You are viewing the permanent link for the record currently in effect, published 2026-08-26.
Unincorporated Franklin County building permits
VerifiedUnincorporated Franklin County, Idaho — as published 2026-08-26.
Verified 2026-07-13 · Source
Codes adopted
Permit types & fees
Residential Building Permit (New Construction / Remodel Changing Outside Dimensions)
VerifiedRequired 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.
Verified 2026-07-13 · Source
Requirements
- New building, structure, or mobile home construction, OR a remodel that changes outside dimensions of an existing structure
- Structures exceeding 200 square feet require a permit, per the county's Building Permit Information and Process document
- Parcel must be an eligible 'building lot' (all county land is zoned agriculture by default; parcel-split history must be researched back to June 1993, or contact the Planning and Zoning Administrator to begin the rezone process)
- Septic Permit (from Southeastern Idaho Public Health) required before a building permit can be issued
- Copy of deed required
- Written approval from the Idaho Department of Health / Southeastern District Health Department required whenever culinary water, sanitary sewer, or septic system work is part of the project, per § 150.017(C)
Required documents
- RequiredFranklin County Building Permit ApplicationCounty's own application form; per the county's Building Permit Information and Process PDF (irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/9a32150d/files/uploaded/Residential%20Permit.pdf). Notes 'WORK MUST COMMENCE WITHIN 180 DAYS... PERMIT EXPIRES IN ONE YEAR' on the form itself.
- RequiredCopy of DeedPer the county's Building Permit Information and Process document.
- RequiredBuilding plans (Site Plan, Foundation Plan, Floor Plans, Slice Plan, Elevation Plans, Electrical Plan, Roof Plan)Per the county's own Plan Submittal List, emailed as a PDF to plans@fcidaho.us.
- RequiredSignature Checklist / Building Permit ChecklistConfirms sign-off from Fire Department, School District, Road Department, and Post Office, per the county's own Building Permit Checklist form.
- RequiredSeptic PermitObtained from Southeastern Idaho Public Health (42 West 1st South) before a building permit can be issued.
Fee schedule
| Fee type | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Building Permit Fee | 1% of the assessed value of the proposed building | Franklin County Code § 150.018, 'payable when the application is made for any construction defined in § 150.015' (Ord. Show full citationHideFranklin County Code § 150.018, 'payable when the application is made for any construction defined in § 150.015' (Ord. 2016-2-22, passed 2-22-2016) — consistent with the county's own Building Permit Information and Process document, which states 'Building Permit fee is 1% of the assessed value.' |
Commercial 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.
Reviewed 2026-08-25 · Source
Requirements
- New construction of any commercial or industrial building or structure, or a remodel changing a structure's outside dimensions, requires a building permit from the County Building Inspector, per Franklin County Code § 150.015(A) — the same occupancy-neutral requirement that covers residential construction, with no separate commercial permit type defined in the ordinance
- Structures exceeding 200 square feet require a permit, per the county's Building Permit Information and Process document — the same threshold published for all building permits, not specific to commercial work
- Reviewed under the International Building Code edition currently adopted by the state's Building Code Board, per Franklin County Code § 150.001(A)-(B), which adopts building codes by reference to the state's approved editions rather than naming a fixed edition in the county ordinance; the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses' published adopted-codes list names the 2018 International Building Code, with amendments, as the current statewide edition, alongside the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code, 2018 International Mechanical Code, and 2018 International Fuel Gas Code
- Owners of industrial or commercial buildings who certify, in advance, that the project will create and fill five or more full-time positions within the succeeding 24 months are exempt from the fees imposed by the International Building Codes, per § 150.002(B), but remain subject to all other building-code requirements and to purchasing a county building permit and paying a site inspection fee as required by Ord. 1984-3, 1995-1, 1995-2, and 1998-2 — the current dollar amount of that site inspection fee is not given in the codified text
- Written approval from the Idaho Department of Health / Southeastern District Health Department required whenever culinary water, sanitary sewer, or septic system work is part of the project, per § 150.017(C)
- Parcel must be an eligible 'building lot' (all county land is zoned agriculture by default; parcel-split history must be researched back to June 1993, or contact the Planning and Zoning Administrator to begin the rezone process)
- The Building Permit Checklist requires sign-off from the Fire Department, School District, Road Department, and Post Office before a permit is issued, per the county's own Building Permit Checklist form — the same checklist used for residential permits
Required documents
- RequiredFranklin County Building Permit ApplicationThe same Building Permit Application form used for residential permits; lists 'Commercial' as one of its Type of Construction checkboxes alongside House, Apartment, Garage, Manufactured Home, Addition, Move, Remodel, Shed, and Other — no dedicated commercial-only application is published.
- RequiredCopy of DeedShowing ownership and legal description, per the county's Building Permit Information and Process document.
- RequiredBuilding plans (Site Plan, Foundation Plan, Floor Plans, Slice Plan, Elevation Plans, Electrical Plan, Roof Plan)Per the county's own Plan Submittal List, emailed as a PDF to plans@fcidaho.us — the same list published for all building permits regardless of occupancy.
- RequiredSignature Checklist / Building Permit ChecklistConfirms sign-off from Fire Department, School District, Road Department, and Post Office, per the county's own Building Permit Checklist form.
- OptionalSeptic PermitObtained from Southeastern Idaho Public Health (42 West 1st South) whenever the project's scope includes a septic tank system, per § 150.017(C).
Fee schedule
| Fee type | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Building Permit Fee | 1% of the assessed value of the proposed building | Franklin County Code § 150.018, 'payable when the application is made for any construction defined in § 150.015' (Ord. Show full citationHideFranklin County Code § 150.018, 'payable when the application is made for any construction defined in § 150.015' (Ord. 2016-2-22, passed 2-22-2016) — the same rate and valuation base the county's own Building Permit Information and Process document applies to residential permits; no separate or higher commercial rate is published. |
| Site Inspection Fee (job-creation fee exemption path) | Not published in the current codified text | Franklin County Code § 150.002(B): industrial or commercial buildings whose owners certify, in advance, that the project will create and fill five or more full-time positions within the succeeding 24… Show full citationHideFranklin County Code § 150.002(B): industrial or commercial buildings whose owners certify, in advance, that the project will create and fill five or more full-time positions within the succeeding 24 months are exempt from the fees imposed by the International Building Codes, but remain subject to purchasing a county building permit and paying a site inspection fee 'as required by Ord. 1984-3, 1995-1, 1995-2, and 1998-2.' Of those four, only Ord. 1995-1 (passed 2-27-1995, codified at § 150.017) and Ord. 1998-2 (passed 12-28-1998, codified at §§ 150.015, 150.019) appear anywhere in the county's own References to Ordinances disposition table, which runs from the county's earliest ordinances (1914) through the current 2025-09-08 supplement and includes items codified elsewhere (the Table of Special Ordinances) as well as Chapter 150 itself; Ord. 1984-3 and Ord. 1995-2 do not appear in that table under any code section or special-ordinance table, and neither number appears in the history line of any section of Chapter 150. Chapter 150 contains exactly one dollar-denominated fee anywhere in its text — § 150.018's 1% building permit fee — with no separate site inspection fee figure in any other section. No county budget document, consolidated fee schedule, or commissioner-minutes excerpt naming a site inspection fee dollar amount is available online, and Wayback Machine snapshots of the county's former stand-alone building-inspector webpage (10 captures, 2015-2024) carry no fee content beyond the Building Permit Fee already cited above. Both of the county's own building-permit PDFs (the Building Permit Information and Process document and its bundled Building Permit Application, Building Permit Checklist, Plan Submittal List, and Inspection Process pages) contain no site inspection fee dollar amount. |
| Fire Department Review / Sign-off | No fee schedule published | The county's own Building Permit Checklist lists 'Fire Department' as one of four sign-off lines (Fire Department, School District, Road Department, Post Office), each a blank signature/comment field… Show full citationHideThe county's own Building Permit Checklist lists 'Fire Department' as one of four sign-off lines (Fire Department, School District, Road Department, Post Office), each a blank signature/comment field paired with a named contact (Matt Gleed, 208-852-3111 for Fire) rather than a dollar figure — consistent across both the county-hosted and irp-cdn-hosted copies of the same document. Franklin County Fire District's own website (franklincountyfiredistrict.com) publishes no fee schedule of any kind; its only linked records resource is an open Google Drive folder holding a single upcoming Fire Commissioner meeting agenda, with no searchable historical minutes or budget documents. Based on the checklist's own layout, the Fire Department step reads as a sign-off confirming the applicant's plans rather than a distinct fee-bearing plan review, but that reading could not be cross-checked against the Fire District's own budget or governing ordinance, so it is offered as the best-supported interpretation rather than a settled fact. |
Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Permit
VerifiedRequired 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).
Verified 2026-07-20 · Source
Requirements
- Building Permit Fee is 1% of the assessed value of the proposed building, payable when the application is made, per Franklin County Code § 150.018
- Electrical Plan required as part of the submittal packet, drawn to scale showing all lighting, switches, outlets, meter locations, and inter-connected smoke/carbon monoxide detectors, per the County's own Building Permit Information and Process document
- County Recorder has up to 31 days after receipt of an application to investigate the proposed work (§ 150.017(D)), and a further period to approve, disapprove, or conditionally approve (§ 150.017(E)) — the ordinance text does not make clear whether these periods are concurrent or cumulative
- The County's own published pages do not conclusively state whether the electrical interconnection permit itself is issued by Franklin County or by the State of Idaho DOPL/Division of Building Safety — confirm directly with the Building Department (208-221-6149) before relying on either path
Required documents
- RequiredFranklin County Building Permit ApplicationStandard application; includes an Electrical Plan requirement in the submittal packet for new construction
Fee schedule
| Fee type | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Building Permit Fee | 1% of the assessed value of the proposed building | Franklin County Code § 150.018 (Ord. 2016-2-22, passed 2-22-2016) — no distinct solar line item published; same fee mechanism used for all construction |
EV Charger / EVSE Electrical Permit
VerifiedFranklin 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.
Verified 2026-07-20 · Source
Requirements
- No Franklin County fee line or application specific to EV chargers/EVSE was found on the county's published pages (Building Department page, Building Permit Information and Process PDF, or Code of Ordinances Chapter 150)
- The County's own published pages do not conclusively state whether a standalone EV charger circuit is permitted by Franklin County itself or by the State of Idaho DOPL/Division of Building Safety — the same jurisdictional question noted under the Solar PV Permit entry
- If DOPL jurisdiction applies (consistent with the pattern for Idaho counties without a delegated county electrical program), a DOPL Electrical Permit under the 'Other Installations' fee schedule (IDAPA 24.39.10) would apply, purchased online through DOPL's portal
- If the EV charger circuit is installed as part of a new-construction project already requiring a Franklin County Building Permit, the county's Electrical Plan submittal requirement (Building Permit Information and Process document) would apply to that plan set
- Confirm directly with the Building Department (208-221-6149) or DOPL (208-334-3233) which agency issues the permit before scheduling a standalone EV charger installation
Required documents
- OptionalDOPL Electrical Permit (online) — if State jurisdiction appliesPurchased via DOPL's online permitting portal for the electrical circuit/service work; not confirmed as the controlling mechanism for Franklin County specifically, but consistent with the pattern for other unincorporated Idaho counties that lack their own delegated electrical program
Fee schedule
| Fee type | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| DOPL Electrical Permit — 'Other Installations' fee schedule (if State jurisdiction applies) | Wiring cost up to $10,000: $60 plus 2% of total wiring cost; $10,001-$100,000: $260 plus 1% of wiring cost over $10,000; work under $500 with no service change: $10 | Rules of the Idaho Electrical Board, IDAPA 24.39.10 (fee schedule), effective 6/13/2022 — statewide fee, not set by Franklin County. Show full citationHideRules of the Idaho Electrical Board, IDAPA 24.39.10 (fee schedule), effective 6/13/2022 — statewide fee, not set by Franklin County. No distinct EV-charger line item exists in this schedule; EVSE circuits fall under the generic 'Other Installations' category alongside any other electrical wiring job. |
Sources & verification
Verified against official sources. Last reviewed 2026-07-13.
Applications & forms
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Fees, timelines, and adopted codes are researched from each jurisdiction's published records — see how we verify. Requirements change and vary by project, so always confirm the current details with the Unincorporated Franklin County building department before you submit. PermitBase is an independent reference and is not affiliated with any government agency.