County Building Permits
Boulder County Building Permit Guide (Unincorporated Area)
How to apply for a building permit in unincorporated Boulder County, Colorado. Permit authority, application steps, fees, and inspection requirements.
Permit Authority
Applies to unincorporated Boulder County and not to incorporated municipalities, except where county materials specifically note special county jurisdiction such as Jamestown.
- Department
- Boulder County Building Safety and Inspection Services, Community Planning & Permitting
- Address
- Courthouse Annex Building, 2045 13th St., Boulder, CO 80302
- Phone
- 303-441-3926
Online Permit Portal
Platform: EZBP / Easy Building Permit portal • Account required: Yes • Submission: In-person only
Additional resources:
Application Process
- Determine whether the project is in unincorporated county jurisdiction and review county building publications and checklists.
- Prepare the permit application, plans, site information, and any required access, grading, wildfire, floodplain, septic, or engineered reports.
- Submit through county building permit workflows or EZBP if eligible.
- Address plan-review comments and satisfy related county approvals.
- Pay permit fees and keep permit documents on site.
- Schedule required inspections, submit required engineer letters and surveys, and obtain final approval.
Typical processing time: Not clearly summarized as a single countywide chart on the main building page reviewed.
Source: Boulder County Building Safety and Inspection Services, Community Planning & Permitting
General Requirements
County issues building permits for construction in unincorporated Boulder County and publishes separate residential-construction guidance and easy-building-permit pathways.
Required Documents
- Application
- Plans
- Location and access information
- Project-specific engineering, zoning, wildfire, floodplain, septic, or other supporting materials
- Permit validity
- Not clearly summarized on the main public pages reviewed; verify current expiration rules against county code amendments.
- Building code
- County publishes building code amendments effective June 6, 2022 and related county BuildSmart and wildfire-related requirements.
- Owner-builder
- Not clearly summarized on the main public landing pages reviewed.
- Contractor requirements
- Boulder County contractor licensing is handled separately by the county; state plumbing and electrical licensing also applies.
Fees
- Plan check fee
- Embedded within county permit-fee schedules and deposits rather than posted as a simple standalone line on the main page
- Permit fee formula
- County permit-fee publication states permit fees are based on total project valuation and includes an application deposit.
- Payment note
- County permit fees may be collected in stages beginning with application deposit.
Fees change. Verify current amounts at the official fee schedule.
Work That Does NOT Require a Permit
Contact the Boulder County Building Safety and Inspection Services, Community Planning & Permitting to confirm whether your project requires a permit before starting work.
Inspections
How to Schedule
- County inspection scheduling tools (online)
- buildinginspectors@bouldercounty.gov (email)
- Inspection hours
- Public office hours 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday; virtual service hours 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday
Typical inspection sequence: County-required staged inspections, with some caisson, footing, foundation-wall, and structural-framing inspections allowed by qualified Colorado-licensed engineer, then finals
Day-of-inspection cancellations cannot be made by phone or text; engineer reports must be emailed to EZBP before rough inspections where required
Additional Resources
- Building code: County publishes building code amendments effective June 6, 2022 and related county BuildSmart and wildfire-related requirements.
- Verify contractor license: Contractor Licensing
- Zoning information: View zoning info
- Owner-builder rules: View rules
- Building Code Amendments
- License lookup guide: Colorado Contractor License Requirements
- Contract template: Colorado Homeowner-Contractor Agreement
- Colorado hub: Colorado Contractor License & Permit Hub
Information on this page was last verified: March 2026. Permit rules and fees change — confirm current requirements directly with the Boulder County Building Safety and Inspection Services, Community Planning & Permitting before applying.
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