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Retaining Wall Permit in Syracuse, Utah

Required in Syracuse for retaining walls 4 feet or more in height, measured from the bottom of footing, per the official 'When Do I Need a Building Permit?' guidance. Walls under 4 feet are exempt.

Reviewed 2026-07-07 · Source

When you need this permit

  • Retaining walls 4 feet or more in height (measured from bottom of footing) require a building permit
  • Retaining walls under 4 feet are exempt from a building permit

Required documents

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This checker covers one permit. A full project usually triggers several — our paid checklist will assemble all of them, from $29

Fee schedule

Filing fee
Not published — contact the department

Review timeline

Plan review
Not published — contact the department

How long did your Retaining Wall Permit permit actually take in Syracuse?

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

Inspection process

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

    Tips

    • Only the 4-foot height threshold (from the bottom of footing) triggers the building-permit requirement for a retaining wall in Syracuse — this matches the general Utah pattern seen in other Davis/Utah County cities.

    Frequently asked questions

    Syracuse requires a retaining wall permit for: Retaining walls 4 feet or more in height (measured from bottom of footing) require a building permit; Retaining walls under 4 feet are exempt from a building permit. If your project isn't listed, confirm with Syracuse City Building Department (Community & Economic Development Department) at 801-825-1477, option 4 (Building Inspections Scheduling); Building Department direct line 801-614-9670 before starting work.

    Syracuse does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact Syracuse City Building Department (Community & Economic Development Department) at 801-825-1477, option 4 (Building Inspections Scheduling); Building Department direct line 801-614-9670 for current turnaround.

    You'll need: Building Permit Application (CivicReview online portal). See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

    Apply through Syracuse City Building Department (Community & Economic Development Department) at 1979 W 1900 S, Syracuse, UT 84075. Phone: 801-825-1477, option 4 (Building Inspections Scheduling); Building Department direct line 801-614-9670. Office hours: Not published on the official Building Department page as of 2026-07-07; permit applications are submitted digitally via the CivicReview online portal rather than in person.. Official information: https://www.syracuseut.gov/160/Building.

    Syracuse, Utah has adopted: 2024 International Building Code (IBC) — Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(a); CURRENT as of 7/1/2026 (confirmed by direct fetch of the live statute 2026-07-16). Supersedes the 2021 IBC, which governed through 6/30/2026. Matches Syracuse's own Building Department page (live-checked via browser 2026-07-16), which lists '2024 IBC' among its currently-adopted codes.; 2021 International Residential Code (IRC) — Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(b); UNCHANGED by the 7/1/2026 code cycle (confirmed by direct statute fetch 2026-07-16). NOTE (2026-07-16 city-page discrepancy): Syracuse's own Building Department page (syracuseut.gov/160/Building), live-checked via browser 2026-07-16, states verbatim: 'Syracuse City has adopted minimum design and construction requirements found in the 2024 IBC, IPC, IMC and IRC, as well as the 2023 NEC (Please note, starting July 1, 2026, the state of Utah will be adopting the 2024 International Building Codes, IBC, IPC, IMC, IFC, IFGC, IEBC, and IECC, while the International Residential Code (IRC) will remain 2024, and the National Electrical Code (NEC) will remain 2023).' The city's own page appears to have an error here, listing IRC as 2024 both currently and going forward. Utah is a statewide-mandatory-code state — Utah Code § 15A-1-204 requires the state and every political subdivision to follow the State Construction Code, and a municipality cannot unilaterally adopt a different IRC edition than the state. This JSON follows the statute (2021 IRC, confirmed directly against the live Utah Code) rather than propagating the city page's apparent error; the discrepancy is recorded here rather than silently corrected on the city's behalf.; 2024 International Plumbing Code (IPC) — Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(d); CURRENT as of 7/1/2026 (confirmed by direct statute fetch 2026-07-16). Supersedes the 2021 IPC, which governed through 6/30/2026. Matches Syracuse's own Building Department page.; 2024 International Mechanical Code (IMC) — Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(e); CURRENT as of 7/1/2026 (confirmed by direct statute fetch 2026-07-16). Supersedes the 2021 IMC, which governed through 6/30/2026. Matches Syracuse's own Building Department page.; 2024 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC) — Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(f); CURRENT as of 7/1/2026 (confirmed by direct statute fetch 2026-07-16). Supersedes the 2021 IFGC, which governed through 6/30/2026.; 2023 National Electrical Code (NEC) — Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(g); UNCHANGED by the 7/1/2026 code cycle. Confirmed live on Syracuse's Building Department page (re-fetched 2026-07-16: '...as well as the 2023 NEC').; 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) — Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(h); CURRENT as of 7/1/2026 (confirmed by direct statute fetch 2026-07-16). ONE statewide edition — no residential/commercial split. Supersedes the 2021 IECC, which governed through 6/30/2026.; 2024 International Existing Building Code (IEBC) — Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(i); CURRENT as of 7/1/2026 (confirmed by direct statute fetch 2026-07-16). Supersedes the 2021 IEBC, which governed through 6/30/2026.; NOTE (2026-07-16 corpus-staleness fix, including correction of a known IFC error): A prior version of this file correctly anticipated that '2024 International Building Codes' would take effect 7/1/2026, but the codesAdopted entries above had not been flipped to reflect that the date has now passed — IBC/IPC/IMC were still incorrectly stated as '2021 ... currently in effect.' That has been corrected above (IFGC and IEBC entries have also been added, since the statute adopts both). Separately, the prior version's forecast NOTE listed IFC among the codes 'taking effect' 7/1/2026 — that was WRONG and has been removed here: Utah Code § 15A-2-103 contains NO International Fire Code subsection at all and does not adopt any IFC edition, in any year. (Syracuse's own Building Department page does independently mention IFC in its own forecast language, quoted above — that is the city's own text, not something §15A-2-103 adopts, so no IFC entry appears in this codesAdopted array.); Syracuse Municipal Code Chapter 9.15 (Construction Codes, §§ 9.15.010-9.15.070) codifies adoption by reference of the building code, Uniform Plumbing Code, National Electrical Code, and Uniform Mechanical Code 'as published by' the respective national code bodies 'and currently adopted by the state of Utah,' with successive state amendments/editions incorporated automatically upon their Utah State statutory effective date — consistent with the statewide framework under Utah Code Title 15A. Confirmed by direct browser fetch of the live codepublishing.com page (2026-07-16); the site returns HTTP 403 to curl/plain fetch (Cloudflare WAF challenge) but renders normally in a browser. The live chapter also includes § 9.15.070, Adoption of the 2006 Edition of the Utah Wildland Urban Interface Code (Ord. 25-42 § 1), not previously captured in this file.; Syracuse Municipal Code § 9.15.050 adopts by reference the ICC's Building Valuation Data for determining new-construction valuation, consistent with the city's Consolidated Fee Schedule building-value permit-fee tiers.. Local amendments apply — see the Syracuse overview page for the full list.

    No — only retaining walls 4 feet or more in height, measured from the bottom of footing, require a building permit, per the city's official 'When Do I Need a Building Permit?' guidance.

    Sources & verification

    Key facts verified against official sources. Last reviewed 2026-07-07.

    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 Syracuse building department before you submit. PermitBase is an independent reference and is not affiliated with any government agency.