Fire Sprinkler & Fire Alarm Permit in Shelby, Montana

Shelby requires a fire sprinkler & fire alarm permit for: No separate Shelby Municipal Code chapter, application, or fee schedule exists for fire sprinkler or fire alarm permits — confirmed by direct review of Title 8 (Fire Regulations), which contains only the Volunteer Fire Department chapter (8-1-1 to 8-1-13) and a Fireworks chapter, neither of which establishes a permit process; The Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau's certified-jurisdictions roster does not certify a distinct 'Fire' trade for any jurisdiction in Montana (key: B=Building, P=Plumbing, M/G=Medical Gas, E=Electrical, M=Mechanical, SP=Pool, W=Wildland-Urban Interface — no 'F' for Fire exists in the key at all), so fire-suppression-system review in a Building-only-certified city like Shelby routes through the standard Building Permit rather than a distinct fire-authority permit; Fire protection systems (sprinklers, alarms) installed as part of new construction or alteration work are reviewed for code compliance as part of the standard City of Shelby Building Permit application under the state-adopted 2021 IBC/2021 IFC Chapter 9 (Fire Protection and Life Safety Systems), following the same 30-working-day plan review clock documented in this file's residential-building-permit entry (Shelby Municipal Code 10-1-2.C); The Shelby Volunteer Fire Department (non-emergency (406) 450-8924, Chief Ron Buck, per the City's own website) is the local fire-service provider, but the City's live 'Fire Protection' webpage publishes only department contact information — no permit application, inspection process, or fee schedule of its own. If your project isn't listed, confirm with City of Shelby Building Department — Building Official Keith Thaut (per the City's live Building & Zoning page, https://www.shelbymt.com/building, fetched 2026-07-16: 'Keith Thaut Building Inspector'); city-certified for Building (B) permits only. Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical/HVAC permits within Shelby city limits are issued directly by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry Building Codes Bureau, not the City. NOTE: the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau's own certified-jurisdictions roster PDF (updated 04/22/2026) spells the same position 'Ken Thaut' — a name-spelling discrepancy between two current primary sources (city website vs. state roster) that could not be independently resolved as of 2026-07-16; both are cited so nothing is silently reconciled. at (406) 434-5222 before starting work.

Shelby does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact City of Shelby Building Department — Building Official Keith Thaut (per the City's live Building & Zoning page, https://www.shelbymt.com/building, fetched 2026-07-16: 'Keith Thaut Building Inspector'); city-certified for Building (B) permits only. Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical/HVAC permits within Shelby city limits are issued directly by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry Building Codes Bureau, not the City. NOTE: the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau's own certified-jurisdictions roster PDF (updated 04/22/2026) spells the same position 'Ken Thaut' — a name-spelling discrepancy between two current primary sources (city website vs. state roster) that could not be independently resolved as of 2026-07-16; both are cited so nothing is silently reconciled. at (406) 434-5222 for current turnaround.

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

Shelby requires 1 inspection(s) for a fire sprinkler & fire alarm permit, in order: Fire Suppression / Alarm System Inspection (as part of Building Permit inspections). Schedule each through City of Shelby Building Department — Building Official Keith Thaut (per the City's live Building & Zoning page, https://www.shelbymt.com/building, fetched 2026-07-16: 'Keith Thaut Building Inspector'); city-certified for Building (B) permits only. Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical/HVAC permits within Shelby city limits are issued directly by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry Building Codes Bureau, not the City. NOTE: the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau's own certified-jurisdictions roster PDF (updated 04/22/2026) spells the same position 'Ken Thaut' — a name-spelling discrepancy between two current primary sources (city website vs. state roster) that could not be independently resolved as of 2026-07-16; both are cited so nothing is silently reconciled. ((406) 434-5222).

Apply through City of Shelby Building Department — Building Official Keith Thaut (per the City's live Building & Zoning page, https://www.shelbymt.com/building, fetched 2026-07-16: 'Keith Thaut Building Inspector'); city-certified for Building (B) permits only. Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical/HVAC permits within Shelby city limits are issued directly by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry Building Codes Bureau, not the City. NOTE: the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau's own certified-jurisdictions roster PDF (updated 04/22/2026) spells the same position 'Ken Thaut' — a name-spelling discrepancy between two current primary sources (city website vs. state roster) that could not be independently resolved as of 2026-07-16; both are cited so nothing is silently reconciled. at 112 1st Street South, Shelby, MT 59474. Phone: (406) 434-5222. Office hours: Shelby City Hall: contact (406) 434-5222 for all building inspection and ordinance enforcement matters, per the City's current Building & Zoning page (the former 'City Building Inspector' page at /city-building-inspector/ is a 404 as of 2026-07-16 — the City's site re-platformed from a custom/WordPress-style CMS to Wix, and this content now lives at /building). Building Official Keith Thaut is named on that live page; the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau's certified-jurisdictions roster lists the same position as 'Ken Thaut' (see department name note).. Official information: https://www.shelbymt.com/building.

Shelby, 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 in a partially-certified jurisdiction 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).; Shelby is a Montana DLI-certified jurisdiction for Building (B) ONLY within city limits; certified building official on file with DLI: Ken Thaut, (406) 434-5222. Verified directly against the DLI Building Codes Bureau's 'Montana Certified Local Government Program' roster PDF (fetched and text-extracted directly from the primary-source PDF, updated 04/22/2026): 'Shelby | B | Ken Thaut | 434-5222 | City Limits'. Source: https://bsd.dli.mt.gov/_docs/building-codes-permits/certified-city.pdf. NOTE (2026-07-16 re-check): this DLI roster quote is preserved verbatim and re-confirmed current (re-fetched and re-extracted from the same PDF this session, still reading 'Ken Thaut'), but the City of Shelby's own live website (shelbymt.com/building, fetched the same day) spells the position 'Keith Thaut.' This is a genuine discrepancy between two current primary sources that could not be independently resolved — both spellings are recorded rather than one being silently chosen as correct.; Shelby Municipal Code Title 10 (Building Regulations), Chapter 1 (Building Codes), Section 10-1-1 (Adoption Of Model Building And Technical Codes By Administrative Action), last amended by Ordinance 803 (9-20-2010): adopts by reference, through administrative action of the building inspector as authorized by Mont. Code Ann. Section 50-60-301(1)(b), 'the current editions of the building, mechanical and related codes and all accompanying appendices, amendments and modifications adopted by the bureau of building and measurement standards, Montana department of labor and industry (or its successor), as set out in the administrative rules of Montana.' Source: City of Shelby Code of Ordinances, https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/shelbymt/latest/shelby_mt/0-0-0-2417 (section 10-1-1); Per the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau's Current Codes page (statewide effective date June 11, 2022, applicable to all certified and state-enforced jurisdictions alike): 2021 IBC, 2021 IRC, 2021 IEBC, 2021 IMC, 2021 IFGC, 2021 IECC, 2021 ISPSC, 2021 UPC, 2020 NEC, 2017 ICC A117.1 Accessibility. Shelby's own municipal code (Title 10, Chapter 1) adopts the state-published editions by administrative reference rather than authoring independently amended code text, consistent with a small B-only-certified jurisdiction enforcing the state-adopted editions. Source: bsd.dli.mt.gov/building-codes-permits/current-codes. Local amendments apply — see the Shelby overview page for the full list.

No. Shelby Municipal Code Title 8 (Fire Regulations) covers only the Volunteer Fire Department's organization and fireworks — it establishes no sprinkler/alarm permit or fee. Montana's DLI Building Codes Bureau also does not certify a distinct Fire trade for any jurisdiction. Fire-protection-system work is instead reviewed as part of the standard City of Shelby Building Permit under the state-adopted 2021 IBC/IFC.

Contact the City Building Official at Shelby City Hall, (406) 434-5222, for permit and plan-review questions. For local fire-service questions, the Shelby Volunteer Fire Department can be reached at (406) 450-8924 (Chief Ron Buck).