Retaining wall permit checklist — Bountiful, Utah
Assembled from Bountiful’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?
Bountiful requires a permit for a retaining wall.
Bountiful City Code 4-5-109 requires a permit for any retaining wall four feet tall or taller, covering conventional cantilever concrete walls and nonconventional systems such as reinforced earth structures and rock retained slopes. Walls under four feet are generally treated as landscaping elements and are not permitted as retaining walls — except that where such walls are built in multiple tiers with a setback between walls of less than twice the height of the taller wall (up to 8 feet), a building permit is required. Wall systems four feet or taller built from organic material such as treated lumber or railroad ties are not allowed at all.
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Sources
- retaining wall — permit rules ↗verified August 2026
Other permits Bountiful 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
- Shed permit checklist
- Water heater permit checklist
- Re-roof permit checklist
- Electrical work permit checklist
- General building work permit checklist
BuildSpec is a reference, not the authority having jurisdiction. Confirm requirements with Bountiful before you build.