Tempe, AZ Building Safety: Building Inspections (2026)

Under Tempe City Code Sec. 3, the building official inspects work at each required stage set out in the City of Tempe Construction Codes, and separate special inspections under Chapter 17 of the International Building Code apply to structural, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and fuel gas work on qualifying projects; those special inspectors must be certified in writing to the Building Safety Division before the permit issues and must report progress no less than every two weeks. The permit holder must post an inspection record card on site (Sec.

1) and cannot let the card be removed until the building official grants final approval. To request an inspection, the permit holder or agent must notify the building official, and the official may demand at least one working day's notice before showing up (Sec. 5). Work cannot proceed past the point covered by the most recent inspection until the building official signs off; anything that fails must be corrected and stays exposed, uncovered and unconcealed, until re-inspected and authorized (Sec. 6). A final inspection and approval is mandatory for all construction before any occupancy or use begins, and under Sec.

8-111 a certificate of occupancy cannot issue until that final inspection is clean. Temporary premises identification (a visible street number) must go up before the very first inspection and stay until permanent addressing is approved. Preliminary inspections of the site or plans can also happen before a permit is even issued if the building official chooses to examine them under Sec. 2.