What do these permits involve in Utah County?

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General Business License

Utah County issues this license only to a business whose base location sits outside every city's boundaries: the county's own Business Licensing page states directly that 'Utah County can only license businesses which have a base location that is outside of all city boundaries.' A Business License Zone Clearance from Planning & Zoning comes first, then the license application and fee. The license year runs July 1 to June 30, and an application filed after December 31 pays half the annual fee under Utah County Code §11-1-11(c). Operating without a license carries a penalty of 100% of the license fee for the first year and 125% for each additional year under §11-1-2(b)(1). Utah County Code §11-1-3 exempts agricultural production and produce sales, garage and yard sales, religious and charitable 501(c)(3) nonprofits, federally or state-exempted activity, and a child day care business run inside a residence that state law does not require to hold a state child care license or certificate. The dollar figures above are published in the Utah County Government Fee Schedule adopted October 6, 2021. Utah County recodified its ordinances and fee schedule onto a new online code platform, and the county's current Business Licensing page now links to that platform's own fee-schedule page rather than to the 2021 PDF; that platform page returns an Unauthorized Access response to direct requests, so the amounts above remain those published in the 2021 schedule, the most recent publicly posted version of this fee.

Zoning / Land Use Administration Fees

Utah County zones unincorporated territory under the Utah County Land Use Ordinance, enabled by the County Land Use, Development, and Management Act, recodified as Utah Code Title 17, Chapter 79. The compiled ordinance's cover page reflects amendments through Ordinance Nos. 2020-375, 2020-376, 2020-379 and 2020-394 (June 10, 2020); the ordinance itself has since been recodified onto the county's current code platform, organized into zone chapters (for example Neighborhood Commercial, Highway Service, Industrial and Residential-Agricultural zones) and standalone standards chapters. Which specific zone treats a given industry as a permitted use versus a conditional use is set chapter by chapter and is not stated here; a business should confirm its own parcel's zone and permitted-use table with Planning & Zoning before applying. The dollar figures above are published in the Utah County Government Fee Schedule adopted October 6, 2021: a Board of Adjustment application or extension is $400, a time extension to a variance or conditional use permit is $200, a general plan or zone map amendment is $400, a combined general plan and zone map change is $600, a county road dedication or vacation is $400, a land use ordinance text amendment is $300, an applicant-requested site visit is $300, a temporary use permit is $150 (or $50 for seasonal sales, a mobile vendor, or filming with no structures), a temporary use vendor permit is $5, and a record of survey, subdivision waiver or agricultural restrictive covenant is $300. As with the county's other Community Development fees, the county's current pages now point to a fee schedule hosted on the recodified platform, which returns an Unauthorized Access response to direct requests, so the amounts above remain those published in the 2021 schedule.

Onsite Wastewater (Septic) System Permit — commercial

Any commercial business on a septic system anywhere in Utah County — a restaurant, retail store, childcare facility, fitness studio, veterinary clinic, auto-repair shop, salon, or a contractor installing the system — needs a permit from UCHD before installation. A standard system permit and plan review is $1,800, including the state fee, and an Alternative at Grade or Alternative Packed Bed Media system costs more ($1,985 and $2,170 respectively, each including the state fee), with the Packed Bed Media system and a Holding Tank Installation each also carrying an additional $100-a-year fee. Site evaluation before design is $310, a repair permit and inspection is $100 (plus $100 for each additional visit), and abandoning a septic tank is $105. These are the 2026 UCHD fee-schedule figures, current county-wide.

Business License Zone Clearance / Zone Compliance Permit

Every applicant for the general Utah County business license must first obtain a Business License Zone Clearance from Planning & Zoning, confirming the proposed use is allowed on the parcel before the license application is filed. The standard Zone Compliance Permit is $150, but that fee is waived when the same applicant is also paying for a business license or a temporary use permit, so the two fees are not stacked. A minor-structure Zone Compliance Permit — for a fence under 8 feet, a sign under 32 square feet or a similar small improvement — is $50, a Preliminary Zone Clearance Request is $30, and renewing an existing Zone Clearance is $15. These figures are published in the Utah County Government Fee Schedule adopted October 6, 2021. As with the general business license, Utah County's current Community Development pages now point to a fee schedule hosted on the recodified code platform, which returns an Unauthorized Access response to direct requests for its content, so the amounts above remain those published in the 2021 schedule, the most recent publicly posted version of this fee.

Building Permit

A business building, remodeling, changing use, or doing electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing work in unincorporated Utah County needs a building permit from the Building Division. The fee schedule's Exhibit A, effective April 3, 2012 and carried forward into the October 6, 2021 fee-schedule update, prices most work by a per-square-foot multiplier that varies by occupancy type — for example $1.50 a square foot for an assembly, business or institutional use, down to $0.30 a square foot for a shell-only building or a remodel — and prices a separate list of flat-rate activities such as demolition, fences over 6 feet, signs and grading at $101, $303 or $505 depending on the activity. A new building also pays a $300 submittal fee, and inspections carry a distance surcharge that rises from $10 within 10 miles of the Building Division office to $110 beyond 40 miles. Violations range from a $200 penalty for removing a posted violation notice to a $500 or 30%-of-permit-fee compliance deposit. These figures are published in the Utah County Government Fee Schedule adopted October 6, 2021; the county's current Building Division page now points to the same recodified fee-schedule platform described in the business-license record above, which returns an Unauthorized Access response to direct requests for its content, so Exhibit A's 2021-published figures remain the ones cited here.

Permit	Issuing agency	Fee	Renews	Last checked
General Business License	Utah County Community Development, Business Licensing Division	Commercial: $295 new / $120 renewal. Commercial with no occupancy (billboards, outdoor storage): $250 new / $110 renewal. Home occupation with no visiting clientele (including a kennel or horse boarding): $100 new / $50 renewal, plus $50 new / $25 renewal for each additional license at the same location. Home occupation with clientele or an activity requiring additional inspections: $125 new / $75 renewal, plus $60 new / $30 renewal for each additional license. Manufacturing, factory, industrial, processing or packaging use: $280 new / $130 renewal, plus $0.001 per square foot. Solicitor: $15.	Annual, July 1 to June 30; an application filed after December 31 pays half the annual fee	2026-09-30
Zoning / Land Use Administration Feesonly if it applies to you	Utah County Community Development, Planning & Zoning Division	Board of Adjustment application or extension $400. Time extension to a variance or conditional use permit $200. General plan or zone map amendment $400. Combined general plan and zone map change $600. County road dedication or vacation $400. Land use ordinance text amendment $300. Applicant-requested site visit $300. Temporary use permit $150 (or $50 for seasonal sales, a mobile vendor, or filming with no structures). Temporary use vendor permit $5. Record of survey, subdivision waiver, or agricultural restrictive covenant $300.	Per application	2026-09-30
Onsite Wastewater (Septic) System Permit — commercialonly if it applies to you	Utah County Health Department (UCHD), Environmental Health	System Permit and Plan Review $1,800 (includes the state fee), one-time. Plan Review Resubmittal $150. Post-Approval Review $250. Alternative at Grade system $1,985 (includes the state fee). Alternative Packed Bed Media system $2,170 (includes the state fee), plus $100 a year. Holding Tank Installation $1,090, plus $100 a year. Repair Permit and Inspection $100 (plus $100 per additional visit). Septic Tank Abandonment $105. Site Evaluation $310. Follow-Up Inspection $140.	One-time per installation, with an added annual fee on an Alternative Packed Bed Media system or a Holding Tank Installation	2026-09-30
Business License Zone Clearance / Zone Compliance Permit	Utah County Community Development, Planning & Zoning Division	Zone Compliance Permit $150 (waived when a business license or temporary use permit is also required); minor-structure Zone Compliance Permit (fences under 8 feet, signs under 32 square feet and similar) $50; Preliminary Zone Clearance Request $30; Zone Clearance Renewal $15.	Per application; a Zone Clearance Renewal is a separate $15 fee	2026-09-30
Building Permit	Utah County Community Development, Building Division	Per-square-foot multiplier by occupancy type, Exhibit A (includes plan review and the state surcharge, excludes bonds): Assembly, Business, Educational, Hazardous, Institutional, Hotel and Multi-Family $1.50/sq ft; Mercantile and Residential (R-3/R-4) $1.00/sq ft; Factory, Storage and Utility $0.50/sq ft; shell-only, unfinished basement, remodeling, pools/water tanks, change of use, and porches/decks $0.30/sq ft. Flat-rate activities: minimum permit fee, demolition, fences over 6 feet, retaining walls over 4 feet, equipment replacement, re-inspection, and grading up to 10,000 cubic yards, $101 each. Commercial/utility electrical, bridges, powered gates, signs/billboards, service upgrades, permit renewal, and grading over 10,000 cubic yards, $303 each. Adding electrical, wind, cell, radio-tower or utility facilities to a building without existing service, $505. Building Permit Submittal Fee for new buildings, $300. Violations: unauthorized removal of a posted violation notice $200; illegal occupancy $200 or bond forfeiture plus $50 a day; compliance deposit $500 or 30% of the permit fee, refundable; investigation/red-tag fee $300. Distance surcharge per inspection, by distance from the Building Division office: Zone 1 (up to 10 miles) $10, Zone 2 (10.1-20 miles) $35, Zone 3 (20.1-30 miles) $60, Zone 4 (30.1-40 miles) $85, Zone 5 (over 40 miles) $110.	One-time per project; a permit renewal is a separate $303 flat fee	2026-09-30

Business licenses and permits in Utah County, Utah

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Permits that apply to every type of business in Utah County