Permitting Authorities / City of Clovis, New Mexico - Department of Building Safety

City of Clovis, New Mexico - Department of Building Safety

Adopted code

The permitting authority for the City of Clovis, New Mexico (Curry County), the commercial centre of the state's eastern plains. Clovis is unusual in New Mexico in that its Department of Building Safety permits and inspects well beyond its own municipal boundary. The Department states its own reach, verbatim: "The Department of Building Safety is responsible for the permitting, inspection, and plan review of all building, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical projects. With jurisdiction throughout the City of Clovis and a five mile extra territorial jurisdiction, as well as the City of Portales with a 3 mile extra territorial jurisdiction, the Department of Building Safety ensures that all current construction standards and codes are followed. To meet these ends, we have adopted the 2021 International Codes and the 2020 National Electric Code." So a roofer working in Portales or in the unincorporated fringe of Curry County within five miles of Clovis is dealing with the Clovis Building Safety counter, not with a separate authority. Clovis is a self-administering jurisdiction under Section 60-13-41(D) NMSA 1978, which lets a municipality inspect work under its own permits where it employs a certified building official and has adopted the current minimum code standards; New Mexico's default under Section 60-13-41(E) is that the state Construction Industries Division (CID) inspects where a jurisdiction has no certified building official in its employ. The Department is at 1221 Mitchell Street under Building Safety Director Pete Wilt, takes permit applications through an online self-service portal, and requires both a New Mexico state contractor licence and a City of Clovis business licence of anyone pulling a contractor permit. Note that the extra-territorial permitting reach does not carry the Clovis tax rate with it - a Portales job has its own gross receipts location code.

Jurisdiction
City of Clovis, New Mexico
Jurisdiction type
city
Address
1221 Mitchell Street, Clovis, NM 88101
Contact
  • url: https://www.cityofclovis.org/221/Building-Safety
  • phone: 575-769-7829
Permit portal
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Registration details
  • license: TWO LICENCES ARE REQUIRED IN CLOVIS, AND THE CITY SAYS SO AT THE COUNTER. The City's own answer to "Who should obtain the permit?" reads, verbatim: "Commercial construction requires the permit to be taken out by a contractor who is licensed by the State of New Mexico and currently holds both a New Mexico State License and a City of Clovis Business License. Residential construction permits can either be taken out by a homeowner who owns and occupies the single family residence in question or by a licensed contractor (who currently holds both a New Mexico State License and a City of Clovis Business License). Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical permits shall only be obtained by licensed contractors (who currently hold both a New Mexico State License and a City of Clovis Business License)." STATE LICENCE: administered by the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department's Construction Industries Division (CID) under the Construction Industries Licensing Act, Chapter 60, Article 13 NMSA 1978, and carried into Clovis law by Section 15.16.020 of the Clovis City Code, which amends IRC Section 105.8 to read "Responsibility: It shall be the duty of every person who performs work for the installation or repair of building, structure, electrical, gas, mechanical, or plumbing systems, for which this code is applicable, to comply with this code and the New Mexico Construction Industries Licensing Act." Roofing has its own dedicated specialty classification, GS-21, at 14.6.6.9 NMAC, verbatim: "(12) GS-21. Roofing. Requires two years of foreman level practical or related trade experience. Install, alter or repair roof systems on new or existing roof decks to create a weatherproof and waterproof protective membrane, with or without insulation, using asphalt, pitch, tar, sealants, felt, shakes, shingles, roof tile, slate, urethane or any other approved materials including the preparatory work necessary to bring a roof deck or an existing roof to a condition where roofing can be installed, and sealed or repaired; includes cutting, shaping, fabricating, and installing of sheet metal such as cornices, flashing, skylights (excluding alterations to structural framing), roof coatings, gutters, leaders, rainwater downspouts, pans, prefabricated chimneys, at or near roof lines, metal flues, or doing any part of any combination thereof, which relate to and are incidental to roofing projects." Roofing is also subsumed by the general building classifications at 14.6.6.9.B NMAC, verbatim: "(1) GB-2. Residential. Requires two years of foreman level practical or related trade experience. Erect, alter, repair or demolish residences and apartment houses accommodating not more than four family units... includes all work described by the GS specialty classifications, provided the work is limited to residential construction as defined under this provision. (2) GB-98. General building. Requires four years of foreman level practical or related trade experience of which at two years must be commercial experience. Erect, alter, repair or demolish residential and commercial buildings, and certain structures; includes all work authorized by the GB-2, GF-5, GF-7 and GS classifications..." So a standalone roofing subcontractor holds GS-21, while a general contractor re-roofing as part of building or remodelling the whole structure holds GB-2 or GB-98 and needs no separate GS-21 for that work. BOND: Section 60-13-49(B) NMSA 1978 applies to every classification including GS-21 with no roofing-specific variance, verbatim: "B. Proof of responsibility shall be a bond of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) acceptable to the director and underwritten by a corporate surety authorized to transact business in New Mexico." Section 60-13-51 NMSA 1978 bars a municipality from stacking an additional local bond on a CID licensee, verbatim: "No municipality shall require any person or corporation licensed under the provisions of the Construction Industries Licensing Act to file or obtain as a condition of doing business as a licensed contractor within the municipality any additional license bond as proof of responsibility if the person or corporation has met the responsibility requirements of the commission." That section is why the City of Clovis business licence requirement is a registration and fee, not a second bond. INSURANCE: workers' compensation coverage is required under the Workers' Compensation Act, and Section 60-13-23(I) NMSA 1978 makes "failure to maintain workers' compensation insurance as required by the Workers' Compensation Act" a ground for revocation or suspension of the licence. THRESHOLD: there is no roofing-specific dollar threshold. The only no-licence path is the general casual-work exemption at Section 60-13-3(D)(14) NMSA 1978, covering "an individual who works on one undertaking or project at a time that, in the aggregate or singly, does not exceed seven thousand two hundred dollars ($7,200) compensation a year, the work being casual, minor or inconsequential, such as handyman repairs..." - conditioned on the work not being held out as a contracting business and on an annual declaration filed with CID. That is not a "small roofing jobs are exempt" rule. Owner-builder exemptions at Section 60-13-3(D)(10)-(11) cover an individual working on their own owner-occupied dwelling, who must still comply with all codes and permits; Clovis allows the homeowner-occupier of a single-family residence to pull the residential permit directly, and charges those permits at the higher TYPE II fee rate. CITY LAYER: the City of Clovis business licence the permit counter asks for is imposed by Title 5 of the Clovis City Code. Section 5.06.010 provides, verbatim: "There is imposed on each place of business conducted in this city a business registration fee of thirty-five dollars. The fee is imposed pursuant to Section 3-38-3, NMSA 1978, as it now exists or is hereafter amended, and shall be known as the business registration fee. The business registration fee may not be prorated for businesses conducted for a portion of the year." Section 5.06.030 requires application "for each outlet, branch or location within the municipal limits of the city prior to engaging in business" unless a Chapter 5.04 business licence is required instead, Section 5.06.040 requires renewal with the municipal clerk before March 16th each year, and Section 5.06.050 requires the applicant's current revenue division taxpayer identification number.
Permit process note
The Department of Building Safety is at 1221 Mitchell Street, Clovis, NM 88101, phone (575) 769-7829; Building Safety Director is Pete Wilt ([email protected]), and the department mailbox is [email protected]. City Hall is at 321 North Connelly, Clovis, NM 88101. Permits can be applied for through the City's online self-service portal, and the City also accepts complete applications and drawings by email to the Building Safety Department; the City publishes a "How To Create An Online Permit Account Guide" for first-time portal users. Fees follow the published Permit Fees Calculation, which is banded by valuation and split into TYPE I ("Residential permits pulled by a licensed contractor") and TYPE II ("Homeowner permits, sign permits, or commercial construction"), so a homeowner-pulled re-roof is charged at the higher of the two schedules. JURISDICTIONAL REACH IS WIDER THAN THE CITY. The Department permits and inspects "throughout the City of Clovis and a five mile extra territorial jurisdiction, as well as the City of Portales with a 3 mile extra territorial jurisdiction," and Section 15.36.090 of the Clovis City Code applies its fees "within the corporate limits of the city and within the planning and platting jurisdiction of the city, as the same now exists or may hereafter be extended or expanded according to law." A roofer working in Portales or within five miles of Clovis should therefore expect to permit through Clovis Building Safety - but the gross receipts tax rate does not travel with the permit, and a Portales address carries its own GRT location code. Statewide, and so also in Clovis by virtue of Section 15.16.010's adoption of the New Mexico amendments, two Chapter 9 amendments in 14.7.3.17 NMAC are on point for roofing work: added IRC Section R903.2.1 Locations requires, verbatim, that "Approved reglets or an approved flashing shall be installed at wall and roof intersections, wherever there is a change in roof slope or direction and around roof openings"; and the canale and scupper provisions added at R905.9.4/R905.9.5, R905.11.4, R905.12.4 and R905.13.4 require taper board at roof-deck transitions to crickets, valleys and canales and state that "All canales and scuppers must have a metal pan lining extending six inches minimum... All canales or scuppers must have positive drainage." Pumice and other granular fill are barred from roof assemblies.
Inspection requirements
Clovis publishes no roofing-specific inspection schedule, and no Clovis instrument sets out the phases a re-roof must be inspected at. What the City Code does establish is a general inspection power: Section 15.36.030 of the Clovis City Code provides, verbatim, that "The building inspector shall inspect all building installations in the city, and is authorized to issue all permits and licenses necessary to carry out effectively the duties of his office, and shall be charged with the proper enforcement of all building and zoning ordinances that are now in effect or shall be adopted in the future," and Section 15.36.010 records that the inspection department "is principally financed by the payment of fees for the inspection services rendered." The practical schedule for a given job therefore comes from the Department of Building Safety at the counter, on (575) 769-7829. It is worth being precise about what does and does not reach Clovis from the state rules, because the two run differently. Section 15.16.010 adopts the 2021 IRC "including... any amendments to the provisions of the International Residential Code, 2021 Edition, which are adopted by the state of New Mexico", so New Mexico's amendments to the IRC - among them the roofing-chapter amendments at 14.7.3.17 NMAC - are part of the Building Code of the city of Clovis. New Mexico's separate permitting and inspection rules are not. One of the adopted IRC amendments, 14.7.3.9(I) NMAC, reads "Section R109 Inspections. Delete this section of the IRC and see 14.5.3 NMAC, Inspections," but 14.5.3 NMAC is a standalone Construction Industries Division rule rather than an amendment to the IRC, and Clovis has not adopted it: 14.5.3.2 NMAC scopes that rule to "all contracting work performed in New Mexico after March 10, 2022, that is subject to the jurisdiction of CID," and 14.5.3.6 NMAC states that its purpose "is to set forth requirements for inspections of construction contracting work in New Mexico that is subject to the jurisdiction of CID." Clovis is self-administering, so that rule does not reach it of its own force and its inspection list - which elsewhere in New Mexico requires a roof assembly inspection including decking - is not Clovis law. A contractor should confirm the required inspection points with Building Safety when the permit is issued.
Adopted code
Clovis and the State of New Mexico are describing the same body of law from two directions, and the Clovis ordinance is drafted so that both are true at once. The City's Building Safety page says, verbatim, "To meet these ends, we have adopted the 2021 International Codes and the 2020 National Electric Code." The State adopts the same 2021 IRC with statewide amendments at 14.7.3 NMAC - 14.7.3.8 NMAC ADOPTION reads, verbatim, "This rule adopts by reference the 2021 International Residential Code, as amended by this rule," 14.7.3.6 NMAC OBJECTIVE frames it as a floor, verbatim, "The purpose of this rule is to establish minimum standards for the general construction of residential buildings in New Mexico," and 14.7.3.5 NMAC provides that after December 14, 2023 permits may be issued only under it. The codified Clovis ordinance reconciles the two expressly. Section 15.16.010 of the Clovis City Code (International Residential Code - Adopted) provides, verbatim: "The city hereby adopts by reference the conditions, provisions, limitations and terms of the International Residential Code, 2021 Edition; including, but not limited to any amendments to the provisions of the International Residential Code, 2021 Edition, which are adopted by the state of New Mexico, whether such amendments are adopted as of or subsequent to the effective date of the ordinance codified in this section, but excluding Section R313 relating to automatic fire sprinkler systems." So Clovis has not adopted the bare 2021 IRC in competition with the state code - it has adopted the 2021 IRC together with New Mexico's amendments to it, on a rolling basis that picks up future state amendments automatically. The New Mexico amendments in 14.7.3 NMAC, including the roofing-chapter amendments at 14.7.3.17 NMAC, are therefore part of the Building Code of the city of Clovis. The single Clovis carve-out is IRC Section R313 (automatic fire sprinkler systems), which is not a roofing provision. Section 15.08.010 does the same for the 2021 IBC "together with all publications of the International Code Council related to the International Building Code, 2021 Edition; including, but not limited to, Appendices C, G, and K, and the International Building Code/ASTM standards and any amendments... which are adopted by the state of New Mexico". Clovis's own amendments at Section 15.16.020 retitle the code - "101.1 - Title: These regulations shall be known as the Building Code of the city of Clovis hereinafter referred to as 'this code'" - except Section 112 from adoption, rewrite IRC Section 105.2's exempt-work list (see repair_permit_threshold), add a responsibility clause at 105.8 requiring compliance with "this code and the New Mexico Construction Industries Licensing Act", and add a temporary-power provision at 107.3. None of Clovis's amendments touches the IRC's roofing chapters. The authority for adopting by reference is Sections 3-17-6 and 3-18-6 NMSA 1978, and Section 15.04.010(A) of the Clovis City Code records the limit that goes with it: municipalities may adopt codes "so long as the codes provide for minimum requirements at least equal to the state requirements on the same subject."
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — Checked at both layers Clovis residential roofing runs through. CITY LAYER: Title 15 of the Clovis City Code (Buildings and Construction) was read in full - all seventeen chapters, 15.04 Availability and Applicability of Codes, 15.08 International Building Code, 15.10 International Fuel Gas Code, 15.12 Fire Code, 15.14 International Property Maintenance Code, 15.16 International Residential Code, 15.20 International Mechanical Code, 15.22 International Existing Building Code, 15.24 International Energy Conservation Code, 15.26 National Electric Code, 15.28 International Plumbing Code, 15.32 Flood Hazard Areas, 15.36 Inspection and Permit Fees, 15.40 Off-Street Parking and Loading Facilities, 15.44 Fences, 15.48 Trailers, Trailer Camps and Mobile Home Subdivisions and 15.50 Manufactured/Mobile Home Placement Permit - and no provision in it addresses impact resistance, UL 2218 or Class 4 roofing. The title's only roofing-adjacent language sits in the flood-hazard chapter, in its "floodproofing" terms and its definition of "Structure" as "a walled and roofed building". Clovis's amendments to the residential code at Section 15.16.020 are confined to the title, existing structures, the exempt-work list, a responsibility clause and temporary power, and its single exclusion from the IRC is Section R313 on automatic fire sprinkler systems. The City's Building Safety page and its Permit Fees Calculation likewise specify no roofing material class. STATE LAYER: the 2021 New Mexico Residential Building Code, 14.7.3 NMAC - which Section 15.16.010 adopts into Clovis law along with the IRC - contains no UL 2218, Class 4 or impact-resistance provision; the state's Chapter 9 amendments at 14.7.3.17 NMAC concern tear-off, reglets and flashing, canales and scuppers, and taper board, and impose no impact-resistance requirement. Neither layer imposes an impact-resistance requirement on Clovis residential roofing as adopted.
Repair permit threshold
No dollar threshold and no roofing exemption - Clovis works from an exempt-work list, and roofing is not on it. The City states the general rule, verbatim: "Building permits are required to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of any commercial or residential building or structure. This includes accessory buildings, curb cuts, signs, pools, and other projects and repairs to be determined by the Building Official." Asked what does not need one, the City answers, verbatim: "Cosmetic alterations including (but not limited to): paint, trim, floors, tile, etc." The codified exemption list is Section 15.16.020 of the Clovis City Code, which rewrites IRC Section 105.2 (Work exempt from permit) by deleting the IRC's items 1-9 and inserting the IBC's items 1-13, then setting out twelve categories: one-storey detached accessory structures used as tool and storage sheds, playhouses and similar uses under 120 square feet; oil derricks; retaining walls not over 4 feet; water tanks on grade up to 5,000 gallons; sidewalks and driveways not more than 30 inches above grade; "Painting, papering, tiling, carpeting, cabinets, counter tops, and similar finish work"; temporary stage sets; prefabricated above-ground swimming pools under 24 inches deep; shade cloth structures; playground equipment; window awnings projecting not more than 54 inches; and movable cases, counters and partitions under 5 feet 9 inches. No roofing category appears in that list and no dollar value is attached to any of it, so re-roofing falls under the general requirement as a repair or alteration of a building or structure. What job value does control is the fee. The City's published Permit Fees Calculation is banded by valuation and split by who pulls the permit: TYPE I, "Residential permits pulled by a licensed contractor", runs from "$2000 to 25,000 = $28.00 + $5.60 per thousand dollars" up to "$1,000,001 and more = $2,244.00 + $1.46 per thousand dollars"; TYPE II, "Homeowner permits, sign permits, or commercial construction", runs from "$2000 to 25,000 = $37.00 + $9.80 per thousand dollars" up to "$1,000,001 and more = $3923.00 + $2.55 per thousand dollars". Fee-setting authority is Section 15.36.040, under which "The city commission shall from time to time establish fees and charges for inspections, permits, and services performed by the building safety department," and Section 15.36.090 applies those fees "within the corporate limits of the city and within the planning and platting jurisdiction of the city."
Roof layer limit / recover
Two existing layers maximum, plus four mandatory tear-off triggers. This is a statewide New Mexico rule and it is also Clovis's own law, because Section 15.16.010 of the Clovis City Code adopts the 2021 IRC together with "any amendments to the provisions of the International Residential Code, 2021 Edition, which are adopted by the state of New Mexico, whether such amendments are adopted as of or subsequent to the effective date of the ordinance codified in this section." 14.7.3.17 NMAC ("CHAPTER 9 ROOF ASSEMBLIES: See this chapter of the IRC except as provided below") is one of those amendments: it deletes IRC Section R908.3 and substitutes, verbatim: "New roof coverings shall not be installed without first removing existing roof coverings where any of the following conditions occur: (1) The existing roof or roof covering is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that the existing roof or roof covering is not adequate as a base for additional roofing. (2) The existing roof covering is wood shake, slate, clay, cement, or asbestos-cement tile. (3) The existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering. (4) Where pumice or other granular fill are present, the material must be removed prior to installing a new roof." Clovis adds nothing on top of this limit. Title 15 of the Clovis City Code (Buildings and Construction), Chapters 15.04 through 15.50, contains no IRC Chapter 9 amendment and no layer restriction of its own; the only Clovis exclusion from the residential code is IRC Section R313 on automatic fire sprinkler systems. The limit applies on the same terms across the Department of Building Safety's whole permitting reach - the city, its five-mile extra-territorial jurisdiction, and the City of Portales with its three-mile extra-territorial jurisdiction - because 14.7.3 NMAC is statewide.
Sales & use tax
7.9375% total gross receipts tax rate, GRT Location Code 05-103 (Clovis, Curry County), for the current semiannual edition effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. This is the City of Clovis location code only; it does not cover the Department of Building Safety's five-mile extra-territorial jurisdiction or the City of Portales, each of which has its own location code and rate. New Mexico levies no sales tax. The New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department states, verbatim, that "Gross receipts tax (GRT) is imposed on businesses, but it is common for a business to pass the GRT on to the purchaser," so a roofing contractor in Clovis owes GRT on its own receipts from the job rather than collecting a sales tax from the homeowner. The Department also states, verbatim, that the "GRT rate varies throughout the state because the total rate combines the rates imposed by the state, counties, and municipality for each location," and that "businesses will use the location code and tax rate corresponding to the location where their goods or the product of their service are delivered" - for roofing, that means the rate keys to where the roof is, not to where the contractor's office is, which matters especially for a Clovis contractor working a Portales or extra-territorial job. Rates are keyed to a GRT Location Code rather than to a city name and are reissued semiannually. The Department cautions, verbatim, "Identify the appropriate GRT Location Code and tax rate by clicking on the map at the location of interest" and "Please consult local authorities where appropriate to confirm GRT Location Codes and tax rates."

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