Unincorporated San Juan County building permits
VerifiedDepartment contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Unincorporated San Juan County, New Mexico.
Last verified 2026-07-08 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- 209 S. Oliver Dr., Aztec, NM 87410
- Phone
- (505) 334-4313 (Building Division); (505) 334-4550 (Community Development main line, fax (505) 334-3755)
- Office hours
- Monday–Thursday 7:00 AM – 5:30 PM; closed Friday (per the Community Development Department contact block, which the Building Division falls under; a four-day/10-hour county work week). As of July 2026, the County's online SmartGov permitting portal (co-sanjuan-nm.smartgovcommunity.com/Public/Home) is live for application submittal, inspection results, and code enforcement lookups; homeowner permits must still be applied for in person per the portal's own notice.
- Website
- Official site
Inspection guide
See how inspections work in Unincorporated San Juan 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.
Governance model: San Juan County Building Division self-administers building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical/HVAC permitting directly for the unincorporated county, plus Aztec, Bloomfield and Kirtland by service agreement. Show full textShow less
Governance model: San Juan County Building Division self-administers building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical/HVAC permitting directly for the unincorporated county, plus Aztec, Bloomfield and Kirtland by service agreement. It is not a New Mexico Construction Industries Division field-office pass-through for any trade. The County's Building Department page states 'Construction Codes are adopted and amended by the State of New Mexico Construction Industries Division', meaning the substantive code editions track the statewide CID-adopted codes — but the County itself issues, plan-reviews, fee-schedules and inspects all four disciplines using its own application forms, its own fee schedule and its own inspection staff, reachable at (505) 334-4313. There is no CID referral anywhere on the County's Building Department page, so apply to the County for every trade. Source: sjcounty.net Building Department page.
- 2021 New Mexico Commercial Building Code — San Juan County Building Department, Construction Codes list
- 2021 New Mexico Residential Building Code — San Juan County Building Department, Construction Codes list
- 2021 International Residential Code (IRC) — San Juan County Building Department, Construction Codes list
- 2021 International Building Code (IBC) — San Juan County Building Department, Construction Codes list
- 2021 International Existing Building Code (IEBC) — San Juan County Building Department, Construction Codes list
- 2021 New Mexico Energy Conservation Code / 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) — San Juan County Building Department, Construction Codes list; New Residential Permit Application Checklist (rev. 07/19/2023) requires a '2021 IECC Residential Energy Code Compliance Form' with every residential submittal
- ICC/ANSI A117.1-2017 Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities — San Juan County Building Department, Construction Codes list
- 2021 New Mexico Plumbing and Mechanical Code — San Juan County Building Department, Construction Codes list
- 2021 Uniform Mechanical Code (IAPMO) — San Juan County Building Department, Construction Codes list
- 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code (IAPMO) — San Juan County Building Department, Construction Codes list
- 2021 International Fire Code — San Juan County Building Department, Construction Codes list
- 2020 National Electrical Code (NEC), NFPA 70 — San Juan County Building Department, Construction Codes list
- 2020 New Mexico Electrical Code — San Juan County Building Department, Construction Codes list
- 2012 Uniform Solar Energy Code (IAPMO) — San Juan County Building Department, Construction Codes list
- 2012 Uniform Swimming Pool, Spa and Hot Tub Code (IAPMO) — San Juan County Building Department, Construction Codes list
- 2017 NFPA 58 (LP-Gas Code) — San Juan County Building Department, Construction Codes list
- 2018 NFPA 54 (National Fuel Gas Code) — San Juan County Building Department, Construction Codes list
- New Mexico Construction Industries Licensing Act, NMAC 14.6.6 — governs contractor licensing classifications/qualifications statewide; cited on the County's Commercial Buildings Permit Application as the basis for its 'all commercial projects require a licensed contractor' requirement. Source: San Juan County Commercial Buildings Permit Application (rev. 07/31/2023).
Permit types & fees
New Residential Building Permit
Required for new residential construction, additions, and accessory buildings in unincorporated San Juan County. Issued and self-administered directly by the San Juan County Building Division using its own New Residential Permit Application Checklist (rev. 07/19/2023). Covers one- and two-family dwellings, townhouses, and residential accessory structures (detached storage sheds/garages are separately classified as 'Residential Accessory Structures' under the same checklist).
From$45Electrical Permit
Required for electrical service installation, alteration, and repair in unincorporated San Juan County. Self-administered directly by the San Juan County Building Division using its own Electrical Permit Application (rev. 04/11/2023) — not routed through the New Mexico Construction Industries Division.
From$60Plumbing Permit
Required for plumbing fixture, water distribution, sewer/drain, gas piping, and water heater work in unincorporated San Juan County. Self-administered directly by the San Juan County Building Division using its own Plumbing Permit Application (rev. 04/11/2023) — not routed through the New Mexico Construction Industries Division.
From$0.03Mechanical / HVAC Permit
Required for furnace/AC installation or replacement, gas piping, radiant in-floor heat, solar water heating, and ventilation work in unincorporated San Juan County. Self-administered directly by the San Juan County Building Division using its own Mechanical Permit Application (rev. 04/11/2023) — not routed through the New Mexico Construction Industries Division.
From$0.03Roofing / Residing / Windows Permit
Required for re-roofing, exterior residing, and window replacement in unincorporated San Juan County. Self-administered directly by the San Juan County Building Division using its own combined Roofing/Residing/Windows Permit Application.
From$45valuation-basedSolar PV Permit
San Juan County has adopted the 2012 Uniform Solar Energy Code (IAPMO) alongside its other construction codes, and its Electrical Permit Application publishes a distinct 'Solar PV Systems' fee tier ($25/kW for the first 160 kW, then $5/kW thereafter) separate from its general electrical fee schedule. A standard roof-mounted PV installation is typically covered by this Electrical Permit alone; a separate general construction Building Permit is only additionally required when structural reinforcement of the existing roof is necessary, per statewide New Mexico rule 14.5.2.8(F) NMAC (added dead load over 5 psf, point load over 45 lb, or over 200 lb on a single truss/rafter/joist, as determined by a New Mexico-licensed structural engineer).
From$25EV Charger / EVSE Permit
San Juan County self-administers electrical permitting directly (not routed through the New Mexico Construction Industries Division) and does not publish a distinct EV charger/EVSE fee line item on its Electrical Permit Application (rev. 04/11/2023) fee table. The application's itemized fee table has no dedicated EV charger/EVSE category. The most directly applicable published category for a standalone EVSE circuit added without a new/upgraded electrical service is "FEEDER AND BRANCH CIRCUITS," billed by the structure's heated square footage ($0.03/sq ft residential, $0.06/sq ft commercial); if the installation instead requires a new or upgraded electrical service, the county's tiered "ELECTRIC SERVICE" amperage table applies. (Solar PV and Wind Generator installations use a distinct $25/kW-or-fraction rate, which does not apply to EVSE circuits.) Installation must comply with the adopted 2020 NEC (with 2020 New Mexico Electrical Code amendments).
From$0.03Sign Permit
Required for pole, wall, ground/monument, roof, projecting, canopy, marquee, and combination signs in unincorporated San Juan County. Self-administered directly by the San Juan County Building Division using its own one-page Sign Permit Application. The application form itself carries a printed instruction that a 'CITY OF AZTEC, CITY OF BLOOMFIELD OR TOWN OF KIRTLAND APPLICATION MUST ACCOMPANY THIS FORM' — i.e., a sign located within one of those three municipalities' limits requires that municipality's own separate sign/zoning application submitted alongside this county form (consistent with this jurisdiction's documented pattern that Aztec, Bloomfield, and Kirtland retain their own separate Planning & Zoning functions even though they contract building permitting to the County). A sign in the true rural unincorporated county (no zoning) uses this county form alone.
From$45valuation-basedFire Sprinkler & Fire Alarm Permit
Administered by the San Juan County Fire Department / Fire Marshal's Office, a division of San Juan County Fire & Rescue and a separate administering office from the Community Development Building Division that handles building, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permitting here. Plan review and permit fees for automatic fire sprinkler systems, fire alarm systems, special extinguishing systems, standpipe systems, and commercial cooking hood suppression systems are billed per a dedicated fee schedule approved by the San Juan County Commission on June 6, 2011 and still published by the Fire Marshal's Office. Systems must comply with the 2021 International Fire Code adopted county-wide (San Juan County Building Department Construction Codes list), which incorporates NFPA 13/13D/13R for sprinkler design and NFPA 72 for fire alarm design by reference. This is distinct from, and in addition to, the Building Division's own Commercial Buildings Permit Application, which separately lists a 'Fire Department: Applicable to Commercial Construction Only' inspection among its required inspections and requires fire hydrant locations on the commercial site plan — expect the two offices' processes to run in parallel on a commercial project that includes fire protection systems. The Fire Marshal's Office's other published services (public education, Life Fire Safety inspections, fire investigations, smoke detector installs) are oriented toward existing-occupancy life safety rather than new construction, but its fee document itemizes new-system plan review and permit fees for sprinkler, alarm, and suppression work, so this is a real, distinct permit product rather than something folded into the Building Division's process.
From$40.00Change of Occupancy / Certificate of Occupancy
San Juan County does not publish a standalone 'Change of Use' or 'Certificate of Occupancy' permit application separate from its regular Building Permit applications. A Certificate of Occupancy (C/O) is required before any building or premises is used or occupied, and before occupancy under a different classification than shown on an existing C/O, per the statewide baseline at 14.5.3.13 NMAC (Certificates of Occupancy or Final Inspection) and per the county's New Residential Permit Application Checklist, which states that a C/O is required 'before any building/structure is used or occupied, and before any change in occupancy classification' (also recorded in the local amendments). A true change of occupancy classification without new construction is processed through the same Commercial Buildings Permit Application used for new commercial construction, additions, and alterations — marked 'Alteration to Commercial' or 'Other' — rather than through any separate 'change of use' product. The Building Division's Plan Review Requirements language states that contract-price valuation applies only to alterations/repairs 'not requiring a change of occupancy classification,' which implies, without stating outright, that ICC Building Valuation Data (BVD) — the same method used for new construction — would govern valuation when a change of occupancy classification IS involved. Confirm the valuation basis with the Building Division before pricing that work.
From$45valuation-basedCommercial Building Permit
Required for new commercial construction, additions to commercial buildings, alterations to commercial buildings (including tenant improvements), and other commercial work in unincorporated San Juan County. Issued and self-administered directly by the San Juan County Building Division using its own Commercial Buildings Permit Application (rev. 07/31/2023), published with the county's Building Department page (sjcounty.net). This is NOT a New Mexico Construction Industries Division (CID) permit: CID issues building permits directly only where no local building department operates, and San Juan County runs a full-service local program (plan review, issuance, inspections) whose published scope covers the unincorporated county plus Aztec, Bloomfield, and Kirtland; CID's role is limited to adopting the statewide construction codes the county then enforces. The application's four project-type checkboxes (New Commercial Construction / Addition to Commercial / Alteration to Commercial / Other) are the county's entire commercial intake — tenant improvement is NOT a separate permit type, fee schedule, or timeline (see tips). Reflecting the county's San Juan Basin oil/gas economy, the commercial site-plan checklist carries a requirement found on no other application in this jurisdiction: 'Indicate all gas well locations.'
See fee schedule
Unincorporated San Juan County's permit history isn't searchable here yet
This page covers what the permit requires. What we don't have for Unincorporated San Juan County yet is the record of permits actually issued — the history you'd search by street address. That is a gap in our coverage, not a statement about any particular property.
Your email, and the place — never an address. We only use it to tell you when Unincorporated San Juan County lands. Privacy.
New residential construction activity
New privately-owned residential construction onlyHousing units authorized by building permits for new privately-owned residential construction — this is not total permit volume (no commercial permits or remodels).
- Latest month (2026-07)
- 11units
11 buildings · $2M valuation
- Trailing 12 months
- 84units
12 of 12 months reported · #9 in New Mexico coverage by units
- Year to date (2026 YTD through 2026-07)
- 49units
49 buildings · $13.9M valuation
- Full year 2025
- 80units
80 buildings · $24.4M valuation
County-wide figures: BPS reports county-wide totals; this jurisdiction is the unincorporated remainder of San Juan County. The county's own Building Division site states that it 'provides general information regarding the building and permitting process in the unincorporated areas of San Juan County and also includes the City of Aztec and the City of Bloomfield and the Town of Kirtland' — Aztec, Bloomfield and Kirtland contract their building-permit administration to the County Building Division even though they retain their own separate Planning & Zoning functions. The City of Farmington, by contrast, operates its own entirely separate Building Inspection Division and is excluded from the County Building Division's service area. StateFips '35' and countyFips '045' verified against the U.S. Census Bureau's 2020 ANSI county reference file (www2.census.gov/geo/docs/reference/codes2020/cou/st35_nm_cou2020.txt), which lists 'NM|35|045|00936844|San Juan County|H1|A'.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey (BPS), 2026-07 vintage. Census survey data — separate from the permit-requirements verification above. All New Mexico building activity
Tips & gotchas
- San Juan County Building Division (209 S. Oliver Dr., Aztec, NM 87410; (505) 334-4313) covers the unincorporated county PLUS the City of Aztec, City of Bloomfield, and Town of Kirtland by service arrangement — but NOT the City of Farmington, which operates its own separate Building Inspection Division. Confirm which department has jurisdiction over your address before applying.
- Rural (truly unincorporated) areas of San Juan County have NO zoning requirements at all — Planning/Zoning approval is only required if the property sits within Aztec, Bloomfield, or Kirtland town/city limits, per the county's own permit checklists.
- San Juan County self-administers all four trades — building, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical — through its own Building Division. None of them route through the New Mexico Construction Industries Division field office, so file everything with the County.
- The county's own New Residential Permit Application Checklist publishes a 2-week (10 business day) MINIMUM plan-review floor; the Commercial Buildings Permit Application publishes a longer 3-4 week minimum for commercial plan review. Neither figure is published for the standalone trade permits (electrical/plumbing/mechanical/roofing) taken on their own.
- Storage sheds under 120 sq ft (about 10' x 12') do not need a building permit; carports always do, regardless of size, per the Building Department's published FAQ.
- An Addressing Application (from Rural Addressing, (505) 334-4314) should generally be submitted alongside the permit application so 911 response locations can be correctly geo-located; address verification from the relevant municipality is required for any permit at a non-county address.
- San Juan County's online permitting portal is live: permitting.sjcounty.net takes you to the SmartGov 'San Juan County Permitting Portal' at co-sanjuan-nm.smartgovcommunity.com/Public/Home, with citizen and contractor sign-up and log-in, application tracking, inspection results, code enforcement, public notices, and parcel search. The portal notes that homeowner permits must be applied for in person, so the online path is effectively for contractor-pulled permits. The paper and PDF applications on the Building Department page remain valid for in-person and homeowner submittals.
- All permit fees across every discipline (building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical) are explicitly marked non-refundable on the county's own application forms, and each trade application carries its own $75.00 reinspection fee plus a $40 administrative fee (or the building permit's separate valuation-based plan-review fee).
- Mobile home foundation requirements are administered by the State of New Mexico Manufactured Housing Division, not the County Building Division — the county has no jurisdictional authority there, though Floodplain approval and moving permits are still handled by other county departments (Mobile Home Permits: (505) 334-4719 / (505) 330-7156).