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Change of Use Permit (Zoning Confirmation Letter / Business License Change of Location) in American Fork, Utah

American Fork City does not publish a single, distinctly-named 'Change of Use Permit' product. Instead, three separate but genuinely distinct mechanisms operationalize change-of-use/tenant-change review, all independently confirmed via direct fetch of American Fork's own currently-effective FY2026-2027 Adopted Fee Schedule (effective July 1, 2026) and business-license/planning forms: (1) a standalone 'Zoning Confirmation Letter' ($150.00) issued by the Planning and Zoning Division to confirm a property's current zoning district and use compliance independent of any active building permit; (2) a 'Change of Location Fee' ($125.00) required on the Commercial Business License Application whenever an existing business relocates to, or a new tenant occupies, a different location/tenant space — this application requires sign-off from Zoning Clearance (Planning Department), Fire Inspection, and Building Inspection before the license is issued; and (3) a no-fee 'Zoning Clearance Letter' submittal (required as part of the standard Development Review Committee intake for building-permit-linked projects, including Commercial TI) that captures both the 'Existing Use of the Property' and 'Proposed New Use of the Property.' Separately, American Fork's own Draft Re-Write of the City Code (dated 01/12/2026, hosted on americanfork.gov) contains a Section 14.01.090 'Certificate of Occupancy and Zoning Compliance' stating that a new Certificate of Occupancy is required any time a building's occupancy changes to a more intensive use, with unpermitted or over-intensity occupancy made a class B misdemeanor and a nuisance — however, the city's broader Code Rewrite/rezoning effort remains contested and was not confirmed as fully adopted as of 2026-07-21 (the city walked back an associated mass-rezoning proposal in April 2026 per public meeting records), so this specific provision's exact currently-codified wording was not independently re-verified against the pre-rewrite code (direct access to library.municode.com and americanfork.municipalcodeonline.com's underlying code text was blocked/unavailable during this research). Where a change of use requires construction to accommodate the new occupancy, the construction itself is billed under this file's commercial-building-permit or commercial-tenant-improvement-permit entries, including their $150.00 Commercial Occupancy Fee and $200.00 Temporary Certificate of Occupancy (Commercial) line items — those are not duplicated here.

Verified 2026-07-21 · Source

When you need this permit

  • An existing commercial business relocating to, or a new business occupying, a different tenant space or building in American Fork must file a Change of Location (or New Application) on the Commercial Business License Application, which requires Zoning Clearance sign-off from the Planning Department, a Fire Inspection sign-off, and a Building Inspection sign-off before the license is issued, per the Commercial Business License Application (Rev. 9/15)
  • A standalone Zoning Confirmation Letter may be requested from the Planning and Zoning Division to confirm a property's current zoning district and use compliance independent of any active building permit or business license application, per the FY2026-2027 Adopted Fee Schedule (effective July 1, 2026), Planning and Zoning Division Review Fees
  • Building-permit-linked projects (e.g., a Commercial TI permit for a new tenant's interior buildout) must submit a Zoning Clearance Letter request identifying the 'Existing Use of the Property' and 'Proposed New Use of the Property,' per the Zoning Clearance Letter — Submittal Checklist (02/2026); this step carries no DRC fee
  • Per American Fork's Draft Re-Write of the City Code, Section 14.01.090 (dated 01/12/2026; adoption status of this specific provision was not independently confirmed as currently in force given the broader code-rewrite's contested, still-pending status as of 2026-07-21), a new Certificate of Occupancy is required any time a building's occupancy changes to a more intensive use, and occupying with a different or more intensive occupancy than certified is a class B misdemeanor

Required documents

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Fee schedule

Change of Location Fee (Commercial Business License)American Fork City Adopted Fee Schedule, Effective July 1, 2026, Business Licenses section, item 77: 'Change of Location Fee (plus annual processing fee) — $125.00.' Confirmed independently on the Commercial Business License Application (Rev. 9/15), Section 6, Commercial License Fees: 'Change of Location Fee — $125.00.'
$125.00 (plus the $40.00 Annual Business License Processing Fee)
Zoning Confirmation LetterAmerican Fork City Adopted Fee Schedule, Effective July 1, 2026, Planning and Zoning Division Review Fees section, item 276: 'Zoning Confirmation Letter — $150.00.' Confirmed via direct visual inspection of the fee-schedule PDF page (the raw extracted text layer misaligns this table's dollar-amount column by one row; the figure was verified against the rendered page image).
$150.00
Zoning Clearance Letter (DRC submittal for building-permit-linked change of use)American Fork City Zoning Clearance Letter — Submittal Checklist (02/2026): 'Zoning Clearance Letter - Submittal Checklist ... No DRC Fee.' This is the no-cost planning intake step distinct from the paid $150.00 Zoning Confirmation Letter product.
No DRC Fee

Review timeline

Plan review
Not published — contact the department

How long did your Change of Use Permit (Zoning Confirmation Letter / Business License Change of Location) permit actually take in American Fork?

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

Inspection process

  1. 1

    Zoning Clearance (Planning Department sign-off)

    Required signature on the Commercial Business License Application before the license is issued, confirming the new use/location complies with zoning, per the Commercial Business License Application (Rev. 9/15).

  2. 2

    Fire Inspection

    Required signature from the American Fork Fire Department (801-763-3045) on the Commercial Business License Application before the license is issued.

  3. 3

    Building Inspection

    Required signature from the American Fork Building Department (801-763-3060) on the Commercial Business License Application before the license is issued.

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

Tips

  • American Fork has no single consolidated 'Change of Use Permit' — for a new tenant or relocated business in an existing commercial space, expect to combine the $125.00 Change of Location Fee (Commercial Business License, requiring Zoning Clearance + Fire + Building sign-off) with a Commercial Tenant Improvement building permit (see commercial-tenant-improvement-permit in this file) only if construction is needed to accommodate the new use.
  • A standalone $150.00 Zoning Confirmation Letter is available from the Planning and Zoning Division if you need written zoning/use confirmation independent of a business license or building permit application — e.g., for a lease or sale.
  • The Zoning Clearance Letter required for building-permit-linked change-of-use projects (like a Commercial TI) carries no DRC fee, but the submittal must disclose both the property's existing use and its proposed new use.
  • American Fork's own Draft Re-Write of the City Code (Section 14.01.090, dated 01/12/2026) describes a Certificate of Occupancy requirement triggered by a change to a more intensive occupancy, backed by a class B misdemeanor penalty — confirm the currently-codified wording with the Building Department (801-763-3060), since the city's broader code-rewrite effort remained contested and unconfirmed as fully adopted as of 2026-07-21.

Frequently asked questions

American Fork requires a change of use permit (zoning confirmation letter / business license change of location) for: An existing commercial business relocating to, or a new business occupying, a different tenant space or building in American Fork must file a Change of Location (or New Application) on the Commercial Business License Application, which requires Zoning Clearance sign-off from the Planning Department, a Fire Inspection sign-off, and a Building Inspection sign-off before the license is issued, per the Commercial Business License Application (Rev. 9/15); A standalone Zoning Confirmation Letter may be requested from the Planning and Zoning Division to confirm a property's current zoning district and use compliance independent of any active building permit or business license application, per the FY2026-2027 Adopted Fee Schedule (effective July 1, 2026), Planning and Zoning Division Review Fees; Building-permit-linked projects (e.g., a Commercial TI permit for a new tenant's interior buildout) must submit a Zoning Clearance Letter request identifying the 'Existing Use of the Property' and 'Proposed New Use of the Property,' per the Zoning Clearance Letter — Submittal Checklist (02/2026); this step carries no DRC fee; Per American Fork's Draft Re-Write of the City Code, Section 14.01.090 (dated 01/12/2026; adoption status of this specific provision was not independently confirmed as currently in force given the broader code-rewrite's contested, still-pending status as of 2026-07-21), a new Certificate of Occupancy is required any time a building's occupancy changes to a more intensive use, and occupying with a different or more intensive occupancy than certified is a class B misdemeanor. If your project isn't listed, confirm with American Fork City Building Department at 801-763-3060 before starting work.

The Commercial Business License Change of Location Fee is $125.00 (plus the $40.00 annual processing fee), per the FY2026-2027 Adopted Fee Schedule (effective July 1, 2026). If you only need written confirmation of zoning/use compliance without a license or permit application, the standalone Zoning Confirmation Letter costs $150.00. If construction is required to fit out the new tenant space, a separate Commercial Tenant Improvement permit fee also applies.

American Fork does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact American Fork City Building Department at 801-763-3060 for current turnaround.

You'll need: Commercial Business License Application (Change of Location box checked). Depending on your project, American Fork may also ask for: Zoning Clearance Letter Request (CityInspect Portal); Zoning Confirmation Letter Request. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

American Fork requires 3 inspection(s) for a change of use permit (zoning confirmation letter / business license change of location), in order: Zoning Clearance (Planning Department sign-off), Fire Inspection, Building Inspection. Schedule each through American Fork City Building Department (801-763-3060).

Apply through American Fork City Building Department at 275 East 200 North, American Fork, UT 84003. Phone: 801-763-3060. Office hours: Mon–Thu 7:00 AM – 6:00 PM (Building Division checklists list a separate plan-submittal contact line 801-763-3065); closed Fridays, per American Fork City Building Inspection Policies and Procedures (rev. 7/22/2024).. Official information: https://www.americanfork.gov/173/Building-Department.

American Fork, Utah has adopted: 2024 International Building Code (IBC), including Appendices C and J — CURRENT statewide as of 7/1/2026 per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(a); supersedes the 2021 edition American Fork's official Building Department page still stated as of live-check 2026-07-16: 'the American Fork Building Department uses the 2021 IBC and IRC Code as adopted by the State of Utah,' effective July 1, 2023, per americanfork.gov/173/Building-Department. The 2021 edition applied under the prior version of § 15A-2-103; American Fork's page has not been updated to reflect the 7/1/2026 transition.; 2021 International Residential Code (IRC) — REMAINS CURRENT, Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(b) did not change this edition in the 7/1/2026 amendment; americanfork.gov/173/Building-Department's statement is correct on this point (no update needed for IRC).; 2020 National Electrical Code (NEC) as published by American Fork's own Solar Minimum Plan Requirements checklist — STALE even under the PRIOR version of the statute: the checklist (americanfork.gov/DocumentCenter/View/13852/Solar-Checklist) explicitly cites '2020 NEC 690.4(C)' and multiple other 2020 NEC section references (690.7, 690.12, 706.15(C), 230.71, 230.62(C)), fetched 2026-07-04 and unconfirmed changed since. The statewide-governing NEC edition is, and remains, the 2023 NEC per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(g) — unchanged by the 7/1/2026 amendment, but American Fork's own document has not been updated to reference it, a pre-existing discrepancy independent of the 2026 code-cycle transition (the same kind of stale-document issue documented for Provo's Building FAQ in provo.json). Reported here as-published rather than corrected, per grounded-data policy of not inventing a fact the city's own source does not state.; 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), single unsplit statewide edition — CURRENT as of 7/1/2026 per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(h); required per American Fork City Residential Plans Minimum Plan Requirements checklist (americanfork.gov/DocumentCenter/View/58/Residential-Plan-Checklist): 'Utah Energy Conservation Code requirements. Must have lot, subdivision, and plan number on the Res check submittal.' The checklist itself does not state a specific edition year — the 2024 edition is added here per statute.; Utah statewide baseline construction code editions per Utah Code § 15A-2-103, effective 7/1/2026 (superseded 1/1/2027): 2024 IPC (§(1)(d)), 2024 IMC (§(1)(e)), 2024 IFGC (§(1)(f)), 2024 IEBC (§(1)(i)), and the residential provisions of the 2024 ISPSC (§(1)(n)) — none separately itemized on americanfork.gov/173/Building-Department or in American Fork's own checklists; added here per statute since American Fork's own materials omit them.; NOTE (2026-07-16 re-verification): The Utah Code § 15A-2-103 version effective 7/1/2026 (superseded 1/1/2027) took effect 15 days before this re-verification. IBC/IPC/IMC/IFGC/IECC/IEBC/residential ISPSC are now 2024 statewide; IRC (2021) and NEC (2023) did NOT change. American Fork's Building Department page (americanfork.gov/173/Building-Department) was live-checked 2026-07-16 and IS STILL LAGGING: it verbatim states 'Beginning July 1, 2023, The American Fork Building Department will be using the 2021 IBC and IRC Code as adopted by the State of Utah' with no update reflecting the 2024 IBC. The IRC portion of that statement remains accurate (2021 IRC is unchanged). No newer American Fork-specific code-adoption notice was found. The Utah Code § 15A-2-103 citation has been added to the sources array below, pointing to the current in-force version link.. Local amendments apply — see the American Fork overview page for the full list.

Not as a single named product. A new tenant or relocating business must file a Change of Location on the Commercial Business License Application ($125.00), which requires Zoning Clearance, Fire Inspection, and Building Inspection sign-off before the license is issued. Separately, a standalone $150.00 Zoning Confirmation Letter is available from the Planning and Zoning Division to verify zoning/use compliance without an active permit or license application, and a no-fee Zoning Clearance Letter is required for any building-permit-linked change of use (such as a Commercial TI permit).

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