Do you need a permit for a shed in Fort Collins?

When a shed needs a permit in Fort Collins

The City of Fort Collins puts its shed rules in a short Shed Guide from Building Services, revised March 25, 2026. It says a permit is required for any shed that:

• Sits closer than 3 feet to a neighboring lot line, or closer than 6 feet to a neighbor's building in a community where all the homes share one lot.
• Is taller than 8 feet, measured from the ground to the peak of the roof.
• Has more than 120 square feet of floor area.
• Holds more than 10 gallons of flammable liquid.

Any one is enough. The city's Building Permits page lists the same four limits as the exemption for sheds, arbors, pergolas and similar small detached structures, and adds the line that applies to every exempt project: permit exempt does not mean code exempt.

The guide is written for unheated garden and tool sheds. A building used for living space, an office, vehicles or hazardous materials goes through a different permit, and so does a shed attached to the house or garage. The guide says an attached shed is an addition and needs an addition permit with an engineered design.

Which shed sizes fit under 120 square feet

The 120 square foot limit is floor area, so it's simple multiplication. Here's how common sizes land, with HomeGuide's shed cost guide (August 22, 2025) installed prices for each:

*No permit only if the shed is also 8 feet tall or less, at least 3 feet from every lot line, and holds no more than 10 gallons of flammable liquid.

The height limit catches more people than the size limit. A barn-style or steep roof can push a shed past 8 feet at the peak even when the floor is small. Check the peak height on the spec sheet before you buy, and remember the city measures from the ground, so a shed on a raised floor or skids gains a few inches.

A 10 by 12 shed is the largest common size that stays under the floor area limit. If you need more room than that, plan on the permit, the plans and the inspections from the start, and budget the time for the city's review before you schedule the build.

Where a shed can sit on your lot

Distance from the property line decides two things. Under 3 feet, the shed needs a permit no matter how small it is. Under 5 feet, the Shed Guide requires the walls facing that line to be one-hour fire rated with no windows or doors, and roof overhangs within 5 feet have to be fire protected. Setting the shed at least 5 feet off the line avoids both rules.

Zoning sets its own setbacks by zone district. The city's Rules for Common Projects page summarizes them. For the RL low density residential zone, it lists 5 feet on interior sides, 15 feet at the rear with no alley and 5 feet with an alley. Ask City Zoning at 970-416-2745 how those apply to a detached shed on your lot before you pick the spot.

Easements can block a shed even where setbacks allow it. The same page says utility and drainage easements may prevent building, and points you to your subdivision plat and the city's FCMaps to find them.

If your home sits in a wildland urban interface area on the city's map, the Shed Guide says the shed has to meet Colorado's Wildfire Resiliency Code as well.

What a Fort Collins shed permit needs

If your shed is over the limits, the guide lists what to send. Plans have to be drawn to scale, such as a quarter inch per foot, and submitted as PDFs, and they can be hand drawn.

• Permit application with the shed's square footage, noting any electrical or plumbing work.
• Homeowner affidavit, if you're building it yourself, and a construction cost form.
• Site plan showing the shed, its size, and its distance to property lines and other buildings.
• Plans: a floor plan, a side view of the inside, and a roof framing plan.
• Construction waste and recycling declaration.

The plan check fee is due when you submit. Some sheds also need a Colorado registered engineer's stamped plans. The guide lists, among others, barn or gambrel roofs and hip roofs, prefabricated structures, kits that don't meet the framing rules in the residential code, walls taller than 10 feet, and materials the code doesn't cover, such as plastic or metal rafters.

That engineering rule is worth reading twice if you're shopping for a large kit shed. A prefab or gambrel-roof shed over 120 square feet means paying an engineer before the city will review it, so ask the seller whether engineered plans for Fort Collins come with the kit.

Building rules and inspections for a permitted shed

The guide's drawings show the details inspectors look for:

• Foundation. A shed can sit on a concrete slab or on skids. Wood touching the ground or concrete has to be pressure treated.
• Roof. Class 4 impact resistant and Class A fire resistant shingles, installed to high wind standards.
• Rafters. Sized for a 35 pound per square foot ground snow load. For example, the guide's chart allows a 2 by 6 rafter at 16 inches apart to span up to 11 feet 2 inches.
• Ridge. A ridge board at least as deep as the rafter ends, with a metal ridge strap or collar ties every 4 feet.

The inspections run in this order: setbacks and footings, any underground plumbing or electric, a pre-siding inspection before the house wrap goes on, rough electric or plumbing if there is any, rough frame, insulation only if the shed is heated, and final. Inspectors need to see every framing connection, so hidden connectors can mean more than one framing inspection.

The guide lists the contractor license classes allowed to build sheds as A, B, C, D, D2 and MM. Homeowners can build their own with the homeowner affidavit.

What a shed costs

HomeGuide puts the average cost of a 10 by 10 shed at $1,000 to $3,000 for a prefab model and $2,500 to $15,000 for a custom build, both installed. Per square foot, that's $10 to $30 for prefab and $25 to $150 for custom. The other costs it lists:

The permit range is national. In Fort Collins, the plan check fee is paid at submittal and the rest when the permit is issued, and the city's Building Permits page says sales tax is calculated on the project's total value, materials and labor.

If you'd like a quote on building a shed or getting the site ready for one, NoCo Services does carpentry and general construction in Fort Collins and nearby cities. Have the size, the roof style and the spot picked out, since those three decide whether you need a permit.

HOA rules and sheds outside city limits

A shed that meets every city rule can still break your HOA's covenants. Covenants can limit a shed's size, height, color, materials and spot in the yard, and many require approval before it's built. Get the guidelines and the approval in writing before you order a kit.

The city rules above apply inside Fort Collins city limits. In unincorporated Larimer County, the county's building permit guide (revised March 4, 2022) says a non-habitable storage shed or playhouse doesn't need a building permit if it's 200 square feet or less in floor area and has no utilities. That's a bigger allowance than the city's 120 square feet, but adding power or water to the shed brings back the permit. The county adds that setbacks, lot coverage and floodplain rules still apply to exempt structures. Loveland, Windsor, Timnath and Wellington each set their own shed rules, so check with the city, town or county where the house actually sits, which isn't always the city on your mailing address.

If you're replacing an old shed, the new one has to meet today's rules. The Shed Guide notes that sheds built before February 17, 1981 were permit exempt under 600 square feet, with no limits on height or distance to property lines at the time, so an old shed sitting on the lot line isn't a guide to where a new one can go.

And if the shed will have power, the wiring needs its own permit even when the shed itself doesn't. The first question below covers that, and Building Services at 970-416-2740 can tell you what a water line to the shed would need.