Carefree certificate of occupancy: the $100 Building Safety Inspection before a business opens

The Town's Business Licenses page, in the step for brick-and-mortar businesses: "A Certificate of Occupancy (COO) is required before opening a physical business location. This is a one-time requirement unless your business relocates to a different building within the Town, in which case a new COO must be obtained."

The process around it:

• Step 1. Submit a Business License Application through the Permit & License Portal. The $50 business license fee can be paid there.
• Step 2. "To receive a COO, applicants must request and pay for a Building Safety Inspection ($100) through the Permit & License Portal after submitting their application." After the inspection is completed and the building is approved, the COO is issued along with the business license.
• Step 3. The license is issued through the portal and must be prominently displayed at the place of business.

The page also says that brick-and-mortar businesses complete all three steps, while contractors and Farmers Market vendors only complete steps 1 and 3. Licenses are valid July 1 through June 30. The owner is responsible for keeping a copy of the COO.

• COO. The Certificate of Occupancy. The page treats it as the Town's sign-off that the building can be opened for business.
• Building Safety Inspection. The $100 inspection requested in the portal. The page does not list what the inspector checks.
• Permit & License Portal. The Town's online system for building permits, business licenses, engineering permits and inspection requests.

Any physical business location in Carefree, including a tenant moving into an existing space. A relocation to a different building within the Town needs a new COO.

It does not cover contractors working in town. They skip the inspection step, though they still need the license.

The page says nothing about plumbing. A certificate of occupancy is separate from the building permit for the work done in the space, and Carefree's Building Department page says "ALL CONSTRUCTION REQUIRES A PERMIT."

A coffee shop leases a former boutique. The owner applies for the license in the portal, requests the $100 inspection, and the COO comes with the license once the building is approved. If the shop needs new sinks or a floor drain, that plumbing work is a construction permit handled separately in the same portal.

A restaurant relocates across town. It stays in Carefree but changes buildings. The page says a new COO is required for the new location.

The edge case. A business owner assumes that submitting the license application is approval to open. The page says "submission of an application does not constitute approval to conduct business."

1. 1Check zoning and whether your project needs permits. The Town's licensing page lists both under "Before You Apply."
2. 2Create an account in the Permit & License Portal. If you work on behalf of a company, call 480-488-3686 for an access code first, per the Permits page.
3. 3Submit the license application and pay the $50 fee. Complete the application and its documents within 30 days or it expires.
4. 4Request and pay for the $100 Building Safety Inspection in the portal, and request any construction inspections by 4PM for the next available day.
5. 5Keep a copy of the COO and display the license.

HQ Plumbing & Air does the plumbing side of a tenant space: repairs, restaurant lateral jetting and domestic backflow testing and replacement.

• Myth: the COO is renewed every year. The page calls it a one-time requirement unless the business relocates.
• Myth: the license and the COO are separate trips. The COO is issued along with the business license once the inspection passes.
• Myth: plumbing work is covered by the COO inspection. The page does not say so. Construction has its own permit.
• Myth: the Town will fill in the application. Town staff are unable to complete applications or guide applicants through the process.

The text above comes from the Town of Carefree Business Licenses, Building Department and Permits and Licenses pages, read on 2026-10-04. The Town lists the 2018 International Plumbing Code and amendments among its adopted codes. This page explains the Town's pages, and the official text governs.