Water heater permit checklist — Surprise, Arizona
Assembled from Surprise’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?
Surprise requires a permit for a water heater.
The city's Local Amendments to the 2024 International Residential Code (effective January 1, 2026) exempt, under both the gas and the plumbing exemption lists, replacement of an existing water heater that is of the same size, type, and method of operation and was previously installed with a valid building permit. Other locally added plumbing exemptions include hot water re-circulators, water softeners and soft water loops, water filtration or purification systems, water lines associated with landscape irrigation systems, and special cases allowed by the Building Official for work of a similar nature and complexity.
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Sources
- water heater — permit rules ↗verified August 2026
Other permits Surprise 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.
- Deck permit checklist
- Fence permit checklist
- Shed permit checklist
- Re-roof permit checklist
- Retaining wall permit checklist
- Electrical work permit checklist
- General building work permit checklist
BuildSpec is a reference, not the authority having jurisdiction. Confirm requirements with Surprise before you build.