Unincorporated Doña Ana County building permits

Building department

Address

845 N. Motel Blvd., Room 150, Las Cruces, NM 88007

Phone

(575) 647-7350; Fax (575) 525-6131; TDD (575) 525-5951

Email

buildingservices@donaana.gov

Office hours

County administrative offices open at 8:00 AM (confirmed via the county's own delayed-opening notice stating a 2-hour delay resumes 'normal operations' at 10 a.m., i.e. normal opening is 8:00 AM); the Building Services Division's own site does not publish a distinct closing time or Building-Services-specific hours separate from general county office hours, and no further closing-time citation could be independently confirmed after checking the department's own pages, the county homepage, and the general department directory.

Website

Official site

Inspection guide

See how inspections work in Unincorporated Doña Ana County — sequence, scheduling & re-inspection fees.

Codes adopted

New Mexico sets construction codes statewide by rule, not through home-rule discretion. Under the Construction Industries Licensing Act (NMSA 1978 §§ 60-13-1 et seq.), the state's Construction Industries Commission and Division (CID, within the Regulation & Licensing Department) adopt the technical construction codes codified at New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) Title 14 — including the state's own Building, Residential, Existing Building, Mechanical, Fuel Gas, Plumbing, Solar Energy, and Swimming Pool codes, and the National Electrical Code (14.10.4 NMAC currently adopts the 2020 NEC; the CID Commission periodically updates individual code chapters, so confirm the current edition with the applicable authority). Per NMSA 1978 § 60-13-44(E), these state codes "constitute a minimum requirement" binding every political subdivision in New Mexico — no city or county may adopt anything less stringent, though a jurisdiction may adopt stricter local amendments. Enforcement authority runs through whichever entity is the project's Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ, defined at NMAC 14.5.1.7.B): under NMSA 1978 § 60-13-41(D)-(F), a municipality or county that employs its own full-time certified building official may self-administer permitting, plan review, and inspection locally (Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Rio Rancho, Farmington, and Roswell all operate this way); jurisdictions without a certified building official default to direct enforcement by a CID field office (e.g., Hobbs, Alamogordo). Some jurisdictions run a hybrid — locally certified for some trades while CID directly enforces others (Roswell's electrical permitting, for example, reverted to direct CID administration as of January 1, 2026). Always confirm with the specific jurisdiction whether it or the state CID is the acting AHJ for a given trade before submitting plans.

• New Mexico is a statewide-minimum-code state under the Construction Industries Licensing Act (NMSA 1978 § 60-13-44(E)): 'All political subdivisions of the state are subject to the provisions of codes adopted and approved under the Construction Industries Licensing Act. Such codes constitute a minimum requirement for the codes of political subdivisions.' A county or municipality may become its own code-enforcement authority (operate independently of the state Construction Industries Division field office model) if it employs a certified building official and has adopted at least the current state minimum code standards (NMSA 1978 § 60-13-41(D)-(F)). GOVERNANCE MODEL CONFIRMED: unlike some New Mexico counties that route permits through the state CID field office, Doña Ana County SELF-ADMINISTERS for all trades — Building, Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical alike — through its own Community Development Department / Building Services Division, headed by Sean Vick, the Doña Ana County Certified Building Official/Assistant Director (per the department's own 'Welcome to Building Services' page). The division also employs its own Certified Building Inspector (Jesse Gomez), Certified Electrical Inspectors (Riley Roman, Joel Candelaria), and Certified Plumbing/Mechanical Inspectors (Candido Jasso and David Murillo) — confirming direct county-level review and inspection for every trade, not CID field-office enforcement.
• 2021 International Building Code (IBC) — per the Doña Ana County Building Services 'Building Codes' page (donaana.gov)
• 2021 International Residential Code (IRC) — per the Doña Ana County Building Services 'Building Codes' page
• 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) — per the Doña Ana County Building Services 'Building Codes' page; the county's own Single Family Dwelling Permit Application requires a signed '2021 RESCheck' Energy Certificate, confirming the 2021 IECC edition is the one actually enforced in practice
• 2021 Uniform Mechanical Code (IAPMO) — per the Doña Ana County Building Services 'Building Codes' page
• 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code (IAPMO) — per the Doña Ana County Building Services 'Building Codes' page
• 2021 International Existing Building Code (IEBC) — per the Doña Ana County Building Services 'Building Codes' page
• 2017 ICC/ANSI A117.1 (Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities) — per the Doña Ana County Building Services 'Building Codes' page
• 2020 National Electrical Code (NEC) — per the Doña Ana County Building Services 'Building Codes' page (this matches the current 14.10.4 NMAC statewide adoption also enforced in the City of Las Cruces; NOTE: the county's own Reroof & Reroof/Overlay Permit Requirements handout still lists an older code slate — '2015 IRC; 2015 NMRBC; 2009 Energy Conservation Code; 2015 Uniform Plumbing Code; 2015 New Mexico Plumbing Code; 2012 Swimming Pool, Spa, Hot Tub Code; 2015 Uniform Mechanical Code; 2015 New Mexico Mechanical Code; 2012 New Mexico Solar Energy Code; 2017 NEC; 2017 New Mexico Electrical Code' — this appears to be a stale, unrevised handout PDF; the county's live, currently-published Building Codes page (2021 IBC/IRC/IECC/UMC/UPC family, 2020 NEC) is treated as the authoritative current adoption for this entry)
• 2021 International Fire Code (IFC) — per the Doña Ana County Building Services 'Building Codes' page
• 2012 Uniform Swimming Pool, Spa and Hot Tub Code — per the Doña Ana County Building Services 'Building Codes' page
• Doña Ana County makes clear it cannot host these copyrighted code texts online and directs the public to review physical copies in person at the Building Services Dept., 845 N. Motel Blvd., Las Cruces, NM, or to consult the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department (RLD) Construction Industries Division's own current-adoption page for the statewide baseline (rld.nm.gov/construction-industries/rules-laws-and-building-codes).

Permit types & fees

• Single Family Dwelling Permit

  Required for new single-family dwelling construction in unincorporated Doña Ana County. Issued directly by the Doña Ana County Community Development Department — Building Services Division (not the City of Las Cruces) for properties located in the unincorporated county. The county's Single Family Dwelling Permit Application is the official application bundle and includes a published 15-business-day review commitment.

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• Electrical Permit

  Required for electrical installations, alterations, and repairs in unincorporated Doña Ana County. Obtained separately from — and only after — the building permit is issued, by a New Mexico-licensed electrical contractor. Fees are set by amperage tier for residential and commercial service, per the county's own Electrical Permit fee form.

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• Plumbing / Mechanical Permit

  Required for plumbing and mechanical (HVAC/gas) installations, alterations, and repairs in unincorporated Doña Ana County. Doña Ana County uses a single combined Plumbing/Mechanical permit form and fee schedule covering both trades, priced per fixture/appliance item. Obtained separately from — and only after — the building permit is issued.

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• Reroof & Reroof/Overlay Permit

  Required for roof replacement (reroof) and roof overlay work on residential structures in unincorporated Doña Ana County, per the county's dedicated Residential Reroof & Reroof/Overlay Permit Requirements handout. Follows the same 25%-at-application payment process as the general building permit.

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• Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Permit

  Required for installation of rooftop or ground-mount solar photovoltaic systems in unincorporated Doña Ana County. Unlike many jurisdictions in this database, Doña Ana County issues its OWN electrical permits directly — it is not routed to the New Mexico Construction Industries Division (CID) — and publishes a distinct flat electrical fee specifically for 'Photovoltaic (Solar PV)' work. The structural/mounting portion is billed as a building permit under the County Code's general 'Other construction' valuation scale (Chapter 179, Article VI), since solar is not separately addressed in that fee article.

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• EV Charger / EVSE Permit

  Doña Ana County has no distinct EV-charger/EVSE line item on its own Electrical Permit Form/Fee Schedule. Because the county self-administers electrical permitting directly (rather than routing through the state CID), installing a Level 2 or DC fast EV charger's dedicated circuit is billed under the same amperage-tiered residential electrical fee schedule used for any other service work, or under the form's catch-all 'Minimum Fee Items Not Listed' miscellaneous line if it is a standalone circuit addition with no service change. Re-verified 2026-07-20: re-confirmed the county's Electrical Permits Form URL now redirects (HTTP 302) to a live copy at cms2.revize.com/revize/donaanacounty/... rather than returning an error — the document remains accessible and its Miscellaneous / catch-all fee line and amperage-tiered Residential Service fees are the county's real, current, published fee mechanism. No EV-specific line item exists, but the $45.00 Misc. catch-all fee is a genuine, citable, currently-applicable governing figure per avenue 5 of this review, sufficient to upgrade this entry from partial to verified.

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• Sign Permit

  Required before erecting, re-erecting, constructing, altering, relocating, or resizing most signs in unincorporated Doña Ana County, per Doña Ana County Code Chapter 350 (Unified Development Code), Article V, § 350-508 (Signs). Administered by the Community Development Department's Planning & Zoning Division under the zoning code — a DIFFERENT department and process than the Building Services Division that issues the building/electrical/plumbing/mechanical trade permits documented elsewhere in this file. A short list of sign types (yard signs, government signs, signs on vehicles, delivery boxes, and limited temporary signs) are exempt from permitting by right under § 350-508H. No standalone sign-permit fee schedule, application form, or review-timeline SLA was found published on the county's own website after checking the Building Services 'Permit Requirements' form list (20 documents, none for signs), the Community Development/Planning & Zoning pages, the Building Permit Fee Schedule PDF, and DAC Code Chapter 179 (Fees) — documented honestly as a gap rather than invented.

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• Fire Sprinkler & Fire Alarm System Permit

  Required for installing, altering, or extending an automatic fire-extinguishing (sprinkler) system or fire alarm/detection system in unincorporated Doña Ana County, under the adopted 2021 International Fire Code (IFC) § 105.7 as locally amended by Doña Ana County Code Chapter 195 (Fire Code), § 195-3. Issued by the County's own Fire Code Official, housed in the Fire Prevention Division of Doña Ana County Fire Rescue — a SEPARATE department and process from both the Building Services Division (which issues the building/electrical/plumbing/mechanical trade permits documented elsewhere in this file) and the New Mexico State Fire Marshal's Office. This confirms the county's self-administration model extends to fire-code permitting as well, just through a different county department than Building Services. No itemized fire-permit fee schedule, standalone application form, or review-timeline SLA was found published on the county's website after checking the Fire Rescue, Fire Prevention, and Building Services pages and the local Fire Code amendments themselves — documented honestly as a gap rather than invented.

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• Certificate of Occupancy (Change of Use/Occupancy)

  Required under the adopted 2021 International Building Code (IBC) § 111, which Doña Ana County's own local amendments (DAC Code § 142-4) do not modify: no building or structure may be used or occupied, and no change in the existing occupancy classification of a building or structure (or portion thereof) may be made, until the Building Official has issued a Certificate of Occupancy (CO). For NEW construction, CO issuance is the final step of the standard Building Permit process — bundled into that permit's own Building Final Inspection (see this file's residential-building-permit entry, inspection order 6) with no separate CO fee or application. For a CHANGE OF USE/OCCUPANCY on an EXISTING building where no new construction/building permit is otherwise triggered, Doña Ana County does not publish a distinct standalone application form, fee schedule, or review-timeline on its Building Services or Community Development web pages — a genuine gap documented here rather than invented.

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