Shelley building permits
VerifiedDepartment contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Shelley, Idaho.
Last verified 2026-07-07 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- 155 E. Pine Street, Shelley, ID 83274
- Phone
- (208) 681-3391
- Office hours
- Building Inspector's Office: Monday–Thursday 7:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. (City Hall administrative offices: Mon–Thu 8:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m., Fri 8:00 a.m.–noon)
- Website
- Official site
- Permit portal
- Apply online at Shelley's portal
Inspection guide
See how inspections work in Shelley — 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.
- City Code Title 7, Chapter 1 (Uniform Building Code) still codifies the Uniform Building Code, 1991 Edition, published by the International Conference of Building Officials, 'and such later supplements and additions as may hereafter be published' (Title 7-1-1) — this is the codified text on file with the City Clerk
- The City of Shelley Building & Safety Department's official department webpage states the department currently administers and enforces the 2018 International Residential Code (IRC) and 2018 International Building Code (IBC), with local amendments; contact the department directly for the specific amendment list, as the department page notes without itemizing each amendment beyond the published Design Loads Table
- City of Shelley Design Loads Table R301.2(1) (department-published amendment document) sets Idaho Building Code Board-style climatic/geographic design criteria for the city
- City Code Title 7, Chapter 2 — Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings, Chapters 4 through 7, 1979 Edition (unsafe/dangerous building abatement, separate from routine demolition permits)
- City Code Title 7, Chapter 4 — Uniform Fire Code (enforcement excluded from the Planning and Building Division's duties per Title 3-8-2(A); administered separately)
- City Code Title 7, Chapter 5 — Uniform Sign Code
- City Code Title 7, Chapter 6 — Electrical Code (administered by the State of Idaho, not the City, per the Building & Safety Department page)
- City Code Title 7, Chapter 7 — Plumbing Code (administered by the State of Idaho, not the City)
- City Code Title 7, Chapter 8 — Uniform Mechanical Code (HVAC administered by the State of Idaho, not the City)
- City Code Title 7, Chapter 9 — Americans with Disabilities Act provisions
- Electrical, plumbing, and HVAC permits and inspections in Shelley are obtained through the State of Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL) / Division of Building Safety, not the City — confirmed on both the Building & Safety Department webpage and the New Construction Packet (DOPL contact: 208-334-3233)
Permit types & fees
Building Permit (New Construction, Additions, Remodels)
Required for any owner or authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy of a building or structure, or to erect, install, enlarge, alter, repour, remove, or convert anything structural within the City of Shelley. Covers new single-family and multi-family residential construction, additions, remodels, garages, basements, foundations, and agricultural buildings. Electrical, plumbing, and HVAC permits are obtained separately through the State of Idaho.
Fence Permit
Required for fence construction in Shelley. Fences, walls, hedges, or other sight-obscuring structures taller than 3 feet may not be built closer than 15 feet to a public street or road right-of-way (reduced to a 2-foot minimum on interior subdivision roads for residential lots in the RE Zoning District only). Corner-lot fences must also respect vision-triangle clearance requirements.
Roof Permit
Required for roofing/re-roofing work in the City of Shelley, listed among the specific project types the Building & Safety Department names as requiring a permit (roofing, fences, demolition, signs, sheds, decks, and solar panels).
Demolition Permit
Required for demolition of a structure in the City of Shelley, listed among the specific project types the Building & Safety Department names as requiring a permit. Distinct from the City's separate Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings (City Code Title 7, Chapter 2), which governs condemnation and forced removal of unsafe/dangerous structures rather than routine voluntary demolition.
Sign Permit
Required for erection, construction, alteration, repair, and installation of all signs governed by the City's Uniform Sign Code (City Code Title 7, Chapter 5). A sign permit fee and plan checking fee of $15.00 per sign must be paid prior to installation.
Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Permit
Required for installing a rooftop or ground-mount photovoltaic system within Shelley city limits. TWO separate permits apply: a City of Shelley Building Permit for the structural/roof-mount work (valuation-based, no dedicated solar line item on the City's own Building Permit Fee Schedule) and a State of Idaho DOPL Electrical Permit for the PV electrical installation, since electrical work in Shelley is obtained separately through the State of Idaho, not the City.
EV Charger / Electric Vehicle Charging Station Permit
Installing an EV charger in Shelley is electrical work, and since the City of Shelley does not issue its own electrical permits (electrical, plumbing, and HVAC permits are obtained separately through the State of Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL) / Division of Building Safety, not the City -- the same routing already documented on this file's solar-pv-permit entry), the EV charging circuit is permitted directly by DOPL. DOPL's Electrical Permit Worksheet (Fee Schedule) has no dedicated 'EV charger' or 'EVSE' line item (unlike its explicit Solar/Renewable Energy formula); a new EV charger branch circuit added to an existing residence falls under the worksheet's general 'Existing Residence' fee category. A City of Shelley Building Permit is required in addition only if the installation includes new structural work (e.g., a carport or garage built to house the charger), billed under the City's general valuation-based Building Permit Fee Schedule, the same mechanism documented for solar's structural/roof-mount scope.
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)
- 3units
3 buildings · $1.1M valuation
- Trailing 12 months
- 50units
11 of 12 months reported · #36 in Idaho coverage by units
- Year to date (2026 YTD through 2026-05)
- 23units
23 buildings · $10M valuation
5 month(s) reported to Census
- Full year 2025
- 55units
55 buildings · $23.5M valuation
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey (BPS), 2026-05 vintage. Census survey data — separate from the permit-requirements verification above. All Idaho building activity
Tips & gotchas
- Shelley does NOT issue its own electrical, plumbing, or HVAC/mechanical trade permits — those are handled directly by the State of Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL) / Division of Building Safety at 208-334-3233 or dbs.idaho.gov/permits. The City's own Building Permit Fee Schedule has no separate electrical/plumbing/mechanical line items, confirming these trades are state-permitted, not city-permitted.
- Idaho Code 39-4117 (effective 2025) sets a statutory 10-business-day (residential) / 20-business-day (commercial) window for the City to determine whether a submitted building permit application is complete — this is a completeness-review clock, not a guarantee of full plan approval within that window. Shelley has not published its own separate full review-to-approval SLA.
- The City's codified Title 7-1 building-code text on file with the Clerk still literally reads 'Uniform Building Code, 1991 Edition,' while the Building & Safety Department's current webpage states the department administers the 2018 IRC/IBC in practice — treat the department's published current-adoption statement as controlling for day-to-day permitting, since Title 7-1-1(A) itself provides for 'such later supplements and additions as may hereafter be published' by the International Conference of Building Officials/ICC to be automatically incorporated.
- Design criteria: Ground Snow Load 42 PSF minimum, Wind Load 90 MPH, Seismic Design Category C or D, Frost Depth 30 inches, Ice Barrier Underlayment required, Winter Design Temp -4°F, Air Freezing Index 2000 — per the City of Shelley Design Loads Table R301.2(1).
- New single-family construction requires a paved driveway (2-inch minimum compacted asphalt/cement) sized to the greater of the garage width or 24 feet, with a minimum 24' x 24' garage (City Code 7-1-6).
- A Certificate of Occupancy from the Building Inspector is required before any building or structure may be used or occupied, or before any occupancy classification change (City Code 7-1-5); temporary certificates require a bond/deposit equal to 125% of the estimated completion cost.
- If work requiring a permit starts before the permit is obtained, the City doubles the applicable permit fee (City Code 7-1-2(B)).
- Basement houses are prohibited citywide (City Code 10-8-5(F)).
- Fences/walls/hedges over 3 feet tall must be set back at least 15 feet from the right-of-way along any public street (2-foot minimum exception for RE Zoning District interior subdivision roads only, per Ordinance 649).
- Building permit applicants must submit proof that the Eastern Idaho Regional Sewer District (EIRSD) regional sewer connection fee has been paid at the time the building permit is purchased, in addition to separate city sewer and water connection fees; a utility account is required and monthly billing begins the month after connection fees are paid, regardless of occupancy.
- Applicants and contractors with unresolved building-code violations on ANY of their properties or projects within the city — not just the one under review — can be denied a new building permit or Certificate of Occupancy until they come into full compliance (City Code 7-1-7).