevention Division. Source: City of Cottonwood Ordinance No. 761 (2025 Technical Code Update).; 2024 International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC), adopted effective July 1, 2025. Source: City of Cottonwood Building Division page (cottonwoodaz.gov/158/Building-Division).; ICC A117.1-2017 Accessibility Standard, plus the Arizonans with Disabilities Act (A.R.S. Title 41, Chapter 9, Article 8) and its implementing rules ('Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities,' declared a public record by Resolution No. 1610), adopted as an amendment to the IBC (Cottonwood City Code § 15.08.050) applying to public entities, public accommodations, and commercial facilities; also incorporated into IBC Chapter 11 (§ 1102.1) alongside the 2010 ADA Standards (Title II and Title III regulations, 28 CFR 35.15 / 36 subpart D, and the 2004 ADAAG). Source: City of Cottonwood Ordinance No. 761 (2025 Technical Code Update).; Effective July 1, 2025 the City also adopted its 2025 Community Development and Fire Department Fee Schedule, which governs all building/fire permit, plan review, and inspection fees; the base valuation-per-square-foot cost tables in that schedule are labeled 'August 2018' (carried forward unchanged from the prior fee-schedule cycle) while the general Schedule of Building Permit Fees (dollar-valuation brackets) and all mechanical/plumbing/electrical/miscellaneous fee line items were updated for 2025. Source: City of Cottonwood 2025 Community Development Fee Schedule (cottonwoodaz.gov/DocumentCenter/View/8316).. Local amendments apply — see the Cottonwood overview page for the full list.

The 2024 IRC and 2024 IBC (for non-residential portions), as adopted and amended by the City of Cottonwood under Ordinance No. 761 ('2025 Technical Code Update'), apply effective July 1, 2025. The energy code remains the 2018 IECC — it was not advanced to the 2024 edition in this update.