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Change of Use Permit / Certificate of Occupancy in Unincorporated Sanpete County, Utah

Sanpete County does not publish a standalone 'Change of Use Permit' as a distinct application or fee category. Land Use Ordinance § 14.90.110 (Certificate of Occupancy) requires that 'a certificate of occupancy shall be obtained from and issued by the Sanpete County Building Inspection Department prior to the occupancy of any building or structure approved under this code,' and specifies the certificate 'shall specify the use (occupancy) of the structure' -- this is issued as the closing step of an underlying Building Permit (§ 14.90.115: a building permit 'will be closed once a certificate of occupancy or notification of passing a final inspection has been issued'), not through a separate standalone process. Separately, § 14.90.080 makes it a Class C misdemeanor to 'change the use of any building or other structure or the use of any land within the unincorporated territory of Sanpete County in violation of the provisions of this title' -- confirming a change of use itself must comply with the ordinance, without establishing a distinct change-of-use application or fee. The one specific, named path found is narrower: § 14.60.010 allows a legally NONCONFORMING use to continue only if 'no change in use occurs, except as may be allowed by Section 14.20.050' (the Variance section) -- meaning changing a legally nonconforming use requires a Variance from the Sanpete County Board of Adjustments, a $700 flat fee per the county's 'Zoning Application Request and Fees' schedule (already documented in this file's commercial-building-permit entry). No distinct fee, application, or process was found for an ordinary conforming-to-conforming use change that does not involve new construction.

Reviewed 2026-07-22 · Source

When you need this permit

  • A Certificate of Occupancy must be obtained from the Sanpete County Building Inspection Department prior to occupying any building or structure approved under the Land Use Ordinance, per § 14.90.110 -- this is issued as the closing step of the underlying Building Permit, not a standalone application
  • Changing the use of a building, structure, or land within unincorporated Sanpete County without complying with the Land Use Ordinance is a Class C misdemeanor under § 14.90.080
  • Changing a LEGALLY NONCONFORMING use specifically requires a Variance from the Sanpete County Board of Adjustments, per § 14.60.010's restriction that a nonconforming use may continue only if 'no change in use occurs, except as may be allowed by Section 14.20.050' (Variance)
  • No county building permit will be issued, and the county has no obligation to issue a certificate of occupancy, for any parcel subdivided or sold in violation of the ordinance, per § 14.90.050
  • Properties within incorporated city limits must first obtain zoning approval from the applicable city before the County Building Department will process any associated building permit or certificate of occupancy

Required documents

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Fee schedule

Variance (nonconforming-use change only)Per the Sanpete County 'Zoning Application Request and Fees' schedule ('Fee Schedule 2022'), linked from the official Planning & Zoning page -- verified 2026-07-20 by rendering the scanned PDF to an image and reading the fee table visually (the document is a scanned/image PDF, not text-extractable). This fee applies only to the Variance required by § 14.60.010 when changing a legally NONCONFORMING use; no separate fee was found for an ordinary conforming-to-conforming change of use, and no distinct Certificate of Occupancy fee (separate from the underlying building permit fee) is published.
$700.00

Review timeline

Plan review
Not published — contact the department

How long did your Change of Use Permit / Certificate of Occupancy permit actually take in Unincorporated Sanpete County?

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

Inspection process

  1. 1

    Final Inspection

    Required before a Certificate of Occupancy is issued under § 14.90.110 -- the same final inspection documented for this jurisdiction's residential- and commercial-building-permit entries; no distinct change-of-use inspection is published.

See the full Unincorporated Sanpete County inspection guide — scheduling & re-inspection fees →

Tips

  • There is no standalone 'Change of Use Permit' in unincorporated Sanpete County. A Certificate of Occupancy (§ 14.90.110) is issued by the Building Inspection Department as the closing step of the underlying Building Permit once final inspection passes (§ 14.90.115) -- it is not a separate application or fee.
  • The one distinct, named process found is narrower than a general change of use: changing a legally NONCONFORMING use requires a Variance from the Board of Adjustments ($700 flat fee, per the county's Zoning Application Request and Fees schedule), per § 14.60.010.
  • Changing a use without complying with the Land Use Ordinance is a Class C misdemeanor under § 14.90.080 -- confirm with the Zoning Administrator, (435) 835-2115, or the Building Department, (435) 835-2113, before assuming an ordinary conforming-to-conforming use change needs no county involvement at all; no distinct fee or application was found for that narrower scenario, but the ordinance's general permit-required language still applies to any related construction or occupancy change.

Frequently asked questions

Unincorporated Sanpete County requires a change of use permit / certificate of occupancy for: A Certificate of Occupancy must be obtained from the Sanpete County Building Inspection Department prior to occupying any building or structure approved under the Land Use Ordinance, per § 14.90.110 -- this is issued as the closing step of the underlying Building Permit, not a standalone application; Changing the use of a building, structure, or land within unincorporated Sanpete County without complying with the Land Use Ordinance is a Class C misdemeanor under § 14.90.080; Changing a LEGALLY NONCONFORMING use specifically requires a Variance from the Sanpete County Board of Adjustments, per § 14.60.010's restriction that a nonconforming use may continue only if 'no change in use occurs, except as may be allowed by Section 14.20.050' (Variance); No county building permit will be issued, and the county has no obligation to issue a certificate of occupancy, for any parcel subdivided or sold in violation of the ordinance, per § 14.90.050; Properties within incorporated city limits must first obtain zoning approval from the applicable city before the County Building Department will process any associated building permit or certificate of occupancy. If your project isn't listed, confirm with Sanpete County Building Department at (435) 835-2113 before starting work.

No separate CO fee is published -- it is issued as part of the underlying Building Permit's closure, so it carries that permit's valuation-based fee (ICC Building Valuation Data via the county's CityInspect portal, with a 1.5x unincorporated county factor). A distinct $700 Variance fee applies only if the project involves changing a legally nonconforming use.

Unincorporated Sanpete County does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact Sanpete County Building Department at (435) 835-2113 for current turnaround.

You'll need: Certificate of Occupancy Request. Depending on your project, Unincorporated Sanpete County may also ask for: Variance Application (nonconforming-use changes only). See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

Unincorporated Sanpete County requires 1 inspection(s) for a change of use permit / certificate of occupancy, in order: Final Inspection. Schedule each through Sanpete County Building Department ((435) 835-2113).

Apply through Sanpete County Building Department at 160 North Main, Suite 201, Manti, UT 84642. Phone: (435) 835-2113. Office hours: Monday–Thursday 7:00 AM – 6:00 PM (Closed Fridays). Official information: https://www.sanpetecountyutah.gov/building-dept.html.

Unincorporated Sanpete 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; 2006 Utah Wildland Urban Interface Code — adopted by reference at Sanpete County Land Use Ordinance § 14.76.365 and Appendix XXV, applies to any lot or subdivision located in the county's WUI Zone (a distinct county-adopted local code, not tied to the § 15A-2-103 statewide edition cycle — left unchanged); NOTE (updated 2026-07-16): The July 1, 2026 statewide code-edition transition (2024 IBC/IPC/IMC/IFGC/IECC/IEBC/ISPSC replacing 2021 editions) took effect 15 days ago per Utah Code § 15A-2-103 (version effective 7/1/2026, superseded 1/1/2027; next version's editions confirmed identical). 2021 IRC and 2023 NEC are unchanged. Live-checked the Sanpete County Building Department page today (2026-07-16) — it cites no code edition years at all, so no page-lag discrepancy to flag there. 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 Sanpete County overview page for the full list.

No standalone Change of Use Permit is published. A Certificate of Occupancy, required under § 14.90.110 before occupying any approved building or structure, is issued as the closing step of the underlying Building Permit. The one distinct named process is a Variance ($700), required specifically when changing a legally nonconforming use per § 14.60.010.

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