Unincorporated Franklin County building permits
VerifiedDepartment contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Unincorporated Franklin County, Idaho.
Last verified 2026-07-13 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- 561 West Oneida, Preston, ID 83263
- Phone
- (208) 221-6149
- plans@fcidaho.us
- Office hours
- Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, per franklincountyidaho.org/departments/building_department.php. Building Inspector: Randy Henrie, who also serves as the county's Planning and Zoning Administrator, per the county's own Building Permit Information and Process document (fax: 208-852-1096).
Inspection guide
See how inspections work in Unincorporated Franklin County — 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.
International Building Code (IBC), including all rules promulgated by the Idaho Building Code Board to provide equivalency with ADA and Federal Fair Housing Act accessibility guidelines — Franklin County Code of Ordinances § 150.001(A)(1). Show full textShow less
International Building Code (IBC), including all rules promulgated by the Idaho Building Code Board to provide equivalency with ADA and Federal Fair Housing Act accessibility guidelines — Franklin County Code of Ordinances § 150.001(A)(1). The county code adopts codes by reference to 'the approved editions... as adopted by the state or the state's Building Code Board' rather than citing a specific numbered edition itself; per § 150.001(B), adopted codes 'shall be deemed superseded by successive versions... as they are adopted or approved by the state's Building Code Board, effective on the date any such codes are made effective by the state's Building Code Board' — meaning Franklin County's in-force edition tracks the Idaho Division of Building Safety's statewide adoption automatically.
- International Residential Code (IRC), Parts I-VI — Franklin County Code § 150.001(A)(2), same state-tracking mechanism per § 150.001(B).
- International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) — Franklin County Code § 150.001(A)(3).
- International Mechanical Code (IMC) — Franklin County Code § 150.001(A)(4).
- International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC) — Franklin County Code § 150.001(A)(5).
- International Fire Code (IFC) — Franklin County Code § 150.001(A)(6).
Franklin County's ordinance text (Ord. 2010-6-28; originally Ord. Show full textShow less
Franklin County's ordinance text (Ord. 2010-6-28; originally Ord. 2003-1) states no specific edition years — it adopts by reference whatever edition the Idaho Building Code Board has currently approved statewide. No edition years are recorded here as a result; the Idaho Division of Building Safety's current statewide adoption (dopl.idaho.gov/bld) governs, and should be checked there for the edition in force on any given date.
Permit types & fees
Residential Building Permit (New Construction / Remodel Changing Outside Dimensions)
Required for new construction of any building, structure, or mobile home, or for remodels that change a structure's outside dimensions, anywhere in unincorporated Franklin County, per Franklin County Code § 150.015(A). Fee is 1% of the assessed value of the proposed building per § 150.018.
See fee scheduleCommercial Building Permit (New Construction / Remodel Changing Outside Dimensions)
Required for new construction of any commercial or industrial building or structure, or for a commercial remodel that changes a structure's outside dimensions, anywhere in unincorporated Franklin County. Franklin County Code § 150.015(A) requires a building permit for construction of 'any building, structure, or mobile home' without distinguishing residential from commercial use, and the county issues commercial permits through the same Building Permit Application used for residential work — the form itself lists 'Commercial' as one of its Type of Construction checkboxes, and no separate commercial application is published. The Building Permit Fee is 1% of the assessed value of the proposed building, per § 150.018, the same rate and valuation base the county applies to residential permits; no separate or higher commercial rate is published. Owners of industrial or commercial buildings who certify, in advance, that the project will create and fill five or more full-time positions within 24 months are instead exempt from the fees imposed by the International Building Codes under § 150.002(B), though they must still purchase a county building permit and pay a site inspection fee set by older ordinances whose current dollar amount is not published in the codified text.
See fee scheduleSolar Photovoltaic (PV) Permit
Required for installation of rooftop or ground-mount solar photovoltaic systems in unincorporated Franklin County. No solar-specific fee line item is published; the structural/mounting portion is billed under the same 1% of assessed value Building Permit Fee used for general construction, per Franklin County Code § 150.018. The County's own Building Permit Application packet requires an Electrical Plan as part of the submittal for new construction, but no distinct county-issued electrical permit type is published — consistent with the pattern across most other Idaho counties, where electrical interconnection work is routed to the State of Idaho DOPL/Division of Building Safety rather than the county (not independently confirmed for Franklin County specifically).
See fee scheduleEV Charger / EVSE Electrical Permit
Franklin County publishes no distinct permit or fee line for electric vehicle charging equipment. A Level 2 EV charger installation is purely electrical work (a new branch circuit and/or service upgrade). The County's Building Permit Information and Process document requires an Electrical Plan as part of new-construction submittals but does not describe a standalone electrical-only process, and the Franklin County Building Department's own page (franklincountyidaho.org/departments/building_department.php) does not itself administer electrical permits (no electrical fee content or mention of a county electrical inspector appears anywhere on the page). This is consistent with Idaho's default statewide rule that DOPL/DBS issues electrical permits directly in any jurisdiction that has not opted into its own local electrical enforcement program — the same posture as Cassia, Elmore, and Gem Counties, and as other unincorporated Idaho counties without a delegated electrical program (Gem, Latah, Minidoka, and Jefferson's electrical-interconnection leg). The governing fee schedule is the State of Idaho DOPL/Idaho Electrical Board 'Other Installations' schedule, IDAPA 24.39.10 (dopl.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Electrical-6.13.22.pdf, effective 6/13/2022) — a real, current, statewide, citable governing figure applicable to Franklin County.
From$10,000valuation-based
Unincorporated Franklin County's permit history isn't searchable here yet
This page covers what the permit requires. What we don't have for Unincorporated Franklin County 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 Unincorporated Franklin County 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)
- 5units
5 buildings · $1.2M valuation
- Trailing 12 months
- 60units
12 of 12 months reported · #42 in Idaho coverage by units
- Year to date (2026 YTD through 2026-07)
- 37units
37 buildings · $8.9M valuation
- Full year 2025
- 64units
64 buildings · $15.4M valuation
County-wide figures: Jurisdiction is the unincorporated remainder of Franklin County; the City of Preston (the county seat) operates its OWN separate Building Department with its own Building Inspector (Curt Fuller, per the city's employee directory) distinct from the county's Building Inspector (Randy Henrie). This entry covers ONLY unincorporated Franklin County; Preston and any other incorporated city/town within the county are out of scope here.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey (BPS), 2026-07 vintage. Census survey data — separate from the permit-requirements verification above. All Idaho building activity
Tips & gotchas
- The City of Preston operates its own separate Building Department, with its own named Building Inspector (Curt Fuller, curtf@prestonid.us) distinct from Franklin County's Building Inspector (Randy Henrie, randallh@fcidaho.us). Preston's own 'Building Permit Application Instructions' document requires a Preston City Business License for anyone but the property owner, references 'the City Engineer' and the 'Public Works Department,' and requires a city street Cut Permit — all city-specific apparatus with no county equivalent. Franklin County is NOT Preston's building authority; this entry covers ONLY unincorporated Franklin County.
- Franklin County's own Building Department office (561 West Oneida) is physically located within the town of Preston, which likely drove the original assumption that the county served Preston directly — but the county office serving unincorporated county land and the city's own Building Department serving land inside Preston's corporate limits are two distinct offices with two distinct Building Inspectors.
- The county's Building Permit Application form states work must commence within 180 days with the permit expiring in one year, while Franklin County Code § 150.017(G) (the codified ordinance) states permits expire if work has not begun within 6 months. These two published figures conflict; both are reported here.
- A parcel in unincorporated Franklin County must be an eligible 'building lot' before a residential permit can issue — all county land defaults to agricultural zoning, and parcel history must be traced back to June 1993 to confirm lot-split eligibility, or the applicant must work with the Planning and Zoning Administrator (also Randy Henrie) to rezone.
- A Septic Permit from Southeastern Idaho Public Health is a hard prerequisite for a residential building permit in the unincorporated county.
- Franklin County's codes-adopted ordinance (§ 150.001) does not cite specific numbered code editions — it adopts by reference whatever edition the Idaho Building Code Board currently has in force statewide, with automatic supersession language at § 150.001(B). Anyone needing the exact current edition year should check the Idaho Division of Building Safety (dopl.idaho.gov/bld) directly.
- Franklin County Code § 150.017(D) and (E) each separately state a 31-day period (one for the Recorder's investigation, one for approval/disapproval) — it is not clear from the ordinance text whether these run concurrently or sequentially; 31 days is the ordinance's stated per-step review figure, and the ambiguity is noted rather than assuming a 62-day total.
- Building or remodeling commercial space in unincorporated Franklin County? There is no separate 'Commercial Building Permit' — the county's own Building Permit Application form has 'Commercial' as just one checkbox alongside House/Apartment/Garage/Remodel/etc., and the same 1%-of-assessed-value fee (§ 150.018) and same ~31-day review process (§ 150.017(D)-(E)) apply as for residential construction. The International Building Code (IBC), not the International Residential Code used for houses, is the adopted code that governs commercial structural review, per § 150.001(A)(1)-(2).
- If a commercial or industrial project certifies in advance that it will create and fill 5 or more full-time positions within 24 months, Franklin County Code § 150.002(B) exempts it from International Building Code-imposed permit fees — but a county building permit must still be purchased and a site inspection fee still paid; the exemption is not automatic and requires advance certification to the county.
- A purely interior commercial tenant-improvement remodel that does not change a structure's outside dimensions may not require a Franklin County building permit at all, per the literal text of § 150.015(A) (which conditions the remodel-permit requirement on a change to 'outside dimensions'). This literal reading has not been confirmed with the Building Department, and life-safety systems (fire alarm, sprinklers, egress) under the adopted IFC/IBC could still trigger separate review regardless — confirm directly with the Building Department (208-221-6149) before assuming no permit is needed for an interior TI project.