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Residential Building Permit (New Construction / Addition / Alteration) — Wallace, Idaho · Requirements sheet
Reviewed 2026-08-02 · Source: https://wallace.id.gov/departments/
PermitBase is an independent reference and is not affiliated with any government agency. Requirements change and vary by project — confirm current details with the building department before you submit.
Residential Building Permit (New Construction / Addition / Alteration) in Wallace, Idaho
Required for new residential construction, additions, alterations, and remodels within the City of Wallace. Wallace administers its own building permits under Wallace City Code Chapter 153, adopting the state versions of the IBC, IRC-based Residential Code, IECC-based Energy Code, and IEBC-based Existing Building Code. Building official, plan review, and inspection services are provided under contract by the City of Kellogg's Building Official.
Reviewed 2026-08-02 · Source
When you need this permit
- Building permit required prior to commencement of covered construction, addition, or alteration work within city limits — Wallace City Code Chapter 153
- Plans must comply with the State Residential Code (2020, IRC-based), State Energy Conservation Code (2020), and applicable local amendments (snow loads, frost depth, foundation reinforcement)
- Because the entire city lies within the Wallace Historic District, projects involving exterior work also require a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Planning & Zoning/Historic Preservation Commission (see the accessory 'historic-preservation-certificate-of-appropriateness' permit type) before a building permit can be issued
- All structures or modifications that will be occupied require a Certificate of Occupancy in addition to any required permit(s), per the city's own Certificate of Appropriateness application conditions
- Electrical, plumbing, and mechanical work is NOT issued or inspected by the City of Wallace — those permits are issued and inspected by the State of Idaho (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses / Idaho Division of Building Safety, 1-800-955-3044, dbs.idaho.gov / dopl.idaho.gov), consistent with the same state-administered trade-permit structure used county-wide in Shoshone County
- Idaho Code § 39-4117 ('Processing building permits — Timely Review,' effective 7/1/2025) requires Wallace to publish a document describing its building permit process (satisfied by the City's Building Permit Process and Procedures handout, adopted by City Council 11/12/2025) and to give an applicant written notice on whether a residential application is complete within ten (10) business days of receipt of the original or any revised submission; a 'complete' determination authorizes the application to proceed to formal plan review but is not itself permit approval
- Per the City's adopted Building Permit Process and Procedures handout (11/12/2025), a permit becomes void if work is abandoned for 180 days or more after commencing, or if work does not commence at all within 60 days of issuance
- Wallace publishes and administers only ONE generic Building Permit for all occupancy types — there is no separate commercial/tenant-improvement product. The City's Building Permit Process and Procedures handout (adopted by City Council 11/12/2025, published in the November 2025 Council Packet PDF) and Wallace City Code § 153.001 neither branch the application checklist, review process, nor fee mechanism by residential vs. commercial/TI. Commercial (and TI/remodel) work is reviewed under the same Chapter 153 framework using the 2018 IBC track (§ 153.001(A)(1)) instead of the 2020 State Residential Code track (§ 153.001(A)(2)), by the same contracted City of Kellogg Building Official, rather than through a distinct commercial permit type or application. The blank application form itself is not published online (it is obtained by contacting the City Clerk, per the handout), so this finding rests on the process document and code structure rather than a direct read of the form's checkbox list.
Required documents
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Fee schedule
Building Permit / Plan Review Fee
Wallace's own Building Permit Process and Procedures handout (adopted by City Council 11/12/2025) confirms the City collects permitting fees 'based on the current fee schedule,' but that schedule's… Show full citationHide
Wallace's own Building Permit Process and Procedures handout (adopted by City Council 11/12/2025) confirms the City collects permitting fees 'based on the current fee schedule,' but that schedule's dollar figures are not published on wallace.id.gov or anywhere else. The City's effort to consolidate and formally adopt a fee schedule (draft Resolution #2025-222, 'A Resolution of the City of Wallace... Authorizing the Establishment of and Setting Fees') was workshopped 9/3/2025 and was — in the City Clerk's and legal counsel's own words that day — 'a very rough draft' still needing Planning & Zoning review before a public hearing could even be scheduled; across the 10 consecutive regular/special City Council meetings from Oct. 2025 through the July 8, 2026 meeting, Resolution #2025-222 never reappeared on any agenda for adoption. The City's Kellogg building-inspection interlocal agreement (revised and adopted 12/10/2025) confirms Wallace itself collects all building-permit fees directly and remits 100% of plan-check fees plus 75% of building-inspection fees to Kellogg, but states only those percentages, not dollar figures. No newer fee schedule, resolution, or dollar figure is published anywhere; call City Hall, (208) 752-1147, for current fee amounts before applying.Not published
Review timeline
Plan reviewWallace’s published plan-review target
10–10 business days
Inspection process
- 1
Building Official Inspection(s)
Inspection(s) by the contracted Building Official (City of Kellogg Building Department, Keith Teeters) at applicable construction phases per the State Residential/Building Code
- 2
Final / Certificate of Occupancy
Final inspection required before a Certificate of Occupancy is issued for any structure or modification that will be occupied
See the full Wallace inspection guide — scheduling & re-inspection fees →
Tips
- Wallace contracts building inspection, plan review, and Building Official services to the City of Kellogg's Building Official, Keith Teeters — the same official who also serves Pinehurst, Smelterville, Wardner, and Osburn under similar arrangements. Despite the shared official, Wallace is its own legal jurisdiction: its own adopted code chapter (Title XV, Ch. 153), its own local amendments, and its own fee-setting resolution of the Wallace City Council (fees are NOT identical to Kellogg's or Shoshone County's by default — confirm current amounts directly).
- Because the entire city is a National Historic Landmark district, any exterior work (new construction, alteration, demolition, signage, even tree removal within the district) requires a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Planning & Zoning/Historic Preservation Commission BEFORE a building permit will be issued — budget the Commission's monthly hearing cycle (first Wednesday of the month, applications due by the Thursday two weeks prior) into your project timeline.
- Electrical, plumbing, and mechanical work is state-administered (Idaho DOPL / Division of Building Safety) in Wallace, not city-issued — call 1-800-955-3044 or visit dbs.idaho.gov.
- Building permit and Building Department fees in Wallace are set by City Council resolution (Wallace City Code § 153.001(E)) rather than published online — no fee schedule PDF is posted on wallace.id.gov. Call City Hall at (208) 752-1147 for current fee amounts before applying.
- Wallace's local building-code amendments are notably stricter than many neighboring jurisdictions on snow load: an 80 psf ground snow load and 60 psf minimum roof design snow load are mandated in the code text itself, reflecting the town's high-elevation Bitterroot Mountain location.
- By Idaho Code § 39-4117 (effective 7/1/2025), you're entitled to written notice on whether your residential application is complete within 10 business days of submission — if you haven't heard back, follow up with City Hall or the contracted City of Kellogg Building Official (Keith Teeters, (208) 786-9131). That notice only clears the application into full plan review; it does not mean the permit itself is imminent.
- A building permit becomes void if work is abandoned for 180 or more days after commencing, or if work never commences within 60 days of issuance, per the City's Building Permit Process and Procedures handout (adopted 11/12/2025).
- Wallace has no separate commercial-building-permit or tenant-improvement (TI) permit. The City's Building Permit Process and Procedures handout (adopted 11/12/2025) and Wallace City Code § 153.001 describe one Building Permit process for the whole city; commercial/non-residential construction is reviewed under the 2018 IBC (§ 153.001(A)(1)) within that same process rather than a separate permit product. This mirrors Kellogg, Idaho — the neighboring city that supplies Wallace's own contracted Building Official — which likewise folds commercial and TI work into its single Building Department Permit Application with no 'Commercial' or 'Tenant Improvement' checkbox. Note that a commercial project downtown still separately needs a Certificate of Appropriateness (see the historic-preservation-certificate-of-appropriateness permit type) before this building permit can be issued — that is a genuinely separate historic-review requirement, not the same thing as a 'commercial building permit.'
Frequently asked questions
Yes. The City of Wallace requires a building permit for covered new construction, additions, and alterations under Wallace City Code Chapter 153. Because the entire city is a National Historic Landmark district, exterior work also requires a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Planning & Zoning/Historic Preservation Commission before the building permit can be issued. Apply at Wallace City Hall, 703 Cedar Street, (208) 752-1147.
In Wallace, the published Building Permit / Plan Review Fee is: Not published. These are the jurisdiction's own published figures — see the fee schedule table and source citations on this page.
By Idaho state law (Idaho Code § 39-4117, effective July 1, 2025), the City must give you written notice on whether your residential application is complete within 10 business days of submission (20 business days for commercial). That notice is not the permit approval itself — it only clears the application to move into full plan review, which has no separately published turnaround time. Wallace's contracted Building Official is with the City of Kellogg; call (208) 752-1147 for a project-specific estimate.
You'll need: Building Permit Application; Construction Drawings / Site Plan. Depending on your project, Wallace may also ask for: Certificate of Appropriateness (if exterior work); Building Permit Process and Procedures handout. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.
Apply through City of Wallace — Planning & Zoning / Building Department (building official services contracted to the City of Kellogg) at 703 Cedar Street, Wallace, ID 83873. Phone: (208) 752-1147, email: kristina.larson@wallace.id.gov. Office hours: Mon–Fri 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM (closed holidays). Official information: https://wallace.id.gov/departments/.
Wallace contracts its building official, plan review, and inspection services to the City of Kellogg's Building Department, currently headed by Building Official Keith Teeters. Wallace remains its own legal jurisdiction with its own adopted codes, local amendments, and fee schedule — the shared official does not mean shared fees or shared ordinances.
No. Electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permits in Wallace are issued and inspected by the State of Idaho (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses / Division of Building Safety), not the city. Contact the state at 1-800-955-3044 or dbs.idaho.gov / dopl.idaho.gov.
No. Wallace uses this same Building Permit, under the same Wallace City Code Chapter 153, for both residential and commercial/TI construction — the only difference is which adopted code governs the project (the 2020 State Residential Code for residential occupancies, the 2018 International Building Code for commercial/non-residential occupancies). No distinct commercial or TI application, fee schedule, or process was found in the City's Building Permit Process and Procedures handout or Wallace City Code § 153.001, and the underlying application form is not published online to check for a checkbox split. A commercial project located in the city's National Historic Landmark core will still separately need a Certificate of Appropriateness before this building permit can be issued — that is a distinct historic-preservation review, not a commercial building permit.
Sources & verification
Key facts verified against official sources. Last reviewed 2026-08-02.
Fee schedules
Checklists & handouts
Codes & ordinances
Department & other records
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 Wallace building department before you submit. PermitBase is an independent reference and is not affiliated with any government agency.
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