Ely building permits

Building department

Address

501 Mill Street, P.O. Box 299, Ely, NV 89301

Phone

(775) 289-6500 / (775) 289-2430

Email

buildingofficial@cityofelynv.gov

Office hours

Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-5:00 PM. City of Ely Building Department, 501 Mill Street, Ely, NV 89301 (mailing: P.O. Box 299, Ely, NV 89301). Fax (775) 289-1463. Building Official: Christopher Flannery (buildingofficial@cityofelynv.gov). The Building and Planning Department is jointly operated with White Pine County (Building & Planning Dept. Manager Jennifer Drew-Lesher, jdrew@whitepinecountynv.gov) and uses a shared City of Ely/White Pine County Building Permit Application form. Source: City of Ely Building Department & Building Codes page; Building Permit Application (joint form).

Website

Official site

Inspection guide

See how inspections work in Ely — sequence, scheduling & re-inspection fees.

Codes adopted

Nevada does not mandate a single statewide building code edition. Under NRS 278.580, the governing body of each city or county may adopt its own building code, specifying design, soundness, and materials of structures, together with rules and ordinances for enforcement — a home-rule framework in which each jurisdiction selects and amends its code independently. There is no state-mandated IBC or IRC edition. The one statewide floor is for energy: under NRS 701.220, the Governor's Office of Energy (GOE) is required to adopt the most recently published edition of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) on a triennial basis. Upon adoption by GOE, local governments must incorporate that edition as the minimum energy standard and may adopt higher or more stringent requirements. GOE adopted the 2024 IECC, effective August 18, 2024, pursuant to NAC 701.185. Because building code editions, local amendments, and energy code effective dates vary by jurisdiction across Nevada, always confirm the current adopted edition and any local amendments with your specific city or county before submitting plans.

• Nevada is a home-rule state for building codes: there is no single mandatory statewide building-code edition — each city and county adopts and amends its own code. The only genuine statewide floor is the energy code: Nevada's Energy Assurance/building energy standards reference the IECC, and NRS 701.220 directs the State to adopt and update energy efficiency standards for new construction. Always confirm the specific adopted edition for the city or county in question rather than assuming a uniform statewide building code. Source: Nevada Legislature NRS Chapter 701 (State Office of Energy).
• City of Ely Municipal Code Title 9, Chapter 1, Section 9-1-1 (Building Code Adopted, Ordinance 746, adopted 8-18-2022): 'The City of Ely hereby adopts the International Building Code (IBC), 2018 edition, including all appendices as published by the International Code Council as the building code for the City of Ely.' Source: Ely Municipal Code 9-1-1, American Legal Publishing code library.
• International Residential Code (IRC), 2018 edition, as identified on the City of Ely Building Department & Building Codes webpage. Source: City of Ely Building Department and Building Codes page.
• Uniform Mechanical Code, 2018 edition, as identified on the City of Ely Building Department & Building Codes webpage. Source: City of Ely Building Department and Building Codes page.
• Uniform Plumbing Code, 2018 edition, as identified on the City of Ely Building Department & Building Codes webpage. Source: City of Ely Building Department and Building Codes page.
• International Fire Code, 2018 edition, as identified on the City of Ely Building Department & Building Codes webpage. Source: City of Ely Building Department and Building Codes page.
• National Electric Code (NEC), 2011 edition, as identified on the City of Ely Building Department & Building Codes webpage. Source: City of Ely Building Department and Building Codes page.
• International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), 2018 edition, as identified on the City of Ely Building Department & Building Codes webpage. Source: City of Ely Building Department and Building Codes page.
• At least one copy of the operative building code is on file in the office of the Ely City Clerk for use and examination by the public, per Ely Municipal Code 9-1-1(B). Source: Ely Municipal Code 9-1-1.

Permit types & fees

• Residential Building Permit (New Construction)

  Required for construction of a new single-family dwelling within Ely city limits. Reviewed against the 2018 IRC and 2018 IBC as adopted by the City of Ely, applying the City's published design criteria (frost depth, seismic zone, wind speed, soil bearing capacity). Submitted on the joint City of Ely/White Pine County Building Permit Application.

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• Residential Addition / Remodel Permit

  Required for room additions, remodels, and structural alterations to existing residential dwellings in Ely, using the same joint City of Ely/White Pine County Building Permit Application and Building Permit Package checklist used for new construction, with 'Addition' or 'Alteration' checked as the class of work.

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• Electrical Permit

  Required for electrical installation, alteration, or repair work in Ely, governed by the 2011 National Electric Code (NEC) as identified on the City of Ely Building Department & Building Codes webpage. Applied for using the joint City of Ely/White Pine County Building Permit Application, which requires the electrical contractor's name, address, State License Number, and City License Number.

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• Plumbing Permit

  Required for plumbing installation, alteration, or repair work in Ely, governed by the Uniform Plumbing Code, 2018 edition, as identified on the City of Ely Building Department & Building Codes webpage. Applied for using the joint City of Ely/White Pine County Building Permit Application, which requires the plumbing contractor's name, address, State License Number, and City License Number.

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• Mechanical / HVAC Permit

  Required for furnace, boiler, air-conditioning, and other mechanical installations in Ely, governed by the Uniform Mechanical Code, 2018 edition, as identified on the City of Ely Building Department & Building Codes webpage. Applied for using the joint City of Ely/White Pine County Building Permit Application, which requires the mechanical contractor's name, address, State License Number, and City License Number.

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• Residential Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Permit

  Rooftop or ground-mount residential solar PV installation within Ely city limits is not a separately named permit type — it is covered by the City's general building-permit trigger language ('to erect, install, enlarge, alter, repair, remove, convert or replace any electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system'), per the City's own How Do I/FAQ page, and is reviewed under the 2018 IBC/IRC (structural/mounting scope) and the 2011 NEC (electrical/interconnection scope) as identified on the City's Building Department & Building Codes webpage. No solar-specific application, checklist, or fee line is published by the City of Ely.

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• EV Charger / EVSE Permit (No Dedicated Type — Fee Schedule Unpublished)

  Installation of a Level 2 (or higher) electric vehicle charger/EVSE within Ely city limits is not a separately named permit type — like solar PV, it is covered by the City's general building-permit trigger language ('to erect, install, enlarge, alter, repair, remove, convert or replace any electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system'), per the City's own How Do I/FAQ page, and is reviewed under the 2011 NEC (Article 625, Electric Vehicle Power Transfer System) as identified on the City's Building Department & Building Codes webpage. No EV-charger-specific application, checklist, or fee line is published by the City of Ely; no dollar-amount fee schedule is published for any permit type at all — Ely Municipal Code 9-1-5 ties fees to the 1997 Uniform Administrative Code fee table, which is not published online. Re-chased exhaustively 2026-07-20: since Ely's building permits are jointly administered with White Pine County, additionally checked the County's own Building page, Building Permit Procedures & Applications page, Building Code Design Criteria Information page, the County's downloadable 'Customer Building Permit Procedures' PDF (read directly, full text extracted), and the County's Building FAQ -- none publish a dollar-figure fee schedule or a numeric review timeline; the County's only public statement is 'The cost of permits is based on the valuation of construction' with a phone number to call. This confirms the same gap independently from both the City and County sides of the joint department, not merely an unchecked City-only page.

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• Re-Roofing Permit

  Required for replacement of roof covering on any building in Ely, subject to the City's general building-permit requirement (Ely Municipal Code 12-16-2 / 9-1-1) and the 2018 IBC as adopted.

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• Sign Permit (No Dedicated Type — General Building Permit Applies)

  The City of Ely has no standalone sign ordinance, sign code chapter, or sign-specific permit application. This was confirmed by a section-by-section review of every chapter in Ely Municipal Code Title 3 (Business and License Regulations), Title 4 (Public Health and Safety, Chapter 1), Title 7 (Fire Regulations), Title 8 (Public Ways and Property), Title 9 (Building Regulations), and all 17 chapters of Title 12 (Zoning Regulations) — none contain the word 'sign' outside of unrelated context such as 'sign up for service.' A sign is a 'structure,' so its erection is captured by the City's general building-permit trigger in Ely Municipal Code 12-16-2 ('erection, construction, alteration, enlargement, repair, or conversion of any building or structure'), processed on the same joint City of Ely/White Pine County Building Permit Application used for other general construction, with no sign-specific checklist, size/height standard, or fee line published anywhere by the City or White Pine County.

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• Fire Sprinkler / Fire Alarm Permit (No Dedicated Fee Schedule — Reviewed via Building Permit 'Fire' Line)

  Ely's fire code is adopted entirely by reference: Ely Municipal Code 7-2-1 (Ord. 673, 8-27-2015) states 'the city's fire code shall be as adopted by the state fire marshal pursuant to Nevada Revised Statutes chapter 477 et seq.,' and the City's Building Department & Building Codes webpage separately identifies the specific edition in effect as the 2018 International Fire Code. The Ely City Fire Department (Title 7, Chapter 1) does not administer a separate fire-sprinkler or fire-alarm permit application, checklist, or fee schedule; fire-protection-system work is instead captured within the standard joint City of Ely/White Pine County Building Permit Application, which itemizes a dedicated 'Fire' review-fee line (dollar amount not published) alongside RPC, Health, and Will Serve fee lines, reviewed by the Ely Fire Chief or White Pine County Fire Chief.

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• Change of Use / Certificate of Occupancy (No Standalone Permit — Handled via Building Permit Application)

  The City of Ely does not publish a standalone change-of-use or certificate-of-occupancy application, checklist, or fee schedule. Certificate-of-occupancy provisions are part of the 2018 International Building Code as adopted in full, including all appendices, by Ely Municipal Code 9-1-1 (Ord. 746). In practice, occupancy classification is captured directly on the joint City of Ely/White Pine County Building Permit Application, which includes dedicated 'Occupancy Group' and 'Maximum Occupancy' fields, and any change in use is processed as a standard building permit (checking 'Alteration' or 'Other' as class of work) subject to the zoning-conformance requirement of Ely Municipal Code 12-16-2(D).

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