Colorado Springs has no city building department. Permits go to the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department, a separate agency created in 1966. But a remodel in a wildfire-risk part of town can also face a second, entirely separate review from the Colorado Springs Fire Department — and the two are not the same process.
Two Reviews, Two Agencies
Building permits for Colorado Springs are issued by the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department at 2880 International Circle, with a north office at 3939 Cordera Crest Avenue. PPRBD was created by intergovernmental agreement between the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners and the Colorado Springs City Council in 1966, and operates as a self-supporting, nonprofit-making agency covering unincorporated El Paso County plus Colorado Springs, Fountain, Manitou Springs, Green Mountain Falls, Monument, Palmer Lake and Woodland Park.
Separately, the Colorado Springs Fire Department administers wildland-urban interface construction requirements under City Ordinance 26-18, Appendix K, using its own Wildfire Risk Map keyed to address. A project in the WUI zone can therefore face PPRBD building-code review and a CSFD wildfire review at the same time, with different reviewers and different criteria. Owners who plan for one and discover the other mid-project are the ones whose schedules slip. We check the address against the wildfire map before design, not after submittal.
Expansive Soils Are the Region’s Defining Building Problem
Colorado Springs sits on expansive clay and claystone — Pierre Shale and adjacent formations. The Colorado Geological Survey identifies expansive soil as the single most damaging geologic hazard in the state, causing more property damage than floods, earthquakes and tornadoes combined. Roughly 25% of homes in the region experience some degree of foundation distress over their lifetime.
This is not an abstraction for a remodel. Foundation movement is what produces the sticking doors, drywall cracks and out-of-level floors that owners often try to solve cosmetically. If the movement is active, new tile cracks, new trim separates, and the money spent on finishes is lost. Rockrimmon and Broadmoor Bluffs are two areas where foundation problems are noted as prevalent. We evaluate whether movement is active or historic before finish work is scoped, because the answer changes what the project should be.
Hail Is the Other Recurring Cost
El Paso County recorded the most hail reports of any Colorado county in 2026. Colorado Springs has logged 540 hail reports within 10 miles of the city center since 2004, with the largest stone recorded at 4.00 inches. The season runs April through August and peaks in May and June. The June 13, 2018 storm dropped 3.0-inch hail and caused roughly $169 million in damage.
There is no countywide mandatory Class 4 impact-resistant roofing requirement here — it is incentivized rather than required, typically through insurer discounts in the range of 10% to 30%. That makes roof material a financial decision rather than a code decision, and it is worth making deliberately rather than defaulting to whatever matches the neighbors.
Building Conditions Under the Regional Code
Effective June 30, 2026, the 2023 Pikes Peak Regional Building Code, 2nd Printing, applies — adopting the 2021 IBC, IRC, IEBC, IMC, IFGC, IPC and IECC, the 2023 NEC and the 2021 ISPSC. Design snow loads below 7,000 feet are 43 psf ground and 30 psf flat-roof; at or above 7,000 feet, 57 psf ground and 40 psf flat-roof. Design wind is 130 mph ultimate for Risk Category I and II, 135 for III and 140 for IV, at Exposure C throughout. El Paso County is in EPA Radon Zone 1. Onsite wastewater falls under Chapter 8 of the county Board of Health Regulations, effective July 7, 2018; since January 1, 2024, OWTS applications must be submitted by a licensed installer, and new installations require the original percolation test plus a plot plan showing both the primary and an alternate leach field location.
Services We Provide in Colorado Springs
All work below is permitted and inspected under the authority with jurisdiction over Colorado Springs.
- Kitchen Remodeling in Colorado SpringsLayouts, cabinets, counters, full gut rebuilds
- Bathroom Remodeling in Colorado SpringsPrimary baths, guest baths, wet-area rebuilds
- Basement Finishing in Colorado SpringsEgress, ceiling height, permits, finished space
- Home Additions in Colorado SpringsBump-outs, second stories, whole-room additions
- Roofing in Colorado SpringsReplacement, storm damage, Class 4 options
- Deck Building in Colorado SpringsComposite and wood decks, rails, structural repair
- Fencing in Colorado SpringsWood, composite and metal fence installation
- Framing in Colorado SpringsStructural framing, walls, load-bearing changes
- Drywall in Colorado SpringsHang, tape, texture, repair and patching
- Tile Work in Colorado SpringsFloors, showers, backsplashes, waterproofing
- Painting in Colorado SpringsInterior and exterior, prep and finish work
- Demolition in Colorado SpringsSelective interior demo and full teardowns
Nearby in El Paso County
We work throughout El Paso County. Nearby communities:
Common Questions
Who issues building permits in Colorado Springs?
The Pikes Peak Regional Building Department, not the city. PPRBD covers Colorado Springs along with unincorporated El Paso County, Fountain, Manitou Springs, Green Mountain Falls, Monument, Palmer Lake and Woodland Park. There is no separate city building department to apply to.
What is the wildfire review and does it apply to me?
The Colorado Springs Fire Department administers wildland-urban interface construction requirements under City Ordinance 26-18, Appendix K, and publishes a Wildfire Risk Map by address. If your property falls in the WUI zone, that review is separate from and additional to PPRBD’s building-code review. Checking the map first is a five-minute step that prevents a mid-project surprise.
My doors stick and my drywall keeps cracking. Is that the foundation?
Often, yes. Expansive clay soils are the region’s most damaging geologic hazard, and roughly a quarter of area homes see some foundation distress. The question that matters is whether the movement is active or has stabilized. Finishing over active movement wastes the finish budget, so that assessment comes before the remodel scope, not after.
Should I put on an impact-resistant roof?
There is no mandatory Class 4 requirement in the region. It is an economic decision: insurers commonly discount premiums in the 10% to 30% range for impact-resistant roofing, against a county that leads Colorado in hail reports. We price both options so the comparison is against real numbers rather than a rule of thumb.
Do you work outside the city limits?
Yes. We work throughout El Paso County — Monument, Palmer Lake, Manitou Springs, Black Forest, Falcon and Peyton — along with the surrounding counties. Several of those towns require a local approval in addition to the regional permit, and we handle both steps.
Talk to Us About Your Project in Colorado Springs
Send us the address and the scope. We will check the wildfire map, look at what the soils and the building are actually doing, and give you a plan that accounts for both reviews before anything gets ordered.