Las Vegas is famous for its neon and noise, but if you live in Enterprise, Paradise, Spring Valley, or Sunrise Manor, your building permit comes from a quiet office building at 4701 West Russell Road.
The Clark County Building and Fire Prevention Department runs one of the busiest residential permit operations in the country. To get your project through, you need a professional-quality site plan—fully dimensioned, clearly labeled, and submitted correctly. Fortunately, Nevada allows owner-builders to prepare their own plans.
Do You Need a Site Plan for a Small Permit in Clark County?
Yes. If your project in unincorporated Clark County requires a building permit, you must submit a fully dimensioned building site plan.
The county's official site plan checklist requires:
- All property line locations with dimensions.
- A North directional arrow.
- Street names and right-of-way widths to centerline.
- Building footprint (must match the floor plans exactly).
- All ground-mounted condensing units (HVAC equipment locations).
- All easements of record.
- Public Works rights-of-way.
- An indicated scale (e.g., 1" = 10').
Document quality rules: Plans must be legible, accurate, and drawn to scale. Pencil marks and whiteout are not acceptable. Plans larger than 11" × 17" must be folded to 9" × 12"; rolled plans are rejected.
Who Runs Into This in Clark County
- Paradise and Enterprise homeowners who call the City of Las Vegas building department, waste time, and get redirected to the county—because they live outside the Las Vegas city limits even though their mailing address says "Las Vegas."
- DIYers who build a 220-square-foot detached workshop, believing the 200 sq ft shed exemption covers it, resulting in a stop-work order.
- homeowners who submit rolled plan sets, only to have them rejected at the counter because the county requires plans to be folded—not rolled.
- Pool Contractors who submit a site plan without showing the casita or detached garage setbacks, triggering a request for additional information from the zoning reviewer.
What Needs a Site Plan in Clark County
- Fence permit site plan — Fences over 6 feet require a permit. Block walls over 24 inches in height require a permit. (Fences up to 6 feet not part of a pool barrier are exempt).
- Shed permit site plan — Required for sheds over 200 sq ft or over 12 ft tall, or any shed with electrical or plumbing. (Sheds under 200 sq ft, under 12 ft tall, with no electrical or plumbing are exempt).
- Deck permit site plan — Required for uncovered decks over 30 inches above grade.
- Patio cover / shade structure — Required. Attached patio covers and shade structures require permits.
- Pool permit site plan — Required. Must show pool location, equipment, barriers, and setbacks.
- Garage permit site plan — Required. Even previously unpermitted structures (regardless of age) must be brought into compliance.
- Casita — A detached structure without a kitchen, subject to Title 30 zoning setbacks.
Why This Trips People Up in Clark County
The Jurisdiction Locator. You cannot determine your jurisdiction from your mailing address. A Las Vegas, NV 89000 address can be inside the City of Las Vegas, or it can be in the unincorporated community of Paradise or Enterprise. Use the Clark County Jurisdiction Locator at gisgate.co.clark.nv.us before you start any permit application.
The 200 Square Foot + 12 Foot Height Dual Threshold. Clark County's shed exemption has two conditions: the shed must be both under 200 square feet and under 12 feet in height, and have no electrical or plumbing. A compact but tall workshop that clears 12 feet loses the exemption even if it is under 200 square feet.
The No-Pencil, No-Rolled-Plans Rule. The county is explicit: plans cannot contain pencil marks or whiteout corrections, and plans larger than 11" × 17" must be folded (not rolled) to 9" × 12". A neatly rolled set of plans, the standard deliverable from most print shops, will be rejected at the counter.
Zoning and Setbacks in Clark County
Setbacks are governed by Title 30 of the Unified Development Code.
R-1 Zone (Standard Residential) Accessory Structure Setbacks:
- Rear and Side setbacks: Typically 5 feet for detached accessory structures.
- Minimum: 3 feet in some smaller-lot zones.
- Front yard: No accessory structures permitted in the front yard setback.
- Combined accessory coverage: Accessory structure footprints typically cannot exceed 30% of the rear yard area.
Fences and Block Walls:
- Fences up to 6 feet (not part of a pool barrier): exempt.
- Fences over 6 feet: permit required.
- Block walls over 24 inches: permit required.
- Block walls over 6 feet: requires an administrative deviation.
How the Tool Handles This — 5 Steps
SitePlans.ai loads Clark County parcel data so you can generate the fully dimensioned site plan the Building and Fire Prevention Department requires:
- Enter your address — Lot lines load from county GIS records.
- Place your project — Add your deck, pool, casita, or 250 sq ft shed.
- Dimension all property lines — The tool automatically generates the labeled property line dimensions required by the county checklist.
- Label the setbacks — Drop dimension lines to verify Title 30 compliance.
- Export a clean PDF — Download a professional, folded-ready PDF for the Citizen Access Portal or in-person submittal.
Where This Tool Fits — and Where It Doesn't
| Situation | Best path |
|---|---|
| Shed, deck, pool, or accessory structure | SitePlans.ai for the required fully dimensioned site plan |
| Exempt shed under 200 sq ft / 12 ft | SitePlans.ai to verify Title 30 setbacks before building |
| New single-family home construction | Owner-builder OR NV Licensed Architect/Engineer required |
| Engineering stamp (commercial/multi-family) | NV Licensed Design Professional required |
| Disputed property lines | Licensed NV Land Surveyor required |
What This Doesn't Replace
SitePlans.ai helps create preliminary, conceptual site plans for residential projects where Clark County allows homeowner or owner-builder prepared drawings. It is not a licensed land survey or sealed engineering drawing. For projects requiring a stamped cover sheet, you need a Nevada registered design professional.
Comparison: Your Options for a Clark County Site Plan
| Method | Cost | Time | Stamp | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hand sketch | Free | 1–2 hrs | ✗ | Risky: must be legible, accurate, no pencil, no whiteout |
| SitePlans.ai | Free first plan | Minutes | ✗ | Clean, scalable PDF with all required dimensions |
| CAD drafter | $300–$800+ | 1–2 weeks | Sometimes | Overkill for most decks and sheds |
| NV Licensed Design Professional | $500–$2,000+ | 2–4 weeks | ✅ | Required for certain commercial/multi-family projects |
| SitePlans.us (done-for-you) | Custom | 1–3 days | ✗ | Best if your first plan was rejected at the Building Department counter |
Common Mistakes That Delay Clark County Permits
- Wrong jurisdiction — Applying to the City of Las Vegas when you live in unincorporated Paradise or Enterprise.
- Rolled plan sets — Submitting plans rolled (not folded to 9" × 12"), causing immediate rejection.
- Pencil marks or whiteout — Any use of pencil or whiteout invalidates the submitted plans.
- Missing condensing unit locations — Forgetting to show HVAC ground-mounted equipment on the site plan.
- Exceeding the casita rules — Trying to build a detached unit with a kitchen (which would make it an ADU with stricter requirements) and calling it a "casita."
- Shed exceeds dual threshold — Building a shed that is under 200 sq ft but over 12 feet tall, believing it is exempt.
Support and Local Resources
- Clark County Building and Fire Prevention — 4701 W Russell Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89118 | clarkcountynv.gov
- Citizen Access Portal — citizenaccess.clarkcountynv.gov — submit permits online.
- Jurisdiction Locator — gisgate.co.clark.nv.us — confirm you are in unincorporated county territory.
- Clark County Assessor — For APN (parcel number) and boundary maps.
- FEMA Flood Maps — msc.fema.gov
Nearby Counties
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does Clark County cover Las Vegas, Henderson, and North Las Vegas?
No. The cities of Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Boulder City, and Mesquite all have their own building departments. Clark County issues permits for the unincorporated communities: Enterprise, Paradise, Spring Valley, Sunrise Manor, Summerlin South, Whitney, etc. Use the Jurisdiction Locator to confirm.
2. Do I need a permit for a shed in Clark County?
Sheds under 200 square feet, under 12 feet tall, and without electrical or plumbing are exempt from building permits. Sheds that exceed any of those three thresholds require a permit and site plan.
3. Can I build a fence without a permit?
Fences up to 6 feet in height that are not part of a pool barrier are exempt from building permits. Fences over 6 feet and block walls over 24 inches require a permit.
4. Can I draw my own site plan in Clark County?
Yes. For private residential projects, Nevada law (NRS 624.031) allows owner-builders to prepare and submit their own plans. Owner-built plans must not reference being prepared by a party other than the property owner.
5. How do I submit plans to Clark County?
You can apply and submit plans through the Citizen Access Portal online, or submit in person at 4701 W Russell Road. If submitting physical copies, plans larger than 11" × 17" must be folded to 9" × 12" (not rolled).
6. Can I use SitePlans.ai for a Clark County permit?
Yes. SitePlans.ai generates a fully dimensioned, scaled PDF site plan with all required elements—property lines, setbacks, structure footprints, North arrow, and scale indicator—ready for the Citizen Access Portal or in-person submittal.
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Start Your Clark County Site Plan
Verify your jurisdiction at gisgate.co.clark.nv.us first. Then, enter your address below to pull your property lines, place your project, dimension all required elements, and download the folded-ready PDF you need for the Building and Fire Prevention Department.
Build My Clark County Site Plan →
Got a correction notice from the Building Department? Send the comments to SitePlans.us and we'll draft the revision for you.
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