Akron building permits
Department contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Akron, Colorado.
Last verified 2026-07-13 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- 250 Main Ave, Akron, CO 80720
- Phone
- 970-345-2624
- Office hours
- Monday - Thursday, 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM; closed Fridays. Fax: 970-345-2617. Per Town Code 10-1-1, the Building Inspector is appointed by the Board of Trustees at its first regular meeting following each biennial election and serves as chief enforcement officer for all Title 10 building regulations (except fire prevention code); there is no separate physical 'Building Department' office distinct from Town Hall in this small Eastern Plains town (2020 Census population 1,757).
- Website
- Official site
Inspection guide
See how inspections work in Akron — 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), chapters 1-35 plus appendices C, E, G, H, I, and J — Town Code 10-2-1, adopted by Ordinance 514 (1-6-2014), amended by Ordinance 589 (6-5-2023). Show full textShow less
2018 International Building Code (IBC), chapters 1-35 plus appendices C, E, G, H, I, and J — Town Code 10-2-1, adopted by Ordinance 514 (1-6-2014), amended by Ordinance 589 (6-5-2023). The Ord. 589 amendment did NOT change the underlying edition year — Town Code 10-2-1 as currently published still names the 2018 IBC specifically, not a newer cycle — so the 2023 ordinance is treated as a re-adoption/amendment of the same 2018 edition rather than a code-cycle update, per direct reading of the current Town Code text (American Legal Publishing).
- 2009 International Residential Code (IRC), chapters 1-43 plus appendices B, C, D, E, G, H, J, and K — Town Code 10-3-1, adopted by Ordinance 515 (1-6-2014). This is a materially older code cycle than the Building Code (2009 IRC vs. 2018 IBC); no evidence of a later IRC re-adoption was found anywhere in the Town Code, the Town's ordinances index, or web search as of the last verification.
No standalone plumbing, mechanical, fuel gas, or electrical code chapter exists anywhere in Town Code Title 10 (Building and Development) — Chapters run: Ch.1 General Building Provisions, Ch.2 Building Code (IBC 2018),… Show full textShow less
No standalone plumbing, mechanical, fuel gas, or electrical code chapter exists anywhere in Town Code Title 10 (Building and Development) — Chapters run: Ch.1 General Building Provisions, Ch.2 Building Code (IBC 2018), Ch.3 Residential Code (IRC 2009), Ch.4 Building Numbers (addressing), Ch.5 Colorado Plains Regional Airport Overlay Zoning, Ch.6 Shipping Containers. Checked the full Title 10 table of contents and walked every chapter node directly on American Legal Publishing's code library (codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/akron_co) — confirmed no electrical/plumbing/mechanical/energy chapter exists.
- No energy code (IECC or otherwise) has been adopted by the Town of Akron — no such chapter exists in Title 10, and no ordinance adopting an energy code was found via direct Town Code review or web search. See localAmendments for the HB22-1362 analysis.
Permit types & fees
Residential Building Permit (New Construction)
Required for new construction of one- and two-family dwellings and townhomes (not more than three stories) in the Town of Akron. Reviewed under the 2009 IRC as locally adopted and amended (Town Code 10-3-1, 10-3-2), including Akron's specific Table R301.2(1) design criteria (20 psf ground snow load, 90 mph wind speed, Seismic Design Category C, 30-inch frost depth). Issued by the Town's Building Inspector.
See fee scheduleResidential Addition / Remodel Permit
Required for additions and repairs/alterations to existing structures in the Town of Akron. Reviewed under the 2009 IRC (additions to one-/two-family dwellings and townhomes) or 2018 IBC as applicable, both as locally amended. Akron's adopted IBC/IRC Section 105.2/R105.2 exemptions apply as amended by Town Code 10-2-2/10-3-2; no dollar-value repair/alteration threshold is locally published (confirmed 2026-07-23 by direct reading of the current Town Code text — see requirements below).
See fee scheduleElectrical Permit
Electrical work in the Town of Akron is NOT permitted through a Town-run electrical program — Akron's Title 10 Town Code contains no electrical chapter, and the Town's own live Building Department page states plainly: 'All plumbing and electrical permits are handled by the State of Colorado.' Electrical permits are issued and inspected by the Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA Division of Professions and Occupations), consistent with the statewide default rule that state boards cover jurisdictions without their own certified local program.
Fee not publishedEV Charger / EVSE Permit
The Town of Akron has no local electrical permitting program (Title 10 contains no electrical chapter), so a residential EV charger / EVSE installation follows the same path as all other electrical work in Akron: a Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA/DPO) permit, not a Town-issued permit. No web search of the State Electrical Board's fee materials, the Town's Building Department page, or the Town's live application form turned up an EV-charger-specific fee line item or expedited process — an EV charger circuit is billed under the State Electrical Board's general fee schedule like any other electrical installation.
See fee schedulePlumbing Permit
Plumbing work in the Town of Akron is NOT permitted through a Town-run plumbing program — Akron's Title 10 Town Code contains no plumbing chapter, and the Town's own live Building Department page states plainly: 'All plumbing and electrical permits are handled by the State of Colorado.' Plumbing permits are issued and inspected by the Colorado State Plumbing Board (DORA Division of Professions and Occupations); the same live Town page states the resulting state plumbing permit number should then be provided to the Town of Akron.
Fee not publishedSolar Photovoltaic (PV) Permit
Required for installation of rooftop solar photovoltaic systems in the Town of Akron. The structural/building portion is permitted by the Town (valuation-based Building Permit), while the electrical/interconnection portion is permitted directly by the Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA), since Akron's Town Code has no local electrical chapter. As with all Colorado jurisdictions, the aggregate permit fee is capped by state law at $500 for a residential system and $1,000 for a commercial system (C.R.S. § 24-48.5-113, enacted by HB21-1284).
From$500Commercial Building Permit
Required for new commercial construction, and for commercial remodels, additions, and tenant improvements/alterations, within Town of Akron limits. Administered directly by the Town's own Building Inspector (Town Code 10-1-1) — NOT by Washington County (whose Land Use Office covers only the unincorporated county) and NOT by any regional building department. Reviewed under the 2018 International Building Code, chapters 1-35 plus appendices C, E, G, H, I, and J, as adopted by Town Code 10-2-1 (Ord. 514, 1-6-2014; amd. Ord. 589, 6-5-2023) and locally amended by Town Code 10-2-2 (Ord. 548, 1-3-2018). Commercial projects use the SAME unified Building Permit Application form as residential — the current form ('BUILDING PERMIT - UPDATED 08-2024.pdf') has a top-level 'PERMIT TYPE: RESIDENTIAL or COMMERCIAL' checkbox pair, confirmed by direct reading of the live form 2026-08-02. There is no separate commercial application, no separate tenant-improvement permit type, and no commercial-specific fee schedule anywhere in the Town Code or on the Town's website.
See fee scheduleSign Permit
The Town of Akron has no standalone sign ordinance, sign permit application, or sign fee schedule. RESEARCHED 2026-08-05: Title 11 (Zoning Regulations) defines the term "SIGN" (11-1-3) and embeds narrow, district-specific sign rules inside the "permitted uses" sections of three residential-district articles (walked the complete Title 11 chapter structure, chapters 1 through 7, directly at codelibrary.amlegal.com) -- but there is no dedicated Sign chapter, and the actual D Business and Commercial District (Article E) and E Industrial District (Article F) permitted-uses sections contain no sign-size cap or preapproval clause at all, unlike the three residential districts. No process, form, fee, or timeline for the "preapproval" these residential-district rules do require is published anywhere.
See fee scheduleFire Sprinkler and Fire Alarm System Permit
The Town of Akron has no standalone fire sprinkler/alarm permit, no locally adopted fire prevention code, and no fire-code plan-review process of its own. RESEARCHED 2026-08-05: Town Code Title 6 (Police and Public Safety), Chapter 2 (Fire Department) establishes only that the town has a volunteer fire department and that the board of trustees may cooperate with a fire protection district (6-2-1) plus a firemen's pension fund (6-2-2) -- no fire-code adoption, permit process, or fee accompanies either section. Separately, Town Code 10-1-1.B states the Building Inspector is chief enforcement officer for Title 10's adopted codes "except the fire prevention code," implying a fire prevention code was contemplated as a distinct, separately-enforced code -- but no such code (International Fire Code or otherwise) was found adopted anywhere in Title 6 or Title 10. A real, active special district, the Akron Rural Fire Protection District, exists per Colorado's Office of the State Auditor, but publishes no discoverable fire-code, permitting, or fee information online. The only sprinkler-specific rule found anywhere in Akron's code is the existing IRC Section R313.1 townhouse sprinkler mandate (already documented in the residential-building-permit entry), administered through the ordinary Building Permit, not a separate fire-system permit.
See fee scheduleChange Of Use / Zoning Certificate Of Occupancy Permit
Unlike sign and fire-sprinkler/alarm permitting, Akron's change-of-use process is genuinely well-documented: Town Code 11-2-5 (Title 11, Zoning Regulations) requires a certificate of occupancy "for the use of vacant land or the change in the use of land" to be applied for before such land is occupied or used, and states the certificate "shall be issued within ten (10) days after the application has been made, provided such use is in conformity with the provisions of this title" -- a real, specific, statutory timeline, one of very few fixed numeric figures found anywhere in this record for Akron. This zoning-level Certificate of Occupancy is distinct from the Title 10 building-code Certificate of Occupancy already documented in the residential-building-permit and commercial-building-permit entries (which sign off on construction quality, not land-use conformity), though a single project can trigger both. Town Code 11-4-1 (Nonconforming Uses) separately governs how a change of use interacts with property that does not conform to its zoning district's regulations.
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Akron's permit history isn't searchable here yet
This page covers what the permit requires. What we don't have for Akron yet is the record of permits actually issued — the history you'd search by street address. That is a gap in our coverage, not a statement about any particular property.
Your email, and the place — never an address. We only use it to tell you when Akron lands. Privacy.
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 (2026-07)
- 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), 2026-07 vintage. Census survey data — separate from the permit-requirements verification above. All Colorado building activity
Tips & gotchas
- The seed URL townofakron.colorado.gov/departments/building (and its sibling /building) no longer resolves to a live Building Department page — both permanently 301-redirect to the Town's homepage. This is NOT a removed/reorganized Building Department, though: the Town migrated its entire website from townofakron.colorado.gov to a new CivicPlus-hosted domain, www.townofakron.com (confirmed via curl -I, Location header), and the real Building Department page is live at https://www.townofakron.com/179/Building with a current downloadable application PDF at https://www.townofakron.com/DocumentCenter/View/201 (both fetched directly and confirmed live 2026-07-13). The code-adoption facts remain grounded in the Town's official Code of Ordinances Title 10 (Building and Development), published via American Legal Publishing, now supplemented by the live Building Department page and application form for procedural/contact facts.
- Watch for a name collision on amlegal.com. Searching for an 'Akron... Building Code Fee Schedule' surfaces a page at codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/akron/latest/... that is actually Akron, INDIANA's code -- the page itself reads 'Akron, IN Code of Ordinances.' Akron, Colorado's code library path is codes/akron_co/latest/akron_co/.... Check the state suffix in the URL before relying on anything you find there.
- Akron has adopted two different code-cycle vintages simultaneously: 2018 IBC (Ordinance 514/589) for the Building Code chapter, but only 2009 IRC (Ordinance 515) for the Residential Code chapter — a materially older cycle. No newer IRC re-adoption was found. Confirm with the Building Inspector which chapter/edition governs any project that could plausibly fall under either.
- Akron has NOT adopted any energy code (no IECC chapter exists in Title 10). Its most recent Title 10 code action (Ordinance 589, 6-5-2023) amended the Building Code adoption section but did not change the adopted edition away from 2018 IBC, so it is not clearly the kind of 'update' that would trigger Colorado HB22-1362's energy-code obligation. Do NOT assume any population-based exemption applies — a bill that would have created a flat exemption for municipalities under 2,500 residents (SB25-141) FAILED in the 2025 legislative session (postponed indefinitely 3-25-2025) and was never enacted; no such threshold exists in current law.
- Electrical AND plumbing permits in Akron both default to Colorado State Boards (DORA/DPO State Electrical Board and State Plumbing Board respectively) — the Town's Title 10 Code contains no chapter for either trade. This was independently corroborated by web search specifically naming a State of Colorado electrical inspector for the Akron area and describing the local coordination step (provide the state plumbing permit number to the Town once obtained).
- Akron's local Section 105.2 amendments to BOTH the adopted IBC and IRC delete several of the base national code's standard permit exemptions for small projects — meaning minor work that a national-code reader might assume is permit-exempt could still require a Town permit here. Confirm specific exemption status with the Building Inspector (970-345-2624) rather than assuming a base-code exemption applies.
- Single-family and duplex homes in Akron are not required to have automatic fire sprinklers — Section R313.2 is deleted by local amendment. The requirement applies only to townhouses, under Section R313.1, effective 2-3-2014.
- No numeric plan-review turnaround or general dollar fee schedule could be located anywhere in the Town Code or the Town's current live Building Department page (townofakron.com/179/Building) for any permit type in this record — Colorado is home-rule with no statewide clock, and the Town's own page confirms fees are calculated per-application from construction cost rather than published as a table. The one exception is a specific, narrowly-scoped $24.60 base fee for Manufactured/Mobile Home placement permits, which IS published on the live page and is captured on the residential-building-permit entry. Every other fee/timeline field is honestly null/empty with a documented chase trail rather than an invented figure or a figure borrowed from the wrong same-name Akron (Indiana) municipality.
- Per this batch's task scoping, Washington County itself is on the Colorado Division of Housing's list of counties with no building department for its unincorporated area — but the live Washington County Planning and Zoning webpage currently describes a 'Land Use Office' that administers building permits for the unincorporated portion of the county and lists a Building Permit Application form. This is flagged for controller-level reconciliation against data/counties.json; it does not change Akron's own status as the town's Title 10 program is the clearly governing authority within Akron town limits regardless of county practice.