Do You Need a Permit for a Pole Barn in Lewis and Clark County?

Whether you need a pole barn permit in Montana depends on two things: where your property is and how you’ll use the building. Inside Helena or East Helena city limits, the city’s building department handles building permits. In unincorporated Lewis and Clark County, the county has no building department. Montana law exempts farm and ranch buildings, private garages, and storage buildings from state building permits.

A building permit is only part of the picture, though. Septic, zoning, floodplain, electrical, and driveway approvals can still apply to an exempt building. Here’s how it works around Helena.

Montana doesn’t have one statewide pole barn permit. Which agency reviews your building depends on the “authority having jurisdiction,” meaning the government office responsible for enforcing building codes where your property sits.

Some cities and counties run their own state-certified building code programs. According to the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, the state Building Codes Bureau covers all other areas.

Montana law also limits which buildings the state code covers. Under MCA 50-60-102, the state building code doesn’t apply to these buildings unless the local government adopts the code for them:

• Any farm or ranch building of any size
• Any private garage or private storage building of any size used only for the owner’s own use
• Residential buildings with fewer than five dwelling units

So the answer depends on the agency and on the building’s use.

Building permits in Lewis and Clark County come from one of three places, depending on where the property is. The City of Helena covers property inside Helena city limits. The City of East Helena covers property inside East Helena city limits. The State Building Codes Bureau covers everything else, including the Helena Valley.

Inside Helena City Limits

The City of Helena runs a state-certified program covering building, plumbing, electrical, and mechanical permits within city limits. The Helena Building Division enforces the 2021 International Codes for building and mechanical work, the Uniform Plumbing Code for plumbing, and the 2020 National Electrical Code. Montana rules and Helena City Code Title 3 amend all of these.

City rules apply to pole barns, shops, and detached garages inside Helena. Contact the Building Division at (406) 447-8438 before you design a building for an in-town lot.

East Helena

East Helena runs its own certified building program within city limits. The city has a building permit application, and its zoning ordinance controls where buildings can go on a lot.

Unincorporated Lewis and Clark County and the Helena Valley

Lewis and Clark County isn’t listed as a certified building code program. That means the state Building Codes Bureau has authority over building permits in unincorporated areas, including the Helena Valley.

For a farm building, private shop, or personal storage building, you usually don’t need a state building permit. The county still regulates land use, though. Its Community Development and Planning office handles zoning, floodplain permits, and addressing, while Lewis and Clark Public Health handles septic permits.