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Residential Building Permit in Unincorporated Wayne County, Utah

Required for new construction, additions, alterations, repairs, demolition, and moving of structures in unincorporated Wayne County. The Wayne County Building Department, via its single county-wide Building Inspector, issues and reviews all building permits under the standard 'Application for Building Permit and/or Certificate of Occupancy — Building Department - Wayne County' form. The same form and inspector serve incorporated towns within the county (confirmed via Loa Town's own building-permits page, which lists the identical inspector and directs residents to the county process) as well as unincorporated areas.

Reviewed 2026-07-19 · Source

When you need this permit

  • New single-family dwelling construction, addition, alteration, repair, demolition, or moving of a structure (form covers all six categories: New, Alteration, Addition, Demolish, Repair, Move)
  • Proof of ownership of property
  • Waste water system permit (septic) must accompany the application per the county's own application instructions
  • Plot plan showing lot dimensions, existing streets, building dimensions, and distances from the structure to all four property lines

Required documents

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

Not ready yet0 of 4 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 reviewUnincorporated Wayne County’s published plan-review target
3–14 business days

How long did your Residential Building Permit permit actually take in Unincorporated Wayne County?

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

Inspection process

  1. 1

    Initial (before work begins)

    Required initial inspection before construction work begins, per the county's Inspection Record form

  2. 2

    Footings

    Before concrete pour — footing excavation, rebar

  3. 3

    Foundation

    After forms are in place, but before concrete is poured

  4. 4

    Underground Plumbing

    Underground/under-slab plumbing before it is covered

  5. 5

    Rough Framing

    When finished and before covering

  6. 6

    Rough Plumbing

    After concealed piping is in place, but before covering

  7. 7

    Rough Electrical

    After electrical is in place, but before covering

  8. 8

    Rough Mechanical

    Ductwork and mechanical rough-in before covering

  9. 9

    Insulation

    After insulation is installed, before drywall

  10. 10

    Drywall

    Drywall inspection before finishing

  11. 11

    Building Final

    Final building inspection — required before occupancy; occupancy of the structure is prohibited until after final inspection

  12. 12

    Plumbing Final

    Final plumbing inspection

  13. 13

    Electrical Final

    Final electrical inspection

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

Tips

  • It is the General Contractor's responsibility to contact the Building Inspector for inspections and to give 24-hour notice, per the county's official Inspection Record instructions.
  • Carports, small additions, and buildings on slabs may only need one or two inspections — conditions vary and the contractor should use good judgment in calling for inspections; the Building Inspector fills in which of the listed inspections are required (checked) for each permit.
  • The permit becomes null and void if work is not commenced within 180 days, or if construction is suspended or abandoned for 180 days at any time after work has commenced, per the application's terms.
  • Occupancy of the structure is prohibited until after the final inspection.
  • No county-wide published dollar fee schedule for building permits exists on the Wayne County website or in the Wayne County Administrative Manual (Ch. 15, Application Fee and Review Fee Schedules) as of verification — the Administrative Manual's fee schedule forms show blank 'Fee Amount: $___' lines to be filled in per-application, and the Building Permit Application form itself has blank 'Rate ___ Permit Fee ___ Plan Review Fee ___' fields completed by county staff at intake rather than a published rate table. The county's own FY2026 budget shows a single county-wide 'Building Permit' revenue line (10-32-20000, $80,000 budgeted for 2026) and a single 'Building Inspector' expense line (10-4185-310, $65,000 budgeted for 2026) under 'Total Building Department' — confirming one county-wide program with no itemized per-permit-type fee schedule published for public reference. Applicants should call (435) 836-1302 or the Building Inspector directly for a fee quote before applying. RE-CHASED 2026-07-23 (new avenues, still open): confirmed Wayne County itself is NOT codified on American Legal Publishing or Municode (checked live — only the incorporated town of Torrey among Wayne County jurisdictions appears on American Legal Publishing's Utah list; the county's 2011 PDF Administrative Manual/Land Use Ordinance remain its only code); pulled the Utah Public Notice Website (utah.gov/pmn) sitemap for the Wayne County Commission public body and the county's live /agendas meeting archive (150+ Commission/Planning & Zoning meetings back to 2019) and live /documents resolution listing (Fire Ban, Landfill Hours, Data Center Moratorium, Cellular Telephones, Rural Health Care Tax, FY2026 budget resolutions) — none is a fee-schedule resolution. No dollar figure recoverable from any new source; gap remains genuinely unpublished.
  • Same building department and inspector serve Loa, Bicknell, Torrey, and Hanksville (per Loa Town's own 'Building Permits & Inspections' page, which lists the identical Building Inspector, Eric Torgerson, and does not describe a separate municipal review process) — applicants in these towns should still expect to use the same county application and inspector.
  • Statutory review-timeline floor: under Utah Code § 17-79-810 (effective 11/6/2025, renumbered from former § 17-36-55), once an application for plan review of a one- or two-family dwelling or townhome is determined complete (after a 3-business-day completeness-screening period per § 17-79-810(1)(f) and (3)(a)), the county must complete plan review within 14 business days per § 17-79-810(4)(a). This statutory floor applies because Wayne County has not published its own faster or more specific review-timeline commitment.
  • Wayne County has not published a distinct solar-PV permit type, fee, or checklist (checked 2026-07-19, including the county's Documents page and a site search). The county uses a single unified 'Application for Building Permit and/or Certificate of Occupancy' form for all construction and repair work — the form lists an 'Electrician' trade-contractor line and includes 'Rough Electrical'/'Electrical Final' inspection items, with no separate electrical or solar permit category — so solar photovoltaic installations would be submitted through this same Building Permit process.
  • EV charger (EVSE) installation is likewise treated as standard electrical work under this same unified Building Permit — the county publishes no distinct EV-charger or electric-vehicle-charging permit type, fee, or checklist anywhere on its site (checked 2026-07-19), and the single Building Permit Application form's 'Electrician' trade line and 'Rough Electrical'/'Electrical Final' inspection items are the only electrical-related categories on the form. As with the general fee schedule (see above), no published dollar figure exists — call (435) 836-1302 or the Building Inspector directly for a project-specific fee quote.

Frequently asked questions

Unincorporated Wayne County requires a residential building permit for: New single-family dwelling construction, addition, alteration, repair, demolition, or moving of a structure (form covers all six categories: New, Alteration, Addition, Demolish, Repair, Move); Proof of ownership of property; Waste water system permit (septic) must accompany the application per the county's own application instructions; Plot plan showing lot dimensions, existing streets, building dimensions, and distances from the structure to all four property lines. If your project isn't listed, confirm with Wayne County Building Department at (435) 836-1302 before starting work.

Wayne County has not published its own review-timeline commitment, so the Utah statutory floor applies: under Utah Code § 17-79-810, the county has a 3-business-day screening period to determine the application is complete, then must complete plan review of a one- or two-family dwelling or townhome within 14 business days after the screening period ends.

You'll need: Application for Building Permit and/or Certificate of Occupancy; Proof of Ownership; Waste Water System Permit; Plot Plan. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

Unincorporated Wayne County requires 13 inspection(s) for a residential building permit, in order: Initial (before work begins), Footings, Foundation, Underground Plumbing, Rough Framing, Rough Plumbing, Rough Electrical, Rough Mechanical, Insulation, Drywall, Building Final, Plumbing Final, Electrical Final. Schedule each through Wayne County Building Department ((435) 836-1302).

Apply through Wayne County Building Department at 18 South Main St, PO Box 189, Loa, UT 84747. Phone: (435) 836-1302. Office hours: Monday–Friday 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM (closed 12:30–1:00 PM for lunch); Wayne County Courthouse hours per County Offices page. Official information: https://waynecountyutah.gov/pages/county-offices.

Unincorporated Wayne County, 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 previously listed here; 2021 International Residential Code (IRC) — Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(b); REMAINS CURRENT, UNCHANGED by the 7/1/2026 amendment; Appendix AQ of the 2021 IRC — statewide per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(c); not itemized on any Wayne County page found, added here per statute; 2024 International Plumbing Code (IPC) — CURRENT statewide as of 7/1/2026 per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(d); supersedes the 2021 edition previously listed here; 2024 International Mechanical Code (IMC) — CURRENT statewide as of 7/1/2026 per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(e); supersedes the 2021 edition previously listed here; 2024 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC) — CURRENT statewide as of 7/1/2026 per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(f); supersedes the 2021 edition previously listed here; 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), single unsplit statewide edition — CURRENT statewide as of 7/1/2026 per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(h); supersedes the 2021 edition previously listed here; 2024 International Existing Building Code (IEBC) — CURRENT statewide as of 7/1/2026 per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(i); supersedes the 2021 edition previously listed here; Residential provisions of the 2024 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code (ISPSC) — statewide per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(n); not itemized on any Wayne County page found, added here per statute since this file had previously omitted it entirely; 2023 National Electrical Code (NEC) — Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(g); statewide in force, UNCHANGED by the 7/1/2026 amendment; MBI 1200 and MBI 1205 (manufactured/modular construction standards) — statewide per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(o); not itemized on any Wayne County page found, added here per statute since this file had previously omitted it entirely; 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. This entry previously described the 2024-cycle codes in future tense ('effective through June 30, 2026' / codes 'effective July 1, 2026'); that date has now passed, so IBC/IPC/IMC/IFGC/IECC/IEBC/residential ISPSC are now stated as CURRENT (2024 editions), while IRC (2021) and NEC (2023) remain unchanged. These are statewide mandatory minimum codes adopted by reference; Wayne County has not published any local code amendments or its own code-edition page beyond referencing the statewide codes generally, so there is no city-page lag to record..

Wayne County operates its own single, county-wide Building Department with one Building Inspector (Eric Torgerson) who issues permits for unincorporated county areas and, per confirmation from Loa Town's own government website, also serves incorporated towns such as Loa, Bicknell, Torrey, and Hanksville using the same application form and review process. There is no separate municipal building department for these towns.

Wayne County has not published a fee schedule with dollar amounts for building permits. The official Building Permit Application form has blank Rate, Permit Fee, and Plan Review Fee fields completed by county staff when the application is submitted, and the county's Administrative Manual fee-schedule forms similarly leave the Fee Amount blank for per-application determination. Applicants should call the Building Department at (435) 836-1302 for a current fee quote.