Building Permit (Residential & Commercial Construction) in Lovington, New Mexico

Lovington requires a building permit (residential & commercial construction) for: Submit a completed, legible, signed and dated Planning and Zoning Application (basic information for all City permitting applications); Provide proof of ownership or interest in the property — a deed with legal description or property lease; an Affidavit by Property Owner(s) if the applicant is not the owner; Submit site plans for all structural work showing property lines, building dimensions (including height), lot area, lot dimensions, easements, building setbacks, road access points, and location of utilities; Submit a Property Address for the Lea County Enhanced 9-1-1 System (obtained from Lea County Emergency Management, Elisa Millan, emillan@leacounty.net, (575) 391-2983, 1019 E Bender Blvd, Hobbs NM 88240); Submit a Floodplain Determination Letter, obtained by submitting the Lea County E-911 letter to the City Planning and Zoning Coordinator; Submit a complete State building permit (CID) application cover sheet for the City Planner and Floodplain Manager signatures — these must be obtained BEFORE submitting the application to the State; the project must pass the City's preliminary inspection before the City Planner will sign the State permit; Submit an Access permit from NM DOT if the site is on a State-owned highway or road; Call 811 before digging, to locate buried utility lines; Preliminary inspection required: outline the project area with flags/strings/markers and contact the City Planner to verify compliance with setbacks, zoning, and land development requirements; Pay the City Permit Fee (amount determined by City staff at time of application; not a published fixed schedule); Final inspection required after construction to confirm work meets all City requirements. If your project isn't listed, confirm with City of Lovington Planning and Zoning Department at (575) 396-9301 (Planning & Zoning Coordinator Crystal R. Ball, CFM, CZO); (575) 396-2884 (City Hall main line) before starting work.

The City's own Building Permit Application checklist leaves the City Permit Fee amount blank for staff to fill in at the time of application — no fixed fee schedule is published online. The separate State CID permit fee is based on construction type, square footage, materials, and cost; contact a CID field office for a project-specific quote.

Lovington does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact City of Lovington Planning and Zoning Department at (575) 396-9301 (Planning & Zoning Coordinator Crystal R. Ball, CFM, CZO); (575) 396-2884 (City Hall main line) for current turnaround.

You'll need: Planning and Zoning Application; City Building Permit Application (checklist); State Building Permit (CID) Application. Depending on your project, Lovington may also ask for: Affidavit by Property Owner(s). See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

Lovington requires 2 inspection(s) for a building permit (residential & commercial construction), in order: Preliminary Inspection (City), Final Inspection (City). Schedule each through City of Lovington Planning and Zoning Department ((575) 396-9301 (Planning & Zoning Coordinator Crystal R. Ball, CFM, CZO); (575) 396-2884 (City Hall main line)).

Apply through City of Lovington Planning and Zoning Department at 214 S. Love Street, Lovington, NM 88260 (address on the Planning & Zoning Coordinator's own permit-checklist forms and P&Z Application cover sheet; the City's own Departments webpage separately lists the same office at 201 S Main Street, Lovington, NM 88260 — both addresses are published on official city.lovington.org pages as of 2026-07-18, discrepancy not resolved by any further published source). Phone: (575) 396-9301 (Planning & Zoning Coordinator Crystal R. Ball, CFM, CZO); (575) 396-2884 (City Hall main line), email: cball@lovington.org. Office hours: Monday-Thursday 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM, Friday 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM (noon), walk-in basis. Official information: https://www.lovington.org/departments/planning-and-zoning/.

Lovington, New Mexico has adopted: New Mexico is a statewide-code state administered by the Construction Industries Division (CID) of the Regulation and Licensing Department (RLD) under the Construction Industries Licensing Act (CILA), NMSA 1978 Sections 60-13-3 and 60-13-45. City of Lovington Municode Section 15.04.010 adopts by reference 'the state building code also known as the International Conference of Building Officials Uniform Building Code, 2009 or any adopted edition adopted by the State of New Mexico hence forth,' with all conditions, provisions, limitations and terms of the current New Mexico State building code adopted as the City's own building rules and regulations (Ord. 546, 2016; amended during 1992 codification: prior code Section 14-1-1). Unlike the City of Hobbs, Lovington has NOT established its own certified Building Inspection Department to administer the CID-adopted code as a delegated Authority Having Jurisdiction: the City's own Planning and Zoning Department and Building Permit Application checklist explicitly state that 'State building permits are required for the construction, repair or demolition of site-built or modular homes,' covering plumbing, electrical, and structural work — the actual building/electrical/plumbing/mechanical permit is a New Mexico Construction Industries Division (CID) permit, applied for directly with the State after the City Planning & Zoning Coordinator and Floodplain Manager sign a cover sheet confirming zoning, setback, and floodplain compliance.; 2021 New Mexico Commercial Building Code (NMCBC, NMAC 14.7.2) and 2021 New Mexico Residential Building Code (NMRBC, NMAC 14.7.3) — the current statewide editions administered by CID, which supersede the 2009 UBC edition-year text still printed in Lovington Municode 15.04.010 by operation of that same section's 'or any adopted edition adopted by the State of New Mexico hence forth' clause; 2020 New Mexico Electrical Code / 2020 National Electrical Code (NMAC 14.10.4) — the current CID-administered statewide electrical code; Lovington's own Municode Section 15.08.020 separately adopts 'the National Electrical Code, 1956 Edition, as the same are now or may be amended' (Prior code Section 16-1-2) as the basis for the City's own, separately-codified electrical permit and electrical inspector chapter (15.08) — a legacy municipal ordinance whose relationship to the newer City practice of routing electrical work through the State CID permit is not clarified in any published city document; 2021 New Mexico Plumbing and Mechanical Code (NMAC 14.8.2, 14.9.2) — CID-administered statewide; New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, Construction Industries Division rules, laws, and building codes (statewide adoption authority). Local amendments apply — see the Lovington overview page for the full list.

The actual building/electrical/plumbing/structural permit is a New Mexico Construction Industries Division (CID) permit, submitted directly to the State. The City of Lovington Planning and Zoning Department reviews zoning, setbacks, and floodplain compliance first and signs a cover sheet that must accompany the State CID application; the City also performs its own preliminary and final inspections for zoning compliance.