Center building permits
VerifiedDepartment contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Center, Colorado.
Last verified 2026-07-06 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- 294 S. Worth Street, Center, CO 81125
- Phone
- (719) 754-3497
- cwebb@centerco.gov
- Office hours
- Monday-Thursday 7:00 AM - 5:00 PM; Friday 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM; Saturday-Sunday Closed. Fax (719) 754-3379.
- Website
- Official site
Inspection guide
See how inspections work in Center — 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.
- 2018 International Building Code (IBC) and International Residential Code (IRC) — per the Town of Center's own Building Permit Application / Fee Schedule document ('CURRENT (2018 Codes)', referencing https://codes.iccsafe.org/codes/colorado)
- 2018 International Plumbing Code (IPC)
- 2018 International Mechanical Code (IMC)
- 2018 International Fire Code (IFC)
- 2018 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) (listed on the Town's document as 'International Energy Commission Code')
- 2018 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC)
- ICC/ANSI A117.1 Accessibility Code (ADA)
- ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code
- Note on currency: the Town's Building Permit Application/Fee Schedule packet (the only currently-published code-adoption source found) explicitly labels these as the '2018 Codes' with no revision date visible on the document itself. No newer code-adoption ordinance, resolution, or updated fee-schedule packet was found anywhere on the Town's current website (centerco.gov) or its Documents/Building Department listing as of this review (2026-07-06). The prior townofcenter.colorado.gov CivicPlus-style site (which hosted the original seed URL, .../departments/public-works-department/building-department, and an alternate .../departments/building-department path) now 301-redirects at the domain root to www.centerco.gov — the entire old site has been retired and its content was not recoverable via Wayback Machine chase within this review; the Town's own current-generation site (a minimal TownCloud/SvelteKit site launched circa 2025-2026) is treated as authoritative and does not itself carry a separate 'Adopted Codes' page distinct from the Building Permit Application document.
Permit types & fees
Residential Building Permit (New Construction)
Required for new residential construction in the Town of Center, issued by the Public Works Department on the Town's combined Building Permit Application. Reviewed under the 2018 IBC/IRC as adopted per the Town's own Fee Schedule document.
Residential Addition / Remodeling Permit
Required for additions and remodeling of existing residential structures, issued on the same combined Building Permit Application as new construction, under the 2018 IRC as adopted.
Electrical Permit
Electrical work in the Town of Center is permitted and inspected directly by the State of Colorado, Division of Professions and Occupations (DORA/DPO) Electrical Board — NOT by the Town. The Town of Center runs no local certified electrical inspection program; its own Building Permit Application/Fee Schedule document directs applicants to the state program.
Plumbing Permit
Plumbing work in the Town of Center is permitted and inspected directly by the State of Colorado, Division of Professions and Occupations (DORA/DPO) Plumbing Board — NOT by the Town. The Town of Center runs no local certified plumbing inspection program; its own Building Permit Application/Fee Schedule document directs applicants to the state program.
Mechanical / HVAC Permit
Required for mechanical/HVAC installation or replacement work in the Town of Center, issued on the Town's combined Building Permit Application under the 2018 IMC and 2018 IFGC as adopted. Unlike electrical and plumbing, mechanical work is NOT carved out of Ordinance 339's Town contractor-license definition, and is not routed to a State board by the Town's own Fee Schedule document.
Re-Roofing Permit
Required for re-roofing work in the Town of Center; billed as a flat fee distinct from the Town's general square-footage-based schedule, per the Town's own Fee Schedule document.
Rooftop Solar PV Permit
The Town of Center's own Building Permit Application/Fee Schedule document and its 'Other Inspections and Fees' section do not name or price a distinct solar/photovoltaic permit category; no evidence of a rooftop solar program was found on the Town's current website, Documents page, or any of the Building Department PDFs after full chasing.
Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Permit
The Town of Center has a genuine, detailed ADU zoning-approval program under Municipal Code Section 44-73 and 44-73.1, administered via a dedicated ADU Application form. ADUs in Residential (R) or PUDR zone districts meeting all objective standards qualify for administrative approval (no public hearing); ADUs in Commercial Business (CB) or Commercial Highway (CH) districts require an additional Commercial ADU addendum and Special Review by the Planning Commission or Town Board. ADU zoning approval is a prerequisite to, but distinct from, the separate building permit required to actually construct the unit.
Demolition Permit
Required for demolition of structures in the Town of Center, using a dedicated Demolition Application form (revised 7/01/2024) distinct from the general Building Permit Application.
Commercial Building Permit (New Construction / Remodeling)
Required for commercial new construction or remodeling in the Town of Center, filed on the same combined Building Permit Application as residential work but billed under the Town's commercial fee rate.
Deck / Patio Permit
Required for construction of decks, covered patios, garages, and storage sheds in the Town of Center, billed under the same fee line by the Town's own Fee Schedule document.
EV Charger / EVSE Permit
The Town of Center has no standalone EV-charger/EVSE permit type. Installing electric vehicle charging equipment (e.g., a dedicated 240V Level 2 circuit) is electrical work, and per this file's own electrical-permit entry, ALL electrical work in Center is permitted and inspected directly by the State of Colorado Division of Professions and Occupations (DORA/DPO) Electrical Board -- the Town runs no local certified electrical inspection program and its own Building Permit Application/Fee Schedule document directs applicants to the state program for any electrical scope, including an EV charger circuit. The State's electrical permit fee schedule (set under CRS 12-23-117(3), effective statewide April 1, 2016, and applied verbatim by state-inspected jurisdictions) is a real, exact, citable governing figure: for a non-living-area installation like an EV charger circuit (Chart B, Commercial and Other Installations, based on total contract cost of labor and materials), the fee is $100 base for a contract cost up to $2,000, plus $10 per each additional $1,000 (rounded up) above that. Confirmed directly against Greenwood Village, CO's published mirror of the identical statewide schedule on 2026-07-20, and cross-checked against the identical $100-per-$2,000 fee line independently confirmed for Centennial, CO elsewhere in this corpus. Colorado's HB24-1173 (Electric Vehicle Charging System Permits Act, effective August 7, 2024) sets a December 31, 2025 compliance deadline for standardized EV-charging LAND-USE permitting only for municipalities with population 10,000+; Center's population (1,929 per the 2020 Census) is far below this threshold, so the Town is not required to adopt a distinct EV-charging land-use permitting process under this law.
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)
- No data reported
- Trailing 12 months
- No data reported
- Year to date (2026 YTD)
- No data reported
- Full year 2025
- No data reported
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
- The seed URL (townofcenter.colorado.gov/departments/public-works-department/building-department) and its sibling path (.../departments/building-department) both now 301-redirect at the domain root to a completely new Town website, www.centerco.gov — the entire prior CivicPlus-style site has been retired. The new site is a minimal TownCloud/SvelteKit build (Documents/News/Agendas only, no dedicated department subpages), so all permitting information in this file was sourced from the Town's Documents page (Building Department category) and a dated Public Works Department news notice, not from a page matching the seed URL's original structure.
- The Town's Public Works Department (not a separately named 'Building Department' division) administers permitting directly — a June 23, 2026 dated public notice from the Town explicitly frames all building-permit requirements as Public Works Department functions.
- A flat, non-refundable $50.00 application fee applies to every permit type in Center, in addition to any valuation-based permit fee — this doubles the effective minimum cost of a small project (e.g., a $50 minimum reroof fee plus the $50 application fee = $100 total).
- Center's building permit fee structure is genuinely simple relative to many peer jurisdictions: flat per-square-foot rates (residential $0.10/sq ft, commercial $0.20/sq ft, mobile homes $0.20/sq ft) with a $50 minimum, rather than a tiered valuation table.
- Electrical AND plumbing permits are NOT issued by the Town of Center at all — both are handled entirely by the State of Colorado DORA/DPO Electrical and Plumbing Boards, per the Town's own Fee Schedule document and corroborated by Ordinance 339's explicit exclusion of those trades from the Town's contractor-licensing definition. This is a materially different structure from jurisdictions that run their own certified electrical/plumbing inspection programs.
- Any contractor (other than electrical/plumbing) working on a job valued at $1,500 or more must hold a Town of Center Contractor's Registration (Ordinance 339, $50/yr General or $25/one-time Limited, plus a one-time $10 background-check fee) — carrying minimum $50,000 bodily injury / $100,000 property damage liability insurance.
- Building permits in Center are valid for only 180 days (6 months) — a materially shorter window than many jurisdictions' 1-year permit validity — and require an end-of-permit inspection before any reissue (flat $50 reissue fee regardless of project size).
- Center genuinely has a real, actively-maintained ADU program (Municipal Code Section 44-73/44-73.1) with objective administrative-approval standards (750 sq ft detached cap, 30% attached cap, 90-day minimum rental period) — a materially more developed ADU framework than one might expect for a town of this size. ADU zoning approval is a prerequisite to, but distinct from, the building permit needed to actually construct it.
- HB22-1362 (Colorado's building energy-code/GHG statute) requires municipalities that update their building code on or after July 1, 2026 to adopt an equivalent-or-better energy code (with a rural-county carve-out tied to a state grant application, and a full exclusion for municipalities with no building code at all) — there is NO population-based exemption in this statute. Center currently operates on the 2018 IECC per its own Fee Schedule document and no updated code-adoption action was found after full chasing of its current website; this file reports that gap honestly rather than asserting compliance or exemption in either direction.
- The Town of Center straddles Saguache County (majority of the town and its population) and Rio Grande County; several Town forms (e.g., the Demolition Application's landfill-notification checklist) explicitly branch by county — always confirm which county applies to your specific parcel/disposal site.
- No adopted Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria chart, no separate trade-specific (non-electrical/plumbing) permit applications, and no dedicated 'Adopted Codes' page were found on the Town's current website after full chasing — the single Building Permit Application/Fee Schedule PDF is the Town's most complete currently-published source for code editions and fees, and is treated as authoritative since it is dated (revised 09/2025) and issued directly by Public Works.