General building work permit checklist — Chandler, Arizona
Assembled from Chandler’s own published permit rules. Every line below is quoted from a city document and linked to it. Nothing here is generated, estimated, or inferred from another jurisdiction.
Do you need a permit?
Chandler requires a permit for general building work.
Chandler publishes a list of minor work that carries no building permit requirement. It reaches a detached single-story accessory building of 120 square feet or less; fencing up to 7 feet; retaining walls of 4 feet or less, sized from the footing base up to the wall's highest point, with nothing behind them adding load; a grade-supported water tank holding 5,000 gallons or less whose height stays under twice its width or diameter; walkways and driveways; surface and finish work such as paint, wallpaper, tile, floor coverings, cabinetry and countertops; above-ground pool kits shallower than 18 inches; backyard play structures, allowed only in a side or rear yard screened by a wall 6 feet high; and a wall-mounted window awning reaching out 54 inches or less that carries no separate posts, which still goes to zoning review since no more than 24 inches of it may encroach on a required building setback. Like-for-like swaps are exempt too, provided the structural frame picks up no added load: residential water heaters, water softeners, furnaces, pool and spa heating equipment, evaporative coolers, water treatment systems, circuit breakers and roof coverings. The Homeowner Building Permit Manual holds that exempt detached accessory building to 7 feet tall; Ordinance No. 5108, at sections 29-6.5 and 29-2.9, allows 9 feet instead, so long as each extra foot of height buys 2 more feet of setback. Routine repairs to structures are exempt as well, along with relamping and plugging approved portable electrical equipment into approved permanent receptacles. A job leaves the routine-repair category as soon as it opens up a wall or partition; takes out or cuts into a beam or other loadbearing member; eliminates or modifies a required exit; reconfigures the building in a way that changes how occupants get out; or extends, modifies, swaps or moves piping for standpipes, water supply, sewer, drainage, drain leaders, gas, soil, waste or vents, electrical wiring, or mechanical and similar work bearing on public health or general safety. Skipping the permit does not legalize work the code otherwise prohibits.
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Sources
- building — permit rules ↗verified August 2026
Other permits Chandler publishes rules for
Listed because the city publishes a separate rule for each type — not because this project necessarily triggers one. Whether it does depends on your scope of work.
- Fence permit checklist
- Shed permit checklist
- Water heater permit checklist
- Re-roof permit checklist
- Retaining wall permit checklist
- Electrical work permit checklist
BuildSpec is a reference, not the authority having jurisdiction. Confirm requirements with Chandler before you build.