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Commercial Tenant Improvement / Alteration Permit in Unincorporated Latah County, Idaho

Unincorporated Latah County has NO standalone 'tenant improvement' or 'TI' permit product — confirmed by reviewing the codified ordinance, the full Development Services Fee Schedule, the Building Permit — Full Checklist packet, and the county's complete Building Applications/Building Handouts document directory (fetched 2026-08-02), none of which contain the phrase 'tenant improvement' anywhere. A remodel or fit-out of existing commercial space instead goes through the SAME countywide 'Building Permit Application', with the Class of Work marked 'Alteration' (or 'Change of Use' if applicable), and is fee-assessed using the Fee Schedule's 'Alterations/Remodels Level 1 / Level 2 / Level 3' tiers (10% / 45% / 90% of the full valuation-based Table 1-A permit fee, based on square footage) rather than a bespoke TI fee. If the project changes the use or occupancy classification of the space — common in commercial tenant fit-outs — the county's separate 'Change of Use or Occupancy' review also applies, per the county's own handout of that name, and a permit is required before that change is made.

Reviewed 2026-08-02 · Source

When you need this permit

  • Same 'Building Permit Application' as any other permit, with Class of Work marked 'Alteration', 'Repair', or 'Change of Use' as applicable to the scope of the tenant improvement
  • If the project changes the use or occupancy of the space (e.g., converting retail to restaurant, or a shell space to a specific tenant use), a Change-of-Use-or-Occupancy review is required BEFORE the change is made, per the county's 'Change of Use or Occupancy' handout — the handout states this affects life safety (fire safety, exits, occupancy limits), zoning compliance, and building code requirements, and recommends contacting the Planning and Building Department before starting the project
  • Idaho-licensed architect or engineer may be required if the project involves structural changes, accessibility requirements, public access, or certain occupancy changes, per the same Change of Use or Occupancy handout, and per Section 7-1-3(E) of the Code of Latah County for structures governed by the IBC
  • If the parcel is in the Commercial Zoning Designation and the tenant improvement affects items covered by the 'Commercial Zoning District Requirements' handout (e.g., adds/changes parking demand, outdoor storage, exterior lighting, or hours of operation), those additional submittals apply on top of the building permit package
  • Written septic/sewer approval and written road-access approval are standard building-permit submittal requirements under Section 7-1-3(B), subject to narrow exemptions (the handout gives siding, window replacement, and re-roofs as exempt examples, which would cover many purely-interior TI scopes)

Required documents

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Fee schedule

Alterations/Remodels Level 1County Development Services Fee Schedule (Resolution 2023-18 et seq.), General Fees section. 'Full permit fee' is computed from the same Table 1-A valuation-based bracket table used for new construction. Neither the Fee Schedule, the Building Permit — Full Checklist packet, nor the codified ordinance (Title 7, Chapter 1) defines the specific scope-of-work criteria that separate a Level 1 from a Level 2 or Level 3 alteration — this was confirmed by a direct re-read of all three documents on 2026-08-02. Contact the Planning, Building and GIS Department to determine which tier applies to a specific tenant-improvement scope before budgeting.
10% of full permit fee based on square footage
Alterations/Remodels Level 2Same source and same caveat on undefined tier criteria.
45% of full permit fee based on square footage
Alterations/Remodels Level 3Same source and same caveat on undefined tier criteria.
90% of full permit fee based on square footage
Plan Review FeeCharged on all structures requiring a plan review; applicable if the tenant-improvement scope requires plan review.
65% of the permit fee
Non-refundable Plan Review DepositFor commencement of plan review on projects exceeding $30,000.00 in valuation — relevant to larger commercial TI scopes.
$700.00
Additional plan review required by changes, additions, or revisions to plansCounty Development Services Fee Schedule, Other Inspections and Fees section — relevant to iterative TI plan revisions.
$75.00 per hour

Review timeline

Plan review
Not published — contact the department

How long did your Commercial Tenant Improvement / Alteration Permit permit actually take in Unincorporated Latah County?

Anonymous — one question, no email. Answers are combined and only shown once at least 5 people have reported.

Inspection process

  1. 1

    Rough-In (framing/MEP, if scope-applicable)

    Required if the TI scope involves framing changes or mechanical/electrical/plumbing rough-in work; will not be scheduled until electrical and plumbing permit numbers (issued by Idaho DOPL) have been submitted to the county.

  2. 2

    Final / Certificate of Occupancy

    Final inspection required before occupying the improved space; a new or amended Certificate of Occupancy is required if the change-of-use/occupancy process applies.

See the full Unincorporated Latah County inspection guide — scheduling & re-inspection fees →

Tips

  • There is no separate 'tenant improvement' or 'TI' permit — a commercial remodel or fit-out is processed as an 'Alteration' under the same Building Permit Application used for new construction, priced as a percentage (10%/45%/90%, per Level 1/2/3) of what the full new-construction permit fee would be for that square footage, rather than a flat TI fee.
  • If the improvement changes what the space is used for (e.g., new tenant with a different use than the prior occupant), treat the county's 'Change of Use or Occupancy' review as a separate, required step that must happen BEFORE the change — it is not automatically bundled into the alteration permit, per the county's own handout.
  • The Level 1/2/3 alteration tiers are not defined anywhere in the county's own published materials reviewed for this entry — do not assume a specific tier without confirming with the department, since the difference between a 10% and a 90% fee multiplier is large.
  • Purely interior/cosmetic work with no structural, MEP, or occupancy changes may fall under the narrow exemptions the county lists for some alteration/repair permits (the county's own Building Permit Application Requirements handout gives siding, window replacement, and re-roofs as examples of exempt scopes from certain submittal requirements) — confirm scope-specific exemptions with the department rather than assuming.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Per the county's 'Change of Use or Occupancy' handout, a permit is required before any change of use or occupancy, because it can affect life safety (fire safety, exits, occupancy limits), zoning compliance, and building code requirements. The county recommends contacting the Planning and Building Department before starting the project, since a design professional may be required depending on the scope.

In Unincorporated Latah County, the published Alterations/Remodels Level 1 is: 10% of full permit fee based on square footage. Additional published fees: Alterations/Remodels Level 2 — 45% of full permit fee based on square footage; Alterations/Remodels Level 3 — 90% of full permit fee based on square footage; Plan Review Fee — 65% of the permit fee; Non-refundable Plan Review Deposit — $700.00; Additional plan review required by changes, additions, or revisions to plans — $75.00 per hour. These are the jurisdiction's own published figures — see the fee schedule table and source citations on this page.

Unincorporated Latah County does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact Latah County Planning, Building and GIS Department at (208) 883-7220 for current turnaround.

You'll need: Building Permit Application (Full or Short Version). Depending on your project, Unincorporated Latah County may also ask for: Change of Use or Occupancy (guide/application); Commercial Zoning District Requirements (handout). See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

Unincorporated Latah County requires 2 inspection(s) for a commercial tenant improvement / alteration permit, in order: Rough-In (framing/MEP, if scope-applicable), Final / Certificate of Occupancy. Schedule each through Latah County Planning, Building and GIS Department ((208) 883-7220).

Apply through Latah County Planning, Building and GIS Department at 200 S Almon Street, Ste 102 (Annex Building), Moscow, ID 83843. Phone: (208) 883-7220, email: PB@LatahCountyID.gov. Office hours: Monday - Friday, 8 AM - 5 PM. Per the Latah County government contact-directory API (api.latah.id.us/web/getcontact?dept=Planning%2C%20Building%20and%20GIS), fetched 2026-07-04, which returns this department's authoritative current name, address, phone, and hours record: {"Id":13,"Department":"Planning, Building and GIS","Phone":"(208) 883-7220","AddressLn1":"Latah County Planning & Building","AddressLn2":"200 S Almon Street, Ste 102","AddressCSZ":"Moscow, Idaho 83843","AddressRoom":"Annex Building","DeptHours":"Monday - Friday\r\n8 am - 5 pm"}. NOTE ON CORRECTION: a prior research pass on this file reported the address as '522 South Adams Street' and phone '(208) 882-8580' / '(208) 883-7220' (ambiguous, unreconciled) sourced from a City of Moscow homeowner's-guide directory listing; this pass queried the county's own live contact API directly and found the current authoritative record uses the Annex Building address above with phone (208) 883-7220 only. The email PB@LatahCountyID.gov is confirmed on the county's own Zoning Placement Permit application form (Application for Zoning Placement, revised 6/5/2026) and Building Permit Application Requirements handout.. Official information: https://latahcountyid.gov/planning_building/.

Unincorporated Latah County, Idaho has adopted: International Building Code, 2018 edition — Latah County Code of Ordinances, Title 7 'Building Regulations,' Chapter 1 'Building Codes and Regulations,' Section 7-1-2 'Codes Adopted,' subsection A.1. Adopted in accordance with Idaho Code Title 39 Chapter 41, Idaho Code Title 44 Chapters 21 and 22, and Idaho Administrative Procedures Act Section 24.39 (7.03). (Ord. 384, 12-14-2021; amd. Ord. 408, 6-24-2025). Source: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/latahcountyid/latest/latahcounty_id/0-0-0-1168, fetched 2026-07-04 via browser-header curl (amlegal.com returns 200 to a Chrome-UA request and embeds the full section text as JSON inside a `window._redux_state = JSON.parse(...)` script tag; the HTML field of the matching `sections.items` entry contains the verbatim ordinance text, extracted and parsed for this file).; International Residential Code, 2018 edition, Parts I through VI — same source, subsection A.2, same ordinance history.; International Mechanical Code, 2018 edition — same source, subsection A.3.; International Fuel Gas Code, 2018 edition — same source, subsection A.4.; International Energy Conservation Code, 2018 edition — same source, subsection A.5.; International Existing Building Code, 2018 edition — same source, subsection A.6.; International Property Maintenance Code, 2018 edition — same source, subsection A.7.; Adopted appendices: IBC 2018 Appendices C (Group U Agricultural Buildings), E (Supplementary Accessibility Requirements), F (Rodent Proofing), G (Flood Resistant Construction), H (Signs), I (Patio Covers), J (Grading); IRC 2018 Appendices A, B, C, D, J, M, H (Patio Covers), Q (Tiny Houses), R (Light Straw-Clay Construction), S (Strawbale Construction); IEBC 2018 Appendices A-1, A-2, B, and Resource A — Section 7-1-2, subsections B, C, D.; Idaho Building Code Act (Idaho Code Title 39, Chapter 41, Section 39-4116) makes building code standards a matter of statewide concern; local governments that issue building permits must adopt the IBC and Idaho Residential Code as amended by the Idaho Building Code Board. Source: https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/title39/t39ch41/; The Latah County Building Code (all codes adopted in Title 7, Chapter 1) is formally designated as such under Section 7-1-1 'Composition Of County Building Code' and applies to all structures and property in Latah County. Source: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/latahcountyid/latest/latahcounty_id/0-0-0-1167, fetched 2026-07-04.. Local amendments apply — see the Unincorporated Latah County overview page for the full list.

No. There is no standalone TI permit, application, or fee line — a commercial remodel/tenant fit-out uses the same countywide Building Permit Application (Class of Work: Alteration), fee-assessed using the Fee Schedule's Alterations/Remodels Level 1/2/3 tiers (10%/45%/90% of the full valuation-based permit fee for that square footage).

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