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Building Permit — Commercial Building (New Construction / Addition / Remodel / Tenant Improvement) — Townsend, Montana · Requirements sheet
Reviewed 2026-08-26 · Source: https://townsendmontana.net/
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.
Building Permit — Commercial Building (New Construction / Addition / Remodel / Tenant Improvement) in Townsend, Montana
Required for new commercial and industrial construction, additions, remodels, and tenant improvements within Townsend city limits. The City's Montana DLI certification is for Building (B) generally, not split into residential and commercial programs, so Building Official James Schauber reviews commercial work under the 2021 IBC the same way he reviews one- and two-family construction under the 2021 IRC. The City of Townsend publishes no commercial-specific application form, fee schedule, or plan-review timeline; contact Building Official James Schauber, (406) 431-8319, directly. Electrical, plumbing, and mechanical work on a commercial building within Townsend city limits is issued directly by the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau in Helena, since Townsend's certification does not extend to those three trades.
Reviewed 2026-08-26 · Source
When you need this permit
- Permit required for new commercial/industrial construction, additions, remodels, and tenant improvements within Townsend city limits
- Contact Building Official James Schauber, (406) 431-8319, to initiate the permit application and plan review process — no self-service online application or downloadable PDF form is published by the City
- Reviewed against the 2021 International Building Code (IBC) as the statewide-adopted edition (effective June 11, 2022, per Administrative Rules of Montana Title 24, Chapter 301) and enforced locally by Townsend's certified building official
- Electrical, plumbing, and mechanical scopes on a commercial project are filed separately with the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau (Helena), not the City, because Townsend's certification covers only Building and Swimming Pool
Required documents
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Fee schedule
Commercial Building Permit Fee (new construction, addition, remodel, tenant improvement)
No fee schedule is published by the City of Townsend, after checking townsendmontana.net (homepage, Notices & Information, Contact Us pages) and townsendmt.com (Forms, Applications, Taxes page). Show full citationHide
No fee schedule is published by the City of Townsend, after checking townsendmontana.net (homepage, Notices & Information, Contact Us pages) and townsendmt.com (Forms, Applications, Taxes page). A PDF titled 'Building Permit Fee Schedule' surfaced under a Revize-hosted URL containing the word 'townsend,' but the document names a Building Commissioner (Robert Garside), an approval by a Board of Selectmen, and a 978-area-code office line — markers of Townsend, Massachusetts, not Townsend, Montana — so it was not used. Contact Building Official James Schauber, (406) 431-8319, for the current fee.Not published — contact the department
Commercial Plan Review FeeNo plan-review fee or percentage distinct from the building permit fee is published by the City of Townsend. Contact Building Official James Schauber, (406) 431-8319.
Not published — contact the department
Review timeline
Plan review
Not published — contact the department
Inspection process
Tips
- Townsend has no separate commercial building-permit application — commercial new construction, additions, remodels, and tenant improvements are permitted by Building Official James Schauber under the same certified Building (B) program that reviews residential work, since Townsend's DLI certification is not split by occupancy.
- A 'Building Permit Fee Schedule' PDF found online under a URL containing the word 'townsend' is a Townsend, Massachusetts document (Building Commissioner Robert Garside, Board of Selectmen approval, 978 area code) and does not apply to Townsend, Montana.
- Fire protection systems required by the 2021 IBC (sprinklers, alarms) on a commercial project are reviewed as part of the Building Permit rather than through a separate fire-department process — see the Fire Sprinkler & Fire Alarm System Permit permit type for the underlying authority analysis.
- Electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permits for a commercial project are issued by the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau in Helena, the same trade split that applies to residential work in Townsend.
Frequently asked questions
Townsend requires a building permit — commercial building (new construction / addition / remodel / tenant improvement) for: Permit required for new commercial/industrial construction, additions, remodels, and tenant improvements within Townsend city limits; Contact Building Official James Schauber, (406) 431-8319, to initiate the permit application and plan review process — no self-service online application or downloadable PDF form is published by the City; Reviewed against the 2021 International Building Code (IBC) as the statewide-adopted edition (effective June 11, 2022, per Administrative Rules of Montana Title 24, Chapter 301) and enforced locally by Townsend's certified building official; Electrical, plumbing, and mechanical scopes on a commercial project are filed separately with the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau (Helena), not the City, because Townsend's certification covers only Building and Swimming Pool. If your project isn't listed, confirm with City of Townsend — city-certified for Building (B) and Swimming Pool (SP) only; Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical permits are issued directly by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry Building Codes Bureau. Building Official of record: James Schauber. at (406) 266-3911 (City Office, general); (406) 431-8319 (James Schauber, Building Official) before starting work.
Townsend does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact City of Townsend — city-certified for Building (B) and Swimming Pool (SP) only; Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical permits are issued directly by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry Building Codes Bureau. Building Official of record: James Schauber. at (406) 266-3911 (City Office, general); (406) 431-8319 (James Schauber, Building Official) for current turnaround.
You'll need: Building Permit Application. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.
Apply through City of Townsend — city-certified for Building (B) and Swimming Pool (SP) only; Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical permits are issued directly by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry Building Codes Bureau. Building Official of record: James Schauber. at City of Townsend, 110 Broadway, Townsend, MT 59644 (general city administration); Building Official James Schauber, (406) 431-8319 (also principal of Schauber Surveying, Inc., 64 Jack Farm Rd, Townsend, MT 59644). Phone: (406) 266-3911 (City Office, general); (406) 431-8319 (James Schauber, Building Official), email: kari@townsendmontana.net (City Clerk/Treasurer Kari Williams); jenny@townsendmontana.net (Deputy Clerk Jenny Barnett). Office hours: City Office, 110 Broadway, Townsend, MT 59644 — Monday-Wednesday 7:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Thursday 7:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., Friday 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., per the City of Townsend Contact Us page. No separate published office hours were found for the Building Official specifically; contact James Schauber directly at (406) 431-8319.. Official information: https://townsendmontana.net/.
Townsend, 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 (building, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, swimming pool, WUI, etc.); non-certified trades within a certified jurisdiction, and all trades in non-certified areas, fall under direct state administration by the DLI Building Codes Bureau. Source: Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau, Certified City, County and Town Programs and Current Codes pages (bsd.dli.mt.gov/building-codes-permits).; Townsend is a Montana DLI-certified jurisdiction for Building (B) and Swimming Pool (SP) ONLY within Townsend city limits — James Schauber is the certified building official of record, (406) 431-8319. Townsend is NOT certified for Electrical (E), Plumbing (P), or Mechanical (M); those permits are issued directly by the state DLI Building Codes Bureau for all addresses within Townsend city limits. Source: Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau, 'CITY CODES BUILDING OFFICIAL PHONE JURISDICTION' certified-jurisdictions PDF (https://bsd.dli.mt.gov/_docs/building-codes-permits/certified-city.pdf), updated 04/22/2026 — Townsend row reads 'B, SP / James Schauber / 431-8319 / City Limits'; independently cross-confirmed against the DLI 'Certified City, County and Town Programs' HTML page (bsd.dli.mt.gov/building-codes-permits/certified-government), same B, SP result. Legend on the PDF: B = Building, P = Plumbing, M/G = Medical Gas, E = Electrical, M = Mechanical, SP = Pool, W = WUI (Wildland-Urban Interface).; The City of Townsend's website (townsendmontana.net) publishes no building-permit application form, fee schedule, or online permitting portal. Its public-facing content states only that 'The City has adopted Building Codes, has a building inspector and Zoning' and that permits are required for 'building, large repairs, roofing, installing fences, etc.' No city-specific Construction Permit Application PDF — of the kind East Helena publishes — appears on townsendmontana.net or on the Chamber and community site townsendmt.com, so contact the City directly for the application form and the fee amounts. Source: City of Townsend homepage, https://townsendmontana.net/; Townsend Notices & Information, https://townsendmontana.net/notices-information/.; 2021 International Building Code (IBC) — statewide edition effective June 11, 2022, adopted by the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau and enforced locally within Townsend by its DLI-certified building official for the Building trade. Source: Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau, Current Codes page, bsd.dli.mt.gov/building-codes-permits/current-codes.; 2021 International Residential Code (IRC) — statewide edition effective June 11, 2022, applicable to one- and two-family dwelling construction within Townsend city limits under the city's certified Building program. Source: Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau, Current Codes page.; 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) — statewide edition effective June 11, 2022, applicable to new construction reviewed under Townsend's local Building program. Source: Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau, Current Codes page.; 2021 International Existing Building Code (IEBC), 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code (ISPSC), and 2017 ICC A117.1 Accessibility Standard — statewide editions effective June 11, 2022, applicable within Townsend as the locally-enforced editions for the Building and Swimming Pool trades the city is certified for. Source: Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau, Current Codes page.; 2021 International Mechanical Code (IMC), 2021 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC), 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC), and 2020 National Electrical Code (NEC) all apply within Townsend city limits as the statewide-adopted editions (effective June 11, 2022) but are administered directly by the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau (Helena), not the City of Townsend, because Townsend holds no local certification for those trades. Source: Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau, Current Codes page; DLI Building Codes Bureau Electrical/Plumbing/Mechanical Permits pages.. Local amendments apply — see the Townsend overview page for the full list.
City of Townsend Building Official James Schauber, (406) 431-8319. Townsend's Montana DLI certification covers Building (B) generally rather than a residential-only or commercial-only scope, so the same certified program reviews both.
No. The City of Townsend publishes no fee schedule for commercial or residential building permits. A similarly named fee-schedule PDF found online is from Townsend, Massachusetts, not this jurisdiction. Contact Building Official James Schauber, (406) 431-8319, for the current fee.
It is part of the Building Permit. Montana's certified-jurisdictions list has no distinct fire trade code, so no Montana city is separately certified for fire-system plan review. Absent a documented delegation to the Townsend City Volunteer Fire Department or the Broadwater County Rural Fire District, fire protection systems required by the 2021 IBC are reviewed by Building Official James Schauber as part of the general Building Permit, under the statewide default-authority rule at ARM 24.301.146.
Sources & verification
Key facts verified against official sources. Last reviewed 2026-08-26.
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 Townsend building department before you submit. PermitBase is an independent reference and is not affiliated with any government agency.
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