Skip to main content
PermitBase

Change of Occupancy / Certificate of Occupancy (Change of Use) in Unincorporated Piute County, Utah

Piute County requires a permit specifically when a building's occupancy or use is changed, even without new construction, and separately requires a Certificate of Occupancy before a nonconforming use may be changed. Piute County Code § 7-1D-1 (Buildings and Construction) states: 'Any owner or authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy of a building or structure... shall first make application to the building official and obtain the required permit.' The Piute County Zoning Ordinance § 9-3.4 separately provides: 'No building hereafter structurally altered or erected shall be used or changed in use for a nonconforming use until a Certificate of Occupancy has been issued by the Building Official, stating that the building or proposed use thereof or the use of the land, complies with the provisions of this Ordinance for the renewing, changing, or extending thereof.' No distinct application form, checklist, or fee schedule separate from the general Building Permit process was found published — this appears to be administered through the same Building Official/general building permit application referenced in this file's Residential and Commercial Building Permit entries, consistent with the general fee-schedule gap already documented for this county. Re-chased 2026-07-20: traced the root cause of the missing fee to Zoning Ordinance § 1-9, which defers all fees to a Commission resolution rather than codifying them, combined with the county's own admission that resolutions since 1983 are not archived separately from meeting minutes — see feesNote for the full citation chain.

Reviewed 2026-07-20 · Source

When you need this permit

  • A permit application to the Piute County Building Official is required before changing the occupancy of a building or structure, per Piute County Code § 7-1D-1
  • A Certificate of Occupancy must be issued by the Building Official before a nonconforming use may be changed, per Piute County Zoning Ordinance § 9-3.4
  • The Certificate of Occupancy verifies the building, proposed use, or use of the land complies with the Zoning Ordinance for the renewing, changing, or extending of that use
  • Failure to obtain the required permit for a change of occupancy is a Class B Misdemeanor under Piute County Code, punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and/or 6 months in jail (UCA § 76-3-301(1)(d), § 76-3-204(2)), with each day of violation treated as a separate offense

Required documents

Check off what you have — your progress is saved on this device.

Not ready yet0 of 1 required documents checked.

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 Change of Occupancy / Certificate of Occupancy (Change of Use) permit actually take in Unincorporated Piute County?

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

Inspection process

    Tips

    • This is a distinct legal trigger, not just the routine 'CO issued after final inspection' step documented on this file's building permit entries — Piute County Code § 7-1D-1 explicitly lists 'change the occupancy of a building or structure' alongside construct/enlarge/alter/repair/move/demolish as its own permit-triggering activity, separate from new construction.
    • The Piute County Zoning Ordinance additionally requires a Certificate of Occupancy specifically before a nonconforming use may be changed (§ 9-3.4) — the CO in that context certifies zoning-ordinance compliance for the new/changed use, not just building-code compliance for construction.
    • No distinct application form or fee schedule specific to a change-of-occupancy/CO-verification scenario was found published — contact the Piute County Building Official, (435) 577-2840, before changing a building's use to confirm the applicable process and any fee.
    • Zoning Ordinance § 1-9 confirms fees are set by Commission resolution rather than codified — and the county's own County Ordinances page admits resolutions since 1983 are not kept as separate documents, only embedded in individual meeting minutes with no index, which is why no fee schedule PDF exists to find for this or any other Piute County land-use permit.

    Frequently asked questions

    Yes. Piute County Code § 7-1D-1 requires a permit application to the Building Official to 'change the occupancy of a building or structure,' separate from construction, enlargement, alteration, repair, or demolition. If the change involves a nonconforming use, the Piute County Zoning Ordinance § 9-3.4 additionally requires a Certificate of Occupancy verifying the new use complies with the Zoning Ordinance before the change may occur. No distinct fee schedule for this scenario is published; contact the Building Official at (435) 577-2840.

    Unincorporated Piute County does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact Piute County Building Inspector at (435) 577-2840 for current turnaround.

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

    Apply through Piute County Building Inspector at 550 N Main, Junction, UT 84740. Phone: (435) 577-2840. Official information: https://piute.gov/your-government/county-departments/building-inspector/.

    Unincorporated Piute County, Utah has adopted: 2024 International Building Code (IBC) — Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(a); effective since July 1, 2026, superseding the 2021 IBC; 2021 International Residential Code (IRC) — Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(b); unchanged by the July 1, 2026 statewide update, remains in force; 2024 International Plumbing Code (IPC) — Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(d); effective since July 1, 2026, superseding the 2021 IPC; 2024 International Mechanical Code (IMC) — Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(e); effective since July 1, 2026, superseding the 2021 IMC; 2024 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC) — Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(f); effective since July 1, 2026, superseding the 2021 IFGC; 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) — Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(h); effective since July 1, 2026, superseding the 2021 IECC. The statute adopts a single IECC edition with no residential/commercial split.; 2024 International Existing Building Code (IEBC) — Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(i); effective since July 1, 2026, superseding the 2021 IEBC; 2024 residential provisions of the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code (ISPSC) — Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(n); effective since July 1, 2026, superseding the 2021 ISPSC; 2023 National Electrical Code (NEC) — Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(g); statewide in force, unchanged by the July 1, 2026 update; NOTE (updated 2026-07-16): These are the statewide-mandated codes under Utah Code § 15A-2-103; Piute County has not published any county-specific code amendments online (live-checked again 2026-07-16 — the county's 'Obtaining a Building Permit' page still cites no code editions at all, consistent with the prior 2026-07-08 finding). The July 1, 2026 statewide code-edition transition (2024 IBC/IPC/IMC/IFGC/IECC/IEBC/ISPSC replacing 2021 editions, per Utah Code § 15A-2-103 version effective 7/1/2026, superseded 1/1/2027) took effect 15 days ago; the next statute version's editions were diffed and confirmed identical. 2021 IRC and 2023 NEC are unchanged. The International Fire Code is NOT adopted by § 15A-2-103 (it lives in Title 15A Chapter 5) and is not referenced elsewhere in this file.. Local amendments apply — see the Unincorporated Piute County overview page for the full list.

    Sources & verification

    Key facts verified against official sources. Last reviewed 2026-07-20.

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