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Washington County

Washington County Community Development Department

In short

Washington County Community Development Department issues 6 permits we publish for Washington County, last verified 2026-10-01. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.

What this agency issues

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Major Home Occupation Business Licenseonly if it applies to youWashington County Community Development Department$50.00 major home occupation business license (annual), plus the $10.00 application processing fee and the $10.00/$5.00 full-time/part-time employee fees; a 2-year license option is also available at the same per-year rate.Annual, or a 2-year option2026-10-01
County Alcohol Business Licenseonly if it applies to youWashington County Community Development DepartmentSingle-license application: $25.00 processing fee plus $250.00 alcohol license fee, per the county's own live alcohol-license application portal. Applying for multiple alcohol licenses at the same time: $225.00 for the first license plus $25.00 processing fee for each additional license, per the county's business-license-information page.Annual, expiring January 31; renewal due by February 28 (a 50% penalty applies after February 28, and a 100% penalty with required reapplication applies after March 31)2026-10-01
General Business License (Standard)Washington County Community Development Department$10.00 application processing fee, plus $50.00 standard business license (annual), plus $10.00 for each full-time employee and $5.00 for each part-time employee, per the county's own live business-license application portal.Annual, expiring January 31; an application filed after July 1 is prorated to half the annual fee2026-10-01
Minor Home Occupation — License Not Required Under County Code § 10-26-3(B)only if it applies to youWashington County Community Development DepartmentNo feen/a — no license is issued unless a courtesy license is separately requested2026-10-01
Building Permit and Related Building-Division Feesonly if it applies to youWashington County Community Development DepartmentValuation-based building-permit fee table: $1–$500 $23.50; $501–$2,000 $23.50 plus $3.05 per additional $100; $2,001–$25,000 $69.25 plus $14.00 per additional $1,000; $25,001–$50,000 $391.75 plus $10.10 per additional $1,000; $50,001–$100,000 $643.75 plus $7.00 per additional $1,000; $100,001–$500,000 $993.75 plus $5.60 per additional $1,000; $500,001–$1,000,000 $3,233.75 plus $4.75 per additional $1,000; $1,000,001 and above $5,608.75 plus $3.65 per additional $1,000 — plus a 1% state surcharge on the permit fee. Manufactured home permit $400.00 flat plus $40.00 per square foot of valuation. Pool permit $300.00. Special inspection $100.00. Other inspection fees (after-hours, re-inspection, additional plan review where no other fee is specified) are $100.00 per hour, subject to a 2-hour or 0.5-hour minimum depending on category, or the actual cost of an outside consultant.One-time, per project; add-on inspection fees are billed per occurrence2026-10-01
Zoning / Land Use / Planning Application Feesonly if it applies to youWashington County Community Development DepartmentConditional Use Permit (staff) $150.00; Conditional Use Permit (Planning Commission) $300.00; Nonconforming Use $100.00; Variance $250.00; Appeal $500.00; Lot Line Adjustment $150.00; Road Dedication $125.00; Site Plan Review $125.00; Zone Change $400.00; General Plan Amendment $500.00; Amended Plat (plus postage) $250.00; Preliminary Plat Approval $500.00; Final Plat Approval $500.00; Road Name Change $100.00; Subdivision/Planned Development (Combined) $900.00; Inspection Trust Fee — first 10 lots $1,000.00, 11–50 lots $2,000.00, over 50 lots $3,000.00.Per application2026-10-01

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

About each permit

Major Home Occupation Business License

A home-based business in unincorporated Washington County that exceeds the minor-home-occupation thresholds listed separately needs this license: $50.00 a year, plus the $10.00 processing fee and the per-employee fees, with a 2-year option available at the county's own live business-license application portal. Typical examples on the county's own home-occupation page include a home kitchen (restaurant, coffee shop), a daycare or preschool with more than eight children, a multi-chair salon, a crafts-based retail operation, and a contractor's home office. The two-year option is stated on the county's business-license-information page as available only for home-occupation licenses, not for the standard commercial license. This license reaches only unincorporated Washington County, not any of the 15 incorporated cities and towns.

County Alcohol Business License

A restaurant, coffee shop, or retail store that sells or serves alcohol in unincorporated Washington County needs a county alcohol business license, which under Code § 3-2-1(C) also constitutes local-authority consent for the underlying state DABS license. The county recognizes 11 license categories under Code § 3-2-3, each cross-referenced to its own Utah Code Title 32B license type, including Off-Premise Beer Retail and Package Agency (retail-store), Restaurant — Beer Only / Limited Service / Full Service (restaurant), and Brew Pub or Wine Bar (coffee-shop in the county's own usage), which is restricted to the ZNP Influence Area, capped at four county-wide, and additionally requires the County Commission's own consent at a public meeting. A single-license application is $25.00 processing plus $250.00 alcohol license fee; applying for multiple licenses together is $225.00 for the first plus $25.00 processing per additional license. The license year runs to January 31, renewal is due by February 28, a 50% penalty applies after February 28, and a 100% penalty with required reapplication applies after March 31.

General Business License (Standard)

Any of the ten covered industries operating from unincorporated Washington County needs this license, priced at $10.00 application processing plus $50.00 standard annual license plus $10.00 per full-time and $5.00 per part-time employee, per the county's own live business-license application portal. The license year runs to January 31, with an application filed after July 1 prorated to half the annual fee under Code § 3-1-4; renewal is due by February 1, a late fee of $25.00 or 10% of the fee (whichever is greater) applies after March 1, and the license lapses after March 31. Washington County requires E-Verify participation under Ordinance No. 2011-1014-O. This license reaches only unincorporated Washington County — the county's own business-license-information page lists a distinct sales-tax location code, 27000, for this area — and does not reach any of the 15 incorporated cities and towns, including New Harmony, each of which runs its own business-license process.

Minor Home Occupation — License Not Required Under County Code § 10-26-3(B)

Washington County Code § 10-26-3(B) states: "Minor home occupations that meet the requirements of this chapter do not require a business license," so there is no license fee for a home-based business that is conducted by the owner, a leaseholder, or a family member; uses no more than 25% of the home's floor area; employs no more than one non-family worker at a time; serves no more than one client at a time; and cares for no more than eight students or children at a time. Examples named in the code include a single-chair beauty parlor, esthetician, or barbershop; a daycare or preschool of eight or fewer children; a photo studio; tutoring; and crafts. The county's own business-license-information page adds that a courtesy license may still be issued on request, subject to the standard business-license fees listed separately, even though one is not required. Exceeding any threshold moves the business into the Major Home Occupation license listed separately.

Building Permit and Related Building-Division Fees

Any of the ten covered industries building, remodeling, placing a manufactured home, or installing a pool in unincorporated Washington County needs a building permit, priced by declared construction valuation from $23.50 for work valued at $500 or less up to $5,608.75 plus $3.65 per additional $1,000 beyond $1,000,000, plus a 1% state surcharge, all published on the county's own current Community Development Fees page. A manufactured home permit is $400.00 flat plus $40.00 per square foot of valuation; a pool permit is $300.00; and a special inspection is $100.00. Other inspection fees not otherwise specified — after-hours work, re-inspection, or additional plan review — are $100.00 an hour, subject to a 2-hour or 0.5-hour minimum depending on category, or the actual cost of an outside consultant. This permit reaches only unincorporated Washington County; each of the 15 incorporated cities and towns, including New Harmony, runs its own building-permit process within its own limits.

Zoning / Land Use / Planning Application Fees

Any of the ten covered industries seeking a conditional use permit, variance, zone change, plat approval, or similar zoning or land-use action in unincorporated Washington County pays the fee set on the county's own current Community Development Fees page: amounts range from $100.00 for a nonconforming-use application up to $900.00 for a combined subdivision/planned-development application, with a separate tiered Inspection Trust Fee of $1,000.00 to $3,000.00 based on lot count (full table in the fee formula above). These fees apply only in unincorporated Washington County; each of the 15 incorporated cities and towns runs its own zoning and land-use application process within its own limits.

Contact

Jurisdiction
Washington County
Phone
(435) 301-7250

Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.

Sources

Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.

  1. Washington County — County Alcohol Business License online application (states the $25 processing + $250 alcohol license fee for a single-license application)Washington County Community Development Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
  2. Washington County — General and Home Occupation Business License online application (states the $10 processing + $50 standard + per-employee fee structure)Washington County Community Development Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
  3. Washington County Code §§ 10-26-1 to 10-26-3, Home Occupations, current through Ord. 2026-1321-O, adopted May 19, 2026Washington County · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
  4. Washington County Code §§ 3-1-1 to 3-1-5, Business Licenses, current through Ord. 2025-1291-O, adopted May 6, 2025Washington County · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
  5. Washington County Code §§ 3-2-1 to 3-2-3, Alcohol Business Licenses — local-consent framework and the 11 license-type categories, current through Ord. 2025-1291-O, adopted May 6, 2025Washington County · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
  6. Washington County Code §§ 3-2-5 to 3-2-9, Alcohol Business License term, renewal, and penalty schedule, current through Ord. 2025-1291-O, adopted May 6, 2025Washington County · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
  7. Washington County Community Development — Business License Information (alcohol multi-license discount, home-occupation two-year option and courtesy-license note, E-Verify requirement, sales-tax location code 27000, the 15-jurisdiction business-license area list)Washington County Community Development Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
  8. Washington County Community Development — Fees (building-permit valuation table, manufactured home/pool/special-inspection fees, zoning and land-use application fee table)Washington County Community Development Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02

Other offices serving Washington County

The full permit list for this jurisdiction

Industry permit lists that include this agency

Utah jurisdictions

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