Gillette building permits
VerifiedDepartment contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Gillette, Wyoming.
Last verified 2026-07-01 · Source
Building department
- Address
- City Hall, 201 E. 5th St., 2nd Floor, Gillette, WY 82716
- Phone
- (307) 686-5260
- Office hours
- Mon–Fri (contact department for current hours); permits/plans/licenses/inspections managed via EnerGov Self Service online portal (registration required)
- Website
- Official site
Codes adopted
Wyoming has no statewide-mandated building code for general private construction. Under Wyoming Statute § 35-9-106, the Council on Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety in Buildings adopts minimum fire, building, mechanical, existing-building, and fuel-gas standards (not exceeding the International Codes), but § 35-9-121 makes local enforcement an opt-in delegation: a municipality or county must apply to the State Fire Marshal for local enforcement authority and adopt, by ordinance or resolution, standards equivalent to or more stringent than the state's — otherwise no local building code applies at all. In practice this produces exactly the fragmented picture that describes most of the state: some cities and counties (e.g., Laramie County, Natrona County) have adopted and enforce their own building codes, while many unincorporated county areas genuinely require no building permit for general construction. Electrical is different: under § 35-9-119(a)(i), the Chief Electrical Inspector (Wyoming State Fire Marshal's Office, Department of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety) enforces the National Electrical Code statewide by default, EXCEPT in localities that have been separately granted their own certified electrical-enforcement authority under § 35-9-121(a) — so electrical permitting may be issued by the state program or by the local jurisdiction depending on which one currently holds delegated authority. Always confirm both the current building-code adoption status (if any) and which entity — state or local — issues the electrical permit with the specific jurisdiction before submitting plans.
Permit types & fees
Residential Building Permit (New Construction)
Required for new single-family dwellings and other one- and two-family residential construction in Gillette. Governed by the 2024 IRC per City Code § 5-I-3. Fee is based on total building square footage per the adopted schedule in City Code § 5-IV-1(b).
Residential Addition / Remodel Permit
Required for additions, structural alterations, remodels, and miscellaneous residential repairs to existing one- and two-family dwellings in Gillette. Governed by the 2024 IRC (City Code § 5-I-3); fee for additions follows the same building-square-footage table as new construction, while miscellaneous remodels/repairs use a flat $20 fee.
Electrical Permit
Required for electrical installations, alterations, service changes, and repairs in Gillette. Per the Wyoming State Fire Marshal 'LOCAL AND STATE JURISDICTIONS' chart (ELEC INSP/PR = L/L for Gillette), the CITY — not the Wyoming State Fire Marshal's electrical program — issues and inspects electrical permits inside city limits, under the 2023 NEC adopted by City Code § 5-I-6. Fee is amperage-based per City Code § 5-IV-2, plus a Capital Contribution Fee for new/upgraded electrical service.
Plumbing Permit
Required for plumbing installations, alterations, and repairs in Gillette. Governed by the 2024 International Plumbing Code (IPC) per City Code § 5-I-4 — NOTE: Gillette uses the IPC, not the Uniform Plumbing Code used by some other Wyoming/Nevada cities. Fee schedule is per-fixture/per-item under City Code § 5-IV-3(a).
Mechanical / HVAC Permit
Required for heating, cooling, ventilation, and gas piping installations in Gillette. Governed by the 2024 International Mechanical Code (IMC, City Code § 5-I-5) and 2024 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC, § 5-I-7). Residential new HVAC is a flat unit fee; gas piping is billed by outlet count.
Roofing Permit (Reroof)
Required for roof replacement (reroof) on residential and commercial buildings in Gillette. Governed by 2024 IRC Section R908 reroofing provisions per City Code § 5-I-3; residential reroof is a low flat fee, commercial is a per-square-foot fee.
Solar PV Permit
Required for installation of rooftop or ground-mounted solar photovoltaic systems in Gillette. There is no separate 'solar' line item in the adopted fee schedule; solar PV installation is processed as a standard building permit (structural/racking, charged under the Building Square Feet table or Miscellaneous Residential fee) plus a standard electrical permit (amperage-based) for the interconnection.
Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Permit
Gillette's Adopted Zoning Ordinance (Ord. No. 4056, 12/17/2024) has NO dedicated 'Accessory Dwelling Unit' zoning category, definition, or standalone permit type. A full-text search of the current ordinance (SECTION 11. Definitions and all District Standards sections, via online.encodeplus.com/regs/gillette-wy-rewrite) returns only 'Accessory Structure' and 'Accessory Use' as defined terms — there is no ADU-specific use classification, size cap, or parking standard. A secondary living space on a single-family lot is built and permitted under the generic Accessory Structure/Accessory Use standards and the standard residential building permit process for the applicable zoning district (e.g., R-1 Single-Family Residential, R-2 Two-Family Residential).
Demolition Permit
Required for demolition of buildings or structures in Gillette. Fee is a low flat rate per City Code § 5-IV-1(b); a separate flat fee applies to disconnect the electrical service and to cap off plumbing at the street.
Commercial Tenant Improvement / Commercial Building Permit
Required for commercial building construction, tenant improvements, remodels, and alterations in Gillette. Governed by the 2024 IBC (City Code § 5-I-2); routed through Planning Division site plan review, Building Inspection Division plan review/permit issuance, and (for utility work) Engineering Division review before Certificate of Occupancy.
Deck Permit
Required for most residential decks in Gillette under the 2024 IRC. A flat $20 permit fee applies; small, low, detached decks not serving the main exit door are exempt from a building permit (though a zoning permit is generally still required).
Basement Finish Permit
Required to finish a basement in Gillette, but the building permit fee itself is waived because the building square footage was already charged under the original construction permit. Plumbing and mechanical permits are also fee-free unless special circumstances apply; a standard-fee electrical permit is required for new wiring.
Tips & gotchas
- Gillette is a HOME-RULE city that holds delegated authority for BOTH building AND electrical permitting under Wyoming's W.S. § 35-9-121 opt-in framework (per the WSFM 'LOCAL AND STATE JURISDICTIONS' chart: BLDG INSP/PR = L/L, ELEC INSP/PR = L/L). You apply to and pay the City of Gillette Building Division for electrical permits — NOT the Wyoming State Fire Marshal's statewide electrical program.
- Gillette's building permit fee is a flat tiered fee based on total building SQUARE FOOTAGE ($30–$150 + $0.04/sq ft), not a percentage-of-valuation model.
- Gillette adopted the 2024 IBC, IRC, IPC (International Plumbing Code — NOT the Uniform Plumbing Code), IMC, IFGC, IFC, and IEBC, plus the 2023 NEC, all per City Code Chapter 5 (Revised 12-2024).
- There is NO dedicated Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) ordinance in Gillette's zoning code (Adopted Zoning Ordinance, Ord. No. 4056, 12/17/2024) — confirmed by full-text search. Secondary living spaces are governed by the generic 'Accessory Structure'/'Accessory Use' standards of the applicable residential zoning district (R-R, R-S, R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4).
- Basement finishes get a waived building-permit fee (and usually waived plumbing/mechanical fees), but STILL require a permit application and a standard-fee electrical permit for new wiring.
- Local design criteria (City Code § 5-I-1): 115 mph ultimate wind speed, Seismic Design Category B minimum, 30/35 psf minimum roof live load (by pitch), 42-inch frost line depth, Climate Zone 6B (7,995 heating degree days), −8°F winter design temperature.
- Commercial plan reviews escalate sharply on resubmittals ($100 → $200 → $1,125 → $1,500) — get plans right on the first or second submittal.
- All permit/plan/license applications go through the City's EnerGov Self Service online portal (registration required) — there is no paper-only application path described on the city site.
- A Capital Contribution Fee ($175–$1,050 by amperage) applies IN ADDITION to the standard electrical permit fee for any new or upgraded electrical service — easy to overlook since it's documented in the residential construction guide rather than the ordinance's electrical fee table itself.
- Gillette's zoning code is hosted on enCodePlus (online.encodeplus.com/regs/gillette-wy-rewrite), NOT Municode or ecode360.
- IMPORTANT: Gillette (Campbell County) is unrelated to the City of Laramie (Albany County) or Laramie County (Cheyenne) — do not confuse these differently-named Wyoming jurisdictions.