Manhattan building permits

Requirements

• Building permit required for construction of any building or enclosed structure greater than 200 square feet (Town Code 12-1-2.A); bundles plumbing, electrical, and zoning permits into one application
• Application made at the Town Office on a Town-provided form; construction may not start until plans are approved by the Building Official and Zoning Administrator (Town Code 12-1-2.A)
• Two sets of plans required; plans must be stamped by a Montana-licensed design professional if project valuation exceeds $100,000 (Plan Review Check List)
• Plans reviewed and inspections conducted per the rules and procedures of the Bozeman City Building Code Enforcement Division (Town Code 12-1-2.C)
• Applicant pays an administrative processing fee plus the cost of plan review and building inspection per a schedule maintained by the building code inspector and available at the Town Office (Town Code 12-1-2.B) — no fixed dollar amounts are published in the ordinance text or on the Town website
• Permit expires if work is not started within 180 days, or if work ceases for 180 days; one-time 180-day extension available by written request; expired permits renewable for 50% of original fee

Required documents

• RequiredBuilding/Electrical/Mechanical/Plumbing Permit ApplicationTown of Manhattan combined permit application form, submitted at the Town Office
• RequiredPlan Review Check ListTown of Manhattan residential plan review checklist covering plan sets, truss/beam calculations, soils report, setbacks, foundation reinforcement, anchor bolting, egress, smoke/CO detectors, insulation, and ice barrier requirements
• RequiredConstruction DrawingsTwo sets of scaled plans: plot/site plan, floor plan, foundation plan, wall sections, elevations, roof framing plan/truss layout
• OptionalStamped Structural PlansRequired if project valuation exceeds $100,000; must be stamped by a Montana-licensed design professional

Fee schedule

Requirements

• Electrical permit required for installation, change, or repair of hard-wired electrical systems; bundled with the building permit application per Town Code 12-1-2.A ('shall include a plumbing permit, electrical permit, and zoning permit')
• Governed by the current NEC edition as adopted by the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau and incorporated by reference per Town Code 12-1-1
• Application submitted at the Town Office on the combined Building/Electrical/Mechanical/Plumbing Permit Application form
• Manhattan is DLI-certified for Electrical (E) permitting within town limits — permits issued locally, not by the state

Required documents

• RequiredBuilding/Electrical/Mechanical/Plumbing Permit ApplicationCombined Town of Manhattan permit application form covering electrical work

Fee schedule

Requirements

• Plumbing permit required for installation, alteration, or repair of plumbing systems, fixtures, water heaters, gas piping, or sewer/water service lines; bundled with the building permit application per Town Code 12-1-2.A
• Governed by the current Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC) edition as adopted by the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau and incorporated by reference per Town Code 12-1-1 (Montana uses the UPC, not the International Plumbing Code)
• Application submitted at the Town Office on the combined Building/Electrical/Mechanical/Plumbing Permit Application form
• Manhattan is DLI-certified for Plumbing (P) permitting within town limits — permits issued locally, not by the state

Required documents

• RequiredBuilding/Electrical/Mechanical/Plumbing Permit ApplicationCombined Town of Manhattan permit application form covering plumbing work

Fee schedule

Requirements

• Mechanical permit required for installation of heating systems and gas piping, per the Town's list of work requiring a permit ('Heating systems/gas piping (mechanical)')
• Governed by the current Uniform Mechanical Code / IMC and IFGC editions as adopted by the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau and incorporated by reference per Town Code 12-1-1; deals with minimum requirements for heating, cooling, ventilation equipment, and gas piping/pipe types
• Separate permits are required for mechanical systems and for fire suppression systems in addition to the base building permit (per the Town's 'How To Obtain A Building Permit' guide)
• Manhattan is DLI-certified for Mechanical (M) permitting within town limits — permits issued locally, not by the state

Required documents

• RequiredBuilding/Electrical/Mechanical/Plumbing Permit ApplicationCombined Town of Manhattan permit application form covering mechanical work

Fee schedule

Requirements

• Site inspection and permit approval required before installation
• Interior lots: fences may not exceed 6 feet in height; no fence exceeding 4 feet in height within 15 feet of the front property line
• Corner lots: fences may not exceed 6 feet in height; front yard treated as adjacent to interior lot's front yard; no fence exceeding 4 feet within 15 feet of front property line; opaque fencing on an alley may not exceed 4 feet within 15 feet of the property corner; wire fencing may extend to 6 feet on an alley corner
• Same height/location rules apply to hedges and landscaping as to fences
• Electric fences and any fence constructed in whole or part of barbed wire are unlawful
• Property pins must be located/surveyed; owner is responsible for confirming the fence is within the property line and does not extend into the right-of-way
• Call 811 before digging
• All fences require at least two site inspections and an approved Fence Permit

Required documents

• RequiredFence Permit ApplicationTown of Manhattan Fence Permit form requiring owner/contractor info, fence material, height, location, a hand-drawn site plan showing property pins and proposed fence location, and owner signature

Fee schedule

Requirements

• A building permit is required to 'erect, enlarge, alter, repair, move, improve, convert or demolish a building or structure' (Town Code language reflected in the Town's building permit guide)
• Explicitly listed as requiring a permit: 'A building or portion of a structure' (demolition) and 'Any changes which may affect a building, structure or its exterior appearance'
• Application made at the Town Office; construction/demolition may not start until plans are approved by the Building Official and Zoning Administrator

Required documents

• RequiredBuilding/Electrical/Mechanical/Plumbing Permit ApplicationTown of Manhattan combined permit application form, used for demolition permits

Fee schedule

Requirements

• A building permit is required for construction of any building or enclosed structure greater than 200 square feet (Town Code 12-1-2.A); ground-mounted PV arrays exceeding this threshold would require a building permit on that basis, and any PV installation's electrical interconnection independently requires the bundled electrical permit component regardless of footprint
• Application bundles the building, plumbing, electrical, and zoning permit into a single combined application per Town Code 12-1-2.A — there is no separate standalone Solar/Photovoltaic application form published on the Town's Forms page
• Plans reviewed and inspections conducted per the rules and procedures of the City of Bozeman Building Code Enforcement Division (Town Code 12-1-2.C)
• Governed by the current model technical codes (2021 IBC/IRC for structural/racking scope, 2020 NEC for electrical interconnection) as adopted by the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau and incorporated by reference per Town Code 12-1-1
• Two sets of plans required; plans must be stamped by a Montana-licensed design professional if project valuation exceeds $100,000
• Applicant pays an administrative processing fee plus the cost of plan review and building inspection per a schedule maintained by the building code inspector and available at the Town Office (Town Code 12-1-2.B) — no fixed dollar amounts are published in the ordinance text or on the Town website for any permit type, including solar

Required documents

• RequiredBuilding/Electrical/Mechanical/Plumbing Permit ApplicationTown of Manhattan combined permit application form, used for a PV installation's structural/racking and electrical interconnection scope; no dedicated Solar/Photovoltaic checkbox or form exists
• RequiredConstruction Drawings / One-Line Electrical DiagramRacking/structural detail and electrical interconnection diagram consistent with the Town's Plan Review Check List

Fee schedule

Requirements

• Electrical permit required for the EV charger circuit/panel work, bundled with the combined Building/Electrical/Mechanical/Plumbing Permit Application per Town Code 12-1-2.A
• Governed by the current NEC edition (2020 NEC) as adopted by the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau and incorporated by reference per Town Code 12-1-1
• If the installation is a stand-alone circuit/subpanel with no enclosed structure over 200 sq ft, no separate zoning permit applies (per the 200 sq ft threshold in Town Code 12-1-2/10-2-2.A.4); if paired with a new garage or accessory structure, the building-permit threshold and process would also apply to that structural scope
• Application submitted at the Town Office; Manhattan is DLI-certified for Electrical (E) permitting within town limits — permits issued locally by Building Official Brandon Yung, not routed to the state
• Applicant pays an administrative processing fee plus the cost of plan review and building inspection per a schedule maintained by the building code inspector and available at the Town Office (Town Code 12-1-2.B) — consistent with every other permit type in this file, no fixed dollar amounts are published in the ordinance text or on the Town website

Required documents

• RequiredBuilding/Electrical/Mechanical/Plumbing Permit ApplicationCombined Town of Manhattan permit application form; no dedicated EV-charger/EVSE checkbox or form exists

Fee schedule