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Change of Occupancy / Use Review (State Fire Marshal) in Unincorporated Fremont County, Wyoming

Fremont County itself has NO change-of-use permit and issues NO Certificates of Occupancy for unincorporated land — the county's own Building Codes & Certificates of Occupancy page states this verbatim ('FREMONT COUNTY DOES NOT ISSUE CERTIFICATES OF OCCUPANCY'), re-confirmed live 2026-07-22. The ONLY change-of-use trigger that exists for unincorporated Fremont County property is narrow and state-administered: the county's own page lists 'Change of occupancy type or use to become one of the above buildings' among the scopes requiring Wyoming State Fire Marshal plan review — where 'the above buildings' means government/school-owned buildings, buildings over 5,000 sq ft with public access, childcare centers for more than 10 children, multi-story buildings, or places of assembly. Unlike ordinary alterations/remodeling of those same building categories (which only trigger review at a $40,000+ valuation threshold), a qualifying change of occupancy triggers WSFM review regardless of valuation, per the same page. A change of use that does NOT convert a building into one of these specific categories (e.g., an ordinary small-scale residential or low-occupancy commercial use change) triggers NO review or permit at any level in unincorporated Fremont County — the county has no general land-use/change-of-use permit. Fetched directly from wsfm.wyo.gov/fire-prevention/plan-review (live 2026-07-22) for the operative process: submit through the WSFM eLicensing portal, 5-business-day accept/reject, 21-business-day review of complete submittals. Fetched directly from wsfm.wyo.gov/fire-prevention (live 2026-07-22): the State — not the county — issues a 'Certificate of Occupancy or Letter of Compliance' upon passing all inspections for buildings that go through this process.

Verified 2026-07-22 · Source

When you need this permit

  • Fremont County issues NO change-of-use permit and NO Certificate of Occupancy for unincorporated land, for any use — confirmed verbatim on the county's own Building Codes & Certificates of Occupancy page: 'FREMONT COUNTY DOES NOT ISSUE CERTIFICATES OF OCCUPANCY'
  • The only change-of-use scenario that triggers ANY review is a change of occupancy type or use that converts a building INTO one of these specific categories: a government/school-owned building, a building over 5,000 sq ft with public access, a childcare center for more than 10 children, a multi-story building, or a place of assembly — per the county's own Building Codes page
  • That qualifying change-of-occupancy review is performed by the Wyoming State Fire Marshal's Office (not the county), regardless of project valuation, per the same page and W.S. § 35-9-108
  • Submit through the WSFM eLicensing/ePermit/ePayment Portal; plans accepted or rejected within 5 business days of receipt; complete submittals reviewed within 21 business days of acceptance (10 business days after any requested resubmittal, whichever is longer)
  • No work may begin before a Permit to Construct is issued; upon completion and passing of all inspections, the STATE issues a Certificate of Occupancy or Letter of Compliance — Fremont County itself remains uninvolved in that issuance
  • Fees are calculated per the Department of Fire Prevention & Electrical Safety Rules (Chapter 2, Section 3 fee schedule) and disclosed to the applicant when plans are accepted; no flat published dollar figure was found during this chase
  • A change of use that does NOT convert a building into one of the five listed categories triggers no known permit or review at the county or state level in unincorporated Fremont County
  • Confirm whether the parcel is inside an incorporated city (which may have its own change-of-use/CO process) before assuming this unincorporated-county/state-only pattern applies

Required documents

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Fee schedule

Change of Occupancy Plan Review Fee (qualifying buildings only)Same WSFM Chapter 2, Section 3 fee-schedule mechanism documented in this database's fire-sprinkler-alarm-permit entry for Fremont County; applicant is notified of the exact amount when plans are accepted. No county-level fee exists because Fremont County has no change-of-use permit of its own. Contact WSFM Plan Review (Jeff Schoen, (307) 673-1461, jeff.schoen@wyo.gov) for a current figure.
Not published as a flat dollar figure

Review timeline

Plan reviewUnincorporated Fremont County’s published plan-review target
5–26 business days

How long did your Change of Occupancy / Use Review (State Fire Marshal) permit actually take in Unincorporated Fremont County?

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

Inspection process

  1. 1

    Fire & Life Safety Construction Inspection (State WSFM)

    WSFM-assigned fire inspector performs fire & life safety construction inspections during any construction associated with the qualifying occupancy change, per wsfm.wyo.gov/fire-prevention

  2. 2

    Final Acceptance — Certificate of Occupancy or Letter of Compliance (State WSFM)

    Per wsfm.wyo.gov/fire-prevention: 'Upon completion and the passing of all inspections a Certificate of Occupancy or Letter of Compliance is issued' by the State — Fremont County itself explicitly does not issue Certificates of Occupancy

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

Tips

  • Fremont County's blanket rule is 'no Certificates of Occupancy' — but if your change of use converts a building into a government/school building, a 5,000+ sq ft public-access building, a childcare center for more than 10 children, a multi-story building, or a place of assembly, the State (not the county) will require plan review and can issue a Certificate of Occupancy or Letter of Compliance directly.
  • This state review triggers regardless of project valuation for a qualifying change of occupancy — contrast with ordinary alterations/remodeling of the same building categories, which only trigger WSFM review at $40,000+ in valuation.
  • For any change of use that does NOT fall into those five categories (most small residential or low-occupancy commercial changes), no permit, review, or Certificate of Occupancy process exists at any level in unincorporated Fremont County — confirm this with Fremont County Planning ((307) 332-1077) for your specific scenario before proceeding.

Frequently asked questions

Not based on anything found in this research. Fremont County has no general change-of-use permit, and the only documented trigger is the State Fire Marshal review for conversions into government/school, large public-access, large childcare, multi-story, or assembly buildings. If your project doesn't fit one of those categories, confirm directly with Fremont County Planning ((307) 332-1077) — this database found no separate process for other changes of use.

In Unincorporated Fremont County, the published Change of Occupancy Plan Review Fee (qualifying buildings only) is: Not published as a flat dollar figure. These are the jurisdiction's own published figures — see the fee schedule table and source citations on this page.

Unincorporated Fremont County's published plan-review target for a change of occupancy / use review (state fire marshal) permit is 5–26 business days.

You'll need: WSFM eLicensing/ePermit/ePayment Portal Account; Plans/Specifications for the New Occupancy. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

Unincorporated Fremont County requires 2 inspection(s) for a change of occupancy / use review (state fire marshal) permit, in order: Fire & Life Safety Construction Inspection (State WSFM), Final Acceptance — Certificate of Occupancy or Letter of Compliance (State WSFM). Schedule each through Fremont County Planning Department ((307) 332-1077).

Apply through Fremont County Planning Department at 450 North 2nd Street, Lander, WY 82520. Phone: (307) 332-1077, email: support@fremontcountywy.gov. Office hours: Mon–Fri (contact department for current hours). Official information: https://fremontcountywy.gov/government/departments/planning_department/building_codes.php.

Unincorporated Fremont County, Wyoming has adopted: NO county-wide building code and NO county-specific building permit for private construction. Fremont County's own Planning Department page states verbatim: 'Fremont County does not have any County-wide Zoning or County specific Building Codes, except the following' (small wastewater/septic permits and floodplain zoning in mapped FEMA hazard areas near Lander, Riverton, Dubois, and Hudson) — https://fremontcountywy.gov/government/departments/planning_department/building_codes.php; Confirmed against the Wyoming Dept. of Fire Prevention & Electrical Safety 'LOCAL AND STATE JURISDICTIONS' chart (updated 7/7/2026 as of this check — the date label itself changed from a prior 5/11/2026, but the underlying Fremont County determination did not — embedded at wsfm.wyo.gov/electrical-safety): Fremont County's BLDG INSP/PR and ELEC INSP/PR columns are both still marked S/S (state) for the unincorporated county, meaning the county has NOT taken general building-code delegation under W.S. § 35-9-121 — the State of Wyoming, not Fremont County, has building jurisdiction over unincorporated private construction; Fremont County's own building-codes page RECOMMENDS (does not require) that residents follow the State of Wyoming's adopted codes for new construction: 2024 International Building Code, 2024 International Existing Building Code, 2024 International Mechanical Code, 2024 International Fire Code, 2024 International Fuel Gas Code, and the National Electrical Code (2023 edition was in effect through June 30, 2026; per wsfm.wyo.gov/electrical-safety, the 2026 NEC edition took effect statewide July 1, 2026) — these are recommendations for quality/insurability, not a locally enforced code, and the county issues no building permit and performs no building inspection against them; Fremont County explicitly states it does NOT issue Certificates of Occupancy; Commercial/public construction is NOT fully unregulated: per Wyoming Statute § 35-9-108, a State Fire Marshal plan review IS required for government/school buildings, buildings over 5,000 sq ft with public access, childcare centers (10+ children), multi-story buildings, places of assembly, fire-protection-system work, alternative energy installations (solar/wind/generator), aboveground flammable/combustible liquid storage tanks, Type I commercial kitchen hoods, spray finish applications, and RV/camping/mobile-home park site plans — contact the State Fire Marshal's Plan Review office (Jeff Schoen, (307) 673-1461, jeff.schoen@wyo.gov) for any of these commercial scopes; The Incorporated Cities within Fremont County (Riverton, Lander, Dubois, Hudson, Shoshoni, Pavillion, and South Pass City) each have their OWN separate zoning and building codes and issue their own permits — this LEAN page covers ONLY unincorporated (outside city-limits) Fremont County. See the separate City of Riverton page for Riverton's own building department.. Local amendments apply — see the Unincorporated Fremont County overview page for the full list.

No. Fremont County explicitly states it does not issue Certificates of Occupancy for any use, on its own Building Codes & Certificates of Occupancy page. The only related process is state-run: if a change of occupancy converts a building into a government/school building, a 5,000+ sq ft public-access building, a childcare center (10+ children), a multi-story building, or a place of assembly, the Wyoming State Fire Marshal's Office performs plan review and can issue a Certificate of Occupancy or Letter of Compliance directly — not the county.

Sources & verification

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 Unincorporated Fremont County building department before you submit. PermitBase is an independent reference and is not affiliated with any government agency.

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Change of Occupancy / Use Review (State Fire Marshal) in other cities

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