What needs a plumbing permit
The City of Missoula's Building Division page (read 24 October 2026) lists, for one- and two-family homes:
- "Repair, replace, relocate, or add to the water/sewer piping system within your home."
- "Installation of new plumbing fixtures such as toilets, sinks, showers, tubs, dishwashers, etc."
- "Install or replace an electric or gas water heater."
- "Replace existing fixtures if concealed plumbing is required."
- "Installation of backflow preventers."
A like-for-like faucet or toilet swap that touches no concealed piping is not on the list. Gas piping to an appliance is a mechanical permit in Missoula, not plumbing, and connections or repairs to the City's sewer main need a separate excavation permit from Development Services.
Plumbing plans are not reviewed on one- and two-family homes; "compliance will be field verified". A house with more than 3 bathrooms, or a project adding a dwelling unit on the same service line, must turn in a Water Meter Worksheet. The Building Division's pages do not say whether a homeowner may take out a plumbing permit for their own house; ask the permit coordinators at (406) 552-6060.
What it costs
From the City's FY2027 permit fee schedule:
| Fee line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Issuing each plumbing permit | $51 |
| Supplemental permit on an open permit | $16 |
| Each fixture, trap or stub-out (install, relocate or replace) | $19 |
| Each water heater (storage tank type) | $19 |
| Water piping or water treatment equipment | $19 |
| Repair or alteration of drain or vent piping | $19 |
| Lawn sprinkler system or meter, with backflow device | $19 |
| Re-inspection / skipped inspection | $56 / $150 |
| Technology fee on the total | 5% |
A water-heater replacement is $51 + $19 = $70 before the 5% technology fee. A bathroom remodel with a toilet, sink and shower is $51 + 3 × $19 = $108. Work started without a permit is charged double.
How to apply and get it inspected
- Apply for a Plumbing Permit online in the City's Citizen Portal, Building record type (Permit Processes and Policies).
- The permit holder schedules the inspections; the City says "All permits should have a final inspection."
- Start within 180 days of issue and do not stop for 180 days, or the permit becomes invalid. Reactivating an expired stand-alone plumbing permit costs the lesser of the permit fee or $275, with a $55 minimum.
What 1,871 Missoula plumbing permits show
| Measure | Missoula plumbing permits |
|---|---|
| Applied for October 2024 to September 2026, and issued | 1,871 (18% of all City permits) |
| October 2024 to September 2025 / October 2025 to September 2026 | 1,020 / 851 (−17%) |
| Finished, permits from October 2024 to September 2025 | 82.1% |
| Expired without a final, same permits | 15.6% |
| Busiest / quietest calendar month (index) | June (117) / November (83) |
| ZIPs with the most | 59801 (695), 59803 (358), 59808 (346) |
Expired plumbing permits are more than twice as common as expired HVAC permits in Missoula (6.7%). If the permit on your water heater or remodel shows Expired in the Citizen Portal, the work was never signed off; call (406) 552-6630 about reactivating it. Monthly counts are on Missoula plumbing permits, every kind of work on Missoula permit statistics, and the rows on browse Missoula permits.
Before the plumber starts
Look the permit up by address in the Citizen Portal (Missoula building permit search). Rules elsewhere: do I need a permit for plumbing repairs and do I need a permit for a water heater. Filed labor costs in other cities are in plumbing labor cost.
What this does not tell you
The City's layer names no plumber and has no job value, so we cannot rank plumbers or show costs. Permits are dated by application, so we show no time from issue to final, and applications still in review or waiting on fees are not counted.
How we know this
Requirements are quoted from the City of Missoula Building Division page; fees from the City's FY2027 Building (MEC, PLM, ELC, RFG) Permit Fee Schedule; the portal route from Permit Processes and Policies, all read 24 October 2026. Our counts are the City's AddressesWithPermits_mso layer, read 19 October 2026: plumbing permits applied for October 2024 to September 2026 and issued.
Numbers come from public permit records in 57 cities, data through October 19, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- Do I need a permit to replace a water heater in Missoula?
Yes. The City's Building Division lists installing or replacing an electric or gas water heater as plumbing permit work. The FY2027 fee is $51 to issue the permit plus $19 for the water heater, plus a 5% technology fee.
- Do I need a permit to replace a toilet or faucet in Missoula?
Installing new fixtures such as toilets, sinks, showers, tubs and dishwashers needs a plumbing permit. Replacing an existing fixture needs one if concealed plumbing is required, the City says.
- How much is a plumbing permit in Missoula?
$51 to issue the permit plus $19 per fixture, water heater or repair of water, drain or vent piping, under the FY2027 schedule, then a 5% technology fee. A re-inspection is $56.
- How many Missoula plumbing permits expire without a final?
15.6% of plumbing permits applied for October 2024 to September 2025 had expired by October 2026, the highest share of the City's trade permits; 82.1% had finished.
- Does the City of Missoula permit plumbing in Lolo or Frenchtown?
No. Lolo, Frenchtown, Bonner, Seeley Lake and the rest of Missoula County outside the city's building jurisdiction permit through Missoula County, so none of their permits are in our 1,871.
Build your own list
Pick your city and the kind of work. Every firm with a permit on record, sorted by what you value.
Related guides
- Albuquerque building permit search: how to look up permits on an address
- Building a casita in Albuquerque: the 750 sq ft limit, rear-yard rule, parking, free plans, and who builds them
- Do I need a permit to build a house in Albuquerque? GB-2 or homeowner, the plan set and the fee
- Do I need a solar permit in Albuquerque? Building and electrical permits, the engineer triggers and the fee
- Building Division — City of Missoula Community Planning, Development & Innovation (2026-10-24)
- Building (MEC, PLM, ELC, RFG) Permit Fee Schedule FY2027 (PDF) — City of Missoula (2026-10-24)
- Permit Processes and Policies — City of Missoula (2026-10-24)
- AddressesWithPermits_mso — City of Missoula (ArcGIS Online) (2026-10-19)