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Change Of Use Permit (No Standalone Certificate Of Occupancy) in Hardin, Montana

'Change of Use' is an explicit Type of Work checkbox on the same general Application For Building Permit used for all other Hardin building work (confirmed by direct read of the current PDF) -- there is no standalone change-of-use application, fee, or Certificate of Occupancy document published separately by the City. The form additionally requires a mandatory free-text 'detailed description of the project use and occupancy... before application is accepted' regardless of which Type of Work box is checked. For residential property, submit to the City of Hardin Building Department under Hardin's residential Building certification; for commercial property, Hardin's certification does not cover commercial building work at all, so a change-of-use submission routes to the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau's BCP-1 Building Permit/Plan Review Application in Helena instead (same 'Change of Use' checkbox), consistent with this corpus's existing commercial-building-permit-state entry for Hardin. No dedicated 'Certificate of Occupancy' form or process was found among the City's downloadable Permits/Forms PDFs.

Verified 2026-07-22 · Source

When you need this permit

  • Check the 'Change of Use' box under Type of Work on the Application For Building Permit
  • Provide a detailed description of the project's proposed use and occupancy -- the form states this information 'must be submitted' before the application will be accepted, regardless of Type of Work selected
  • Residential-scope change of use: submit to the City of Hardin Building Department (406 N. Cheyenne Ave, or the Citizen Portal)
  • Commercial-scope change of use: submit to the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau (PO Box 200517, Helena, MT 59620-0517, or BuildingPermits.Mt.Gov), since Hardin's own certification does not cover commercial building work
  • No standalone Certificate of Occupancy document or fee was found published by the City -- confirm with the Building Department whether any additional sign-off is issued upon completion

Required documents

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Fee schedule

Change of use / building permit feeNo fixed fee table was found published on hardinmt.com, hardinmontana.info, or the City's Building Permit Application form -- the same publication gap already documented for Hardin's residential-building-permit entry, since Change of Use is processed as a Type of Work option on that same form rather than a separate product. Contact the Building Department at (406) 665-9260 Ext. 106 for a current quote.
Not published — contact the department

Review timeline

Plan review
Not published — contact the department

How long did your Change Of Use Permit (No Standalone Certificate Of Occupancy) permit actually take in Hardin?

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Inspection process

    Tips

    • There is no separate 'change of use permit' or 'Certificate of Occupancy' form in Hardin -- use the same general Application For Building Permit and check 'Change of Use,' with a written description of the new use/occupancy attached.
    • A change of use on a commercial structure does not qualify for Hardin's residential-only Building certification and must be submitted to the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau instead, following the same routing as the commercial-building-permit-state entry.
    • The form requires a written use/occupancy description before it will even be accepted -- have this ready regardless of which Type of Work box you check.

    Frequently asked questions

    Hardin requires a change of use permit (no standalone certificate of occupancy) for: Check the 'Change of Use' box under Type of Work on the Application For Building Permit; Provide a detailed description of the project's proposed use and occupancy -- the form states this information 'must be submitted' before the application will be accepted, regardless of Type of Work selected; Residential-scope change of use: submit to the City of Hardin Building Department (406 N. Cheyenne Ave, or the Citizen Portal); Commercial-scope change of use: submit to the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau (PO Box 200517, Helena, MT 59620-0517, or BuildingPermits.Mt.Gov), since Hardin's own certification does not cover commercial building work; No standalone Certificate of Occupancy document or fee was found published by the City -- confirm with the Building Department whether any additional sign-off is issued upon completion. If your project isn't listed, confirm with City of Hardin Building & Code Department — Building Inspectors Joe Connelly and Nathan McConnell; city-certified for Building (B), RESIDENTIAL ONLY. Commercial building permits, and Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical/HVAC permits of ANY project type, within Hardin city limits are issued directly by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry Building Codes Bureau, not the City. at (406) 665-9260 Ext. 106 before starting work.

    Hardin does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact City of Hardin Building & Code Department — Building Inspectors Joe Connelly and Nathan McConnell; city-certified for Building (B), RESIDENTIAL ONLY. Commercial building permits, and Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical/HVAC permits of ANY project type, within Hardin city limits are issued directly by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry Building Codes Bureau, not the City. at (406) 665-9260 Ext. 106 for current turnaround.

    You'll need: Application For Building Permit (Change of Use checkbox). See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

    Apply through City of Hardin Building & Code Department — Building Inspectors Joe Connelly and Nathan McConnell; city-certified for Building (B), RESIDENTIAL ONLY. Commercial building permits, and Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical/HVAC permits of ANY project type, within Hardin city limits are issued directly by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry Building Codes Bureau, not the City. at 406 N. Cheyenne Ave, Hardin, MT 59034. Phone: (406) 665-9260 Ext. 106, email: jconnelly@hardinmt.com. Office hours: City Administrative Office, 406 N. Cheyenne Ave, Hardin, MT 59034. For Building Inspector questions call (406) 665-9260 Ext. 106 — Joe Connelly (jconnelly@hardinmt.com) or Nathan McConnell (nmcconnell@hardinmt.com). Applications may also be submitted online via the City of Hardin Citizen Portal (hardinmt2.portal.iworq.net).. Official information: http://www.hardinmt.com/Permits-Forms.html.

    Hardin, Montana has adopted: Montana has a mandatory statewide building code administered by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry (DLI) Building Codes Bureau, amended by the Administrative Rules of Montana (ARM) Title 24, Chapter 301. Cities, counties, and towns may become 'certified' to locally administer permitting and inspection for all or part of the code; non-certified trades — and, where a city's Building certification is itself partial (e.g. residential-only), non-certified project types — fall under direct state administration by the DLI Building Codes Bureau. Source: Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau, Certified City, County and Town Programs (bsd.dli.mt.gov/building-codes-permits).; Hardin is a Montana DLI-certified jurisdiction for Building (B), RESIDENTIAL ONLY, within city limits; certified official on file with DLI: Joseph Connolly (listed on City of Hardin's own site as 'Joe Connelly'), (406) 665-9264. Verified directly against the DLI Building Codes Bureau's 'Montana Certified Local Government Program' roster PDF, updated 04/22/2026 (fetched and text-extracted directly from the source PDF): 'Hardin | B (residential only) | Joseph Connolly | 665-9264 | City Limits'. This is a NARROWER certification than the B-only-but-all-project-types pattern seen in Choteau/Conrad/Cut Bank/Glasgow/Lewistown/Red Lodge — Hardin's own certification does not cover COMMERCIAL building work at all, meaning commercial building permits in Hardin route to the state DLI Building Codes Bureau exactly as they would in a non-certified jurisdiction, in addition to Electrical/Plumbing/Mechanical for all project types. Source: https://bsd.dli.mt.gov/_docs/building-codes-permits/certified-city.pdf; Hardin, MT Code of Ordinances, Title 4 Building Regulations, Chapter 1 Building Codes (current through Ord. 2025-04, passed 12-4-2025) contains three sections: 4-1-1 Adoption Of Codes And Regulations, 4-1-2 Building Code Adopted, and 4-1-3 Other Codes Enforced By State Officials — a notably thin chapter (no locally-authored fee schedule or plan-review-timeline section), consistent with a small, partially-certified jurisdiction that enforces state-adopted code editions rather than authoring independent code text or a distinct administrative process. Section 4-1-3's title ('Other Codes Enforced By State Officials') is itself corroborating evidence of the residential-only/state-routed-commercial split described by the DLI roster. Source: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/hardinmt/latest/hardin_mt/0-0-0-994; Per the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau's Current Codes page (statewide effective date June 11, 2022, applicable uniformly to all certified and state-enforced jurisdictions): 2021 IBC, 2021 IRC, 2021 IEBC, 2021 IMC, 2021 IFGC, 2021 IECC, 2021 ISPSC, 2021 UPC, 2020 NEC, 2017 ICC A117.1 Accessibility. Hardin's own Building Permit Application form cites Title 50, Chapter 60, Section 104, MCA and ARM 24.301.131 (the same statutory/administrative basis as the state's own BCP-1 form), consistent with a residential-certified jurisdiction enforcing the state-adopted editions without independently amended local code text. Source: bsd.dli.mt.gov/building-codes-permits/current-codes; City of Hardin Building Permit Application PDF (hardinmontana.info/Building_Permit_application011019.pdf). Local amendments apply — see the Hardin overview page for the full list.

    No standalone Certificate of Occupancy document was found published by the City of Hardin. A change of use is processed by checking 'Change of Use' on the same general Application For Building Permit used for all other building work, along with a required written description of the proposed use and occupancy.

    The Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau in Helena processes change-of-use submissions for commercial structures, since Hardin's own Building certification covers residential work only. Residential-scope change-of-use submissions go to the City of Hardin Building Department.

    Other permits in Hardin

    Residential Building Permit (New Construction / Addition / Alteration / Re-Roof)Accessory Building Permit (Residential and Business)Commercial Building Permit (State-Issued)Electrical Permit (State-Issued)Plumbing Permit (State-Issued, incl. Water Heater)Mechanical / HVAC Permit (State-Issued)Demolition / Building Removal PermitSolar Photovoltaic (PV) PermitEV Charger / EVSE PermitSign Regulations Compliance (No Standalone Sign Permit Published)Fire Sprinkler (Fire Suppression) and Fire Alarm Permit

    Change Of Use Permit (No Standalone Certificate Of Occupancy) in other cities

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