Unincorporated Nez Perce County building permits
VerifiedDepartment contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Unincorporated Nez Perce County, Idaho.
Last verified 2026-07-04 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- Courthouse, 3rd Floor, 1230 Main Street, Lewiston, ID 83501 (P.O. Box 896, Lewiston, ID 83501)
- Phone
- (208) 799-3089 (main); Building Services (208) 799-3197; Building Official Kile Allen (208) 799-3035
- Office hours
- Monday-Thursday, 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM; Friday, 7:00 AM to Noon. Fax: 888-757-7326. Staff: Chelse Maughan (Planner), Kile Allen (Building Official), Tiffany Simmet (Senior Customer Service Specialist).
- Website
- Official site
Inspection guide
See how inspections work in Unincorporated Nez Perce 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.
- 2018 International Building Code (IBC), per Nez Perce County Planning and Building Department's Building Permits page — the county enforces the 2018 IBC as its building code standard.
- Nez Perce County's Land Development Code (zoning/subdivision provisions) is separately codified and available via Municode (library.municode.com/id/nez_perce_county); the Building Permits page itself does not separately enumerate IRC/IECC/IMC/IPC/NEC edition years beyond the IBC citation, unlike the City of Lewiston's dedicated Current Codes page, which lists each adopted code individually.
Permit types & fees
Single Family Residence Building Permit
Required for new single-family residence construction in unincorporated Nez Perce County, regulated under the county-adopted 2018 IBC. Building valuation for fee purposes is set at a minimum of $112.65 per square foot of Fixed Living Space, per the county's Residential Building Permit Fee Schedule (effective 10-1-2017).
From$112.65Manufactured Home Permit
Required for manufactured home placement in unincorporated Nez Perce County, whether in a manufactured home park or on a private lot. Fees are charged per home section and explicitly exclude electrical and plumbing work, which require separate permits.
From$161.87Accessory Building Permit / Agricultural Siting Permit
Nez Perce County distinguishes a general Accessory Building Permit from a separate Siting Permit specifically for agricultural buildings, per the county's Building Permits page permit-type list.
From$44.63Solar PV Permit
Nez Perce County has no dedicated solar or photovoltaic permit type or fee category. Its Building Permits page lists only Accessory Building, Blasting, Commercial Building, Manufactured Home, Mechanical, Single Family Residence, and Siting (Agricultural) permits, and the Residential Building Permit Fee Schedule (effective 10-1-2017) has no “solar” line item. A rooftop or ground-mounted PV installation is most likely processed as an Accessory Building Permit covering the structural and mounting work, using the schedule's per-square-foot categories and its own fallback rule that “the contract amount shall be used where it exceeds this table”. Electrical interconnection is expected to go through the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL), the statewide pattern for Idaho counties that have not separately adopted the NEC, but the county does not confirm this on its own site — settle the permit path with the Building Department before you order equipment.
See fee scheduleEV Charger / EVSE Permit
Nez Perce County issues no EV charger/EVSE permit and no county electrical permit of any kind. Its Building Permits page lists only Accessory Building, Blasting, Commercial Building, Manufactured Home, Mechanical, Single Family Residence, and Siting (Agricultural) permits. Electrical work anywhere in Idaho, including EV charging equipment and its circuit, is licensed and permitted through the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL) under the Rules of the Idaho Electrical Board (IDAPA 24.39.10), not through the county. Apply to DOPL for the electrical permit. The county publishes no EV-specific guidance, so confirm with DOPL if your installation involves more than a standard branch circuit.
From$65Commercial Building Permit
Required for new commercial construction and commercial structures in unincorporated Nez Perce County, using a Commercial Building Permit Application distinct from the county's Single Family Residence and Accessory Building applications. Commercial projects may also require a Conditional Use Permit from the Planning and Zoning Commission before a building permit is issued, per the county's own Commercial Building Permit Application Requirements sheet. No dedicated commercial fee schedule or percentage-of-project-value fee formula is published on the county's site — the only published valuation table is titled 'Residential Building Permit Fee Schedule,' and the commercial application itself asks only for a self-declared 'Project Value' with no stated fee calculation, so actual permit cost is confirmed only by direct contact with Building Services.
See fee schedule
Unincorporated Nez Perce County's permit history isn't searchable here yet
This page covers what the permit requires. What we don't have for Unincorporated Nez Perce 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 Nez Perce 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)
- 12units
11 buildings · $3.3M valuation
- Trailing 12 months
- 159units
12 of 12 months reported · #29 in Idaho coverage by units
- Year to date (2026 YTD through 2026-07)
- 116units
97 buildings · $38.4M valuation
- Full year 2025
- 272units
131 buildings · $45.7M valuation
County-wide figures: BPS reports county-wide totals; jurisdiction is the unincorporated remainder — county totals include the incorporated City of Lewiston (which self-administers its own Building Services department) and other incorporated places within Nez Perce County.
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
- Nez Perce County's Planning and Building Department (Courthouse, 3rd Floor, 1230 Main Street) is a GENUINELY SEPARATE office from the City of Lewiston's Building Services division (215 D Street) — the county has its own Building Official (Kile Allen), its own fee schedule (effective 10-1-2017), and enforces the 2018 IBC directly rather than deferring to or sharing an office with the City. Property inside Lewiston city limits must use the City's Building Services; property in the unincorporated county must use the County's Planning and Building Department.
- The county's Residential Building Permit Fee Schedule (effective 10-1-2017) values construction per square foot by category — Fixed Living Space $112.65/sq ft, Interior Finish & Remodel $56.33/sq ft, Garages $44.63/sq ft, Decks/Carports/Patio Covers $13.80/sq ft, Pole Buildings $14.06/sq ft, Manufactured Home Foundation & Slab $18.59/sq ft — all stated as minimums, rather than a single valuation-based bracket table like the City of Lewiston's Building Permit Fee schedule.
- Manufactured home placement fees are charged per home section (not per square foot) and explicitly exclude electrical/plumbing, which require separate permits: In-Park $161.87 first section + $97.71/additional section; Private Lot $259.59 first section + $129.69/additional section.
- A distinct Blasting Permit and a distinct Siting Permit (for agricultural buildings, separate from the general Accessory Building Permit) are both listed among the county's permit types — a level of permit-type granularity not found on the City of Lewiston's Permits Needed page.
- No jurisdiction-published plan-review or permit-issuance turnaround time (in business or calendar days) was found for any Nez Perce County unincorporated-area permit type as of 2026-07-04 — every permitType in this record carries reviewTimelineDays: null with a note, in contrast to the City of Lewiston's published Permit Review Schedule with explicit day-count maximums by category.
- The county's Building Permits page cites only the 2018 IBC by name; it does not separately publish IRC/IECC/IMC/IPC/NEC edition years the way the City of Lewiston's dedicated Current Codes page does — flagged here rather than assumed identical to the City's adopted editions.
- A Commercial Building Permit is a genuinely distinct permit here, with its own three-document application packet (App Requirements, Application - Commercial, Application - Commercial fillable, revised 11/2022). No commercial fee schedule is published: the county's only valuation table is titled 'Residential Building Permit Fee Schedule' and lists no commercial category, so commercial fees come from a project-specific quote — call Building Services at 208-799-3197. There is also no separate Tenant Improvement or commercial-remodel permit; ask Building Services how remodel work should be submitted.