Green River building permits

Building department

Address

50 E 2nd North Street, Green River, WY 82935

Phone

(307) 872-6140

Email

Contact via Development Services (see department website)

Office hours

Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Website

Official site

Permit portal

Apply online at Green River's portal

Inspection guide

See how inspections work in Green River — sequence, scheduling & re-inspection fees.

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.

• 2024 International Building Code (IBC), including Appendices B, I, J — adopted by City of Green River Code of Ordinances Sec. 7-16 (Ord. No. 16-02, 8-1-16; amended through Ord. No. 25-01, 1-21-25); Chapter 27 (Electrical) of the IBC is deleted by local amendment since electrical is separately governed by the local NEC adoption (Sec. 7-76)
• 2024 International Residential Code (IRC), including Appendices AA, BA, BE, BF, CA, CB, CD — Sec. 7-17 (Ord. No. 25-01, 1-21-25); local design criteria: Ground Snow Load 30 psf, Wind Speed 115 mph, Seismic Design Category C, Weathering Severe, Frost Line Depth 42 inches, Termite None to Slight, Winter Design Temp -20°F, Ice Shield Underlayment Required, Air Freezing Index 2282, Elevation 6,132 ft
• 2024 International Plumbing Code (IPC), including all appendices — Sec. 7-31 (Ord. No. 25-01, 1-21-25), with local amendment to Section 305.4 (Freezing) restricting exterior/attic/crawlspace pipe placement
• 2024 International Mechanical Code (IMC), including all appendices — Sec. 7-46 (Ord. No. 25-01, 1-21-25)
• 2024 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC) — Sec. 7-91 (Ord. No. 25-01, 1-21-25)
• National Electrical Code (NEC), latest edition as adopted by the Wyoming State Fire Marshal's Office (2023 NEC was in effect through June 30, 2026; per wsfm.wyo.gov/electrical-safety, the 2026 NEC took effect statewide July 1, 2026) — adopted by reference for Green River under Sec. 7-76 (Ord. No. 16-02, 8-1-16; amended through Ord. No. 25-01, 1-21-25); enforced locally by the City under Home Rule, not by the state electrical program

Permit types & fees

• Residential Building Permit (New Construction)

  Required for new single-family and two-family residential construction in Green River, including duplex dwellings. Governed by the 2024 International Residential Code (IRC) as adopted by Sec. 7-17 of the Code of Ordinances, with Green River-specific climatic and geographic design criteria.

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• Residential Addition / Remodel Permit

  Required for additions, remodels, and interior alterations to existing residential structures in Green River, including square-footage-increasing additions and interior remodeling.

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• Electrical Permit

  Required for electrical wiring, installations, and alterations in Green River. Governed by the National Electrical Code (NEC), latest edition as adopted by the Wyoming State Fire Marshal's Office (the 2026 NEC took effect statewide July 1, 2026 per wsfm.wyo.gov/electrical-safety; the 2023 NEC was in effect before that date), adopted locally by Code of Ordinances Sec. 7-76. IMPORTANT: unlike the WSFM 'LOCAL AND STATE JURISDICTIONS' chart's general S/S (state-enforced) classification for Green River, the city's OWN ordinance and forms show Green River enforces its electrical code locally under Home Rule — see localAmendments for the full discrepancy note.

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• Plumbing Permit

  Required for plumbing installations, alterations, and repairs in Green River. Governed by the 2024 International Plumbing Code (IPC), adopted by Code of Ordinances Sec. 7-31, with a local amendment restricting exterior/concealed pipe placement due to the area's cold climate.

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• Mechanical / HVAC Permit

  Required for heating, ventilating, cooling, refrigeration, and other mechanical equipment installations in Green River. Governed by the 2024 International Mechanical Code (IMC), adopted by Code of Ordinances Sec. 7-46, and the 2024 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC) for gas piping, adopted by Sec. 7-91.

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• Roofing Permit (Reroof)

  Required for roofing and reroofing work in Green River per the city's Work Requiring a Building Permit list, governed by the 2024 IBC/IRC as applicable to the structure type.

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• Solar PV Permit

  Rooftop or ground-mounted solar photovoltaic installations in Green River require a building permit (structural) and an electrical permit, since solar PV falls under both the adopted 2024 IRC/IBC (structural/racking) and the locally-enforced NEC (electrical interconnection, Article 690).

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• EV Charger / Electric Vehicle Charging Station Permit

  Installing an EV charger circuit in Green River is electrical work regulated by the locally-enforced National Electrical Code (2026 NEC effective statewide July 1, 2026, per the Wyoming State Fire Marshal's Office; 2023 NEC applied previously). Green River has no distinct EV-charger permit type, application, or flat fee -- an EV charger circuit requires a standard City Electrical Permit, charged under the same general valuation-based Development Services fee schedule used for all electrical work (residential at 50% of the table, commercial/multi-family at 100%), the identical mechanism already documented in this corpus's electrical-permit and solar-pv-permit entries for Green River.

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• Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Permit

  Green River's zoning ordinance (Code of Ordinances Appendix B, Chapter 9 — Use Regulations) has NO dedicated Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) permit type or zoning category. The zoning code's own definition of 'Accessory Buildings, Structures and Uses' (Section 9.6) explicitly excludes residential occupancy: an accessory use 'Does not include residential occupancy.' A second dwelling unit on a lot must instead be built as a recognized 'Multi-Unit Dwelling' use (permitted only in specific multi-family zoning districts, e.g. R-3/R-4), not as an accessory structure to a single-family home.

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• Demolition Permit

  Required for demolition of structures in Green River. Requires sign-off from electrical utility, gas utility, and water/wastewater/sewer confirming service disconnection before demolition, plus a City Building Department utility-shutoff inspection.

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• Commercial Tenant Improvement Permit

  Required for interior remodels, additions, and tenant improvements to commercial and industrial buildings in Green River. Governed by the 2024 International Building Code (IBC) as adopted by Sec. 7-16, charged at 100% (not the 50% residential rate) of the general valuation fee table. Certain commercial projects require additional State Fire Marshal's office review.

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• Sign Permit (Special Use Permit for Electronic/Changeable-Message Signs)

  Green River regulates signs under Code of Ordinances Appendix B (Zoning Ordinance), Chapter 10 -- Sign Regulations. Notably, signage does NOT appear on the City's own 'Work Requiring a Building Permit' list (DocumentCenter Doc #4166), meaning standard signage is administered through the Zoning Ordinance's own Chapter 10 process rather than the Building Inspection Division's standard Building Permit workflow used for construction trades. A confirmed real-world example on file: an electronic/changeable-message ('electronic rate') sign requires a Special Use Permit issued by City Council resolution on recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Commission (City Council Proceedings, April 6, 2010, Resolution R10-38).

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• Fire Sprinkler & Fire Alarm System Permit (Wyoming State Fire Marshal's Office)

  Installation, addition, or alteration of fire protection systems (fire sprinkler, fire alarm, and fire suppression systems) affecting Green River is regulated statewide by the Wyoming State Fire Marshal's Office (WSFM), Department of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety, under Wyoming Statute Sec. 35-9-108 -- plan review and permitting is required 'regardless of size or valuation.' No evidence was found that the City of Green River or the Green River Fire Department separately issues its own local fire-sprinkler or fire-alarm permit: the City's own Building Permit Application (DocumentCenter Doc #5572) covers only Building/Electrical/Plumbing/Mechanical/Gas trades, this file's codesAdopted list of Chapter 7 building-code adoptions includes no locally-adopted Fire Code chapter, and the Green River Fire Department's own Fire Prevention page makes no mention of plan review, permitting, or fee authority. This differs from Green River's Home Rule electrical-permit arrangement (see electrical-permit entry) -- for fire protection systems specifically, WSFM plan review/permitting is the operative route found by this research.

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• Change of Use / Change of Occupancy Permit

  Green River does not publish a standalone 'Certificate of Occupancy' application separate from its general Building Permit process. A change in the use or occupancy of an existing building or structure is expressly regulated as permit-triggering work under Section 105.1 of the adopted International Building Code (2024 IBC, per Sec. 7-16): any owner or authorized agent who intends to '...change the occupancy of a building or structure...' must first apply to the Building Official and obtain the required permit. The City's own Building Permit FAQ separately confirms that those intending to '...change the occupancy of a building' must call Development Services to schedule required inspections, and the Business Services page notes the Building Department may contact a business owner if a new business represents 'a change in occupancy use of the structure.' The Zoning Permit process (Development Services FAQ) also lists 'change in use [of] a property' among the actions requiring Zoning Permit approval, meaning a genuine change of use in Green River is a joint Zoning + Building Permit event rather than a single dedicated 'CO' product.

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