15 published records
Business licenses and permits in Gillette, Wyoming
The City Clerk's page lists the licenses and permits the Clerk issues and names no general business license, and Gillette's enumerated list is shorter than Cheyenne's or Casper's: Chapter 10 licenses itinerant vendors and door-to-door solicitors at $50.00, pawnbrokers at $100.00, sexually oriented businesses at $250.00 and mobile food vendors at $75.00, and permits circuses and amusement rides at $100.00 per day and special events at $25.00. Only two of the ten target industries are licensed — food trucks and contractors. Food is purely a state matter here because the Wyoming Department of Agriculture's list of the state's six local health departments does not include Campbell County, so a restaurant deals with the Department of Agriculture alone at $200.00 new and $100.00 annually. The building permit is priced by floor area rather than construction valuation, which is unusual: $30.00 up to 500 square feet, $60.00 to 1,000, $100.00 to 2,000, $150.00 to 5,000 and above that $150.00 plus four cents per square foot, with commercial plan review escalating steeply at $100.00 for the first review, $200.00 for the second, $1,125.00 for the third and $1,500.00 for each thereafter. A sign is a flat $30.00 building permit line. Contractor licensing is more demanding than in Cheyenne or Casper: Class A is $500.00, Class B $300.00, Class R and Class D $150.00 and Classes C and F $75.00, and, unlike Cheyenne and Casper, Gillette requires a $5,000 bond as well as insurance and a letter of good financial standing, with licensing required regardless of project size or whether a permit is needed at all. Planning fees are set by the adopted Zoning Ordinance's own fee table, including a $340.00 commercial site plan, a $595.00 zoning variance and a $1,000.00 zoning text amendment; the Planning Division's older 2014-column schedule agrees except that it still prints the text amendment at $340.00. The ordinance's text sets out no conditional-use tier: its use table either marks a listed use permitted in a district or leaves it out. Fire is handled by the Gillette/Wright/Campbell County Fire Protection Joint Powers Board rather than by a city department, and its own Fire Marshal page does not publish inspection or permit fees.
What are you opening in Gillette?
- 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 Gillette
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Business License — City of Gillette position (enumerated licenses only)only if it applies to you | City of Gillette, City Clerk | No fee | not applicable to a general license; enumerated licenses are valid for the calendar year in which granted under §10-1(3)(b) | 2026-09-14 |
| Commercial Site Plan / Zoning Variance and Planning Applicationsonly if it applies to you | City of Gillette, Development Services — City Planning Division | From the adopted Zoning Ordinance's own fee table (Section 1.d.8, Figure d.A, effective October 22, 2024): a commercial site plan is $340.00, a development plan $595.00, a planned unit development $680.00, a zoning map amendment $340.00, a zoning text amendment $1,000.00, a Board of Adjustment variance and/or appeal $595.00, and an electronic graphic display billboard $2,500.00 to apply plus a $250.00 annual license fee; tower applications are priced under the ordinance's Section 9 instead. The Planning Division's separate fee schedule, whose operative column is dated July 1, 2014, agrees on every line both documents price except the text amendment, which it still prints at $340.00, and also lists a zone lot declaration at $75.00 and a zero lot line development at $475.00. Subdivision fees from that schedule: an annexation plat is $475.00, a final plat of fewer than five lots $340.00, a final plat over five lots $850.00 plus $15.00 per lot over ten to a maximum of $1,500.00, a preliminary plat $680.00 and a vacation plat $340.00 whether of one lot or more. A condominium plat is $475.00 plus $15.00 per unit over ten to a maximum of $1,500.00. | one-time per application | 2026-09-14 |
| Fire Inspection and Permits (joint powers department; fees not published) | Campbell County Fire Department (Gillette/Wright/Campbell County Fire Protection Joint Powers Board) | No fee | a business life safety survey is annual, per the department's own list of inspection types ('Life Safety Survey (annual business)'); construction acceptance inspections are one-time | 2026-09-14 |
| Certificate of Occupancy — Required; No Fee Line in Chapter 5 (Gillette) | City of Gillette, Development Services — Building Division | No fee | one-time, issued before occupancy | 2026-09-14 |
| Building Permit (priced by floor area, not valuation) | City of Gillette, Development Services — Building Division | By building square footage under §5-IV-1(b): $30.00 for 0 to 500 square feet, $60.00 for 500 to 1,000, $100.00 for 1,000 to 2,000, $150.00 for 2,000 to 5,000, and over 5,000 square feet $150.00 plus $0.04 per square foot. Commercial plan review escalates sharply under §5-IV-1(a): the first review is $100.00, the second $200.00, the third $1,125.00 and the fourth and any additional reviews $1,500.00 each, with no charge for plan review of one and two family dwellings. A re-inspection is $60.00. Miscellaneous residential work including remodels, damage, repair or residing is $20.00 and miscellaneous commercial remodels up to 500 square feet are $30.00, with larger projects taking the square-footage table. A demolition permit is $60.00, a grading plan review and grading permit $60.00, cell and other towers $100.00, antenna co-locates $100.00, temporary job trailers $30.00 and a fire sprinkler system $30.00. Commercial re-roofing is $0.0050 per square foot. Commencing work before obtaining a permit carries an investigation fee of $100.00 or twice the permit fee, whichever is greater. Permits for work following a disaster are free of charge. | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-09-14 |
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 Gillette?
General Business License — City of Gillette position (enumerated licenses only)
The City Clerk's page, which lists every license and permit the Clerk issues, names no general business license, so this record carries no fee; Gillette's enumerated list is shorter than Cheyenne's or Casper's. Chapter 10 in its entirety licenses itinerant vendors and door-to-door solicitors, pawnbrokers, sexually oriented businesses and mobile food vendors, and permits circuses, carnivals and amusement rides, and special events, parades and right-of-way closures. Published fees: an itinerant vendor or umbrella license is $50.00, a door-to-door solicitor license $50.00 with a further $10.00 per person 'for the background check and for the creation of an identifying badge,' a pawnbroker $100.00, a sexually oriented business $250.00, a carnival, circus or amusement ride permit $100.00 per day for each day of the activity, and a special event or parade permit $25.00, refundable if the application is denied. Section 10-1(3)(b) sets the term — licenses 'are valid and effective for the calendar year in which the license is granted' — and §10-1 makes a violation 'a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to seven hundred fifty dollars ($750). Each day a violation occurs or persists is a separate offense.' Of the ten industries covered here, only food trucks and contractors are licensed by the City, each listed separately.
Commercial Site Plan / Zoning Variance and Planning Applications
Re-verified against the adopted Zoning Ordinance (Ord. No. 4056, adopted December 17, 2024), read in full on the City's encodeplus site, where the City's own Zoning Ordinance page redirects. The ordinance's text sets out no conditional-use tier. Table b.A (Section 2.b) marks each listed use 'X = Permitted Use' by district, unlisted uses are 'subject to administrative review and approval,' and the word 'conditional' appears nowhere in its eleven sections. In the main commercial districts (C-O Office and Institutional, C-P Planned Neighborhood Business, C-1 General Commercial, C-2 Central Business, C-3 Business/Service), the table treats four common uses as follows. A barber, beauty shop or spa is permitted in all five and in no other district. Car servicing/repair is permitted in C-1, C-2, C-3 and I-1 but not C-O or C-P, while body work, painting or major repairs are confined to I-1 and I-2. A veterinary clinic is permitted in C-1 and C-3 (and Ag, I-1 and I-2) but not C-O, C-P or C-2. A daycare is marked permitted in all five and in every residential district, but Section 3.t bars child care from C-3 (see the childcare record). Where the table does not permit a use, a variance cannot supply it, because the Board of Adjustment must first find that 'The use is already allowed in the district' (Section 1.d.7). The zoning itself has to change instead, by a map or text amendment (Section 1.e) or a planned unit development overlay (Section 10). A permitted use needs a zoning permit from the Zoning Administrator 'prior to establishing or changing any land use' (Section 1.d.4(c)), and the ordinance's fee table lists no charge for one. The $340.00 commercial site plan applies narrowly. Planning Commission approval comes first only for 'Any building or structure over twenty-five thousand (25,000) square feet' or two or more buildings built at once on one commercial or industrial zone lot (Section 1.d.4(b)), and in the C-P district, whose standards require a Major Commercial Site Plan. Even so it is materially cheaper than the equivalent in Cheyenne, where a new site plan is $1,800.00. On fee currency, the ordinance's own fee table agrees with the Planning Division's 2014-column schedule on every line both price except the zoning text amendment, $1,000.00 in the ordinance against $340.00 on the schedule, and this record uses the ordinance figure.
Fire Inspection and Permits (joint powers department; fees not published)
No fee applies within this record because none is published. The department's own Fire Marshal page on www.ccfire.us, read directly in September 2026, lists what it does and prices none of it. Plan review uses the Wyoming State Fire Marshal's checklists for commercial and industrial buildings, commercial kitchen hoods, fire alarm and fire sprinkler systems, above-ground storage tanks, special hazard suppression and emergency responder radio systems. Inspection types include 'Life Safety Survey (annual business),' 'Child Care License,' 'Mobile Food Prep Vehicle' and construction acceptance tests, scheduled at least 48 hours ahead on (307) 682-5319. Fire permits cover hot work and welding, open burning, fireworks, hazardous materials, LP gas, open flames in assembly, pyrotechnics, tents larger than 400 square feet and outdoor special events. The department's FY2025-26 summary budget shows revenue only from County, City and Town appropriations, interest, other income, rentals and grants, with no fee or permit line. The structure explains why the City itself prices so little. Gillette has no fire department of its own for code purposes: Chapter 5 assigns that role to the Gillette/Wright/Campbell County Fire Protection Joint Powers Board, and the department's own Board page states that it 'is governed by a Joint Powers Fire Board' of three County, three City of Gillette and one Town of Wright members. The City's contractor application confirms where the work happens: 'Permits and inspections are performed through the Campbell County Fire Department, 106 Rohan Avenue, Gillette, Wyoming 82716, (307) 682-5319.' The City's commercial permit flow chart likewise routes 'FIRE PLANS (TO CCFD).' What the City itself charges is a single $30.00 fire sprinkler system line on its building permit schedule, annotated 'Campbell County Fire Department performs the plan check and inspections.' Its Chapter 8, headed Fire Code, dates from 1983 and has no fee schedule. Jurisdiction is settled: the State Fire Marshal's own jurisdiction matrix records Campbell County and Gillette as locally enforced, and W.S. 35-9-108(h) provides that state inspection does not apply to municipalities holding local enforcement authority.
Certificate of Occupancy — Required; No Fee Line in Chapter 5 (Gillette)
Chapter 5 of the City Code (Buildings, revised June 2026) contains no fee line for a certificate of occupancy, so this record carries no fee. Section 5-I-1(D) provides that 'The fees for work under the Adopted Construction Codes are as established by City ordinance.' The ordinance's fee article, Article IV (§§5-IV-1 to 5-IV-3), prices plan review, building permits by floor area, signs, demolition, grading, towers, re-inspections and electrical, plumbing, mechanical and gas permits; that ordinance article lists no certificate of occupancy fee. The City's commercial building permit flow chart likewise ends at a 'TCO/CO CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY' step issued by Building Inspection, with no fee shown. The requirement is clear, and it is enforced against contractors as a licensing matter as well as against owners. Chapter 5 lists 'Failure to obtain a Certificate of Occupancy prior to occupancy by an owner' and 'Failure to comply with the terms of a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy' among the violations that put a contractor's license at risk (§5-III-10(a)(1)). The contractor application lists 'acquiring a Certificate of Occupancy prior to habitation' among a licensee's obligations, and it ties the certificate to the bond: if a contractor's bond lapses, 'No inspections, permits, or Certificates of Occupancy will be issued until the bond is provided,' and its insurance clause says the same of a lapsed insurance certificate.
Building Permit (priced by floor area, not valuation)
Pricing by floor area rather than construction valuation is genuinely unusual and changes which projects are expensive. A high-specification restaurant fit-out in a 2,500 square foot unit pays $150.00 here, where a valuation-based city would charge on the cost of the work; a plain 20,000 square foot warehouse pays $150.00 plus $800.00. The escalation in commercial plan review is the real risk to budget: a third review costs $1,125.00, more than eleven times the first, which puts a substantial premium on getting drawings right early. Trade permits are separate and detailed. Electrical work has a $10.00 minimum, with commercial single phase at $40.00 to $50.00 by amperage and three phase at $50.00 to $60.00, plus $5.00 per sub-panel and $10.00 for each lighted sign. Plumbing has a $10.00 minimum with $2.00 per fixture, $10.00 per water heater and — directly relevant to restaurants — $10.00 for an industrial waste pre-treatment grease or sand-oil interceptor. The City has adopted the 2024 editions of the IBC, IRC, IFC, IEBC, IMC, IPC and IFG together with the 2023 National Electrical Code.
Sources
Every figure in the table above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- Gillette City Code Chapter 10 (Licenses and Permits), revised June 2025 by Ordinance No. 4062 — the complete list of licensed activities, including §10-2 itinerant vendors and door-to-door solicitors at $50.00, §10-3 pawnbrokers at $100.00, §10-4 sexually oriented businesses at $250.00, §10-5 mobile food vendors at $75.00, §10-6 circus and amusement ride permits at $100.00 per day and §10-7 special event permits at $25.00, together with §10-1's calendar-year term and $750.00 penaltyCity of Gillette · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-14
- City Clerk — the City's own current page listing every license and permit the Clerk issues, establishing that Gillette has no general business licenseCity of Gillette · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-14
- Zoning Ordinance Section 1.d (Administration and Enforcement): a zoning permit before establishing or changing any use and Planning Commission approval for large or multi-building sites (1.d.4), Board of Adjustment variance findings (1.d.7), and Figure d.A, the ordinance's own zoning fee table (1.d.8, effective October 22, 2024), including the $1,000 zoning text amendmentCity of Gillette (adopted Zoning Ordinance, via online.encodeplus.com) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
- City Planning Fee Schedule — the Planning Division's own published schedule, whose operative column is dated July 1, 2014, giving development plans, commercial site plans, planned unit developments, zoning amendments, variances, appeals and the subdivision and condominium platting feesCity of Gillette Development Services Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-14
- Zoning Ordinance Section 2.b (Purpose and Land Use), Table b.A Permitted Uses: 'X = Permitted Use' by district for each listed use, including barber/beauty shop/spa, car servicing/repair, veterinary clinic and daycare, with the daycare footnote and the rule that unlisted uses are subject to administrative reviewCity of Gillette (adopted Zoning Ordinance, via online.encodeplus.com) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
- City of Gillette Zoning Ordinance (Ord. No. 4056, adopted December 17, 2024), full text of Sections 1 to 11, the adopted ordinance the City's own Zoning Ordinance page redirects to: Section 1.c.2(d) (where provisions conflict 'the more restrictive provision shall apply'), Section 1.e (amendments), Section 10 (planned unit developments), Section 11 (definitions, including the Major Commercial Site Plan triggers), and no conditional-use provision anywhereCity of Gillette (adopted Zoning Ordinance, via online.encodeplus.com) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Zoning Ordinance Section 3.t (Child Day Cares): child care not allowed in the Agricultural, C-3 or industrial districts, Building Code compliance in C-P, C-O, C-1 and C-2, and the residential Day Care permit and 140-foot neighbour-notice procedureCity of Gillette (adopted Zoning Ordinance, via online.encodeplus.com) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Fire Marshal: the Campbell County Fire Department's own page listing its plan review (including fire sprinkler, fire alarm and commercial kitchen hood systems), its fire inspection types (including 'Life Safety Survey (annual business)' and 'Child Care License') and its fire permit types, with no fee stated for any of them; headquarters at 106 Rohan Avenue, (307) 682-5319Campbell County Fire Department (Gillette/Wright/Campbell County Fire Protection Joint Powers Board) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Gillette City Code Chapter 5 (Buildings), revised June 2026 — §5-I adopting the 2024 International Building Code and naming the Fire Protection Joint Powers Board as the City's fire prevention department, §5-III contractor and trade license fees, and §5-IV-1 the square-footage building permit fee schedule, plan review escalation, re-inspection fee and unpermitted-work investigation fee, with §5-IV-2 electrical and §5-IV-3 plumbing permit feesCity of Gillette · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-14
- Fire Prevention — the Wyoming State Fire Marshal's own page on fire maintenance inspections and the jurisdiction matrix recording Campbell County and Gillette as locally enforced, with W.S. 35-9-108(h) exempting municipalities holding enforcement authority under W.S. 35-9-121Wyoming State Fire Marshal · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-14
- Board Meetings & Minutes: the department's own statement that it 'is governed by a Joint Powers Fire Board' of three Campbell County, three City of Gillette and one Town of Wright membersCampbell County Fire Department (Gillette/Wright/Campbell County Fire Protection Joint Powers Board) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Campbell County Joint Powers Fire Board: the City of Gillette's own page on the board set up under the 'Integrated Gillette / Wright / Campbell County Fire Protection Board Joint Powers Agreement', meeting at Station One, 106 Rohan Ave.City of Gillette · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Campbell County Joint Powers Fire Board Final Summary Budget, Fiscal Year 2025-2026: revenue from County, City and Town appropriations, interest, other income, rentals and grants, with no fee or permit revenue lineCampbell County Joint Powers Fire Board · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Commercial Building Permit Process flow chart: 'FIRE PLANS (TO CCFD)' with the building permit application, ending at a 'TCO/CO CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY' step issued by Building Inspection, with no fee shownCity of Gillette Development Services Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Contractor and individual trade license applications, revised June 25, 2026 — the six contractor classes and their fees and scope, the $5,000 bond requirement, the insurance minimums by class, the letter of good financial standing, the Board of Examiners process and the statement that licensing is required regardless of project size or whether a permit is requiredCity of Gillette Development Services Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-14
Who issues business permits in Gillette?
Permitting in Gillette is split across 4 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.
Gillette issuing agencies
- City of Gillette, City ClerkMobile food vendor licenses, itinerant vendor and door-to-door solicitor licenses · Pawnbroker and sexually oriented business licenses · Liquor licenses and catering permits · Circus, carnival and amusement ride permits, and special event and right-of-way closure permits9 permits
- City of Gillette, Development Services — Building DivisionBuilding, electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits and plan review · Contractor and individual trade licensing through the Board of Examiners · Sign permits · Certificates of occupancy4 permits
- Campbell County Fire Department (Gillette/Wright/Campbell County Fire Protection Joint Powers Board)Fire prevention department for the City of Gillette under the International Fire Code · Fire plan review and inspections, including fire sprinkler systems1 permit
- City of Gillette, Development Services — City Planning DivisionDevelopment plans, commercial site plans and planned unit developments · Zoning map and text amendments, variances and appeals · Plats, annexation plats and condominium platting1 permit
Other Wyoming 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.