Plumbing Permit (State-Issued, incl. Water Heater) in Pondera County (Unincorporated), Montana

Yes, unless the homeowner exemption applies. Otherwise, a state Plumbing Permit is required for $25, issued by the Montana Building Codes Bureau (not the county), since Pondera County is not plumbing-certified.

In Pondera County (Unincorporated), the published Each NEW water heater (or replacement) is: $25. Additional published fees: Each plumbing fixture or trap — $10 per fixture/trap. These are the jurisdiction's own published figures — see the fee schedule table and source citations on this page.

Pondera County (Unincorporated) does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact Pondera County holds its own narrow Montana DLI certification for BUILDING (B) permits, COMMERCIAL ONLY, with certified official Kyle Harlan, (406) 788-3398. Residential building permits, and ALL Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical/HVAC work anywhere in unincorporated Pondera County, are issued DIRECTLY by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry (DLI) Building Codes Bureau in Helena, not the County. The County's own published administrative structure for its commercial-only local Building program is the Building Inspection Contract Board (an advisory citizen board — members Frosty DeBoo, Ted Kronebusch, Fred Morris, Chad Rambo, 2024-2025 terms) reporting to the Board of County Commissioners; the County does not publish a separate named building-department office, staff building official page, dedicated phone line, or online forms for this commercial-only program distinct from the Commissioners' office. at (406) 271-4000 (Pondera County Commissioners' Office, general line — direct line to the certified Building Inspection Contract Board program not separately published); Kyle Harlan (certified local Building official on file with DLI), (406) 788-3398; Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau (state-enforced residential building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical), (406) 841-2056 for current turnaround.

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

Apply through Pondera County holds its own narrow Montana DLI certification for BUILDING (B) permits, COMMERCIAL ONLY, with certified official Kyle Harlan, (406) 788-3398. Residential building permits, and ALL Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical/HVAC work anywhere in unincorporated Pondera County, are issued DIRECTLY by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry (DLI) Building Codes Bureau in Helena, not the County. The County's own published administrative structure for its commercial-only local Building program is the Building Inspection Contract Board (an advisory citizen board — members Frosty DeBoo, Ted Kronebusch, Fred Morris, Chad Rambo, 2024-2025 terms) reporting to the Board of County Commissioners; the County does not publish a separate named building-department office, staff building official page, dedicated phone line, or online forms for this commercial-only program distinct from the Commissioners' office. at Pondera County Courthouse, 20 4th Avenue SW, Conrad, MT 59425-2343 (Commissioners' Office, Suite 205; the Building Inspection Contract Board is administered through this same office — no separate building-department address is published). Phone: (406) 271-4000 (Pondera County Commissioners' Office, general line — direct line to the certified Building Inspection Contract Board program not separately published); Kyle Harlan (certified local Building official on file with DLI), (406) 788-3398; Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau (state-enforced residential building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical), (406) 841-2056, email: Not published for a dedicated building/planning department; commissioner emails only (e.g., zane.drishinski@ponderacountymt.gov, tom.kuka@ponderacountymt.gov, jim.morren@ponderacountymt.gov) via the Commissioners page; state DLI: buildingcodes@mt.gov. Office hours: Pondera County Commissioners' Office: Monday-Thursday, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM (excluding holidays); Commissioners meet Wednesday mornings at 10:00 AM at the Courthouse. No separate office hours are published for the Building Inspection Contract Board or a dedicated building department.. Official information: https://www.ponderacountymt.gov/building-inspection-contract-board.

Pondera County (Unincorporated), 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 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 (bsd.dli.mt.gov/building-codes-permits).; Pondera County is a Montana DLI-certified jurisdiction for Building (B), COMMERCIAL ONLY, within unincorporated county land; certified building official on file with DLI: Kyle Harlan, (406) 788-3398. Verified two ways: (1) directly against the DLI Building Codes Bureau's own 'Certified City, County and Town Programs' PDF roster by extracting its raw text (pdftotext) rather than relying on a rendered summary — exact row: 'Pondera County B (commercial only) Kyle Harlan 788-3398 County'; and (2) against the DLI's own certified-government web page, which lists the identical entry. Source: https://bsd.dli.mt.gov/_docs/building-codes-permits/certified-city.pdf and https://bsd.dli.mt.gov/building-codes-permits/certified-government; This is a NARROWER certification than the residential-only Building certification held by Deer Lodge County (Anaconda-Deer Lodge) and narrower still than a full multi-trade certification: Pondera County's local program covers ONLY commercial building permits. RESIDENTIAL building permits in unincorporated Pondera County are NOT locally certified and are issued directly by the state DLI Building Codes Bureau, using the same statewide 'Application for Building Permit' (BCP-1, Rev. 11/25) used in any other non-certified area of Montana. Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical/HVAC permits (residential AND commercial) are likewise not locally certified in Pondera County and are issued directly by the state.; Per the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau's Current Codes page (statewide effective date June 11, 2022): 2021 IBC, 2021 IRC, 2021 IEBC, ICC A117.1 (2017 Ed.), 2021 UPC, 2021 IMC, 2021 IFGC, 2021 IECC, 2021 ISPSC, 2021 Wildland Urban Interface Code, 2020 NEC. These are the substantive code baseline for both Pondera County's certified commercial-Building program and the state-enforced residential-building/electrical/plumbing/mechanical trades in unincorporated Pondera County. Source: https://bsd.dli.mt.gov/building-codes-permits/current-codes; Pondera County itself does NOT publish a zoning ordinance covering the unincorporated county (the county is not zoned countywide); it does maintain subdivision regulations and floodplain regulations, administered through the Commissioners' Office and Disaster & Emergency Services page (floodplain/joint-application permits for work in Montana waterways and floodplains). Source: Pondera County Growth Policy website (ponderaportauthority.com/growth.htm) and https://www.ponderacountymt.gov/disasterandemergency. Local amendments apply — see the Pondera County (Unincorporated) overview page for the full list.