Permits and Inspections: Rules in Phoenix-Area Cities

The contractor who cuts the street restores it, and the restoration is bigger than the trench. Phoenix requires a slurry seal at least 25 feet past every cut, and a mill and overlay across the lanes if the street is under 24 months old. Mesa, Glendale, Chandler and Surprise refuse most cuts for two years after paving.

Every Valley city we checked requires one. A plumbing permit covers work on the lot; digging in a street, alley or sidewalk for a sewer or water line takes a separate right-of-way or encroachment permit from the city engineer. Phoenix says so in Building Code 105.1, Mesa in City Code 9-1-2, Scottsdale in 47-50.

The recorded easement and local rules decide. Chandler and Glendale plats specifically allow wood, wire or removable-section fencing, Surprise bars accessory structures, and Avondale pools and Glendale ADUs have specific written-consent requirements. Digging in one takes a city permit in Phoenix, Gilbert and Mesa.

Published charges cover different services. Phoenix lists $95 for a city-built sewer tap, Tempe $1,800 for a six-inch street tap with pavement, and Chandler $1,819 for a 3/4-inch service line and meter box. Mesa lists a separate $9,528 combined capacity fee for a new 3/4-inch meter. Obtain an itemized utility quote; these are not total project prices.

A county permit becomes invalid if work does not start within 180 days of issuance or stops for 180 days. The building official can extend it in writing; the county's Expired Permits page adds one free extension and a half-fee renewal. Starting plumbing work early adds a fee the code states as the permit fee doubled.

Phoenix charges plumbing permit fees by project valuation using Table A of its PDD Fee Schedule. Jobs valued $1 to $1,000 pay a $195 base fee, or $98 for a residential water heater. Above that, the fee steps up per $1,000 of value, and plan review adds 80 to 100 percent of the permit fee when review is required.

Most Phoenix permits expire 24 months after they are issued under PBCC Section 105.5. The building official can extend one in writing for up to a year at a time if you ask before it expires, and an expired permit can be reinstated within a year. Permits for work started without a permit get only 12 months.

Phoenix requires two plumbing inspection stages under PBCC 110.3.10.1. Sewer, drain, vent, water and gas piping must pass a rough-in or underground inspection before it is buried or concealed, and a final inspection follows once fixtures are set and operating or ready to operate. Nothing connects to water, fuel or sewer until the building official authorizes it.

Under PBCC Section 119.1, permitted plumbing work in Phoenix must be done by a city-licensed journeyman or an apprentice. The exceptions are Arizona-licensed contractors, the owner/occupant of a single-family home working on their own residence, and people installing private water services, sewers or private sewage disposal systems. Apprentices must be supervised at all times.

The city can stop all work and investigate before issuing a permit. Work started without one pays an investigation fee ($250 or the permit fee, whichever is greater), a doubled permit fee and a job-site meeting fee. Previous-owner work may qualify for waivers of the investigation, additional permit and meeting charges.

Since August 1, 2025, Phoenix enforces the 2024 International Building, Residential, Mechanical, Fuel Gas and Plumbing codes and the 2024 Uniform Plumbing Code, all with Phoenix amendments. Plumbing plans may follow either the UPC or the IPC. Plans submitted after December 31, 2025 must follow the 2024 set.

Yes, if Scottsdale's building official finds no substantial hazard. Sec. 31-9 lets a nonresidential building open on a temporary certificate that lasts no more than 180 days. You post a deposit of all project permit fees or $2,500, whichever is greater, and power is cut and the building vacated when it expires.

For most plumbing work, yes. Scottsdale's Home Improvement guidance requires a plumbing permit to install, alter, reconstruct or repair any plumbing system, gas system or lawn sprinkler supply. Single-family jobs like fixture swaps, water heaters, repipes and gas lines to outdoor appliances need only a Minimum Permit, with no plan review. Irrigation piping repair needs none.

Yes. Scottsdale requires a Permit to Work in the Right-of-Way (PWR) for borings, potholing, curb cuts, barricades and any work that builds, installs or repairs improvements in the street. Regular utility maintenance can use an annual PWR. The city may require a cash deposit or letter of credit on busier streets.

Scottsdale adopts the 2021 IPC with Appendices B, D and E, and the 2021 IFGC with city amendments. Its current code-set page lists January 1, 2023, while the IFGC ordinance note says January 1, 2022. Scottsdale uses the IPC rather than the UPC; check its amendments for the proposed work.

Yes. Paradise Valley requires a Town permit for any work on, over or under a public road, street or alley, and that includes sewer and water trenches. Each permit covers one site and one duration and goes void if work has not started in 90 days. A permanent encroachment needs a separate encroachment permit from the Town Engineer.

Paradise Valley uses the 2015 International Plumbing Code, adopted in Town Code Sec. 5-5-1, with Town amendments in Sec. 5-5-2. Gas work follows the 2015 International Fuel Gas Code (Sec. 5-7-1) and homes the 2015 International Residential Code (Sec. 5-2-1). Scottsdale is on the 2021 IPC and Phoenix on the 2024 codes.

Fountain Hills adopted both the 2024 International Plumbing Code and the 2024 International Residential Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings, effective for building permit applications received on or after September 1, 2025. Ordinance 25-06 makes no Town amendment to the IPC, but it amends the IRC, including plumbing section P2904. Permit fees are set by council resolution.

Mesa treats a violation of its building and plumbing administrative code as a class one misdemeanor: a fine up to $2,500, up to six months in the city jail, or both, with each day a separate offense. Starting work before the permit also triggers a separate unauthorized construction fee of 50 to 200 percent of the permit fee.

Mesa inspects permitted plumbing in stages. An in-slab inspection comes before concrete, a rough inspection comes before pipe is covered and before fixtures are set, and a final comes when the work is done. The permit holder has to request each inspection and keep the work exposed until it passes.

Mesa requires a permit to install, alter, repair, remove or replace a plumbing or gas system. The exempt list is short: stopping leaks and clearing stoppages without changing pipe, reinstalling toilets, water heater and treatment appliance swaps, and equal replacement of the exterior water or sewer line outside the street or a public easement.

Yes. Under Chandler City Code 29-1.4, a property owner, or the owner's authorized representative, can appeal a building official's decision to the board of appeals. The written notice goes to the City Clerk within 30 days of receiving notice of the decision. The same board can approve alternate materials and methods of construction.

Chandler City Code 29-1.3 makes work that breaks the adopted building codes, including the plumbing code, a Class 1 misdemeanor. The building official can also issue a stop work order, and the cited work must cease immediately. The order must state its reason and the conditions for resuming work.

For work governed by Chandler's 2024 IRC, Section 29-6.7 exempts listed like-for-like replacements when the specified rating is equal or lower and the equipment stays in the same location. Confirm the code governing your building first: the parallel IBC list in 29-2.11 limits these added replacements to Group R-3 occupancy.

Chandler inspects plumbing in stages, and each stage must be exposed and passed before the work is covered: groundwork, water piping, building sewer, water service, upper-level drainage, rough plumbing under pressure test, and a final. The city's inspection codes for plumbing run from 729 to 746. Request each inspection at least one business day ahead.

Our reading: yes, replacing a house's water supply or drain piping needs a Chandler permit. The homeowner manual never uses the word repipe, but it says ordinary repairs, which need no permit, do not include replacement of water supply, sewer, drainage, soil, waste, vent or gas piping.

Chandler lets you book a plumbing inspection three ways: the CLICS online portal, the automated phone line at 480-782-3100, or a text to 844-281-3520 with the permit number, three-digit inspection code and date. The city's manual says to request it at least one business day ahead, with the work exposed.

Chandler City Code 29-4 adopts the 2024 International Plumbing Code, deletes its Chapter 1 and points to the building code's administration chapter instead, and makes two technical changes: drinking fountain substitutions (410.4) and grease interceptor sizing (1003.3.7). Every other IPC section applies as the model code wrote it.

Chandler can issue a Legal Notice or an Order to Comply, and the permit fee is doubled for work done without a permit. The city can also order non-compliant work removed at the homeowner's cost. Problems often surface at sale, when county records do not match and FHA will not provide a loan.

Chandler's Homeowner Building Permit Manual asks for a water meter worksheet when you add plumbing fixtures to a room addition, and says remodels typically follow the same requirements. The worksheet totals fixture units, gives the pipe length from the meter to the farthest fixture, and lists the meter and supply size. It goes on the plans.

Chandler Code 35-1907 holds back a certificate of occupancy until the site work is completed and accepted: landscape and irrigation, outdoor lighting, walkways, paved and striped parking, curbs where required and trash cleanup. The Zoning Administrator can extend that by at most 30 days for weather or acts of God. Sign permits are due before occupancy.

Chandler enforces the 2024 International Plumbing Code, Fuel Gas Code, Residential Code and Swimming Pool and Spa Code, with local amendments, effective July 1, 2025 under Ordinance 5108. Chandler does not use the Uniform Plumbing Code, so UPC section numbers do not apply to work inside the city.

Gilbert Town Code 66-8 requires a permit from the building official before anyone digs up a sidewalk, street or alley to connect to the town's water, irrigation, effluent or sewer systems, and the surface must be restored to its original condition. Digging without a permit, or leaving the surface unrestored, is a class one misdemeanor.

A tenant improvement permit is required when work alters or repairs a building, when plumbing, electrical or HVAC systems are altered or expanded, or when occupancy changes. Plumbing plans are required when water or sewer lines are altered or the system is expanded, and show fixtures, isometrics, load calculations, gas, interceptors, backflow devices and water heater expansion tanks.

Glendale's technical guideline sets city policy that tub and shower boxes are grouted before the inspector arrives: at the plumbing top out inspection on commercial projects, and at the frame stage inspection on residential projects. Arrive with the boxes ungrouted and expect the inspection to fail or be delayed.

Glendale enforces the 2024 International Plumbing Code (IPC) with Appendices B, C and E, and the 2024 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC) with Appendices A and B, under City Code Sec. 9-16. Amendments took effect January 9, 2026. Glendale adopts only the IPC, while Phoenix lets designers use either the IPC or the Uniform Plumbing Code.