Evanston building permits
VerifiedDepartment contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Evanston, Wyoming.
Last verified 2026-07-01 · Source
Building department
- Address
- 33 Allegiance Circle, Evanston, WY 82930
- Phone
- (307) 783-6470
- Office hours
- Monday through Thursday 7:30 am–5 pm; Friday 7:30 am–1:30 pm (City Hall hours; contact Building Department directly for its own hours)
- 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, manufactured, or trailer home construction in Evanston. Reviewed for compliance with zoning, Evanston design load values (wind/seismic/snow/frost), and current International Residential Code requirements per Evanston City Code § 7-52.1. The City's Building Department issues the permit and performs inspections locally; qualifying buildings under W.S. § 35-9-108 (see department notes) additionally require Wyoming State Fire Marshal plan review.
Residential Addition / Remodel Permit
Required for room additions, structural remodels, garages/accessory buildings 120 sq ft or larger, decks, awnings, fences, and retaining walls in Evanston. Reviewed against Evanston design load values and current IRC requirements; issued and inspected locally by the City Building Department.
Electrical Permit (State Program)
Electrical wiring permits and inspections in Evanston are issued and performed ENTIRELY by the Wyoming State Fire Marshal's Office (Chief Electrical Inspector) under the state's default statewide electrical program (W.S. § 35-9-119) — the City of Evanston does NOT issue electrical permits or perform electrical inspections. This matches the WSFM 'LOCAL AND STATE JURISDICTIONS' chart classification of Evanston as ELEC INSP/PR: S/S, and is directly confirmed by the City's own Building Inspection Information sheet, which instructs permit holders to 'Contact State of Wyoming Electrical Inspector' for electrical inspections.
Plumbing Permit
Required for new plumbing installations, alterations, and irrigation system backflow prevention in Evanston. Issued and inspected locally by the City Building Department; charged under the City's general valuation-based building-permit fee schedule (no separate flat plumbing fee line).
Mechanical / HVAC Permit
Required for furnace, ductwork, and mechanical equipment installation in Evanston. Issued and inspected locally by the City Building Department; charged under the City's general valuation-based building-permit fee schedule (no separate flat mechanical fee line). Gas piping inspections are performed by the local gas provider, not the City.
Roofing Permit (Reroof)
Same-type-for-same-type roof replacement does NOT require a permit in Evanston. A building permit IS required when changing roofing materials or structural elements.
Solar PV Permit
Solar systems in Evanston require BOTH a City of Evanston building permit AND a Wyoming State Plan Review and Electrical Permit — a dual local/state review confirmed directly in the City's own Building Permit Legal Requirements ('Solar Systems require a building permit and a Wyoming State Plan Review and Electrical Permit'). This matches W.S. § 35-9-108's state plan-review trigger for 'alternate energy generation installation feeding to the utility' and the WSFM chart's state electrical classification for Evanston.
Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Permit
Evanston formally adopted an ADU ordinance (Ordinance No. 26-01, adopted March 3, 2026), amending Chapter 24 (Zoning) of the Evanston City Code to permit Accessory Dwelling Units, with detailed standards codified at Evanston City Code § 24-26.1. ADUs are a permitted or conditional use (by zoning district) only on lots with a detached single-family dwelling.
Demolition Permit
Required for demolition of structures in Evanston. Residential demolition is a flat fee; commercial demolition is valuation-based, per the City's Engineering & Building Rate Sheet.
Commercial Construction / Tenant Improvement Permit
Required for new commercial construction, tenant improvements, and renovations in Evanston. Engineer-stamped plans required incorporating Evanston design load values, zoning requirements, and current International Code design criteria. Some commercial buildings trigger mandatory Wyoming State Fire Marshal plan review and fire/electrical requirements per W.S. § 35-9-108.
Tips & gotchas
- Evanston is a split jurisdiction: the CITY issues local building permits and performs its OWN building inspections (footings, framing, plumbing, mechanical, final/CO), but ELECTRICAL permitting and inspection is performed entirely by the Wyoming State Fire Marshal's Office — confirmed directly by the City's own inspection sheet ('Electrical: Contact State of Wyoming Electrical Inspector'). Do not contact the City for an electrical permit.
- Certain buildings additionally require Wyoming State Fire Marshal PLAN REVIEW under W.S. § 35-9-108 — government-owned buildings, buildings for public access over 5,000 sq ft, multi-story public/private buildings (incl. apartments/condos), childcare centers (>10 children), bars/restaurants/theatres/churches/public meeting places regardless of size, fuel dispensing facilities, alternate energy generation feeding the utility (solar), Type I commercial kitchen hoods, spray finish applications, and occupancy changes. Approved State plan-review copies must be given to the City before construction begins.
- Evanston's building permit fee formula is simple and uniform: $0.010 (1%) of project cost with a $30.00 minimum, applied to building, demolition (commercial), and sign permits alike — there is no separate valuation table by trade the way some larger Wyoming cities use.
- Evanston's design load values are notably conservative for the region: 54-inch minimum footing depth (70 inches for unprotected footings), Seismic Zone D1, 40 psf minimum roof snow load (60 psf in basin areas), and area-dependent wind speeds (100–110 mph) — confirm which wind zone (1980 developed city area vs. surrounding bench areas) applies to your lot.
- Evanston adopted a brand-new Accessory Dwelling Unit ordinance (No. 26-01) on March 3, 2026, codified at City Code § 24-26.1, with 17 detailed standards including owner-occupancy and a one-year prior-residency requirement — this is recent and implementation details should be confirmed directly with the Engineering & Planning Department.
- Gas piping inspections are handled by the local gas provider (Enbridge Gas), not the City — a third jurisdiction split alongside the City (most trades) and State (electrical, plus certain plan reviews).
- The City's official web presence migrated from its legacy CivicPlus pages to an ArcGIS Hub site (engineering-planning-evanstonwy.hub.arcgis.com) for Engineering, Planning, GIS, and Building Department content; the old /121/Planning-Development and /625/Engineering-Building CivicPlus URLs now 404 — use the ArcGIS Hub URLs cited in this file.
- The seed URL evanstonwy.gov does not resolve (DNS failure, confirmed via multiple resolvers and WebFetch ENOTFOUND) — the correct, live official domain is evanstonwy.org.
- Permits are applied for online via the City's iworq portal (portal.iworq.net/EVANSTON) — confirmed live (loads as 'Permit Requests - Evanston').
- 24–48 hours' notice is required for City-performed inspections; construction must begin within 180 days of permit issuance.