Published
Two clocks run on your building permit — and only one desk prints both
The clock most people know about is the second one
Ask anyone who has built in Fremont County how long a building permit lasts and you will be told two years. That is correct, it is printed plainly, and it is not the deadline that catches people. The one that catches people runs earlier, between the day your plans are approved and the day you actually walk in and collect the permit — and during that window it is easy to believe nothing is expiring, because the hard part is over.
Both desks that issue permits for a house in this area print the same sentence about that window, in almost identical words. Only one of them goes on to tell you what happens after you have the permit in hand.
“This permit application expires if the permit is not obtained within 180 days after it has been approved.”
— City of St. Anthony, Residential Building Permit Application, Rev. 11.2023. The Fremont County application carries the same sentence. Both retrieved 14 August 2026
What each desk actually commits to in writing
The comparison below is only what the two forms print. Absence from a form is not the same as absence from the code the office administers — it means the number is not on the page you are signing, so you have to ask for it.
| City of St. Anthony | Fremont County | |
|---|---|---|
| Time to collect an approved permit | 180 days, printed on the form | 180 days, printed on the form |
| How long the permit is then good for | Not stated anywhere on the application | Two years, stated plainly |
| Who has to sign the application | The applicant, and a registered design professional must have prepared or signed off the submittal | The land owner — or you need a signed permission letter, which the county office supplies |
| Money at the front | $150 deposit before the application is accepted | A deposit on submittal, plus a $50 site plan review fee |
| Review time stated | Not stated; the office notifies you | Four to six weeks |
The second row is the one worth pausing on. The city’s form was searched for every word a validity clause normally uses — valid, void, expire, abandon, suspend, commence, lapse, renew — and the only hit is the 180-day sentence about collecting the permit. That is a fact about the form, not a promise that the permit never expires. If you are building inside the city limits and there is any chance of a delayed start, that is a question for the city office rather than an assumption to carry into a build.
Why the gap between approval and pickup opens at all
Nobody plans to leave an approved permit sitting. It happens because approval usually arrives in the middle of arranging everything else, and any one of these can quietly consume months.
- Financing that is not closed. Construction lending frequently lands after plan approval, not before.
- A builder’s calendar. The firm you want may not have a slot until the following season.
- Weather. An approval in late autumn on ground that will not be dug until spring is the classic case.
- A change to the plans. The county charges the $50 site plan review again if plans come back for a change after approval, so revisions cost time and money on both clocks.
Keeping both clocks in view
- Write down the approval date the day you get it. The 180 days runs from approval, not from submittal and not from the day you first applied.
- Ask the issuing office, in the same call, what happens if the permit is not collected in time — whether the file is simply re-opened or the fee is re-charged. Neither form says.
- If you are inside the city limits, ask what the permit’s life is once issued. It is not on the application, and it is a fair question to put to (208) 624-3494.
- Do not submit before the build is fundable. An approval you cannot act on is the thing that starts the clock you were not watching.
- Confirm before you rely on any of this. Both forms are revised without announcement, and the versions read here are dated Rev. 11.2023 and 17 April 2026 respectively.
Which desk is even yours
All of the above assumes you know which office is issuing. That is decided by your address rather than your builder: the county administers building permits everywhere in Fremont County except inside the St. Anthony city limits. If you have not settled that yet, start with which side of the line your ground is on, then the zoning permit the city wants first if you are in town, or the questionnaire the county wants answered if you are not. Either way, who has to stamp the plans is worth settling before either clock starts.
Where this page stops
This page reports what two public forms print, on the date they were read. It is not legal advice and it is not a permit decision. The offices that can answer authoritatively are the City of St. Anthony, 420 N Bridge Street Suite A — (208) 624-3494, and the Fremont County Building Department at the courthouse, 151 W 1st North — (208) 624-7200.
Common questions
What exactly expires after 180 days?
The permit application, if the approved permit has not been collected. Both the City of St. Anthony's residential application and Fremont County's carry the same sentence: the application expires if the permit is not obtained within 180 days after it has been approved.
Does the 180 days run from when I applied?
No. Both forms tie it to approval, not submittal — it is 180 days after the application has been approved. Since county review alone is stated at four to six weeks, the two periods are consecutive rather than overlapping.
How long is a Fremont County building permit good for?
Two years. The county's Pre-Construction Check List states plainly that the permits are valid for TWO years, and the same paragraph adds that the application must be signed by the land owner or accompanied by a signed permission letter.
How long is a City of St. Anthony permit good for?
The application does not say, which is the honest answer. The form was checked for every word a validity clause normally uses and carries only the 180-day sentence about collecting the permit. Ask the city office at (208) 624-3494 rather than assuming either way.
What happens if I miss the 180 days?
Neither form states the consequence. That is precisely why it is worth asking the issuing office at the moment of approval whether the file is simply re-opened or the fees are re-charged, rather than finding out at the counter six months later.
Does changing my plans restart anything?
The county states that bringing plans back for a change after approval means an additional site plan review, charged at $50. Whether a change also resets the 180 days is not printed, so treat a post-approval revision as a reason to call rather than a routine step.
Why do both forms use exactly the same 180-day wording?
Neither body explains it, and this page does not speculate. What can be said is that the sentence appears in near-identical terms on the city's Rev. 11.2023 residential application and on Fremont County's application page, both read on 14 August 2026, so a builder working on either side of the line is under the same collection deadline.
Does the two-year county figure cover the whole build?
The county states the permits are valid for two years without listing conditions on the checklist itself. It does not say whether an inspection or a start of work extends that, so a build realistically running longer than two years is worth raising with the building department at (208) 624-7200 before it becomes urgent.