Permit Requirements

Deck permits across Arizona

Where each city draws the line on deck work. Sort any column — useful if you build across several towns and need to know where the rules change.

Cities compared 12
Always need one 0
Depends on size 6
Where the line falls Fee
Mesa 517,151 Unconfirmed The code does not print a dollar amount. Fees come from the…
Gilbert 288,790 Unconfirmed The code does not print a dollar amount. Permit fees are se…
Chandler 281,231 Unconfirmed
Glendale 258,143 Unconfirmed The code does not print a dollar amount. Glendale sets perm…
Scottsdale 246,170 Unconfirmed
Tempe 190,114 Depends Over 200 sq ft
Surprise 167,564 Depends Over 200 sq ft The code does not print a dollar amount. Surprise sets perm…
Buckeye 114,334 Depends Over 200 sq ft Per City of Buckeye Development User Fee Schedule
Avondale 96,609 Depends Over 200 sq ft Building permit fees are set by the Chief Building Official…
Bullhead City 43,266 Depends Over 30 Fees follow the City of Bullhead City Comprehensive Fee Sch…
Douglas 15,819 Unconfirmed Building permit fees per 15.08.010.
Cottonwood 12,939 Depends Over 200 sq ft

“Unconfirmed” means the city's code doesn't state the rule plainly enough to publish. Those city pages link straight to the ordinance section instead.

Why neighboring cities disagree

Every city starts from a model code and then edits it. One town raises the shed cutoff, the next lowers the fence height, a third exempts the structure where its neighbor only exempts repairs to it. None of that is visible from a national article — you have to read each ordinance, which is what these pages do.

This is a reference, not legal advice. Confirm with the building department in the city you're building in. How we build these pages.