Can a Phoenix business get an annual permit for plumbing alterations?

Section 105.1.1 says: "Instead of an individual permit for each alteration to an already approved electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing installation, the building official is authorized to issue an annual permit upon application therefor to any person, firm or corporation regularly employing one or more qualified tradespersons in the building, structure or on the premises owned or operated by the applicant for the permit." Section 105.1.2 adds that the holder "shall keep a detailed record of alterations made under such annual permit," and the building official must have access to those records at all times.

Phoenix's own note on the amendment says "Requirements for annual permits are specified in Section 117." That section creates the Annual Facilities Program, which "is an administrative system intended to simplify the permitting and inspection process for qualified facilities." So the working annual permit in Phoenix is the Annual Facilities Permit.

• Qualified facility: a building, campus, structure or building service equipment registered with the program.
• Qualified facility owner: a firm, corporation, political entity or property management company that occupies or controls the buildings and maintains them in compliance with the code.
• Agent: a person employed by the owner as full-time staff or by contract who is an architect or engineer registered in Arizona. The agent is responsible for code compliance of the work. An agent hired by contract cannot be the same person as the builder or the person authorized to act for the owner.
• Qualified tradesperson: the code does not define it. Read it as a worker with the trade qualifications Phoenix requires for permitted plumbing work.

Organizations with facilities that see steady plumbing alterations: campuses, property management companies, chains, government facilities. It does not cover a single tenant who needs one build-out, and it does not turn everything into a no-permit job. Section 117.1 says "Additional permits shall be required in accordance with Section 105," and the program does not preempt the technical requirements of the code.

• A property management company with twelve office buildings. It registers the buildings, names an Arizona engineer as its agent, and its plumbing crew alters restrooms and water lines under the annual permit, keeping records for the city.
• A restaurant chain replacing water heaters at many sites. Each location must be registered. Alterations still get plans and inspections at the frequency the building official sets.
• A one-suite office tenant. The answer flips. An annual program built for facility owners with an Arizona-registered agent makes little sense for one build-out. The regular commercial permit is the fit.
• An agent who quits. The owner has seven calendar days to notify PDD and 45 days to name a replacement, or the annual permit is suspended.

1. 1Confirm your organization fits: it occupies or controls the buildings and regularly employs qualified tradespeople on the premises.
2. 2Line up an Arizona registered architect or engineer as agent, on staff or under contract.
3. 3Complete the PDD application listing the authorized person, the agent and each location with total square footage, and pay the application and registration fees.
4. 4Use SHAPE PHX, which since April 27, 2026 lists Annual Facility Permits among its services. For properties in the program, PDD's flyer points to the assigned inspector or 602-262-7501.
5. 5Notify PDD before each project, keep the alteration records the code requires, and renew every 12 months.

• "An annual permit means no inspections." Section 117.5.2 requires inspections at regular intervals not to exceed six months.
• "A licensed contractor can be the agent." The agent must be an Arizona registered architect or engineer.
• "It transfers when we sell." The permit is not transferable.
• "The registration fee covers the work." Plan review and inspection are billed at the hourly rate on top.

Section 117.6 lets the building official suspend or revoke the permit for reasons that include working without an agent, concealing work without inspection approval and failing to report work done under the permit. Reinstating means fixing the violations, a separate permit for any compliance work, an investigation fee and a new registration fee.