16 published records
Business licenses and permits in West Jordan, Utah
West Jordan's own general Business License is mandatory (Municipal Code § 4-1B-1) and is priced on a single flat schedule — a $163/year base fee plus $8/year per employee, capped at $2,000, plus a one-time $55 application fee — with no per-industry schedule touching nine of the ten industries covered here (only a Food Truck vendor category is named). Food service, mobile-food, and salon/cosmetology premises licensing is delegated to the Salt Lake County Health Department, though West Jordan's own code (unlike West Valley City's) never names that department, and the city's own business-license checklist still uses the 'Salt Lake Valley Health Department' name retired in 2013. West Jordan runs its own independent Fire Department, confirmed absent from the Unified Fire Authority's own list of member cities. Unlike Salt Lake City and West Valley City, West Jordan's own fee schedule DOES publish a Certificate of Occupancy fee ($290). The Fire Department's own Commercial Bi-Annual Business Inspection fee table contains an internal date contradiction; confirm the current amount and frequency with the Fire Department.
What are you opening in West Jordan?
- RestaurantsFull-service restaurants carry the densest permit load of any small business: food, fire, occupancy, waste, and usually alcohol.See the full permit list
- Coffee shopsCafés are permitted as food service establishments even where no cooking happens, and the plan review step catches most operators by surprise.See the full permit list
- Retail storesRetail is the lightest common permit load, but the sales tax permit and the certificate of occupancy are non-negotiable in every jurisdiction.See the full permit list
- Salons and barbersPersonal care is licensed at state board level as well as locally, so the shop license and the practitioner licenses are separate obligations.See the full permit list
- Food trucksMobile food is the one category with no certificate of occupancy — but it gains a commissary agreement, and the unit itself is inspected rather than the premises.See the full permit list
- Fitness studiosPrepaid memberships trigger state registration and often a surety bond, which catches operators who budgeted only for the fit-out.See the full permit list
- Childcare centresThe heaviest permit load of any small business: state agency licensing, per-person background checks, and a stricter fire standard than ordinary commercial use.See the full permit list
- Contractors and tradesLicensed at state board level rather than locally, and the only common category with no premises permits at all — the bond is usually the long pole.See the full permit list
- Auto repair shopsOrdinary commercial permitting plus an environmental layer: waste oil, solvents and stormwater are each registered separately.See the full permit list
- Veterinary clinicsA state facility permit, controlled substances registration at both state and federal level, and a medical waste manifest — none of which a general business license covers.See the full permit list
Permits that apply to every type of business in West Jordan
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial Business Fire Inspection | West Jordan Fire Department | The fee schedule's own table is internally contradictory. It lists a 'Commercial Bi-Annual Business Inspection' (charged every two years), by employee count: 0-10 employees $88, 11-50 employees $242, more than 50 employees $330 — each figure carrying a parenthetical stating it 'will revert to $44 / $121 / $165 January 1, 2026' when the inspection itself reverts from a two-year to an annual cycle. That reversion date has already passed as of this document's own 'Updated June 23, 2026' revision, which still prints the higher, bi-annual figures as current without updating the now-past-tense reversion language. The published schedule does not say which set of figures, or which billing frequency, is in effect today; confirm with the Fire Department. A 2nd re-inspection after an initial violation is free; a 3rd and subsequent re-inspection is $175 each; inspection reports are $15 each. | recurring — either biennial or annual depending on which version of the fee schedule's own contradictory text currently governs; confirm with the Fire Department (801-840-4000) | 2026-09-09 |
| General Business License | City of West Jordan Finance Department, Business Licensing Division | A single flat 'Business' category, expressly captioned 'not to exceed $2,000' on the fee schedule: a $163/year base fee plus $8/year per employee (capped in total at $2,000), plus a separate one-time, nonrefundable $55 application fee. This is the only category that applies to nine of the ten industries covered here — the fee schedule's other named Business Licensing categories (Home Occupation, Alcohol Licensing, Pawn Shops, Rental Dwelling Units, Solicitor, Sexually Oriented Business, Vending Machine, and Vendor License) do not match a restaurant, retailer, contractor, childcare centre, salon, fitness studio, veterinary clinic or ordinary auto-repair shop; a food truck is the one exception, recorded separately below. | annual — a 'license year' runs twelve consecutive calendar months from the date of commencement (not a calendar year), per Municipal Code § 4-1B-17; expires no later than 120 days after continuous closure of the business per § 4-1B-30 | 2026-09-09 |
| Building Permit (Commercial) | City of West Jordan Community Development Department, Building & Safety Division | Priced by total project valuation (per the International Code Council's Building Valuation Data as of July 1 each year): $1-$2,000, $60.50 plus $3.70 per additional $100 (or fraction) after $500; $2,001-$25,000, $116.00 plus $16.90 per additional $1,000; $25,001-$50,000, $505.00 plus $12.20 per additional $1,000; $50,001-$100,000, $810.00 plus $8.45 per additional $1,000; $100,001-$500,000, $1,233.00 plus $6.76 per additional $1,000; $500,001-$1,000,000, $3,938.00 plus $5.75 per additional $1,000; over $1,000,000, $6,803.00 plus $3.80 per additional $1,000. A 1% state surcharge and a $12-per-permit processing fee both apply on top. Non-Residential plan review is 65% of the building permit fee. Electrical, plumbing and mechanical work is priced separately as a Miscellaneous Minimum Permit at $70 each. | one-time, per project; no refunds issued more than one year after issuance | 2026-09-09 |
| Certificate of Occupancy | City of West Jordan Community Development Department, Building & Safety Division | $290 one-time, per certificate; first reinspection included at no charge, each additional reinspection $75 | one-time, no expiration | 2026-09-09 |
| Zoning Verification Letteronly if it applies to you | City of West Jordan Community Development Department, Planning and Zoning Division | $150 one-time, per request | one-time, no stated expiration | 2026-09-09 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
What do these permits involve in West Jordan?
Commercial Business Fire Inspection
A center-based (commercial) childcare facility is billed under these same employee-count tiers, not the separate $44 Home Childcare Facility line recorded below, which the schedule names for home-based daycare.
General Business License
Mandatory for any person engaging in business within city limits (Ord. 23-25, § 4-1B-1). Zoning, Building & Safety and Fire Department sign-off are all required before a license issues, per the city's own Commercial Business License checklist. A building contractor with no retail sales and no actual business location in the city is exempt from paying this fee (though must still apply) under § 4-1B-19.A — see the separate contractor record below for the full condition. Insurance companies paying state license fees and nonprofit/charitable organizations are also fee-exempt under the same section. The city's own checklist still lists a $53 application fee, which is stale — the current fee schedule's $55 figure is used here.
Building Permit (Commercial)
Applied for through the city's Development Public Portal. Commercial project reviews allow up to 21 business days; corrections are reviewed within 5 business days. A demolition permit is a flat $175; a manufactured home building permit is $250.
Certificate of Occupancy
Unlike Salt Lake City and West Valley City, both of which record no published Certificate of Occupancy fee anywhere in their own fee schedules, West Jordan's own Consolidated Fee Schedule prices this inspection directly at $290. It is unlawful to use or occupy a building before this certificate is approved. Confirm with Building & Safety (801-569-5050) whether a temporary certificate (available for projects not yet fully complete) carries the same fee.
Zoning Verification Letter
The city's own Commercial Business License checklist recommends contacting Planning & Zoning (801-569-5060) before applying for a business license, to confirm zoning requirements and possible restrictions on the intended location. A more involved 'Zoning Administration/Interpretation/Determination' is billed separately at $100/hour, and a full Zone Change is $3,214 — the schedule lists those as related but distinct products, each with its own figure.
Sources
Every figure in the table above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- Consolidated Fee Schedule, effective through June 30, 2027, updated June 23, 2026 by Resolution 26-021 — Business Licensing, Building Permits, Fire Department, Fire Inspections, and Planning and Engineering fee tablesCity of West Jordan · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-09
- West Jordan Fire Department — department overview, stations, leadership, and Permits & Inspections programWest Jordan Fire Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-09
- Ordinance No. 23-25 — An Ordinance Amending the 2009 West Jordan City Code, City Code Sections 4-1A-1 through 4-1D-5 Inclusive (General Business Regulations and Licensing Requirements), signed and effective August 9, 2023City of West Jordan · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-09
- Permit Portal Guide — building permit and business license application process and review timeframesCity of West Jordan, Building and Safety Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-09
- City of West Jordan Commercial Business License Requirement Check List (updated 09/2020) — required documents, department review routing (Planning & Zoning, Building & Safety, Fire, Health Department), and helpful-resource contactsCity of West Jordan, Finance Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-09
Who issues business permits in West Jordan?
Permitting in West Jordan is split across 5 agencies we hold records for, with tax registration handled at state level. No single office issues everything, which is why an opening usually means filing in several places rather than one.
West Jordan issuing agencies
- Salt Lake County Health Department, Environmental Health Division (Food Protection Bureau)Food establishment and mobile food permits · Cosmetology, body art and tanning facility permits · Child-care facility food-service inspections12 permits
- West Jordan Fire DepartmentBusiness fire and life-safety inspections · Hazardous materials permits · Mobile food vendor inspections5 permits
- City of West Jordan Finance Department, Business Licensing DivisionGeneral business license · Home occupation license · Vendor and food truck licenses · Solicitor license3 permits
- City of West Jordan Community Development Department, Building & Safety DivisionBuilding, electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits · Certificates of occupancy2 permits
- City of West Jordan Community Development Department, Planning and Zoning DivisionZoning verification letters · Zone changes · Sign permits · Site plan review2 permits
Other Utah jurisdictions we cover
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.