Durango building permits
VerifiedDepartment contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Durango, Colorado.
Last verified 2026-07-06 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- 949 E 2nd Avenue, Durango, CO 81301
- Phone
- 970-375-5000
- Office hours
- Not published on the Building Division pages as of this review; main City Hall line 970-375-5000. General building-permit questions: Building@DurangoCo.Gov. Fee-schedule calculation questions: 970-375-4850.
- Website
- Official site
- Permit portal
- Apply online at Durango's portal
Inspection guide
See how inspections work in Durango — sequence, scheduling & re-inspection fees.
Codes adopted
Colorado has no statewide-mandated building code edition. Under the Colorado Constitution's home-rule provisions (art. XX, home rule for municipalities since 1902; home rule for counties since 1970), building codes and zoning are an enumerated home-rule charter power, so cities and counties adopt and amend their own construction codes independently — predominantly the I-Codes, with editions and local amendments varying by jurisdiction. The one statewide floor is for energy: HB22-1362 (2022) created the Energy Code Board (jointly appointed by the Colorado Energy Office and the Department of Local Affairs) and requires that, on or after July 1, 2023 and before July 1, 2026, any municipality or county that adopts or updates a building code must adopt and enforce an energy code achieving performance equivalent to or better than the 2021 IECC together with the board's Model Electric Ready and Solar Ready Code (which includes electric-ready, EV-ready, and solar-ready provisions); from July 1, 2026 onward the floor shifts to the board's Model Low Energy and Carbon Code or an equivalent. Electrical and plumbing permitting defaults to the Colorado State Electrical Board and State Plumbing Board (within DORA's Division of Professions and Occupations) — the state issues permits and inspects statewide except in counties/jurisdictions that operate their own certified Electrical or Plumbing Inspection Program, in which case the local program has authority instead. Always confirm the currently adopted code edition, local amendments, and inspection authority (state board vs. local program) with the specific jurisdiction before submitting plans.
- 2024 International Building Code (IBC) — City of Durango Building Codes page, effective for new projects not already in a planning process prior to 01/01/2026
- 2024 International Residential Code (IRC)
- 2024 International Fire Code (IFC)
- 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC)
- 2024 International Plumbing Code (IPC)
- 2024 International Mechanical Code (IMC)
- 2024 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC)
- 2023 National Electrical Code (NEC)
- Colorado Model Electric Ready and Solar Ready Code (CMERSRC) — state-mandated, per City of Durango Building Codes page and Submittal Requirements page
- Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code (WRC) — state-mandated; City of Durango began enforcement April 1, 2026 per the Building Codes page and Do I Need a Permit? page
- Transition provision: projects with full vertical construction drawings designed to the 2018 I-Codes and submitted to the Planning Division prior to January 1, 2026 may remain compliant with that older code cycle; all other new submittals must follow the 2024 I-Codes, 2023 NEC, CMERSRC, and Wildfire Resiliency Code
- Code books available for review at Community Development and the City Clerk's Office; full municipal code at library.municode.com/co/durango
Permit types & fees
Residential Building Permit (New Single-Family Residence or Duplex)
Required for new single-family homes, duplexes, and townhouses within Durango city limits, per the City's 'Do I Need a Permit?' table. Reviewed under the 2024 IRC/IBC as locally adopted, plus the state-mandated Colorado Model Electric Ready and Solar Ready Code and Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code. Issued by the City of Durango Community Development Department, Building Division; electrical work on the project is permitted separately through the State of Colorado Electrical Board, not the City.
Residential Addition / Remodel Permit
Required for additions and remodels of existing residential buildings in Durango where the work involves structural changes or means-of-egress modifications, per the City's 'Do I Need a Permit?' table. Finish work and drywalling alone are excluded. Reviewed under the 2024 IRC as locally adopted.
Plumbing / Gas Line Permit
Required for addition, replacement, or repair of water or sewage systems, water service lines, drains, water mains, and gas lines in Durango. Effective 07/01/2026, the City of Durango Building Division took over permitting and inspection of ALL residential and commercial plumbing and gas installations; the State continues to inspect only public schools and state buildings. Governed by the 2024 International Plumbing Code (IPC) as adopted.
Mechanical / HVAC Permit
Required for the addition, replacement, or repair of mechanical systems in Durango, per the City's 'Do I Need a Permit?' table. Governed by the 2024 International Mechanical Code (IMC) and 2024 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC) as adopted, plus CMERSRC compliance details for HVAC equipment.
Roofing Permit (Roof Replacement)
Required for roof replacement projects covering 25% or more of the total roof area in Durango. As of April 1, 2026, roofing (and solar) permits use a new streamlined flat-fee-plus-use-tax structure instead of the prior valuation-based fee table.
Solar PV Permit
Required for all solar panel installations in Durango. As of April 1, 2026, solar permits use the same new streamlined flat-fee-plus-use-tax structure as roofing. Electrical interconnection work associated with the solar installation is permitted separately by the State of Colorado Electrical Board, not the City.
EV Charger / EVSE Permit (State of Colorado Electrical Board)
Installation of an electric vehicle charging station in Durango is electrical work and, like the photovoltaic/interconnection portion of a solar installation documented on this file's solar-pv-permit entry, is permitted directly by the State of Colorado Electrical Board (DORA), NOT the City of Durango Building Division. Under Colorado Revised Statutes § 12-23-117, electrical inspection is a matter of statewide concern: the state sets a uniform fee schedule, and a municipality may charge no more than 15% above the state's own fee — no local government may impose any other separate fee or charge related to electrical permits/inspections. The state's own valuation-based/square-footage-based electrical fee schedule has NO distinct 'EV charger,' 'electric vehicle,' or 'EVSE' line item; a dedicated Level 2 charger circuit is billed under the state's 'All other electrical fees' valuation-based tier (a flat $115 minimum plus $5.75 per $1,000 above $2,000 of installation value, per the fee schedule effective April 1, 2016 — Durango or a licensed contractor should confirm the current-year statewide figure directly with DORA, since the state revises this schedule periodically and only the mechanism, not the specific 2016 dollar amounts, is being relied on here).
Demolition Permit
A State of Colorado Demolition Permit is required for any structural demolition in Durango; the City additionally issues its own demolition permit when a full structure (garage, single-family home, commercial building, etc.) is demolished. Asbestos compliance follows Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE) regulations.
Fence / Retaining Wall Permit
Required prior to construction or substantial modification of any fence or wall in Durango, and for retaining walls over 30 inches in height. Fences themselves do not require a full building permit (a separate fence/wall permit applies), but engineering is mandatory for taller or right-of-way-adjacent retaining walls.
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 · $4.5M valuation
- Trailing 12 months
- 112units
12 of 12 months reported · #29 in Colorado coverage by units
- Year to date (2026 YTD through 2026-05)
- 20units
18 buildings · $11.6M valuation
5 month(s) reported to Census
- Full year 2025
- 210units
41 buildings · $41.1M valuation
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey (BPS), 2026-05 vintage. Census survey data — separate from the permit-requirements verification above. All Colorado building activity
Tips & gotchas
- Durango is a home-rule city with its OWN Community Development Department, Building Division (949 E 2nd Avenue) — La Plata County's Building Division explicitly covers only unincorporated county areas and does NOT serve incorporated Durango. Confirm jurisdiction directly if a parcel is near the city boundary.
- UNUSUAL AUTHORITY SPLIT: the City of Durango Building Division does NOT issue electrical permits at all. All electrical work — including the electrical portion of solar installations, fire alarm installation, temporary construction service, and water well installation — is permitted and inspected exclusively by the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), State of Colorado Electrical Board (dpo.colorado.gov/EandP/Permits). This is a materially different model from most peer Colorado jurisdictions in this corpus (e.g. Vail, Golden), where the city itself issues electrical permits.
- Plumbing and gas permitting authority has changed hands multiple times in a short window: gas-line permits reportedly moved to the State effective 01/01/2025 per one City page, then the City's Applying for a Building Permit page and July 2026 fee schedule state the City resumed ALL plumbing AND gas permitting/inspection effective 07/01/2026. The two City-hosted pages have not been reconciled as of this review — always confirm current routing directly with the Building Division (970-375-5000) before relying on either page in isolation.
- Three new/changed permit categories all took effect within the first half of 2026: Windows and Siding became a newly required permit type (04/01/2026), Roofing and Solar moved to a streamlined flat fee ($125/$175 + use tax) instead of valuation-based calculation (04/01/2026), and a flat $125 Reinspection Fee for all failed inspections began (07/01/2026) — verify a client's project isn't relying on stale pre-2026 fee assumptions.
- The City's sole published review-timeline commitment is general, not permit-type-specific: 'Allow a minimum of 30 business days for all submittals. Resubmittals will extend this timeline.' No separate SLA exists for new construction vs. additions vs. standalone trade permits (plumbing/mechanical/roofing/solar/fence/demolition) — this file applies that 30-business-day figure only to the two permit types most clearly matching a full plan-review submittal (new construction, addition/remodel) and leaves the narrower trade-permit types honestly null rather than assuming the same 30-day figure applies to a lighter-weight standalone permit.
- Effective April 1, 2026, the state-mandated Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code and Colorado Model Electric Ready and Solar Ready Code (CMERSRC) apply to new Durango submittals, alongside the 2024 I-Codes and 2023 NEC adopted January 1, 2026 — a transition provision preserves the 2018 I-Code cycle only for projects with full vertical construction drawings already submitted to Planning before 01/01/2026.
- A State of Colorado Demolition Permit (with proof of approval) is a hard prerequisite before the City will issue its own building/demolition permit for any structural demolition — budget for two sequential approvals, not one.
- Three Springs and Twin Buttes each require their own Design Review Committee approval before a City building-permit application can be submitted; Three Springs also sits within the separate South Durango Sanitation District for sewer service (billed independently of the City) and carries its own DFPD fire-impact-fee agreement.
- MEP (mechanical/electrical/plumbing) design sheets must be submitted at the INITIAL plan-review submittal in Durango and cannot be deferred — a stricter rule than jurisdictions that allow MEP detail to follow later in the review process; only truss design sheets, fire sprinkler design, and fire-protection engineering may be deferred submittals.
- Demolition permit fees and fence/retaining-wall permit fees are not broken out as standalone line items on the City's published July 2026 Fee Schedule or Fees page — genuinely unresolved at this review; confirm directly with the Building Division (970-375-5000) rather than assuming a valuation-based calculation applies.