Shed Permit in Salt Lake City, UT
Permit Summary
Do You Need a Shed Permit?
Exemptions
For residential work governed by the adopted 2021 International Residential Code, a one-story detached accessory structure is exempt from the building-permit requirement when its floor area does not exceed 200 square feet. Salt Lake City lists a 120-square-foot exemption for commercial playhouses, sheds, and similar uses. A building-permit exemption does not waive zoning compliance or separate permits required for regulated electrical, plumbing, or mechanical work.
Attached Shed Rules
The residential 200-square-foot exemption applies only to one-story detached accessory structures. A shed attached to a dwelling falls outside that detached-structure exemption and is reviewed as work on the principal building, subject to the applicable building and zoning requirements.
Shed Use Rules
An accessory use must be incidental and subordinate to the principal use, under the same ownership or control, and generally located on the same lot. For residential uses, Salt Lake City identifies customary accessory uses such as storage, personal use, hobbies, home office, outdoor living space, and pool houses; short-term rentals and other uses not allowed in the zoning district are not authorized as accessory uses.
Zoning & Placement Rules
Zoning Rules
All accessory buildings, regardless of size, must comply with Salt Lake City's zoning ordinance. Accessory buildings must be incidental and subordinate to a lawful principal use and comply with applicable location, height, coverage, and sight-distance standards. Separate Planning approval can apply in a Local Historic District or when another special land-use process is triggered.
Setback Rules
Accessory buildings are prohibited in a required front yard and required corner side yard. In a required interior side yard, a typical accessory building must be behind the rear wall of the principal building and at least 4 feet from the principal building. In a rear yard it must be at least 4 feet from the principal building. In residential districts, accessory buildings must generally be at least 1 foot from side and rear lot lines and at least 10 feet from a principal residential building on an adjacent residentially zoned lot. Double-frontage-lot and sight-distance rules can modify placement.
Maximum Height Rules
For residential accessory buildings in FP and RMF districts, a flat roof is generally limited to 12 feet and a pitched roof to 17 feet, with conditional increases tied to the principal building height and increased setbacks, up to 15 feet flat or 21 feet pitched. In FR, R-1, R-2, and SR districts, flat roofs are generally limited to 12 feet and pitched roofs to 17 feet; SR-1A limits are 9 feet flat and 14 feet pitched. Limited additional height is allowed when specified principal-building-height and increased-setback conditions are met.
Lot Coverage Rules
In residential districts, accessory buildings generally may occupy no more than 50% of the area between the rear facade of the principal building and the rear lot line. In FR, R-1, R-2, and SR districts, the footprint of an individual accessory building generally may not exceed 50% of the principal structure's footprint, although at least 480 square feet of accessory-building coverage is allowed subject to all other requirements. An accessory building entirely within the buildable area between the rear facade and rear-yard setback may exceed 720 square feet if the property still complies with the underlying district's maximum building coverage.
Special Area Rules
Exterior work in a Local Historic District or on a legally recognized historic structure requires contact with Salt Lake City Planning before the building-permit application, and Planning approval may be required before permit issuance. Flood Zone A or V projects must comply with the applicable flood-resistant construction standards, and floodways require additional design. Residential submittals must also show defensible-space provisions and elevations when Wildland-Urban Interface requirements apply.
Construction Requirements
Foundation Rules
For permit-required residential work, Salt Lake City's submittal checklist requires foundation, structural, and framing details. The City's design criteria list a 30-inch frost depth. A geotechnical report with slope-stability evaluation and retaining-wall design is required for residential projects when the lot slope is greater than 15% or when required by the City.
Fire Separation Rules
For residential work, IRC fire-separation rules apply to exterior walls, projections, openings, and penetrations based on fire-separation distance. Detached tool sheds, storage sheds, playhouses, and similar structures that are exempt from permits are not required by IRC R302.1 to provide wall protection based on location on the lot, but projections may not extend over the lot line. Permit-required sheds near a lot line can require rated exterior construction and restrictions on openings or projections.
Permit & Review Path
Permit / Review Path
A qualifying small one-story detached shed follows the building-permit-exempt path but must still comply with zoning. For a permit-required shed, start through the Salt Lake City Citizen Access Portal under the Building tab; after the application is submitted, required construction plans and documents are uploaded through ProjectDox for plan review. New structures and projects involving exterior work in a historic district should contact the Planning Counter first. After permit issuance, required inspections are scheduled through Building Services.
Trade Permits & Professional Design
Trade Permit Rules
Installing or altering electrical, plumbing, or HVAC/mechanical systems requires the applicable trade permit. Salt Lake City treats these as separate regulated permit and inspection scopes, so a shed that is exempt from a building permit can still require trade permits when such work is included.
Professional Design Rules
A licensed architect's or structural engineer's stamp is required on residential submittals when required by law. Permit-required residential plans also call for structural calculations except for trusses, and the City may require geotechnical or other professional reports based on site and project conditions. Professional design requirements therefore depend on the shed's size, structural system, occupancy/use, site conditions, and whether the project is residential or commercial.
What You Need Before Applying
Requirements
Determine whether the shed is building-permit exempt or requires a Building Permit, verify the property's zoning, and comply with Salt Lake City accessory-building zoning rules even when a building permit is not required. Permit-required work is applied for through Citizen Access, with construction documents submitted through ProjectDox. Owner-occupants of a primary residence may obtain qualifying permits with an Owner/Builder Certification; rental and commercial work generally requires a contractor.
Required Documents
For a permit-required residential shed, typical submittal materials include a site plan showing property lines, structures, setbacks, easements, utilities, and other site information, plus construction plans with elevations, floor plans, foundation/structural/framing details, and applicable electrical, mechanical, and plumbing design. Structural calculations, geotechnical information, energy documentation, professional stamps, stormwater information, or other documents are required when applicable. An owner obtaining a permit for an owner-occupied primary residence must also submit the City's Owner/Builder Certification.