Idaho Falls building permits

Tips & gotchas

• The City of Idaho Falls transitioned from eTrakit Online to Cityworks permitting software on April 1, 2024. Everyone needs a new Cityworks account; using the same email address as a prior eTrakit account links historical permits/projects. Email addresses on Cityworks accounts cannot be changed once set up.
• Idaho Falls self-administers its own Building Division (Community Development Services) with its own Chief Building Inspector, Chief Electrical Inspector, and Chief Plumbing/Mechanical Inspector — the City issues and inspects building, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permits directly. This differs from Idaho jurisdictions where DOPL (the state Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses) directly administers trade permitting; verify permit issuer before assuming a DOPL pathway applies elsewhere in Idaho.
• Idaho Falls City Code Title 7 adopts the 2018 IBC, 2018 IRC, 2018 IECC, 2018 IPMC, 2018 IFC, 2018 IEBC, the 2017 Idaho State Plumbing Code (Uniform Plumbing Code-based), 2018 IMC, 2018 IFGC, and the National Electrical Code edition currently adopted by the State of Idaho (2023 NEC per the City's Electrical page).
• Contractor licensing is layered: plumbers, electricians, and HVAC contractors need only Idaho state licensure (no separate City trade license); general contractors and roofing subcontractors need a City of Idaho Falls Contractor's License (Class A/B/C for general contracting, Class D for roofing/concrete/drywall/framing/masonry/telecom subcontracting) in addition to state licensing where applicable. Homeowners working on their own single-family residence or accessory structure do not need a license, only permits.
• Starting any building, electrical, mechanical, or plumbing work before the required permit is issued results in a double permit fee, per the City's standard Construction Reminders notice.
• Sites over 5,000 sq ft requiring excavation need a City of Idaho Falls Certified Erosion Control Contractor on record before a new building permit will be issued (in effect since December 1, 2013).
• A fence permit is only $5 and takes about ten minutes at the counter, but is still legally required for any new fence — it primarily exists to check height/sight-obscuring compliance near streets, driveways, and alleys.
• Detached accessory structures (including sheds) over 120 square feet that will house property, equipment, or people require a building permit; there is no small-shed exemption comparable to some other cities' 200 sq ft threshold.
• Idaho Falls has an explicit, codified Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) ordinance (Idaho Falls City Code § 11-2-6(N)): max 750 sq ft, owner-occupancy requirement enforced by a recorded deed restriction with the Bonneville County Recorder, one ADU per lot, no garage-conversion without replacement parking.
• Idaho Falls Power (the City's own municipal electric utility, not a private utility) handles net-metering/interconnection agreements for solar PV systems separately from the building/electrical permit for the physical installation.
• No dedicated demolition-permit checklist, bond requirement, or standalone demolition ordinance was found on the City's website as of this review; demolition is processed as a standard building permit under the adopted 2018 IBC. Confirm current submittal specifics directly with the Building Division (208-612-8270) for a specific demolition project.
• Building-permit-pathway review timelines are now governed by Idaho Code § 39-4117 ('Processing Building Permits — Timely Review,' added 2025 ch. 272), which binds any 'local government that requires building permits' — including self-administering Idaho Falls — to determine COMPLETENESS within 10 business days for a residential building permit and 20 business days for a commercial building permit. Critically, this is a completeness deadline, not a full-approval promise: the statute expressly states the determination 'shall not constitute approval but shall authorize the application to proceed to formal plan review.' This statutory floor governs the residential building, residential addition/remodel, re-roofing (10 residential / 20 commercial), ADU, solar, and demolition (building-permit) pathways in this record. It does NOT reach standalone Title 54 trade permits — electrical, plumbing, and mechanical/HVAC permits, which Idaho Falls self-administers and for which neither the City nor DOPL publishes a review timeline; those three are left reviewTimelineDays:null / reviewTimelineVerified:false with a truthful exhaustion note. The City separately advertises 'up to 10 business days' for residential plan review on its Residential Plans Requirements List, consistent with the statutory residential floor.