Informational Building Permit (Minor Residential Work) in East Helena, Montana

Yes, but for qualifying minor residential work (re-siding, roof covering replacement, like-for-like window/door replacement, interior finish work, cabinets/closets) on a building with fewer than 5 dwelling units, East Helena City Code 4-1-13 provides a lower-cost Informational Building Permit with an initial $25.00 fee, rather than the full Construction Permit process.

In East Helena, the published Informational Building Permit (initial fee) is: $25.00. These are the jurisdiction's own published figures — see the fee schedule table and source citations on this page.

East Helena does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact City of East Helena Department of Building & Safety — 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 at (406) 227-5321 for current turnaround.

You'll need: Informational Building Permit Application. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

Apply through City of East Helena Department of Building & Safety — 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 at 306 E. Main Street, PO Box 1170, East Helena, MT 59635. Phone: (406) 227-5321, email: building@easthelenamt.us. Office hours: City Hall, 306 E. Main Street, East Helena, MT 59635 (Administration Department, general questions: (406) 227-5321); Building Official/LEAP staff in Room 201 of City Hall, (406) 457-8583. Official information: https://easthelenamt.us/coeh/planning-zoning-building/.

East Helena, 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).; East Helena is a Montana DLI-certified jurisdiction for Building (B) and Swimming Pool (SP) ONLY within East Helena city limits — Colin Thomas is the certified building official of record, (406) 594-6322. East Helena 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 East Helena 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 — East Helena row reads 'B, SP / Colin Thomas / 594-6322 / 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 East Helena's own Construction Permit Application confirms the split directly: 'Separate permits are required for building, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical work,' and the city's Planning/Zoning/Building webpage links its 'Electrical Permits' quick-link directly to the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau's electrical-permits page (bsd.dli.mt.gov/Building-Codes-Permits/Permit-Information/electrical-permits), not to any city-issued electrical form. Source: City of East Helena Construction Permit Application (PDF), easthelenamt.us/PDF/building_permit.pdf; City of East Helena Planning/Zoning/Building page, easthelenamt.us/coeh/planning-zoning-building/.; 2021 International Building Code (IBC) — statewide edition effective June 11, 2022, referenced directly on the City of East Helena Construction Permit Application (IBC Sec. 109.3 and 109.3.8 quoted verbatim on the inspection-requirements side of the form) and enforced locally by the city's own DLI-certified building official. Source: City of East Helena Construction Permit Application (PDF).; 2021 International Residential Code (IRC) — statewide edition effective June 11, 2022; the City of East Helena's Residential One- and Two-Family Dwellings Plan Submittal Requirements document cites IRC Section R301 and IRC Section R602.10 directly for structural/lateral-bracing plan-review purposes. Source: City of East Helena Residential Plan Submittal Requirements (PDF), easthelenamt.us/PDF/COEH_BuildingPlanSubmittalInfo_2021.pdf.; 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) — statewide edition effective June 11, 2022; East Helena's Plan Submittal Requirements require insulation R-values for foundations, walls, and roofs to be shown on submitted plans. Source: City of East Helena Residential Plan Submittal Requirements (PDF); 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 East Helena 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, bsd.dli.mt.gov/building-codes-permits/current-codes.; 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 East Helena 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 East Helena, because East Helena 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 East Helena overview page for the full list.