City of St. Maries building permits
VerifiedDepartment contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for City of St. Maries, Idaho.
Last verified 2026-07-19 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- 602 College Avenue, St. Maries, ID 83861
- Phone
- (208) 245-2577
- Office hours
- Monday-Thursday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM; Friday 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM, per City of St. Maries Building Department and Forms pages.
- Website
- Official site
Inspection guide
See how inspections work in City of St. Maries — sequence, scheduling & re-inspection fees.
Codes adopted
Idaho adopts a statewide baseline building code set under the Idaho Building Code Act (Idaho Code Title 39, Chapter 41) and IDAPA rules administered by the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL). Effective January 1, 2021, the statewide baseline includes the 2018 International Building Code (IBC), 2020 Idaho Residential Code (based on the 2018 IRC Parts I–III and IX with Idaho amendments), 2020 Idaho Energy Conservation Code (based on the 2018 IECC with Idaho amendments), 2018 International Existing Building Code (IEBC), 2018 International Mechanical Code (IMC), 2018 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC), and 2018 International Fire Code (IFC). The National Electrical Code is adopted separately by the Idaho Electrical Board (IDAPA 24.39.10), not bundled with the building code: Idaho enforces the 2023 NEC, effective July 1, 2024 (the state used the 2017 NEC with amendments before that and skipped the 2020 edition). Local jurisdictions must enforce the state baseline and may adopt amendments only where those amendments are at least as stringent as the state-adopted editions; local amendments may not be less restrictive. Enforcement is local — each city or county issues permits and performs inspections. Always confirm the current adopted edition and any local amendments with your specific jurisdiction before submitting plans.
- 2018 International Building Code (IBC), with Idaho amendments (as 'Building Code 2018 of Idaho' adopted by the Idaho Building Code Board) — St. Maries City Code 9-1-1(A)(1).
- 2018 International Existing Building Code (IEBC), with Idaho amendments — St. Maries City Code 9-1-1(A)(2).
- 2018 International Residential Code (IRC), Parts I, II, III and IX, with Idaho amendments (as 'Idaho Residential Code (2020 edition)') — St. Maries City Code 9-1-1(A)(3).
- 2018 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), with amendments (as 'Idaho Energy Conservation Code (2020 edition)') — St. Maries City Code 9-1-1(A)(4).
- Uniform Building Code for Abatement of Dangerous Buildings, 1997 edition — St. Maries City Code 9-1-1(A)(5).
- 2018 International Mechanical Code (IMC), with Idaho amendments — St. Maries City Code 9-1-1(A)(6).
- 2018 International Fire Code (IFC), as adopted and amended by the Idaho State Fire Marshal — St. Maries City Code 9-1-1(A)(7).
- 2017 National Electrical Code (NEC), with Idaho amendments — St. Maries City Code 9-1-1(A)(8).
- 2017 Idaho State Plumbing Code, with Idaho amendments — St. Maries City Code 9-1-1(A)(9).
- St. Maries City Code 9-1-1(A) states adopted code editions are automatically superseded by successive Idaho Building Code Board versions effective January 1 of the year following state-level adoption — so the city's in-force edition can advance without a separate local ordinance.
Permit types & fees
Building Permit
Required for construction, improvement, extension, alteration, or other action regulated by the city-adopted building codes, within St. Maries city limits — St. Maries City Code 9-2-1(A). The single Building Permit Application covers a broad range of project types (the form's 'Building Type' checkboxes include Commercial, Single Family Dwelling, Duplex, Garage, Town Home, Multi-Family Dwelling, Shop, Shed, and Other) and 'Scope of Work' options (New Build, Addition, Remodel, Reroof, Change of Use, Other). Fees are valuation-based per the City's adopted Fee Schedule.
Residential/Commercial Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Permit
Required for installation of a rooftop or ground-mounted solar photovoltaic system within St. Maries city limits. The City has no standalone solar-specific application, checklist, or fee line published on its website (cityofstmaries.org) or in its Fee Schedule (Resolution No. 2026-362, updated 06.22.2026) as of 2026-07-20 — a solar PV system is processed and billed as a standard Building Permit under St. Maries City Code 9-2-1, using the same valuation-based Table 3-A fee table and the Building Permit Application's 'Other' Scope of Work checkbox.
Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Station Permit
Installing an EV charging station (EVSE) within St. Maries city limits has no standalone application, checklist, or fee line published on the City's website (cityofstmaries.org) or in its Fee Schedule (Resolution No. 2026-362, updated 06.22.2026) as of 2026-07-20 — the same gap already documented for solar PV in this jurisdiction (see solar-pv-permit). An EV charger is electrical work covered by St. Maries City Code 9-2-1(A)'s general permit requirement and is processed and billed as a standard Building Permit ('Building Permit - Other Work,' Table 3) under the City's valuation-based Table 3-A fee table, using the Building Permit Application's 'Other' Scope of Work checkbox. Re-fetched the current Fee Schedule PDF directly for this review and confirmed Table 3-A's exact tiers.
Demolition Permit
Required for demolition of commercial or residential structures within St. Maries, via a dedicated Demolition Permit Application distinct from the general Building Permit Application. Covers interior-only, partial, or complete demolition, and structures with or without a basement.
Boundary Structure Permit (Fences and Retaining Walls)
Required for construction, extension, or alteration (other than routine maintenance) of a boundary structure — defined as a fence, retaining wall, or other such structure located on or within 10 feet of a city street or alley — within St. Maries city limits. Unlike a general Building Permit, a Boundary Structure Permit is issued by the City Clerk rather than the Building Inspector, per St. Maries City Code 9-2-1(B). Trees and hedges are not considered boundary structures and do not require this permit.
Agricultural Building Site Permit
A structure meeting the City's definition of 'agricultural building' (livestock shelters/buildings, poultry buildings, barns, storage of equipment/machinery used exclusively in agriculture, horticultural structures such as detached production greenhouses and crop protection shelters, sheds, grain silos, or stables) is EXEMPT from the city-adopted building codes, per St. Maries City Code 9-1-2(D), citing Idaho Code section 39-4116 — but the owner must still obtain a Site Permit from the City Building Department and meet zoning placement standards.
Tips & gotchas
- St. Maries is an incorporated city that SELF-ADMINISTERS its own Building Department (602 College Avenue, City Hall; Building Official Jacob Parsons; Permit Coordinator Kasie Wise) — it is NOT routed through Benewah County. Third-party permit-aggregator sites (e.g., allpermit.net, countyoffice.org) list a 'Benewah Building Department' at 701 College Avenue, Ste 3 in St. Maries, which appears to be a county-facing listing distinct from the City's own Building Department at 602 College Avenue; this file documents the City's own department and code (Title 9), confirmed directly via cityofstmaries.org and the official St. Maries City Code.
- The City's Fee Schedule is a single omnibus document (Resolution No. 2026-362, updated 06.22.2026) covering all city fees — Building Permit Fees are Table 3/3-A specifically, distinct from Table 2 (Planning and Zoning/Land Use fees) and Table 4 (Utility Application and Connection Fees, including a Sewer Permit and Inspection Fee of $25 residential / $100 industrial under City Code 8-1-6(C), which is a Public Works rather than Building Department permit and is not included as a permitType in this file).
- No jurisdiction-published plan-review or permit-issuance turnaround time (in business or calendar days) was found for ANY St. Maries Building Department permit type as of 2026-07-19 — St. Maries City Code 9-2-5 (Issuance) sets no day count, unlike, for example, the City of Lewiston's published Permit Review Schedule with explicit maximum-day figures by category. Idaho Code section 39-4117's 10-business-day (residential) / 20-business-day (commercial) statutory backstop applies only to whether an application is deemed COMPLETE, not to full plan review or issuance, and was not populated as a reviewTimelineDays value in any permitType to avoid overstating what it guarantees or compositing residential/commercial figures into a single misleading range.
- St. Maries City Code 9-2-1 creates THREE distinct permit pathways under Title 9: (1) a general Building Permit issued by the Building Inspector, requiring a licensed-surveyor field survey with limited exceptions; (2) a Boundary Structure Permit for fences/retaining walls within 10 feet of a city street or alley, issued by the City Clerk under a separate survey-exception/right-of-way process; and (3) demolition, which is exempt from the field-survey requirement and uses its own dedicated Demolition Permit Application. A fourth pathway — the Agricultural Building Site Permit under 9-1-2 — exempts qualifying farm structures from the building code entirely while still requiring City Building Department sign-off on siting.
- Building valuation for the general Building Permit is set two ways depending on scope: new builds use 'the most recent ICC Building Valuation Data' (Table 3), while all other work uses 'the contractor's total estimate (labor, materials, overhead, and all other associated costs),' with IBC 109.3 cited for the rule that an underestimated valuation may result in permit denial unless the applicant can substantiate detailed cost estimates.
- The 2018-edition model codes (IBC/IEBC/IRC/IECC/IMC/IFC) plus 2017 NEC and 2017 Idaho State Plumbing Code are adopted by direct reference to the Idaho Building Code Board's own editions (St. Maries City Code 9-1-1), and are automatically superseded by successive state-adopted editions each January 1 — meaning the city's in-force code edition can shift without a new local ordinance, unlike jurisdictions that re-adopt codes by their own resolution on their own schedule.