Rexburg building permits
VerifiedDepartment contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Rexburg, Idaho.
Last verified 2026-07-04 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- 35 N 1st East, Rexburg, ID 83440
- Phone
- (208) 372-2166
- building@rexburg.org
- Office hours
- City Hall Open Hours: M-Th 7:30 am - 5:30 pm, F 7:30 am - 12:30 pm. Main City switchboard: (208) 359-3020; Building Department direct line: (208) 372-2166.
- Website
- Official site
- Permit portal
- Apply online at Rexburg's portal
Inspection guide
See how inspections work in Rexburg — 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.
- The City of Rexburg operates its own Building Department, which handles ALL trade permitting (building, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire) in-house — it is not a DOPL-administered jurisdiction for permit issuance. The Building Official 'enforces and interprets the building code,' 'supervises the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire inspectors,' and the Building Department's stated scope explicitly covers mechanical, electrical, and plumbing programs as sub-programs of the Building Department itself, each with dedicated per-discipline permit fees. Source: City of Rexburg Building page (rexburg.org/o/cor/page/building).
- 2018 International Building Code (IBC), adopted by the City of Rexburg. Source: City of Rexburg Codes & Standards page (rexburg.org/o/cor/page/codes-standards).
- 2018 International Residential Code (IRC), adopted by the City of Rexburg. Source: City of Rexburg Codes & Standards page.
- 2023 National Electrical Code (NEC / NFPA 70), adopted by the City of Rexburg. Source: City of Rexburg Codes & Standards page; also referenced on the Electrical Information page.
- 2018 International Mechanical Code (IMC), adopted by the City of Rexburg. Source: City of Rexburg Codes & Standards page.
- 2017 Idaho Plumbing Code (IAPMO), adopted by the City of Rexburg. Source: City of Rexburg Codes & Standards page.
- 2018 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC), adopted by the City of Rexburg. Source: City of Rexburg Codes & Standards page.
- 2018 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) — both the Commercial and Residential chapters, adopted by the City of Rexburg. Source: City of Rexburg Codes & Standards page.
- 2018 International Existing Building Code (IEBC), adopted by the City of Rexburg. Source: City of Rexburg Codes & Standards page.
- 2018 International Fire Code (IFC), adopted by the City of Rexburg. Source: City of Rexburg Codes & Standards page.
- 2016 NFPA 72 (National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code), adopted by the City of Rexburg. Source: City of Rexburg Codes & Standards page.
- Plans submitted for commercial projects must be stamped by a licensed Idaho architect or engineer. Source: City of Rexburg Codes & Standards page.
- The permitting process takes up to 10 business days from initial application to issuance of the permit; the process can be longer depending on backlog; the permit process is on a first-come, first-served basis. Source: City of Rexburg Codes & Standards page.
- Rexburg Development Code (Title/Code 1200) governs zoning, including short-term rental registration and duplex-conversion zoning eligibility (density-based lot-size minimums by zone). Source: Rexburg Development Code online, rexburg.municipalcodeonline.com/book?type=development.
Permit types & fees
Residential Building Permit (Single Family Home / Townhome)
Required for new single-family residence and townhome construction in Rexburg, reviewed against the 2018 IRC and 2018 IECC as adopted by the City. Applications are submitted through the City's online Public Portal (apply.rexburg.org/publicapp).
Multi-Family Residence / Commercial Building Permit
Required for new multi-family residential (apartment) and commercial building construction in Rexburg, reviewed against the 2018 IBC and 2018 IECC (Commercial) as adopted by the City. Commercial plans must be stamped by a licensed Idaho architect or engineer.
Electrical Permit
Required for electrical installation, alteration, or repair work in Rexburg, governed by the 2023 National Electrical Code (NEC) as adopted by the City. The Rexburg Building Department issues and inspects electrical permits directly through its own Electrical Program and dedicated electrical inspector — not the Idaho Division of Building Safety.
Plumbing Permit
Required for plumbing installation, alteration, or repair work in Rexburg, governed by the 2017 Idaho Plumbing Code as adopted by the City. The Rexburg Building Department issues and inspects plumbing permits directly through its own Plumbing Program — not the Idaho Division of Building Safety.
Mechanical / HVAC Permit
Required for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning installation, alteration, or repair work in Rexburg, governed by the 2018 International Mechanical Code (IMC) and 2018 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC) as adopted by the City. The Rexburg Building Department issues and inspects mechanical permits directly through its own HVAC Program — not the Idaho Division of Building Safety.
Solar Panels Permit
Required for all photovoltaic (solar panel) work within Rexburg city limits, using the City's own dedicated 'Solar Panels / Cell Tower' application. Unlike most Idaho cities, Rexburg's Building Department self-administers electrical permitting directly (it is not a DOPL-routed jurisdiction), so both the structural and electrical scope of a solar install are handled in-house by the City.
Demolition Permit
Required for demolition of any building or structure within Rexburg city limits, applied for through the same Mobile Home/Duplex/Demolition application category as duplex conversions and mobile home relocations.
Duplex Conversion Permit
Required to convert an existing single-family residence into a two-unit duplex in Rexburg. Governed by zoning lot-size minimums (duplexes allowed only in LDR2 and LDR3) and a building-code-compliance/life-safety-inspection standard that brings the converted structure up to current code.
Short Term Rental Registration
Required to register a property as a short-term rental (e.g., Airbnb-type listing) in Rexburg, per Ordinance 1308 and Development Code 1200 Section 4.00.025 (Rentals). Involves a zoning check, business registration, and a Building Department life-safety inspection.
EV Charging Station Permit (City Electrical Permit)
Required for installation of a Level 2 (or higher) electric vehicle charging station/EVSE within Rexburg city limits. Unlike most Idaho cities in this dataset, which route electrical permitting through the State of Idaho DOPL, Rexburg's Building Department self-administers electrical permitting directly (the same finding this file's solar-pv-permit entry documents), using its own 'Mechanical, Electrical or Plumbing Miscellaneous' permit application for installation/upgrade work that is not part of new construction.
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)
- No data reported
- Trailing 12 months
- No data reported
- Year to date
- No data reported
- Latest full year
- No data reported
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
- Rexburg is unusual among smaller Idaho cities in that its Building Department self-administers ALL trade permits — building, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing — under one roof, with the Building Official directly supervising dedicated mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire inspectors. This is confirmed directly from the City's own Building page, not assumed from the typical Idaho pattern of trades routing to the state Division of Building Safety (DBS).
- New construction (single-family, townhome, and multi-family) is charged FOUR separate permit-fee line items: the building fee itself, a 10%-of-building-fee plan review fee, and three additional per-discipline MEP fees (mechanical, electrical, plumbing) — each scaled to the same square-footage tiers.
- Impact fees (streets, parks/trails, police, fire) and capacity fees (water, sewer) are explicitly called out as being 'DETERMINED BY PUBLIC WORKS' and are NOT included in the Building Department's published fee-estimator tables — budget for these as a separate, unpublished line item and contact Public Works/Finance directly.
- All published fee-estimator figures are explicitly labeled 'estimates only' by the City and 'may not fully reflect the cost of permit' — always confirm final fees with the Building Department before budgeting a project.
- Demolition, duplex conversion, and mobile home relocation are all filed under a single combined 'Mobile Home/Duplex/Demolition' application category in the City's online portal, each with distinct sub-requirements (asbestos report + site plan for demolition; code-compliance + life-safety inspection for duplex conversion; mobile home year/origin disclosure for relocations).
- Duplex conversions are zoning-gated: only permitted in LDR2 and LDR3 zones as of the City's current published guidance; MDR1 and MDR2 explicitly no longer allow duplex conversions.
- Short-term rental registration has a live-on-site requirement that varies strictly by zoning district (TAG/RR1/RR2/LDR1/LDR2/LDR3 require the owner or manager to live on-site; MDR1/MDR2/HDR1/HDR2 only require availability within Madison County) — always verify zoning via the Rexburg Parcel Viewer before assuming which rule applies.
- Commercial project plans must be stamped by a licensed Idaho architect or engineer; the City's Digital Plan Submission Standards additionally require vector-based (non-scanned) PDFs with specific bookmarking, page-numbering, and title-sheet content — non-compliant submittals risk rejection independent of the underlying design.
- The City's published permitting-timeline statement ('up to 10 business days from initial application to issuance ... can be longer depending on backlog ... first-come, first-served') is the only general SLA found; it is not clearly scoped as a hard maximum guarantee versus a typical-case estimate, and no dedicated timeline was found for standalone trade permits (electrical/plumbing/mechanical Misc. Projects), demolition, duplex conversion, or short-term rental registration — these were each left null per the zero-tolerance no-estimate policy rather than inferred from the general statement.
- Water meter fees for multi-family projects are a distinct line item from the MEP permit fees, scaled by meter size and inside/outside placement — easy to miss when budgeting from the MEP fee table alone.