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Change of Use / Change of Occupancy Permit in Castle Pines, Colorado

Castle Pines has no standalone 'Change of Use' checkbox on its Building Permit Application — the six Permit Type options are Over the Counter, Demolition, Residential Alteration, Commercial Alteration, New Residential, and New Commercial. Instead, the application's own governing certification language explicitly requires that 'Any change in the use or occupancy of the building or structure must be approved prior to proceeding with construction,' and a change of use is processed as a Commercial Alteration (if plan review is triggered) or an Over-the-Counter permit (if not), governed by 2021 IEBC Chapter 10 (Change of Occupancy) as locally adopted.

Verified 2026-08-13 · Source

When you need this permit

  • Any change in the use or occupancy of a building or structure must be approved by the City prior to proceeding with construction — explicit certification language on the standard City of Castle Pines Building Permit Application, signed by the applicant
  • No distinct 'Change of Use' checkbox exists among the application's six Permit Type options (Over the Counter, Demolition, Residential Alteration, Commercial Alteration, New Residential, New Commercial); a change of use is submitted under Commercial Alteration if construction or plan review is triggered, or under Over the Counter if the use change itself requires no plans
  • Governed by 2021 IEBC (International Existing Building Code) Chapter 10, Change of Occupancy, as locally adopted by Ordinance No. 23-02; IEBC Section 1001.2 requires an updated Certificate of Occupancy reflecting the new use or occupancy classification
  • Both Planning & Zoning and the Building Department must independently sign off — the City's Building Permit Application form carries two separate 'For Office Use Only' approval blocks, one for Planning & Zoning and one for the Building Department, each with its own signature and date-approved line
  • A Zoning Verification Letter is available (and advisable before applying) to confirm the proposed new use is permitted in the property's zoning district
  • If the new use changes the building's fire/life-safety occupancy classification, South Metro Fire Rescue — the City's designated fire code official — separately reviews the change under its own published 'Change of Use' fire-code review fee, distinct from and in addition to the City's own building/zoning review (see this file's fire-sprinkler-alarm-permit entry)

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Fee schedule

Zoning Verification Letter2026 Fee Schedule (Community Development section)
$55.00
Building Permit Fee, Plan Review Fee, Zoning Fee, and Douglas County / Castle Pines Use TaxApplies only if the use change is bundled with construction requiring a Plan Review Permit; an Over-the-Counter use change with no construction would not incur the Plan Review Fee or Zoning Fee
Same schedule as the Commercial Alteration / Tenant Improvement permit type (see this file's commercial-tenant-improvement entry)
South Metro Fire Rescue Change of Use fee (fire-code occupancy review)Applies only if the use change alters the building's fire/life-safety occupancy classification; SMFR's own fee, separate from and in addition to the City's fees above
Plan Check $174.24 + Inspection $413.75 = Total $587.99

Review timeline

Plan review
Not published — contact the department

How long did your Change of Use / Change of Occupancy Permit permit actually take in Castle Pines?

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 Update

    Confirms the new use or occupancy classification complies with applicable code requirements under 2021 IEBC Chapter 10 and the current IBC use and occupancy provisions; results in an updated Certificate of Occupancy per IEBC Sec. 1001.2

See the full Castle Pines inspection guide — scheduling & re-inspection fees →

Tips

  • There is no 'Change of Use' checkbox on Castle Pines' Building Permit Application — use the Commercial Alteration track if any construction or plan review is triggered, or Over the Counter if not, and make sure the Scope of Work field clearly documents the use change so Planning & Zoning catches it during their separate sign-off.
  • A $55 Zoning Verification Letter is the cheapest way to confirm your intended new use is actually allowed in the property's zoning district before committing to a lease or purchase and applying for the permit itself.
  • If your new use changes the building's fire/life-safety occupancy classification, budget separately for South Metro Fire Rescue's own Change of Use fire-code review fee (about $588 total) — this is on top of, not instead of, the City's building and zoning fees.

Frequently asked questions

If the new use changes the building's fire/life-safety occupancy classification, yes — South Metro Fire Rescue, the City's designated fire code official, separately reviews the change under its own published Change of Use fee, in addition to the City's own building and zoning review.

In Castle Pines, the published Zoning Verification Letter is: $55.00. Additional published fees: Building Permit Fee, Plan Review Fee, Zoning Fee, and Douglas County / Castle Pines Use Tax — Same schedule as the Commercial Alteration / Tenant Improvement permit type (see this file's commercial-tenant-improvement entry); South Metro Fire Rescue Change of Use fee (fire-code occupancy review) — Plan Check $174.24 + Inspection $413.75 = Total $587.99. These are the jurisdiction's own published figures — see the fee schedule table and source citations on this page.

Castle Pines does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact City of Castle Pines Building Department (Community Development Department, Building Division) at 303-705-0227 for current turnaround.

You'll need: Building Permit Application (Commercial Alteration or Over the Counter track). Depending on your project, Castle Pines may also ask for: Zoning Verification Letter; Plan Set. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

Castle Pines requires 1 inspection(s) for a change of use / change of occupancy permit, in order: Final Inspection / Certificate of Occupancy Update. Schedule each through City of Castle Pines Building Department (Community Development Department, Building Division) (303-705-0227).

Apply through City of Castle Pines Building Department (Community Development Department, Building Division) at 7437 Village Square Drive, Suite 200, Castle Pines, CO 80108. Phone: 303-705-0227, email: BuildingDept@castlepinesco.gov. Office hours: Monday through Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Friday 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Fax 303-688-9414..

Castle Pines, Colorado has adopted: 2021 International Building Code (IBC), Chapters 1-35 inclusive, exclusive of Appendices — adopted by Ordinance No. 23-02 (Feb. 28, 2023), City of Castle Pines Municipal Code Chapter 18, Article I; 2021 International Residential Code (IRC), 1st printing; Chapter 11 of the 2018 edition of the International Residential Code (retained separately alongside the 2021 IRC per Ordinance No. 23-02's title recitals — Chapter 11 of the IRC covers energy efficiency; the City kept the 2018 version of this chapter rather than adopting the 2021 IRC's Chapter 11 wholesale); 2020 National Electrical Code (NEC) — City of Castle Pines Municipal Code Chapter 18, Article III, Sec. 18-3-10, adopted pursuant to Title 31, Article 16, Part 2, C.R.S., 'as adopted, amended and updated to the most current edition by the Colorado State Electrical Board from time to time' per the authority in Article 23 of Title 12, C.R.S. — the City ties its NEC edition to whatever the Colorado State Electrical Board currently recognizes, rather than freezing a single print edition; 2021 International Mechanical Code (IMC), Chapters 1-15 inclusive — Article IV; 2021 International Plumbing Code (IPC), Chapters 1-13 inclusive — Article V; 2021 International Fire Code (IFC) — adopted by Ordinance No. 23-07 (2023); enforced by the South Metro Fire Rescue Fire Protection District, which Ordinance No. 23-02/23-07 designates as the Fire Marshal's Office / fire code official for the City; 2021 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC); 2018 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC); 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code (ISPSC); 2021 International Existing Building Code (IEBC); Note on code-adoption sourcing: the 2021 IBC/IRC/IMC/IPC/IFGC/IECC(2018)/ISPSC/IEBC + 2020 NEC list above is drawn directly from the recitals and Sections 1-5 of Ordinance No. 23-02 (a scanned/image PDF, read via rendered page images since it is not machine-text-extractable), the definitive code-adoption ordinance for Chapter 18 of the Municipal Code. The City's own Building Department FAQ page states more casually that the City 'is currently under the 2021 International Building Code/International Residential Code and the 2023 National Electrical Code' — this FAQ-page NEC reference (2023) is NOT used as the governing citation in this file because it conflicts with the specific, dated ordinance text (2020 NEC, floating to the State Electrical Board's current edition); the ordinance is treated as authoritative and the FAQ's '2023 NEC' is noted as a likely informal/rounded reference to whatever edition the State Electrical Board currently recognizes, consistent with the ordinance's own floating-adoption mechanism.; HB22-1362 (Colorado statewide energy code floor via updated model electrical/energy provisions): no City of Castle Pines ordinance, code-adoption page, or fee schedule references HB22-1362 or a specific electric-vehicle-readiness / electrification-readiness local amendment as of this review (Ordinance No. 23-02 predates HB22-1362's later compliance deadlines and does not mention it); not asserted as inapplicable, simply unconfirmed for this jurisdiction after checking the governing ordinance and the Building Department's public-facing pages directly.. Local amendments apply — see the Castle Pines overview page for the full list.

No standalone permit type exists. A change of use is processed through the City's standard Building Permit Application (under the Commercial Alteration or Over-the-Counter track, depending on whether construction is involved), with a Scope of Work describing the new use, and requires separate sign-off from both Planning & Zoning and the Building Department, governed by 2021 IEBC Chapter 10 (Change of Occupancy) as locally adopted.

Sources & verification

Verified against official sources. Last reviewed 2026-08-13.

Fees, timelines, and adopted codes are researched from each jurisdiction's published records — see how we verify. Requirements change and vary by project, so always confirm the current details with the Castle Pines building department before you submit. PermitBase is an independent reference and is not affiliated with any government agency.

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