Jackson building permits
VerifiedDepartment contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Jackson, Wyoming.
Last verified 2026-07-01 · Source
Building department
- Address
- 150 E Pearl Avenue, Jackson, WY 83001 (P.O. Box 1687, Jackson, WY 83001)
- Phone
- 307-733-0440, ext. 1352 (Building Inspection Hotline: 307-733-0520, ext. 1351)
- Office hours
- The Town does not do over-the-counter permitting; all submittals are electronic. Inspections conducted virtually Tuesdays/Thursdays and in-person Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays.
- 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
One and Two Family Building Permit
Required to construct any new one- and two-family dwelling, accessory building, addition, alteration, or repair in the Town of Jackson. Governed by the 2024 IRC. All submittals are electronic to townbuilding@jacksonwy.gov; no over-the-counter permitting.
Residential Addition / Remodel Permit
Required for additions, remodels, and alterations to existing one- and two-family dwellings in Jackson. Uses the same One and Two Family Building Permit Application as new construction, processed under the 'Remodels and Alterations' valuation-based fee track of the 2024 IRC.
Electrical Permit
Required for all permanent wiring installed in buildings and structures in the Town of Jackson. Per the WSFM 'LOCAL AND STATE JURISDICTIONS' chart, Jackson is L/L for electrical (BLDG L/L, ELEC L/L) — the Town holds delegated electrical authority. In practice, electrical permitting/inspection is administered by the Jackson Hole Fire/EMS Department's Electrical Division, a jointly-funded Town of Jackson / Teton County fire district, not a separate program of the Wyoming State Fire Marshal.
Plumbing Permit
Required to construct, alter, repair, or change the occupancy of a building's plumbing system in the Town of Jackson. Governed by the 2024 International Plumbing Code with the 2024 International Fuel Gas Code for gas piping.
Mechanical / Fuel Gas Permit
Required to alter, convert, enlarge, erect, install, remove, or repair a mechanical system in the Town of Jackson. Governed by the 2024 International Mechanical Code and 2024 International Fuel Gas Code.
Roofing Permit (Reroof)
Roof replacement in the Town of Jackson is processed under the standard Building Permit (2024 IBC/IRC) — there is no separate dedicated roofing/reroof permit type or flat fee; reroofs are charged under the general Remodels and Alterations valuation-based building permit fee schedule. Reroofs are exempt from the WUI permit prerequisite.
Solar PV Permit
Solar photovoltaic and battery Energy Storage System (ESS) installations in Jackson require BOTH a building permit and an electrical permit. There is no separate flat-fee 'solar permit' type — solar work is charged under the general Building Permit (valuation-based) and Electrical Permit (valuation-based) fee schedules, with mandatory electrical plan review.
Accessory Residential Unit (ARU) Permit
Jackson's term for an accessory dwelling unit is the Accessory Residential Unit (ARU). There is no permit type separate from the standard One and Two Family Building Permit — an ARU is built under that same building permit, with its own line item ('Attached ARU') on the gross-square-footage tabulation. ARUs are zoning-gated (allowed only in specific zones per Ordinance 1139) and are notable in Jackson/Teton County for a workforce-housing rental restriction.
Demolition Permit
Required to demolish or remove any building or structure (or 50%+ of exterior walls/roof area, or any street-facing exterior wall) within Town of Jackson limits. All demolition applications are referred to the Teton County Historic Preservation Board (TCHPB) for review.
Commercial Building Permit / Tenant Improvement
Required for construction, alteration, or tenant improvement of commercial, office, multi-family, or warehouse buildings in the Town of Jackson. Governed by the 2024 IBC, with a mandatory nonrefundable plan review deposit for all commercial submittals.
Grading Permit (Statement Level / Plan Level)
Required for all land-disturbing activities and excavation in the Town of Jackson per LDR Section 5.7.1.D, unless explicitly exempted. Administered by the Town Engineering Division (Public Works). Submitted with the building permit application for most residential scopes; a standalone Grading Pre-Application is required only for Plan-Level projects.
Tips & gotchas
- The WUI (Wildland-Urban Interface) permit from Jackson Hole Fire/EMS is a hard prerequisite for building permit submittal town-wide as of January 1, 2025 — get the WUI permit number before applying for any building permit. $150 non-refundable review fee, 7-10 working day turnaround.
- Electrical permitting is run by Jackson Hole Fire/EMS's Electrical Division (a jointly-funded Town of Jackson / Teton County fire district), separate from the Town's own Building Division — matching the WSFM jurisdictions chart's ELEC L/L classification for Jackson.
- Building Inspections are a Town-only function; Teton County has its own SEPARATE Building Inspections division (307-733-3959) for unincorporated county projects — the Town and County are NOT a single joint building department, even though Fire/EMS and Electrical ARE jointly funded/administered.
- All Town of Jackson permit submittals are 100% electronic — no over-the-counter or paper permitting. Building permits go to townbuilding@jacksonwy.gov by email; trade permits (mechanical, electrical, plumbing) go through the SmartGov portal and require the applicant to hold a Town of Jackson contractor license in that trade.
- Jackson's ADU equivalent is the Accessory Residential Unit (ARU) — built under the standard residential building permit (no separate ADU permit/fee), zoning-gated to specific districts per a 2016 ordinance, and excluded from the homeowner self-build exemption (ARUs always require a licensed contractor).
- Short-Term Rentals require BOTH a Business License and a Basic Use Permit; rules differ sharply inside vs. outside the Lodging Overlay/Planned Resort Zone (outside: annual renewal, 60-night/3-stay cap, neighbor noticing; inside: one-time approval, no renewal, no noticing).
- Ground snow load = 93 psf, wind speed = 115 mph, Seismic Design Category D, and 34-inch minimum frost depth are all Jackson-specific structural design criteria amendments to the adopted 2024 IBC/IRC — do not reuse another Wyoming city's figures.
- Fees are set by Town Council Resolution (currently Resolution 25-18, Appendix A, effective July 22, 2025), not fixed dollar amounts in the Municipal Code itself — Municode's Title 15 states fees are 'established by resolution,' so always verify against the current fee schedule document, which is updated periodically.
- Per the WSFM 'LOCAL AND STATE JURISDICTIONS' chart, Jackson is classified BLDG L/L and ELEC L/L — full local authority for both building and electrical, unlike some other Wyoming cities (e.g., Riverton, Green River) where electrical defaults to the state program.