General building work permit checklist — Colorado Springs, Colorado
Assembled from Colorado Springs’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?
Colorado Springs requires a permit for general building work.
Section RBC105.2.1 of the 2023 Pikes Peak Regional Building Code sets out the work that needs no building permit. The size limits that matter on a one- or two-family property are 200 square feet for a one-story detached accessory structure sitting directly on grade, 120 square feet for a one-story detached building used for weather protection, storage or similar commercial uses on grade, 200 square feet for a detached deck that rises 30 inches or less over the adjacent grade within 36 inches of its perimeter and does not serve the required egress door, 7 feet for a fence, 4 feet for a retaining wall measured from the lower grade to the upper grade, 100 square feet for a roofing or siding repair, 200 square feet of fabric for a shade cloth structure, 5,000 gallons for a water tank set on grade whose height-to-width ratio is no greater than two to one, and 54 inches of projection for a wall-supported window awning on a dwelling or accessory structure that needs no added support. Above-ground pools accessory to a dwelling are exempt below 24 inches deep and 5,000 gallons. The retaining wall exemption is lost where the wall carries a surcharge from a structure or from a slope steeper than two units horizontal to one vertical, or impounds Class I, II or III-A liquids. Also exempt are interior surface and finish work such as paint, wallpaper, tile, floor coverings, cabinetry and countertops; replacement of doors, windows or fixed glazing that does not change the rough opening, with egress and safety-glazing rules still applying; playground equipment; flagpoles, private antennas and oil derricks; private sidewalks, driveways and platforms on grade; movable fixtures, cases, racks, counters and partitions under 5 feet 9 inches; hydraulic flood-control structures; bridges that do not serve a building; and temporary freestanding signs limited to one a year at 7 feet and 32 square feet. Two further items reach only agricultural buildings and non-public, non-residential buildings in the A-35 District in unincorporated El Paso County. Emergency work needed to protect life or property carries no penalty if the application for any required permit follows within seventy-two hours of starting.
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Sources
- building — permit rules ↗verified August 2026
Other permits Colorado Springs 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
- 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 Colorado Springs before you build.