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Certificate of Occupancy / Change of Use Permit in Santa Clara, Utah

Required before any land is used or occupied, or before a structurally altered or newly erected building is changed in use, per Santa Clara City Code § 17.04.070 'Occupancy Permit Required.' A certificate of occupancy must also be issued whenever the character or use of any building or land is proposed to change from one use to another, even where no new construction is involved. Santa Clara does not publish a standalone Change of Use or Certificate of Occupancy application, fee line, or review-timeline figure distinct from the general Building Permit Application/final-inspection process — this was checked directly against the city's Forms and Applications page, the Building Department page, and the January 2026 Building Permit Fees schedule on 2026-07-22, none of which list a dedicated product for this permit type.

Reviewed 2026-07-22 · Source

When you need this permit

  • No land may be used or occupied, and no building structurally altered or erected may be changed in use, until a final inspection has been completed and a certificate of occupancy issued by the city, per City Code § 17.04.070
  • The certificate of occupancy must state that the building, its proposed use, or the use of the land complies with Title 17 (Zoning), including the provisions governing the renewing, changing, or extending of a nonconforming use
  • A certificate of occupancy is also required whenever the character or use of any building or land is proposed to be changed from one use to another use, independent of any construction scope
  • Where the use change is paired with construction/tenant-finish work, the associated Building Permit Application (see commercial-building-permit and commercial-tenant-improvement-permit entries in this file) governs the construction side; the certificate of occupancy is issued at final inspection under that same permit

Required documents

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Fee schedule

Certificate of Occupancy / Change of Use Fee — no dedicated line item foundThe January 2026 'Building Permit Fees' schedule (cdn.santaclarautah.gov) contains no 'Occupancy,' 'Certificate of Occupancy,' or 'Change of Use' fee line (confirmed via direct full-text review of the two-page PDF on 2026-07-22). Where a use change is paired with construction, the standard valuation-based Building Fee, 10% Plan Review Fee, and 1% Utah State Surcharge apply to that underlying permit (see commercial-building-permit entry). For a pure use change with no construction scope, no fee mechanism is published; confirm directly with the Building Department, (435) 656-4690.
Not published

Review timeline

Plan review
Not published — contact the department

How long did your Certificate of Occupancy / Change of Use Permit permit actually take in Santa Clara?

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Inspection process

  1. 1

    Final Inspection

    Final inspection required before a certificate of occupancy may be issued, confirming the building or proposed use complies with Title 17 (Zoning), per City Code § 17.04.070.

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

Tips

  • Santa Clara's certificate-of-occupancy requirement is broader than most jurisdictions in this dataset: it applies not only to newly constructed buildings but to any change in the character or use of an existing building or land, even with zero construction scope, per City Code § 17.04.070.
  • No dedicated application form, fee, or published timeline exists for a pure change-of-use with no construction — confirm the submittal path directly with the Building Department, (435) 656-4690, before assuming it routes through the standard CityInspect building permit application.
  • Where a use change is paired with tenant-finish or remodel work, the certificate of occupancy is issued as part of that construction permit's final inspection, not as a separately filed product — see the commercial-tenant-improvement-permit entry in this file.

Frequently asked questions

Santa Clara requires a certificate of occupancy / change of use permit for: No land may be used or occupied, and no building structurally altered or erected may be changed in use, until a final inspection has been completed and a certificate of occupancy issued by the city, per City Code § 17.04.070; The certificate of occupancy must state that the building, its proposed use, or the use of the land complies with Title 17 (Zoning), including the provisions governing the renewing, changing, or extending of a nonconforming use; A certificate of occupancy is also required whenever the character or use of any building or land is proposed to be changed from one use to another use, independent of any construction scope; Where the use change is paired with construction/tenant-finish work, the associated Building Permit Application (see commercial-building-permit and commercial-tenant-improvement-permit entries in this file) governs the construction side; the certificate of occupancy is issued at final inspection under that same permit. If your project isn't listed, confirm with Santa Clara City Building Department at (435) 656-4690 before starting work.

No dedicated Change of Use or Certificate of Occupancy application, fee line, or timeline is published on santaclarautah.gov or in the city's January 2026 Building Permit Fees schedule, as of a direct check on 2026-07-22. Where construction accompanies the use change, it is processed under the standard Building Permit Application, with the certificate of occupancy issued at final inspection; a pure use change with no construction should be confirmed directly with the Building Department.

Santa Clara does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact Santa Clara City Building Department at (435) 656-4690 for current turnaround.

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

Santa Clara requires 1 inspection(s) for a certificate of occupancy / change of use permit, in order: Final Inspection. Schedule each through Santa Clara City Building Department ((435) 656-4690).

Apply through Santa Clara City Building Department at 2603 Santa Clara Drive, Santa Clara, UT 84765. Phone: (435) 656-4690. Office hours: Mon–Thurs 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM | Fri 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM. Official information: https://www.santaclarautah.gov/departments/building/.

Santa Clara, Utah has adopted: GOVERNING LAW: Utah Code § 15A-2-103 (le.utah.gov/xcode/Title15A/Chapter2/15A-2-S103.html), version effective 7/1/2026 (amended by Ch. 47, 2026 General Session), sets the statewide-mandatory construction code suite — Utah Code § 15A-1-204 binds 'the state and each political subdivision.' Santa Clara's own municipal code (Title 15, Chapter 15.04) does not separately enumerate code editions by number, and the city's own site does not publish a distinct codes-adopted page listing specific editions — re-checked live 2026-07-16 (santaclarautah.gov/departments/building/ document library contains no edition-labeled code list, only an undated 'International Fuel Gas Code' document title). Santa Clara therefore has no locally-published edition list to lag behind; the statewide baseline below is current law, not merely consistent with an assumed 2021 cycle as this file previously stated.; 2024 International Building Code (IBC) with Utah state amendments — per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(a), effective 7/1/2026 (statewide baseline; no Santa Clara-specific edition ordinance found distinct from it, per live re-check 2026-07-16).; 2021 International Residential Code (IRC) with Utah state amendments, plus Appendix AQ of the 2021 IRC — per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(b)/(c); did NOT change in the 7/1/2026 flip. Matches Santa Clara's official ADU Conditional Use Application (August 2025 rev.): 'Compliance with the International Residential Code, IRC and state amendments is required.'; 2024 International Plumbing Code (IPC) with Utah state amendments — per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(d), effective 7/1/2026 (statewide baseline; no Santa Clara-specific edition found).; 2024 International Mechanical Code (IMC) with Utah state amendments — per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(e), effective 7/1/2026 (statewide baseline; no Santa Clara-specific edition found).; 2024 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC) with Utah state amendments — per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(f), effective 7/1/2026. Santa Clara's Building Department document library separately publishes an undated 'International Fuel Gas Code' document title (no edition number given, per live re-check 2026-07-16); statewide baseline edition applies.; 2023 National Electrical Code (NEC) — per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(g); did NOT change in the 7/1/2026 flip. No Santa Clara-specific NEC edition is published on the city's site as of live re-check 2026-07-16; statewide baseline applies. (This file previously omitted an NEC codesAdopted entry entirely — added here, not previously stale.); 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), one statewide edition (no residential/commercial split) — per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(h), effective 7/1/2026 (statewide baseline; no Santa Clara-specific edition found).; 2024 International Existing Building Code (IEBC) — per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(i), effective 7/1/2026. Not mentioned on Santa Clara's site as of live re-check 2026-07-16; added as a statute-sourced omission, not fabricated.; Residential provisions of the 2024 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code (ISPSC) — per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(n), effective 7/1/2026. Not mentioned on Santa Clara's site as of live re-check 2026-07-16; added as a statute-sourced omission.; Modular Building Institute (MBI) Standards 1200 and 1205 — per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(o), statewide-mandated for modular units. Not mentioned on Santa Clara's site as of live re-check 2026-07-16; added as a statute-sourced omission.; No International Fire Code (IFC) entry: § 15A-2-103 does not adopt the IFC — it is separately governed under Title 15A Chapter 5, outside the scope of this section. Santa Clara's site does not list an IFC edition either, so there is no mis-citation to correct here.; Utah state amendments to the above codes apply per Utah Code § 15A-1-204, which sets a single statewide adopted edition that local jurisdictions may amend but not substitute.. Local amendments apply — see the Santa Clara overview page for the full list.

Yes. Per City Code § 17.04.070, no building or land may change use until a final inspection is completed and a certificate of occupancy is issued by the city, confirming compliance with Title 17 (Zoning). This applies whenever the character or use of a building or land changes, even without new construction.

Sources & verification

Key facts verified against official sources. Last reviewed 2026-07-22.

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

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