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Commercial Building Permit in Artesia, New Mexico

Required for new commercial construction, additions, and alterations to commercial buildings within Artesia city limits. Filed on the same universal Building Permit Application, but requires three (3) sets of plans and three (3) plot plans rather than the two required for residential work, and requires a contractor holding a current GB98 New Mexico Construction Industries Division license.

Verified 2026-07-18 · Source

When you need this permit

  • Complete a Building Permit Application, submitted with three (3) copies of complete building plans and three (3) plot plans
  • Contractor must possess a current and valid GB98 contractor license issued by the New Mexico Construction Industries Division and must sign the permit application Contractor
  • Zoning approval from the City of Artesia or Eddy County may be required prior to submitting the building permit application
  • Plans scaled to 1/4in = 1ft, submitted in three sets; submission of an additional single-file digital copy is recommended by the City to expedite review
  • Cover sheet must annotate applicable codes and design criteria: building construction type (IBC Chapter 6), occupancy group/mixed occupancies (IBC Chapter 3), occupant load (IBC Chapter 10, Table 1004.1.1), allowable area calculations, exiting requirements, plumbing fixture requirements (IBC Chapter 29), applicable fire sprinklers, height/number of stories, and land use zone
  • Structural calculations covering the entire structural system (wind, roof, floor, and snow loads) must be provided
  • A separate septic-tank permit from the local New Mexico Environment Department office is required if an individual liquid-waste system is being modified or installed

Required documents

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Fee schedule

Building Permit Fee -- valuation-based (same schedule as residential)City of Artesia Building Permit Fee schedule, artesianm.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1763 -- the City publishes a single valuation-based Building Permit Fee table applicable to both residential and commercial building permits; no separate commercial-only fee table was located
$50.00 minimum (valuation $1,000) scaling to $400.00 at $100,000, plus $1.00 per additional $1,000 over $100,000

Review timeline

Plan reviewArtesia’s published plan-review target
2+ business days

How long did your Commercial Building Permit permit actually take in Artesia?

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

Inspection process

  1. 1

    Foundation

    Foundation and footing inspection consistent with the submitted structural calculations and geotechnical report

  2. 2

    Frame

    After framing, fire-rated assemblies, and rough electrical/plumbing/mechanical trades are complete and approved

  3. 3

    Final

    Final building, fire, and trade inspections; Certificate of Occupancy issued once all inspections are finaled

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

Tips

  • Commercial plan submittals require three (3) sets of plans and three (3) plot plans -- one more set than residential -- and the retained plan set stays with the City Fire Marshal and Planning Department rather than being returned to the applicant.
  • A commercial contractor must hold a current GB98 New Mexico Construction Industries Division license; the same 'Homeowner Permit' track available for residential work does not apply to commercial projects.
  • New commercial buildings additionally require a fire-flow review by the Fire Marshal per the City's 'Do I Need A Permit?' chart.

Frequently asked questions

Artesia requires a commercial building permit for: Complete a Building Permit Application, submitted with three (3) copies of complete building plans and three (3) plot plans; Contractor must possess a current and valid GB98 contractor license issued by the New Mexico Construction Industries Division and must sign the permit application; Zoning approval from the City of Artesia or Eddy County may be required prior to submitting the building permit application; Plans scaled to 1/4in = 1ft, submitted in three sets; submission of an additional single-file digital copy is recommended by the City to expedite review; Cover sheet must annotate applicable codes and design criteria: building construction type (IBC Chapter 6), occupancy group/mixed occupancies (IBC Chapter 3), occupant load (IBC Chapter 10, Table 1004.1.1), allowable area calculations, exiting requirements, plumbing fixture requirements (IBC Chapter 29), applicable fire sprinklers, height/number of stories, and land use zone; Structural calculations covering the entire structural system (wind, roof, floor, and snow loads) must be provided; A separate septic-tank permit from the local New Mexico Environment Department office is required if an individual liquid-waste system is being modified or installed. If your project isn't listed, confirm with 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 before starting work.

In Artesia, the published Building Permit Fee -- valuation-based (same schedule as residential) is: $50.00 minimum (valuation $1,000) scaling to $400.00 at $100,000, plus $1.00 per additional $1,000 over $100,000. These are the jurisdiction's own published figures — see the fee schedule table and source citations on this page.

Artesia's published plan-review target for a commercial building permit is 2+ business days.

You'll need: Building Permit Application; Commercial Plans Checklist (3 sets). See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

Artesia requires 3 inspection(s) for a commercial building permit, in order: Foundation, Frame, Final. 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.

Three (3) complete sets of building plans and three (3) plot plans, versus two of each for residential permits. Submitting an additional single-file digital copy is recommended by the City to expedite review. Source: City of Artesia, artesianm.gov/DocumentCenter/View/61.

Sources & verification

Verified against official sources. Last reviewed 2026-07-18.

Fees, timelines, and adopted codes are researched from each jurisdiction's published records — see how we verify. Requirements change and vary by project, so always confirm the current details with the Artesia building department before you submit. PermitBase is an independent reference and is not affiliated with any government agency.

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