Permits
Salt Lake City’s streets and sidewalks are shared public spaces for everyone. If your project or activity could block access or create a safety concern, you might need a permit. This page walks you through what’s required and how to apply.
Public way permits
Public way permits
Construction activity in the public way, including blocking the public way, requires a permit from the Engineering Division of Salt Lake City.
Work in the public way includes replacement or new construction of:
- Streets
- Sidewalks
- Curb and gutter
- Driveway approaches
- Utility excavations
- Landscaping does not require a public way permit unless heavy equipment is used
A permit fee is charged based on the Salt Lake City permit fee schedule. Fees vary according to the type of work and the time of year. The permit will not be issued until fees are paid.
Permit requirements
Contractors applying for a public way permit must:
- Hold a valid Utah state contractor’s license
- Post a bond (standard amount is $15,000 for typical excavations)
- Provide a current certificate of insurance that includes general liability, workers compensation, and automobile liability
Residents performing work in the public right-of-way adjacent to their property may do the work themselves without hiring a licensed contractor. However, they must:
- Obtain a public way permit
- Provide proof of homeowner’s insurance with limited liability coverage
- License and bonding requirements are waived for residents completing their own work.
Applicants must provide:
- Name, address, and phone number of the contractor, resident, or permit applicant
- Scope of work statement
- Construction schedule including proposed start and completion dates
Plans that correspond to the scope and complexity of the work must be submitted when applying for the permit. Depending on the work, approval may be required from additional City departments (Planning, Transportation, Public Utilities, and others).
All public way work must meet Engineering regulations, standard plans and specifications, and the Traffic Control Manual.
A traffic control permit is required from the City’s Transportation Division located at 349 South 200 East Suite 150 (call 801-535-6630).
Public way permit resources
- How to apply for a public way permit
- How to pay fees
- Engineering fee schedule
- License, bond, and insurance requirements
- Salt Lake City Traffic Control Manual
- Use the citizen access portal to search permits
Need help?
Please contact engineering.permits@slc.gov or 801-535-6203 for assistance.
Traffic control permits
Traffic control permits
A traffic control permit is required whenever work occurs in or impacts the public right-of-way, including:
- In the park strip
- On the property side of the sidewalk
- When staging vehicles or equipment for more than 48 hours (SLC Code 12.56.520)—staging anything in the public right-of-way that doesn’t have rubber tires requires a traffic control permit
- When working in any parking area, shoulder, travel lane, bike lane, alley, or pedestrian path
Additional permits may also be required:
- Public Way Permit: Required with a traffic control permit. It provides information about who is working where, and allows inspectors to check for damage and ensure proper procedures are followed.
- Parking Meter Permit: Required if the work affects any metered or restricted parking area. This permit is needed for any public parking spaces that will be made unavailable due to the work.
Permit information
Salt Lake City Transportation follows the standards outlined in Part 6 of the 2009 MUTCD and the Salt Lake City Traffic Control Manual. These resources provide typical applications for temporary traffic control. A traffic control plan is required for any permit involving the closure of travel lanes or sidewalks. Examples can be found in Part 6 of the MUTCD, but site-specific plans may be required depending on the project.
Salt Lake City Transportation requires an ADA-compliant pedestrian path for the entire duration of the project. This may include a canopied pedestrian walkway or alternate pedestrian path. A site-specific plan and work schedule is required anytime a pedestrian path or bike lane is proposed to be closed longer than the time required to complete the excavation that interrupts the sidewalk or bike lane.
Staging equipment or materials is not a valid reason to close a sidewalk or bike lane. Salt Lake City Transportation recognizes the zero lot line construction trend, but the responsibility for managing staging in the public right-of-way remains with the contractor—not the City. Long-term closures may be approved in rare cases but require a detailed plan review and formal approval.
Traffic control permits are living documents. If Salt Lake City Transportation receives calls regarding your traffic control set up or maintenance, your permit may be amended or revoked.
Contractors looking to bid a job within Salt Lake City are strongly encouraged to call before the bidding process to make sure all fees associated with the bid are known.
Get started
- Apply for permits online in the Citizen Access Portal.
Need help?
Call 801-535-6630 for assistance or stop by our office at 349 South 200 East, Suite 150.
Resident parking permits
Resident parking permits
Certain areas of the city—such as those near hospitals and universities—experience increased visitor parking in residential neighborhoods. This can lead to noise, air pollution, traffic hazards, congestion, and a lack of available on-street parking. Limiting all-day, non-resident parking helps reduce these issues.
Dumpsters and moving containers
Dumpsters and moving containers
If you need a dumpster or moving container in the public right-of-way (such as on the street or shoulder), the following may be required:
- Traffic control permit: Required for any container or dumpster placed on the shoulder of the road. A fee will be charged based on the length of the permit.
- Public way permit: Required by the Salt Lake City Engineering Division.
- Barricades: All dumpsters or containers must have four lighted Type 1 barricades, one at each corner. Salt Lake City does not provide barricades.
- Parking permit: Required if the container is placed in a restricted parking area, such as near a parking meter, in a 2-hour parking zone, or in a residential permit area. Additional fees may apply.
Additional resources
- Apply for permits online in the Citizen Access Portal
Need help?
Call 801-535-6630 for assistance or stop by our office at 349 South 200 East, Suite 150.
Green vehicle parking stickers
Green vehicle parking stickers
Vehicles that qualify as SmartWay Elite under the most current SmartWay Elite criteria are eligible for a parking permit that allows free parking for up to two hours at Salt Lake City parking meters. If your vehicle qualifies, please bring the following items to the Transportation Division office at 349 South 200 East, Suite 150 during business hours:
- Registration
- Driver’s license
- Qualifying green vehicle
- Proof of Utah residency if your vehicle registration is from a state other than Utah (lease, rental agreement, deed or two utility bills)
Parking meter permits
Parking meter permits
A parking meter permit is required if your work in the public right-of-way will make parking unavailable.
- In areas with open parking, a traffic control permit is also required.
- Salt Lake City Transportation will not issue permits that extend beyond the property face or job area.
Application requirements
- Permits are not issued over the phone.
- Applications must be submitted at least 24 business hours in advance of the requested date. Requests received after 4:00 PM the business day before will not be processed. Same-day requests will not be accepted.
- First-time food truck applicants are asked to apply in person at our office.
- Meter numbers are required. If Salt Lake City Transportation provides numbers for you, we will not be held accountable for the area not working for which you intended it.
Refunds and meter issues
- For refund requests, email: Techpermit@slc.gov as soon as the issue is known.
- For bagged meter issues, contact Salt Lake City Urban Services Division at 801-535-6628.
Resources
- Download instructions for how to apply for a parking meter permit.
- Apply for a permit online in the Citizen Access Portal.
- View the parking meter map to see locations of Salt Lake City parking meters.
Need help?
Call 801-535-6630 for assistance or stop by our office at 349 South 200 East, Suite 150.
Certificate of occupancy permits
Certificate of occupancy permits
When you call our office, please be ready to provide the following information:
- Project number
- Property address
- Contact person’s name and phone number
- Property type – residential or commercial
In most cases, we will conduct a field review of the site the same day or the next business day.
What we look for in our transportation inspection
Ingress and egress from the site. We check for proper sight distance on either side of the driveway(s). We also check that trees, power poles, signs, and other obstructions are out of the sight distance triangle. Providing adequate sight distance allows for a safer entrance and exit to and from public streets. We look for driveway grades, widths, one way-two way designation, etc.
Striping of the parking lot. All lane lines should be well spaced and meet city standards. All parking stalls must be evenly spaced and allow for access between vehicles. The maximum grade in parking areas exposed to ice and snow conditions is 4% from side to side and 6% front to back.
ADA striping of parking stalls. The first stall needs to be van accessible (16 feet wide). An 8-foot-wide stall and an 8-foot-wide cross hatched area for loading is required. A standard ADA stall is 13 feet wide (8 feet for the vehicle and 5 feet for loading). Each stall shall be marked with ADA pavement marking in the center of the stall as well as an ADA sign placed in front of the stall, either on a pole or on the wall of the building as to not impede walking in front of vehicle. A single loading area between two ADA stalls can be used. The bottom of the sign needs to be 60 inches above the parking surface. The cross slope and front to back slope of the ADA staging area shall not exceed 2%. A ramp opening needs to be provided near the ADA stall to allow for easy access into the building.
Bike rack. A bike rack needs to be installed. Five percent of the required parking stall requirement is to be accommodated with bike parking. It should be visible from the public street, as near as practical to the front entrance where it can be visibly seen. The rack needs to support the bike frame, not the wheels. The bike rack may be mounted on any accessible surface such as grass or concrete.
Pedestrian access from the public way to the parking lot and to the building shall be safe and unobstructed per ADA and building code standards (stairs, rails, ramps, etc. as needed). In conjunction with City Engineering inspections, we will look at the public sidewalk for tripping hazards, ADA ramps at intersections, etc.
After our inspection, we will sign off approval for your Certificate of Occupancy (CO). If the work is incomplete, we will discuss the items needed for full inspection compliance (punch list) and then return promptly to the job site after you have made the correction on the punch list, per your return phone call. A temporary permit will be issued only if all public safety issues have been addressed—such as stocking shelves or phasing the building occupancy—in order to assist you in your project completion.
Certified address requests
Certified address requests
A Certificate of Address is required for all new building construction in Salt Lake City. Utility companies require a certified address before utilities can be connected. The fee for a Certificate of House Number is $13. The name of the property owner is required on the Certificate of House Number application, along with the name, address, and telephone number of the person requesting and paying for the certificate.
Requirements for determining an address include one or more of the following:
- The Salt Lake County parcel number for the lot.
- The lot number and subdivision name, if the new address is in a recorded or soon to be recorded subdivision.
- The original address of the lot, if the structure has been or will be demolished and a certified address is needed for the lot.
- A measurement for the new address from an existing address or from a dedicated street.
- The address of the existing structure, if the new address is for an additional door or entrance, such as remodeling a house into a duplex, or construction of an additional entry on an existing building to accommodate separate tenants.
Get started
Applications for a certificate of address are available at the Salt Lake City Engineering Division at 349 South 200 East, Suite 100.
You can also download the Application for a Certified Address.
Need help?
Email SLCAddressing@slc.gov or contact Ashleigh Smith (ashleigh.smith@slc.gov or 801-535-6178) or Rebecca Thomas (rebecca.thomas@slc.gov or 801-535-7794.
Demolition permits
Demolition permits
When you phone into our office, you will be required to provide us with a flag number, an address, and a contact person’s name and phone number. We also need to know if it is a residential property or commercial property. In most cases, we will field review the site within the same day or next day.
What we look for in our transportation inspection
- Location of the structure in relation to the area that the rubble is pulled to—known as the work area. This determines if the work can be done on site or needs to be done in the public area.
- How close the public sidewalk and public street or public alley is to the structure. If there is a large distance between the structure and the sidewalk or the street or alley, you will most likely not be required to install barricading. If the sidewalk or street is to close to the structure, you will be required to install barricading to protect the public. This requires you to come into our office and receive guidance on how the barricading is to be laid out. You are required to provide a site plan of the area showing the public sidewalk and public street.
After our field inspection, we will call in the location to the permit counter as a “No Barricading Required” or “Barricading Required.”
The process of obtaining a demolition permit is four to five steps:
- Call our office for an inspection.
- Our field review of the location.
- Our phone in report of our findings.
- You may then receive your permit with a “No Barricading Required” or “Barricading Required.”
- If you receive a “Barricading Required”, you will need to stop into our office at 349 South 200 East, Suite 150 to receive instruction on how the barricading is to be laid out.
Design guides and standards
Design guides and standards
Standard documents used in the City’s permitting process:
- 2017 APWA Standards and Specifications (must be purchased through APWA)
Guides, manuals, and standards
Construction traffic control manual
Construction traffic control manual
Traffic control manual (pages 25 to 70)
Work outside the shoulder (page 25)
Work on shoulder or parking lane (page 26)
Shoulder closed on divided roadway (page 27)
Work in center of road, maintaining two-way traffic, 35 mph or less (page 28)
Work in travel lane, maintaining two-way traffic, 35 mph or less (page 29)
Lane closure on a low-volume road, no flagger, traffic self-regulating, 25 mph or less (page 30)
Lane closure on a two-lane road, two flagger operation (page 32)
Temporary road closure not to exceed 15 minutes (page 33)
Center turn lane closed on a three-lane, two-way road (page 34)
Lane shift on a three-lane, two-way road (page 35)
Lane closure on a four-lane, undivided road (page 36)
Lane closure on divided roadway (page 37)
Double lane closure on divided roadway (page 38)
Center lane closure on divided, multi-lane roadway with speeds of 35 mph or less (page 39)
Half road closure on multi-lane roadway (page 40 and 41)
Lane closure in advance of an intersection and work area on the through road (page 42)
Lane closure in advance of an intersection and work area on the side road (page 43)
Lane closure beyond an intersection and work area on the through road (page 44)
Lane closure beyond an intersection and work area on the side road (page 45)
Left lane closure on far side of intersection with speeds of 35 mph or less (page 46)
Right lane closure on far side of intersection with speeds of 35 mph or less (page 47)
Closure in the center of an intersection (page 48)
Street closure with detour (page 50)
Street closure with turn lanes (page 51)
Pedestrian and worker safety (page 52)
Sidewalk closure pedestrian detour (page 53)
Sidewalk closure pedestrian walkway provided (page 54)
Sidewalk corner closure (page 55)
Canopied walkway at mid-block (page 57)
Canopied walkway at corner (page 58)
Typical canopied walkway detail (page 59)
Canopied walkway notes (page 60)
Intermittent and continuously moving mobile operations (page 62)
On the shoulder (page 63 and 64)
On a two-lane road (page 65 and 66)
MUTCD 2009 typical application graphics
MUTCD 2009 typical application graphics
TA-3 Shoulder Work – Diff Locations
TA-4 Shoulder Work Mobile Short Term
TA-5 Shoulder Closure with Crash Cushion
TA-6 Shoulder Work with Minor Encroachment_Old Manual Pg 26
TA-7 Road Closure with Diversion
TA-8 Road Closure with Off-Site Detour
TA-10 Lane Closure on two-lane road – Using Flaggers
TA-11 Lane Closure on two-lane road – Low Volume
TA-12 Lane Closure – Two Lane – Using Traffic Signals
TA-13 Road Closure – Temporary – Flaggers
TA-15 Work in Center of Road – Low Volume
TA-16 Surveying Centerline of Road
TA-17 Mobile Operations – Two Lane – Truck Mounted Attenuator
TA-18 Half Street Closure – Minor Street
TA-21 Lane Closure – Near Side Intersection
TA-22 Right Lane Closure – Far Side Intersection
TA-23 Left Lane Closure – Far Side Intersection
TA-24 Half Street Closure – Far Side of Intersection
TA-25 Closure of Multiple lanes at Intersection
TA-26 Closure at Center of Intersection
TA-27 Closure at Corner of Intersection
TA-28 Sidewalk Closure or Diversion
TA-29 Sidewalk Closures with Ped Detours
TA-31 Lane Closure Diverting across Double Yellow – Long Term Lane Restriping
TA-32 Half Street Closure – Divert Across Double Yellow – One Lane Each Direction – High Speed
TA-34 Lane Closure with Temporary Barrier
TA-35 Mobile Operation on Multi-Lane Road
TA-36 Lane Shift – Restripe Lines
TA-37 Double Right Lane Closure
TA-38 Interior Lane Closure on Multi-Lane – Oneway Road
TA-39 Median Crossover – One Lane Each Dir – Crash Cushion
TA-40 Traffic Merging – Entrance Ramp
TA-42 Work in Vicinity of OFF RAMP
TA-43 Partial OFF RAMP Closure
TA-44 Work in Vicinity of ON RAMP
Roadway design standards
Roadway design standards
E1.a1 Typical Street & R/W Cross Sections: A guide for road widths, travel lanes, parking, and sidewalk corridors of various classifications.
E1.b1 Collector Street Intersection Flare: A guide for designated left turn lane design with taper rate, deceleration stacking lane and minimum curd radius standards.
E1.c1 Arterial Street Right Turn Lane Flare: A guide for designated right turn lane design with taper rate, deceleration stacking lane and minimum curd radius standards.
E1.d1 Major Arterial Street Dual Left Turn Lane Flare: A guide for designated right and left turn lane design with taper rate, deceleration stacking lane and minimum curd radius standards.
E1.f1 Cul-De-Sac: A guide for end of road turn around design parameters.
E1.g1 Typical Minor Arterial 35 ft Radius Curb Return R/W: A guide for roadside easement area to facilitate traffic control devices at intersections.
E1.h1 Collector Street Right Turn Lane Flare: A guide for designated right turn lane design with taper rate, deceleration stacking lane and minimum curb radius standards.
E2.a1 Major Driveway Turn Lane: A guide for high volume entry/exit driveway design with taper rate, deceleration lane and curb radius standards.
E2.b1 Maximum Driveway Slopes and Critical Angles: A guide for grade changes to design crest and sag curve alignment parameters per a standard passenger design vehicle.
E4.a1 Median In-Fill Driveway Access: A guide for left-turn access development of the California Avenue median.
Contact us
Need help? Call 801-535-6630 or stop by our office at 349 South 200 East, Suite 150. We are open between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.