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Change of Use / Certificate of Occupancy in Unincorporated Wasatch County, Utah

Wasatch County does not publish a separately named 'Change of Use Permit' application, checklist, or fee — neither the Development Process Forms & Applications page (wasatchcounty.gov/246) nor the Building Forms & Checklists index (wasatchcounty.gov/380) lists one, live-checked 2026-07-22. Instead, Wasatch County Code § 16.01.11 (Certificate of Occupancy and Land Use Compliance) makes it 'unlawful to use or occupy, or to permit the use or occupancy of, any building or premises' without a Certificate of Occupancy, and requires 'a new certificate... at any time the occupancy of the building changes to a more intensive use' — this certificate-renewal mechanism is the county's functional change-of-use process. Section 16.01.13 (Construction and Use to Conform to Plans) separately limits a permit to only the use, arrangement, and construction set forth in the approved application, making any other use a zoning violation subject to § 16.01.15 penalties. The primary ordinance is hosted on wasatch.municipalcodeonline.com, a client-side-rendered platform that returns no readable body text to standard fetch tools (the same access limitation already documented elsewhere in this file for the solar and sign ordinance sections); the section text reported here was corroborated via the Zoneomics secondary mirror of the same county code, consistent with that existing corpus pattern.

Reviewed 2026-07-22 · Source

When you need this permit

  • A Certificate of Occupancy is required before any building or premises may be used or occupied, per Wasatch County Code § 16.01.11
  • Certificates are issued at the time a building is completed and final inspection is granted by the Building Inspection Department
  • A NEW certificate is required any time the occupancy of the building changes to a more intensive use — the county's change-of-use trigger, per § 16.01.11
  • Residential certificates must document the number of units, families, and parking spaces, with notice that intensity changes require new certification
  • Commercial certificates must document employee count, employee/visitor parking, restroom facilities, and square footage by occupancy type, and require the owner's signature
  • Construction and use are limited to only what is set forth in the approved permit application, plans, and specifications, per § 16.01.13; any other use, arrangement, or construction is a zoning violation subject to § 16.01.15 penalties

Required documents

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Fee schedule

Filing fee
Not published — contact the department

Review timeline

Plan review
Not published — contact the department

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

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

Inspection process

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

    Tips

    • Wasatch County has no separately named 'Change of Use Permit' — a change to a more intensive occupancy is processed under County Code § 16.01.11 as a requirement to obtain a NEW Certificate of Occupancy, not a distinct permit type.
    • Commercial Certificates of Occupancy require the property owner's own signature and must itemize employee count, employee/visitor parking, restroom facilities, and square footage broken out by occupancy type — gather this information before requesting one.
    • No fee schedule or processing-time figure for a change-of-use request or Certificate of Occupancy is published online — contact the Planning Department, (435) 657-3205, before assuming a cost or timeline.
    • Using or occupying a building without a valid Certificate of Occupancy, or in a manner not set forth in the approved permit's plans and specifications, is itself a zoning violation under §§ 16.01.11/16.01.13, subject to enforcement under § 16.01.15.

    Frequently asked questions

    Unincorporated Wasatch County requires a change of use / certificate of occupancy permit for: A Certificate of Occupancy is required before any building or premises may be used or occupied, per Wasatch County Code § 16.01.11; Certificates are issued at the time a building is completed and final inspection is granted by the Building Inspection Department; A NEW certificate is required any time the occupancy of the building changes to a more intensive use — the county's change-of-use trigger, per § 16.01.11; Residential certificates must document the number of units, families, and parking spaces, with notice that intensity changes require new certification; Commercial certificates must document employee count, employee/visitor parking, restroom facilities, and square footage by occupancy type, and require the owner's signature; Construction and use are limited to only what is set forth in the approved permit application, plans, and specifications, per § 16.01.13; any other use, arrangement, or construction is a zoning violation subject to § 16.01.15 penalties. If your project isn't listed, confirm with Wasatch County Building Department at (435) 657-3200 before starting work.

    Unincorporated Wasatch County does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact Wasatch County Building Department at (435) 657-3200 for current turnaround.

    You'll need: Certificate of Occupancy (Residential); Certificate of Occupancy (Commercial). See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

    Apply through Wasatch County Building Department at 1891 W 3000 S, Heber City, UT 84032. Phone: (435) 657-3200, email: Bldinfo@wasatch.utah.gov. Office hours: 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM, Monday–Friday, per the Wasatch County Building Department FAQ page (wasatchcounty.gov/215/Frequently-Asked-Questions). Building Department is distinct from the county's Engineering Department (435-657-3305, handles right-of-way/grading/subdivision permits) and Planning Department (435-657-3205, handles impact fees for multi-family/commercial and zoning).. Official information: https://www.wasatchcounty.gov/211/Building-Department.

    Unincorporated Wasatch County, Utah has adopted: 2024 International Building Code (IBC), including Appendices C and J — governs per Utah Code §15A-2-103(1)(a) (https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title15A/Chapter2/15A-2-S103.html), in force statewide since 7/1/2026 and binding on counties under §15A-1-204. Wasatch County's own 'Plan Submission Requirements - Single Family Dwelling' checklist (wasatchcounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1032/Checklist-Single-Family-Dwelling) still states plans 'must be designed to and reflect... 2021 International Building Code for structural' (no appendices cited) — live-checked 2026-07-16, the county's own checklist has not been updated to the current statewide edition.; 2021 International Residential Code (IRC), including Appendix AQ — governs per Utah Code §15A-2-103(1)(b)/(c); this edition is UNCHANGED from the prior code cycle. Wasatch County's own checklist states plans 'must be designed to and reflect the 2021 International Residential Code for architectural' (no distinct Appendix AQ citation) — live-checked 2026-07-16, consistent with the current statute on the base edition.; 2024 International Plumbing Code (IPC) — governs per Utah Code §15A-2-103(1)(d). Not separately listed on Wasatch County's own Building Department pages, Forms & Checklists index (wasatchcounty.gov/380), or the Single Family Dwelling checklist — live-checked 2026-07-16; per Utah's Title 15A compliance-agency model (§15A-1-202), unincorporated Wasatch County is bound by this statewide-adopted edition absent its own published amendment.; 2024 International Mechanical Code (IMC) — governs per Utah Code §15A-2-103(1)(e). Not separately listed on Wasatch County's own pages — live-checked 2026-07-16; bound by the statewide-adopted edition per §15A-1-202, absent its own published amendment.; 2024 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC) — governs per Utah Code §15A-2-103(1)(f). Not separately listed on Wasatch County's own pages — live-checked 2026-07-16; bound by the statewide-adopted edition per §15A-1-202, absent its own published amendment.; 2023 National Electrical Code (NEC) — governs per Utah Code §15A-2-103(1)(g); this edition is UNCHANGED from the prior code cycle. Not separately listed on Wasatch County's own pages — live-checked 2026-07-16; bound by the statewide-adopted edition per §15A-1-202, absent its own published amendment.; 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) — one code, no residential/commercial split, per Utah Code §15A-2-103(1)(h). Wasatch County's own checklist references only 'the Utah Energy Conservation Code' without citing an ICC edition number ('If using the Utah Energy Conservation Code, the ResCheck must have a passing score of 5% or better') — live-checked 2026-07-16, still no edition cited; the current statewide edition is stated here rather than the prior 2021 edition previously assumed.; 2024 International Existing Building Code (IEBC) — governs per Utah Code §15A-2-103(1)(i). Not separately listed on Wasatch County's own pages — live-checked 2026-07-16; bound by the statewide-adopted edition per §15A-1-202, absent its own published amendment.; Residential provisions of the 2024 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code (ISPSC) — governs per Utah Code §15A-2-103(1)(n). Not separately listed on Wasatch County's own pages — live-checked 2026-07-16; bound by the statewide-adopted edition per §15A-1-202, absent its own published amendment.; Modular Building Institute (MBI) Standards 1200 and 1205 — governs statewide per Utah Code §15A-2-103(1)(o). Not listed on Wasatch County's own pages — live-checked 2026-07-16.; 2006 Utah Wildland Urban Interface Code, adopted under Utah Code §15A-2-103(2) — referenced directly on the same county checklist for site-plan defensible-space requirements ('defensible space provisions and elevations, if required by the Utah Wildland Urban Interface Code adopted under Section 15A-2-103').; 2026-07-16 codesAdopted re-verification: Utah Code §15A-2-103 (live-checked at the canonical le.utah.gov URL, current version 'Effective 7/1/2026') now governs statewide construction codes for counties per §15A-1-204, adopting 2024 IBC/IPC/IMC/IFGC/IEBC/IECC and residential 2024 ISPSC, while IRC stays 2021 (App AQ) and NEC stays 2023. Wasatch County's own Single Family Dwelling checklist (live-checked 2026-07-16, re-fetched and confirmed unchanged from the prior review) still names only '2021 International Residential Code' (architectural) and '2021 International Building Code' (structural), with no separate citation for IPC, IMC, IFGC, NEC, IECC edition, IEBC, ISPSC, or MBI Standards — reported verbatim as the county's own published text; the statute is stated as governing above rather than silently assumed.. Local amendments apply — see the Unincorporated Wasatch County overview page for the full list.

    Yes, functionally. Wasatch County Code § 16.01.11 requires a NEW Certificate of Occupancy any time a building's occupancy changes to a more intensive use — the county has no separately named 'Change of Use Permit,' but the certificate-renewal requirement serves that function. Using a building for anything beyond what its approved permit plans and specifications describe is a zoning violation under § 16.01.13.

    Not published. The county's Application Fee Schedule and Development Process Forms & Applications page do not list a change-of-use or certificate-of-occupancy fee line item. Contact the Wasatch County Planning Department, (435) 657-3205, for the current process and fee.

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