Certificate of Occupancy / Change of Use Permit in Artesia, New Mexico

Yes. Per City Code Sec. 9-13-4, no change in the use or occupancy of land, nor any change of use or occupancy in an existing building (other than for single-family dwelling purposes), may be made until a certificate of occupancy has been issued by the building inspector/code enforcement officer. Source: City of Artesia Code of Ordinances 9-13-4.

No standalone Certificate of Occupancy fee is published. For new construction/additions, the Certificate of Occupancy is issued as the final step of the Building Permit process already paid for under the Building Permit Fee schedule; no distinct change-of-use fee line item appears in any of the City's three published fee schedules (Building, Electrical, Plumbing/Mechanical).

Artesia does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact City of Artesia Community Development Department -- Planning & Zoning Division / Building Inspection (self-administering city building department; permits are issued directly by the City, not routed through the NM Construction Industries Division) at (575) 748-8298 (Planning & Zoning / Permit Technician Elida Martinez); Don Plotner, Res. Building/Plumbing/Mechanical Inspector (listed elsewhere on the City site as 'Chief Building Official'), (575) 748-8295; Fire Marshal Brenden Harvey (575) 746-5051 for the fire-department sign-off required on many non-1-and-2-family-home permits for current turnaround.

You'll need: Certificate of Occupancy Application; Final Trade Inspection Approvals. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

Artesia requires 1 inspection(s) for a certificate of occupancy / change of use permit, in order: Final General Construction Inspection. Schedule each through City of Artesia Community Development Department -- Planning & Zoning Division / Building Inspection (self-administering city building department; permits are issued directly by the City, not routed through the NM Construction Industries Division) ((575) 748-8298 (Planning & Zoning / Permit Technician Elida Martinez); Don Plotner, Res. Building/Plumbing/Mechanical Inspector (listed elsewhere on the City site as 'Chief Building Official'), (575) 748-8295; Fire Marshal Brenden Harvey (575) 746-5051 for the fire-department sign-off required on many non-1-and-2-family-home permits).

Apply through City of Artesia Community Development Department -- Planning & Zoning Division / Building Inspection (self-administering city building department; permits are issued directly by the City, not routed through the NM Construction Industries Division) at Planning & Zoning physical address per the City's current Building Permits and Building Inspection webpages: 15 E Compress Rd., Artesia, NM 88210 (mailing: PO Box 1310, Artesia, NM 88211-1310). Note: the City's own materials are not fully consistent on this point -- the City's live FAQ (artesianm.gov/Faq.aspx?QID=199 and related Q's) separately states 'the Permit office is located at 119 S Roselawn STE 303,' and the Building Permit Application form and several plan-requirement/policy PDFs (Community Development Department letterhead) list 801 W. Bush Ave. / 801 Bush St., Artesia, NM 88210. All three addresses appear on current or recently-dated official City of Artesia materials; confirm the current in-person intake location by phone before visiting.. Phone: (575) 748-8298 (Planning & Zoning / Permit Technician Elida Martinez); Don Plotner, Res. Building/Plumbing/Mechanical Inspector (listed elsewhere on the City site as 'Chief Building Official'), (575) 748-8295; Fire Marshal Brenden Harvey (575) 746-5051 for the fire-department sign-off required on many non-1-and-2-family-home permits, email: buildingpermits@artesianm.gov. Office hours: Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Fax: (575) 746-8502. Plan reviews are conducted on Tuesdays and Thursdays specifically, per the City's own Residential and Commercial Permit Application Procedure documents.. Official information: https://www.artesianm.gov/280/Building-Permits.

Artesia, New Mexico has adopted: The City of Artesia Code of Ordinances, Title 8 'Building Regulations,' Chapter 1 'Building Codes; Fees' (current through Ord. O-1135, passed 8-13-2024, per amlegal.com's currency statement), was retrieved and reviewed section-by-section this pass via codelibrary.amlegal.com. Sec. 8-1-1 (Building Code) and Sec. 8-1-2 (Residential Code) each provide: 'The city adopts by this section all conditions, provisions, limitations and terms of the latest edition of the building [or residential] code adopted by the state, and all amendments thereto' (Ord. 911, 2-12-2013) -- i.e., a dynamic, 'latest edition adopted by the state' reference rather than a fixed year, the same self-administering pattern independently verified for Carlsbad (also in Eddy County). Sec. 8-1-3 (Plumbing and Mechanical Code) adopts, in the same dynamic language, 'the latest edition of the plumbing and mechanical code adopted by the state' (Ord. 911, 2-12-2013). Source: City of Artesia Code of Ordinances 8-1-1, 8-1-2, 8-1-3, codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/artesianm/latest/artesia_nm/; Because Sec. 8-1-1/8-1-2/8-1-3 reference the state's currently-adopted codes rather than a fixed edition, the operative statewide-minimum codes Artesia currently enforces are the same current CID-enforced cycle independently verified for Carlsbad (per CID's Building Permit Guide for Residential Construction, rev. 10/2024, and NMAC Title 14): 2021 New Mexico Commercial Building Code (based on 2021 IBC) -- NMAC 14.7.2; 2021 New Mexico Residential Building Code (based on 2021 IRC) -- NMAC 14.7.3; 2021 New Mexico Residential Energy Conservation Code -- NMAC 14.7.6 (effective 7/30/2024); 2021 New Mexico Commercial Energy Code -- NMAC 14.7.9 (effective 7/30/2024); 2021 New Mexico Existing Building Code -- NMAC 14.7.7; 2021 New Mexico Plumbing Code -- NMAC 14.8.2; 2021 New Mexico Mechanical Code -- NMAC 14.9.2; 2020 New Mexico Electrical Code (based on 2020 NEC) -- NMAC 14.10.4. Separately, the City's own 'Residential Building Permit Guide' plan-submittal PDF (DocumentCenter/View/54) still lists a stale 'APPLICABLE CODES' block naming the 2009 NM Commercial/Residential Building Code, 2009 IBC/IRC, 2009 NM Energy Conservation Code, 2009 NM Plumbing and Mechanical Code, and a 2014 NM Electrical Code -- the same 'un-updated legacy PDF text vs. dynamic ordinance clause' pattern already documented for Carlsbad's Chapter 8; the dynamic ordinance language controls, not the stale PDF table. Source: City of Artesia 'Residential Building Permit Guide,' artesianm.gov/DocumentCenter/View/54; NM RLD/CID Building Permit Guide for Residential Construction, rev. 10/2024 (rld.nm.gov); Sec. 8-1-4 (Fire and Safety Codes) separately and specifically adopts 'the international fire code, 2015 edition, including appendices B, C and D' with City-specific amendments to Sections 101.1 (jurisdiction name insert), 109.4 (violation = misdemeanor, $500, 90 days), 105.7 (Required Construction Permits, rewritten), 105.7.9 (Gates/Fences/Barricades near fire apparatus roads/hydrants), 105.7.13 (Fire Hydrants), 105.7.19 (Means of Egress, added), and 105.7.20 (Demolitions, added: 'A permit is required for the demolition of any structure ... including but not limited to, buildings, fire department access roads, bridges, or towers'). Source: City of Artesia Code of Ordinances 8-1-4, codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/artesianm/latest/artesia_nm/; Sec. 8-1-7 (Existing Building Code) adopts 'all conditions, provisions, limitations and terms of the latest edition of the International Existing Building Code adopted by the State, and all amendments thereto; known as the New Mexico Existing Building Code (NMEBC)' (dated 2019 in the ordinance history). Sec. 8-1-9 (National Electrical Code) and Sec. 8-1-10 (National Electric Safety Code) each separately adopt 'the latest edition' of those national documents (Ord. 911, 2-12-2013), while Sec. 8-1-11 (State Electrical Code and Electrical Safety Code) separately adopts 'the New Mexico Electrical Code (14.10.4 NMAC)' (Ord. 911, 2-12-2013) -- three overlapping electrical-code sections as codified, rather than a single citation. Source: City of Artesia Code of Ordinances 8-1-7, 8-1-9, 8-1-10, 8-1-11, codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/artesianm/latest/artesia_nm/; Sec. 8-1-8 (Property Maintenance Code) adopts the International Property Maintenance Code, 2018 edition (Ord. 1045, 1-8-2019), with an extensive table of City-specific amendments, including Sec. 102.7 ('All references in the IPMC to the International Building Code shall be deemed references to the latest edition of the New Mexico Commercial Building Code (NMCBC)' and parallel deeming clauses for NMRBC/NMEBC/NMPC/NMMC/NMEC/NMECC) and Sec. 103.2/103.3 designating the City's Chief Building Official as 'the code official' and the City's code enforcement officer, building inspector, and planning and zoning administrator as deputies. Source: City of Artesia Code of Ordinances 8-1-8, codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/artesianm/latest/artesia_nm/; Sec. 8-1-6 (Fees) provides that 'The City Council shall establish by resolution a schedule of fees, charges and expenses for building, plumbing, mechanical and electrical permits and inspections,' rather than codifying the fee tables directly in the ordinance text -- this matches the three standalone fee-schedule PDFs published on the City's own Fees page (artesianm.gov/279/Fees), each headed 'Municipal Code Title 8 Chapter 1' but carrying no printed effective date of their own. Source: City of Artesia Code of Ordinances 8-1-6; Building Permit Fee (PDF), Electrical Permit Fee (PDF), and Plumbing Mechanical Permit Fee (PDF), artesianm.gov/279/Fees. Local amendments apply — see the Artesia overview page for the full list.