Gas Line Permits in Each Valley City

The city's adopted fuel gas code covers everything past the gas meter. Phoenix's version says the International Fuel Gas Code applies "to the installation of gas piping from the point of delivery, gas appliances and related accessories."

Most Valley cities enforce the 2024 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC): Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler, Tempe, Glendale, Buckeye and Tolleson. Scottsdale is on the 2021 edition and Gilbert on the 2018 edition, each with local amendments. The permit rules themselves sit in each city's administrative code, and the permit counter's guides say what to submit.

Six terms come up on every gas permit application.

• Point of delivery. Where the utility's supply ends and your piping begins. Chandler's diagrams start "at the gas meter."
• Stub-out. A capped gas outlet the builder left for a future appliance, often at a patio or pool pad.
• Gas riser schematic or piping diagram. A drawing from the meter to every appliance with pipe lengths, sizes and types. Cities use it to check that the pipe is big enough for the load.
• BTU load. Each appliance's gas input rating, from its nameplate. The total decides the pipe size.
• Tracer wire. Copper wire laid with buried plastic gas pipe so it can be located later.
• Clearance. A permit and inspection that lets the utility turn gas on again, even when no new pipe was run.

Homes and businesses alike, for natural gas and propane. Tempe's code shows how narrow the exemptions are: "Portable heating appliance," portable cooking or clothes-drying appliances in homes, and "Replacement of any minor part that does not alter approval of equipment or make such equipment unsafe." Everything else is permit work.

On commercial properties, Phoenix lets licensed contractors buy a Gas Pipe Repair permit online for minor work that doesn't need plan review. Properties in Phoenix's Annual Facilities Program get permits through their assigned inspector instead.

Every job below needs a permit; the difference is how fast and with what paperwork.

The diagram is where most applications stall. Chandler asks for "a gas riser schematic that shows the length of all sections of the gas line, starting at the gas meter," plus each appliance's BTU rating and each line's size and type. Mesa adds a narrative and a dimensioned site plan, and wants to know whether new branches come off the meter or an existing line. Buckeye's checklist asks for the depth and tracer wire, and requires an 18-inch trench and continuous 18 gauge copper tracer for plastic pipe. Fountain Hills wants the same schematic for "all gas appliances."

Glendale checks pipe sizing when you apply. Tolleson lets the homeowner or a licensed contractor apply.

The same kind of job can move at different speeds depending on the city and the fuel.

A Phoenix restaurant finds a leak at a fitting. A licensed contractor can buy the Gas Pipe Repair permit online, make the repair and schedule the inspection, with no plan review.

A Chandler homeowner adds a gas range off the existing line. The permit needs the riser schematic from the meter, listing the range's BTU rating alongside every existing appliance.

A Scottsdale patio gets a fire pit. It's a plumbing Minimum Permit with no plan review. The same fire pit in Goodyear needs a permit with plans, and the pipe stays exposed until the inspector sees it.

A Phoenix home switches a pool heater to propane. Propane goes to Residential Plan Review in Phoenix, even for a job that would be an express permit on natural gas.

Work out the load and the diagram first, then pick the permit channel your city offers.

1. 1Find who issues permits at the address. City limits decide it; unincorporated addresses go to Maricopa County Planning and Development.
2. 2Add up the BTU load of every gas appliance on the system, existing and new, from the nameplates.
3. 3Draw the piping diagram from the meter: lengths, sizes, pipe type, and burial depth for any underground run.
4. 4Apply through the right channel: Phoenix online permits, Scottsdale Minimum Permit, Gilbert over the counter, or the city's standard plan review.
5. 5Leave the pipe exposed until it passes inspection.

Most mistakes treat gas like a minor fixture swap.

• "Repairs don't need a permit." Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Tolleson, Litchfield Park and the county all list gas line repair as permit work.
• "A grill line is too small to permit." Scottsdale, Goodyear, Phoenix and the county each name BBQ and fire pit lines on their permit lists.
• "Propane is simpler than natural gas." In Phoenix it's the reverse: every propane installation gets plan review.
• "Any pipe size works for one more appliance." Glendale checks pipe sizing when you apply, and Chandler, Mesa and Buckeye ask for every appliance's BTU load.

Scottsdale fines work done without a permit "an amount equal to double the permit fee," and Tolleson warns that work started without a permit can bring extra charges and fines.

This page explains the rules; each city's adopted code and permit guides govern. HQ runs and repairs gas lines for homes and businesses across the Valley, with free estimates and 24/7 service.