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Commercial Building Permit (State-Issued) in Colstrip, Montana

Because Colstrip's DLI certification for Building covers RESIDENTIAL work only, any commercial building project within Colstrip city limits — new construction, addition, alteration — requires a Building Permit/Plan Review Application issued directly by the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau in Helena, not by the City of Colstrip, under the 2021 IBC.

Verified 2026-07-04 · Source

When you need this permit

  • Submit a Building Permit/Plan Review Application together with complete construction plans to the Building Codes Bureau
  • Plan review fee is generally 1%-2% of building valuation, calculated by the Bureau after initial screening
  • A state building permit must be obtained before construction begins; starting construction beforehand may result in an investigation fee and required corrective construction
  • Building permits must be issued before related Plumbing, Mechanical, or Electrical permits can be issued or that work can begin
  • Apply in accordance with Title 50, Chapter 60, MCA and ARM Title 24, Chapter 301

Required documents

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Fee schedule

Building Permit/Plan Review FeeMontana DLI Building Codes Bureau, 'Is a State Building Permit Needed?' guidance page — this is the Bureau's own stated fee-calculation method for state-issued building permits, which governs Colstrip's commercial building projects since Colstrip's own certification does not cover commercial building work
Generally 1%-2% of building valuation, calculated by the Building Codes Bureau after screening

Review timeline

Plan reviewColstrip’s published plan-review target
14–21 business days

How long did your Commercial Building Permit (State-Issued) permit actually take in Colstrip?

Anonymous — one question, no email. Answers are combined and only shown once at least 5 people have reported.

Inspection process

  1. 1

    State Inspections

    Permit holder must call the Bureau's building inspector at least 24 hours before a requested inspection; the inspector then has 72 hours from notification to perform it

See the full Colstrip inspection guide — scheduling & re-inspection fees →

Tips

  • Commercial building work anywhere in Colstrip is issued by the STATE Building Codes Bureau, not the city — mail applications to PO Box 200517, Helena, MT 59602, or apply online at BuildingPermits.Mt.Gov.
  • Plan review takes 2-3 weeks on average if plans are complete; incomplete plans or a high Bureau workload can extend this.
  • A state building permit must be fully issued before Plumbing, Mechanical, or Electrical permits for the same commercial project can be issued.

Frequently asked questions

Colstrip requires a commercial building permit (state-issued) for: Submit a Building Permit/Plan Review Application together with complete construction plans to the Building Codes Bureau; Plan review fee is generally 1%-2% of building valuation, calculated by the Bureau after initial screening; A state building permit must be obtained before construction begins; starting construction beforehand may result in an investigation fee and required corrective construction; Building permits must be issued before related Plumbing, Mechanical, or Electrical permits can be issued or that work can begin; Apply in accordance with Title 50, Chapter 60, MCA and ARM Title 24, Chapter 301. If your project isn't listed, confirm with City of Colstrip Code Enforcement Office / Building and Zoning Department (a division of the Colstrip Police Department) — city-certified with the Montana DLI for Building (B), RESIDENTIAL ONLY, per the certified official on file, Russell Murphy. Commercial building permits, and Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical/HVAC permits of ANY project type, within Colstrip city limits are issued directly by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry Building Codes Bureau, not the City. at (406) 748-2300, ext. 2305 (Code Enforcement / Building and Zoning); general City Hall line (406) 748-2300; fax (406) 748-2303 before starting work.

In Colstrip, the published Building Permit/Plan Review Fee is: Generally 1%-2% of building valuation, calculated by the Building Codes Bureau after screening. These are the jurisdiction's own published figures — see the fee schedule table and source citations on this page.

Colstrip's published plan-review target for a commercial building permit (state-issued) is 14–21 business days.

You'll need: Building Permit/Plan Review Application; Construction Plans. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

Colstrip requires 1 inspection(s) for a commercial building permit (state-issued), in order: State Inspections. Schedule each through City of Colstrip Code Enforcement Office / Building and Zoning Department (a division of the Colstrip Police Department) — city-certified with the Montana DLI for Building (B), RESIDENTIAL ONLY, per the certified official on file, Russell Murphy. Commercial building permits, and Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical/HVAC permits of ANY project type, within Colstrip city limits are issued directly by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry Building Codes Bureau, not the City. ((406) 748-2300, ext. 2305 (Code Enforcement / Building and Zoning); general City Hall line (406) 748-2300; fax (406) 748-2303).

Apply through City of Colstrip Code Enforcement Office / Building and Zoning Department (a division of the Colstrip Police Department) — city-certified with the Montana DLI for Building (B), RESIDENTIAL ONLY, per the certified official on file, Russell Murphy. Commercial building permits, and Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical/HVAC permits of ANY project type, within Colstrip city limits are issued directly by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry Building Codes Bureau, not the City. at 12 Cherry St., Colstrip, MT 59323. Phone: (406) 748-2300, ext. 2305 (Code Enforcement / Building and Zoning); general City Hall line (406) 748-2300; fax (406) 748-2303, email: Not published on the City of Colstrip website; use the general Contact page web form (cityofcolstrip.com/contact). Office hours: City Hall, 12 Cherry St., Colstrip, MT 59323. Code Enforcement Office handles Building and Zoning permitting; per the City's own Building and Zoning page, allow 2-3 days' advance notice when calling the Code Enforcement Office to schedule a building inspector site visit. No individual staff name/email for the current code enforcement/building inspector position is published on the City's site as of this review (the Montana DLI certified-jurisdiction roster lists Russell Murphy as the certified official on file, phone 853-5084).. Official information: https://www.cityofcolstrip.com/building-zoning.

Colstrip, 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, where a city's Building certification is itself partial (e.g. residential-only), non-certified project types — 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).; Colstrip is a Montana DLI-certified jurisdiction for Building (B), RESIDENTIAL ONLY, within city limits; certified official on file with DLI: Russell Murphy, (406) 853-5084. Verified directly against the DLI Building Codes Bureau's 'Montana Certified Local Government Program' roster PDF (fetched and text-extracted directly from the source PDF): 'Colstrip | B (residential only) | Russell Murphy | 853-5084 | City Limits'. As with Hardin and Anaconda-Deer Lodge, this residential-only certification does NOT cover commercial building work, meaning commercial building permits in Colstrip route to the state DLI Building Codes Bureau exactly as they would in a non-certified jurisdiction, in addition to Electrical/Plumbing/Mechanical for all project types. Source: https://bsd.dli.mt.gov/_docs/building-codes-permits/certified-city.pdf; Colstrip, MT Code of Ordinances, Title 7 Building Regulations, Chapter 1 Building Codes contains seven sections: 7-1-1 Adoption; 7-1-2 Type Of Structures Governed By Colstrip Building Codes, Type Of Structures Exempted; 7-1-3 Code Enforcement Officer; 7-1-4 Procedures For Administration And Enforcement; 7-1-5 Schedule Of Construction And Inspection Fees; 7-1-6 Appeal Procedure; 7-1-7 Employees Inspecting, Reviewing Plans, Approving Structures And Installation. Directly fetched and text-extracted via browser-header curl (codelibrary.amlegal.com blocks default fetch tools with a 403). Source: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/colstripmt/latest/colstrip_mt/0-0-0-1489; Colstrip Municipal Code 7-1-4.C.1 (Ord. 02-02, 6-25-2002, eff. 7-25-2002), directly fetched and text-extracted: 'the code enforcement officer shall review the application and plans to determine whether the proposed activity complies with the uniform building code, uniform mechanical code, and other applicable codes and regulations... The code enforcement officer shall complete the review and act to issue or deny the building permit within thirty (30) days of submittal of a complete application.' Section 7-1-4.C.2 adds: 'The code enforcement officer may, in certain cases, request the assistance of the Montana building code bureau, or other state agency or professional consultant in reviewing a building permit application. In such a case, the code enforcement officer must act on issuing or denying a building permit within forty (40) days of submittal of a complete application.' This is a genuine, codified LOCAL review-timeline figure for Colstrip's own residential building permit — 30 days standard, 40 days if state/professional-consultant assistance is requested. Source: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/colstripmt/latest/colstrip_mt/0-0-0-1532; Per the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau's Current Codes page (statewide effective date June 11, 2022, applicable uniformly to all certified and state-enforced jurisdictions): 2021 IBC, 2021 IRC, 2021 IEBC, 2021 IMC, 2021 IFGC, 2021 IECC, 2021 ISPSC, 2021 UPC, 2020 NEC, 2017 ICC A117.1 Accessibility. Colstrip's own Residential Building Permit Application (a locally-authored one-page form, not a reformatted state BCP-1) does not itself cite specific code-edition years, but Colstrip Municipal Code 7-1-4.C.1 explicitly directs review against 'the uniform building code, uniform mechanical code, and other applicable codes and regulations' — i.e., the state-adopted editions administered under ARM Title 24, Chapter 301. Source: bsd.dli.mt.gov/building-codes-permits/current-codes; Colstrip Municipal Code 7-1-4. Local amendments apply — see the Colstrip overview page for the full list.

The Montana Department of Labor & Industry Building Codes Bureau issues commercial building permits for Colstrip — the city's own Building certification covers residential work only. Plan review averages two to three weeks if plans are complete, and the fee is generally 1%-2% of building valuation.

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