Residential Building Permit (New Construction / Addition / Alteration) — Wallace, Idaho · Requirements sheet
Reviewed 2026-07-23 · 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 2026-07-23 · 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
Required documents
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Fee schedule
Review timeline
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
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 as of this verification. 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).
Frequently asked questions
Sources & verification
Key facts verified against official sources. Last reviewed 2026-07-23.
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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