Pocatello, ID Swimming Pools & Spas: Pool Permits (2026)

Appendix G of the International Residential Code, 2018 edition, covers barriers, entrapment protection and construction standards for swimming pools, spas and hot tubs, and Pocatello adopted it without modification at City Code § 15.02.010. Section 15.04.010 folds pool construction into the same applicability clause that governs every other building or structure in the city: work must conform to the IRC as adopted in Chapter 15.02. That triggers the general permitting chapter, § 15.04.030, which requires a permit from the Building Department before any regulated work begins and requires the work to be performed by, or under, a licensed construction trades contractor registered under Chapter 15.03, unless the owner qualifies for the primary-residence exception.

Permit fees are set annually by city council resolution under § 15.04.040, and a contractor or homeowner who starts pool construction before the permit is issued faces a doubled fee, a misdemeanor citation, or both. Once work is underway, § 15.04.070 gives the building official or another designated inspector the right to enter the property at any time to inspect construction, and Appendix G's barrier and alarm provisions are checked at that stage before a final approval is issued. Because Appendix G is part of the adopted IRC rather than a separate pool ordinance, the same contractor licensing, bonding and insurance rules in Chapter 15.03 also apply to whoever builds the pool.