Darby building permits
VerifiedDepartment contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Darby, Montana.
Last verified 2026-07-03 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- 101 E Tanner Ave / PO Box 37, Darby, MT 59829
- Phone
- (406) 821-3753
- darbymontana@usa.net
- Office hours
- Town Hall: Monday-Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm. Source: Town of Darby Contact Us page (darbymt.net/a/contact-us/). Building permit applications and fee payment are handled in person at Town Hall; the current contracted building inspector is Construct Montana, LLC, (406) 552-3238, inspector@constructmt.com; the Montana DLI-certified program contact of record is Tim Netzley, (406) 961-2423 (also listed as (406) 880-5832 on the Town's own Building Permit Application form).
- Website
- Official site
Codes adopted
Montana adopts a single statewide building code by rule and, by default, enforces it directly — local governments only gain enforcement authority once the state certifies them. Under the Montana Building Codes Act (Mont. Code Ann. Title 50, Chapter 60), the Department of Labor & Industry's Building Codes Bureau adopts one state building code applicable everywhere (§ 50-60-203, codified further at Administrative Rules of Montana Title 24, Chapter 301) — currently the 2021 editions of the IBC, IRC, IMC, IFGC, IECC, IEBC, ISPSC, and UPC, with the 2020 NEC for electrical (effective statewide since 6/11/2022 per the Bureau's own Current Codes page). A city, county, or town may adopt and enforce its own building-code program under § 50-60-301, but its adopted code "may include only codes adopted by the Building Codes Bureau" — a local edition can never diverge from or be less stringent than the state's. Critically, under § 50-60-302, a local government cannot enforce ANY building code — even one it has formally adopted — until the Bureau certifies its program (requiring an approved code, a published fee schedule, an enforcement plan, and properly licensed or nationally certified inspectors); certification is granted per TRADE, not as one blanket designation. The Bureau's own "Certified City, County and Town Programs" list uses the key B=Building, P=Plumbing, E=Electrical, M=Mechanical, SP=Pool, W=Wildland-Urban-Interface — a jurisdiction can be certified for Building only while Electrical/Plumbing/Mechanical remain directly state-enforced within the same city limits (e.g., Havre, Anaconda-Deer Lodge), or certified across all trades (e.g., Billings, Missoula, Great Falls, Bozeman, Helena, Kalispell). Non-certified jurisdictions — most of Montana's unincorporated county land, since very few counties appear on the certified list — fall under direct enforcement by the state Building Codes Bureau (§ 50-60-304). Montana also exempts private homes and buildings of four or fewer dwelling units not serving transient guests from the state building-permit requirement entirely, though electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permits remain separately required regardless. Always confirm with the specific jurisdiction which trades it is certified for versus which remain directly state-enforced.
- 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; a certified local program's adopted code 'may include only codes adopted by the Building Codes Bureau' (ARM 24.301.202). 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 page (bsd.dli.mt.gov/building-codes-permits/certified-government).
- Darby is a Montana DLI-certified jurisdiction for Building (B), Plumbing (P), Mechanical (M), Electrical (E), and Swimming Pool (SP) — full trade certification — within Darby town limits ('City Limits' jurisdiction scope). Certified program contact on file with DLI: Tim Netzley, (406) 961-2423. Verified directly against the DLI's official 'Certified City, County and Town Programs' roster PDF (updated 2026-04-22): row reads 'Darby | B, P, M, E, SP | Tim Netzley | 961-2423 | City Limits'. Source: https://bsd.dli.mt.gov/_docs/building-codes-permits/certified-city.pdf
- The Town's own Building Permit Application states: 'All work shall conform to the most current building codes - IBC, IRC, IEBC, ISPSC, IECC, NEC, IMC, IFGC, UPC and Montana A.R.M; and applicable local codes' and 'Electrical, Plumbing, Mechanical permits are applied for and inspected by Town of Darby, effective September 16, 2021.' Source: Town of Darby Building Permit Application (amended 2022-03-23), https://www.darbymt.net/a/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Building-Permit-Application-amended-2022-03-23.pdf
- Montana uses the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC), not the International Plumbing Code — confirmed on Darby's own Plumbing Permit Application, which requires a licensed Master Plumber 'in accordance with Title 50, Chapter 60, Section 505, MCA and Sections 8.70.302, 8.70.303, 8.70.304, and 8.70.305 ARM' and states 'All provisions of the Uniform Plumbing Codes and the International Building codes will be strictly enforced.' Source: Town of Darby Plumbing Permit Application (2023-08-22), https://www.darbymt.net/a/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Plumbing-Permit-Final-TOD-2023-08-22.pdf
- State-adopted code editions in effect statewide since June 11, 2022 (per DLI Building Codes Bureau, applicable as the baseline Darby enforces as a certified jurisdiction): 2021 IBC, 2021 IRC, 2021 IEBC, 2021 IMC, 2021 IFGC, 2021 IECC, 2021 UPC, 2020 NEC, 2021 ISPSC. Source: Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau, Current Codes page, https://bsd.dli.mt.gov/building-codes-permits/current-codes. Darby's own permit application does not list specific code-edition years locally; no local re-adoption ordinance/administrative order text was found published online (Town Hall does not publish a codified municipal code online) beyond the applications' own reference to 'most current building codes'.
Permit types & fees
Building Permit (New Construction, Addition, Alteration, Repair)
Required for new construction, additions, alterations, repairs, mobile home placement, re-roofing, demolition, and other structural work in the Town of Darby. Reviewed against the IBC, IRC, IEBC, ISPSC, IECC, NEC, IMC, IFGC, and UPC as adopted statewide and enforced locally by Darby as a Montana DLI-certified jurisdiction (certified for Building, Plumbing, Mechanical, Electrical, and Swimming Pool). Applications are submitted in person at Town Hall.
Electrical Permit
Required for new construction, renovation, or repair of electrical systems within the Town of Darby. Darby is a Montana DLI-certified jurisdiction for electrical permitting and has applied for and inspected electrical permits directly (rather than routing to the state) effective September 16, 2021.
Plumbing Permit
Required for new construction, remodel/alteration, or addition involving plumbing systems within the Town of Darby, governed by the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC) and Montana statute (Title 50, Chapter 60, Section 505, MCA; ARM 8.70.302-8.70.305). Darby is a Montana DLI-certified jurisdiction for plumbing permitting and applies for/inspects plumbing permits directly, effective September 16, 2021.
Mechanical / HVAC Permit
Required for new construction, renovation, or repair of mechanical (HVAC) systems within the Town of Darby. Darby is a Montana DLI-certified jurisdiction for mechanical permitting and applies for/inspects mechanical permits directly, effective September 16, 2021.
Solar PV Permit (via Town Electrical Permit)
Darby is a Montana DLI-certified jurisdiction for Electrical permitting (effective September 16, 2021) and self-administers electrical permits directly rather than routing to the state. The Town's own Electrical Permit Application (2021) — the same form and valuation-based fee table used for all electrical work in Darby — does not contain a distinct solar/photovoltaic/alternative-energy line item or checkbox; a residential or commercial solar PV interconnection is therefore billed under the Town's general valuation-based Electrical Permit, with racking/structural attachment covered by the Town's Residential Building Permit (Darby also holds full B, P, M, E, SP certification).
Electric Vehicle Charging Station Permit (via Town Electrical Permit)
Darby is a Montana DLI-certified jurisdiction for Electrical permitting (effective September 16, 2021) and self-administers electrical permits directly rather than routing to the state -- the same mechanism documented in this file's electrical-permit and solar-pv-permit entries. The Town's own Electrical Permit Application (2021), the same form and valuation-based fee table used for all electrical work in Darby, does not contain a distinct EV charger/EVSE line item or checkbox; an EV charger installation is therefore billed under the Town's general valuation-based Electrical Permit, with no separate EV-specific permit or fee. Re-chased 2026-07-20: directly re-fetched and confirmed the Town's live Electrical Permit Application PDF still hosts this exact same fee table verbatim, so it remains the real, currently-effective governing figure for this permit.
Sign Permit (via Town Building Permit)
Required for installing or replacing a sign within the Town of Darby. Darby publishes no separate sign-permit application form or standalone sign ordinance; a sign is filed as a flat-fee line item on the Town's general Building Permit process (the same application and in-person submission at Town Hall used for all other structural/building work), per the Town's own Building Permit Fee Schedule.
Change of Use Permit (via Town Building Permit)
Required when a building's occupancy or use classification changes within the Town of Darby. Darby publishes no separate change-of-use application form or standalone certificate-of-occupancy process; a change of use is filed as a flat-fee line item on the Town's general Building Permit process (the same application and in-person submission at Town Hall used for all other structural/building work), per the Town's own Building Permit Fee Schedule.
Fire Sprinkler / Fire Alarm Permit
No dedicated local fire-sprinkler or fire-alarm permitting process is published by the Town of Darby. Darby's Montana DLI trade certification (verified via the DLI's Certified City, County and Town Programs roster, cited elsewhere in this file) covers Building (B), Plumbing (P), Mechanical (M), Electrical (E), and Swimming Pool (SP) only -- it does NOT include Fire Protection (FP), the trade category DLI uses for fire-suppression/sprinkler work. The Town's own Building Permit Fee Schedule contains no fire, sprinkler, or alarm line item. Fire service in Darby is provided by the Darby Volunteer Fire Department (contracted service, non-emergency (406) 821-3100, 500 N. Main Street), but no published plan-review or permit process for fire sprinkler/alarm systems was found on the Town's site, and the department's own website (darbyfire.com) returned an HTTP 404 error on direct fetch during this review.
New residential construction activity
New privately-owned residential construction onlyHousing units authorized by building permits for new privately-owned residential construction — this is not total permit volume (no commercial permits or remodels).
- Latest month (2026-05)
- No data reported
- Trailing 12 months
- No data reported
- Year to date (2026 YTD)
- No data reported
- Full year 2025
- 5units
5 buildings · $740,000 valuation
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey (BPS), 2026-05 vintage. Census survey data — separate from the permit-requirements verification above. All Montana building activity
Tips & gotchas
- Darby is a Montana DLI-certified jurisdiction for Building, Plumbing, Mechanical, Electrical, AND Swimming Pool (B, P, M, E, SP) — full trade certification, verified directly against the DLI's official 'Certified City, County and Town Programs' roster (bsd.dli.mt.gov/_docs/building-codes-permits/certified-city.pdf, updated 2026-04-22): row reads 'Darby | B, P, M, E, SP | Tim Netzley | 961-2423 | City Limits'. This means Darby issues and inspects ALL of these trade permits itself within town limits — applicants do not need to contact the state DLI Building Codes Bureau.
- Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical permitting were brought fully in-house by the Town effective September 16, 2021 (stated on the Town's own Building Permit Application) — prior to that date these trades may have routed to the state; any records or discussion predating September 2021 should be treated as potentially describing a different (state-administered) process.
- The Town's current contracted building inspector is Construct Montana, LLC, (406) 552-3238, inspector@constructmt.com. The certified-program contact of record with the state DLI is Tim Netzley, (406) 961-2423 (also listed as (406) 880-5832 directly on the Town's Building Permit Application form) — there are two valid phone numbers on file for Netzley across sources; both are reported here rather than silently picking one.
- Only four permit types are published by the Town: Building, Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical. No separate application forms or fee line items were found for swimming pool/spa permits (despite SP certification), accessory structures/sheds, decks, or water heaters specifically — these scopes likely fall under the general Building Permit (which has flat fees for re-roof, siding, demolition, sign, fence, and change-of-use) or the trade-specific permits, but a distinct published SP/deck/water-heater permit record does not exist on the Town's site as of this review. Do not infer separate fee schedules for these — none were published.
- reviewTimelineDays is null with reviewTimelineVerified:false for all four permit types. Chase trail: (1) Town's Building Permit Information page — no timeline stated; (2) Building Permit Application PDF — no timeline stated; (3) Fee Schedule PDF — no timeline stated; (4) Contact Us / Government pages — no timeline stated; (5) Wayback Machine — no snapshot exists for the Darby building-code page; (6) direct web search for Darby-specific turnaround language — no result; (7) considered the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau's published 3-week average review timeline as a possible governing statutory fallback, but that figure explicitly applies only to state-administered (non-certified) jurisdictions per the DLI's own Building Permits FAQ page, and Darby is fully certified and self-administers — applying the state figure here would misattribute it. Genuinely unpublished; omission over invention.
- Address discrepancy note: some third-party directory sites (not official Darby government sources) list Town Hall at '508 North Main Street.' The address confirmed directly from the Town's own Contact Us page AND from the Town's own permit application forms (Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing) is consistently '101 E Tanner Ave / PO Box 37, Darby, MT 59829' — the official-source address was used, and the third-party '508 North Main Street' figure was rejected as unverified.
- Fee-table figure flagged unresolved rather than guessed: the Building Permit Fee Schedule PDF lists a 'Permit Renewal — percentage of original fee' line item and a 'Fence (no fee if under 6 feet)' line item whose exact dollar/percentage values could not be cleanly parsed from the source PDF's table column alignment (pdftotext -layout produced ambiguous row/column association for these two rows specifically). Reported as unresolved in the fee notes for the Building Permit entry rather than fabricated.
- Montana runs a mandatory statewide building code (ARM Title 24, Chapter 301) administered by the DLI Building Codes Bureau; Darby's certification allows it to locally enforce all trades covered (B, P, M, E, SP) rather than routing any of them to the state, unlike many smaller Montana towns certified for Building-only.