Administrative overview · FIPS 05035
Crittenden County permit authority
The first compliance decision is jurisdictional: identify the office with statutory authority over your parcel, then use its filing and inspection sequence to keep the project moving.
Jurisdictional status
Municipal Fallback
This profile identifies a handoff outside the county’s ordinary structural permitting lane.
Required jurisdiction check
Confirm the controlling local or state authority before filing.
The record is marked Municipal Fallback. That means the county profile should be treated as a routing brief: incorporated municipalities, a state building department, or a state fire marshal may control plan review, permits, and inspections. Contact the named agency below and verify the parcel’s jurisdiction before paying a fee or scheduling field work.
Responsible agency
Crittenden County Judge’s Office for county administration; City of West Memphis Planning & Development and Building Inspections provide the verified building-permit, plan-review, inspection, license-validation, and zoning-enforcement functions within West Memphis city limits, with other incorporated areas routed to their respective municipalities
For a project in or near Crittenden County, this office is the identified point of contact for permit intake, statutory code enforcement, plan review coordination, and inspection release conditions. Confirm the parcel’s boundary and project type before relying on the county lane.
Direct contact
870-739-3200 (Crittenden County Judge Woody Wheeless); 870-732-7520 (West Memphis Planning & Development/Building Inspections); 870-732-7521 (Planning & Development Director Mardis Jones)
Call before mobilizing if the project has a boundary, occupancy, fire, septic, or utility question.
Permit counter
Crittenden County Courthouse, 100 Court Square, Marion, AR 72364; West Memphis Planning & Development and Building Inspections, 205 South Redding Street, West Memphis, AR 72301
Operating hours
Crittenden County Judge’s Office: Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. West Memphis Planning & Development: Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Review expectation
N/A. West Memphis requires the Building Official to inspect a property within a reasonable time after a completed application for a Certificate of Occupancy, but the reviewed permit pages do not publish a general building-plan review timeline.
Compliance workbench
Choose the next project decision.
Apply online
Open the verified digital gateway, application form, and review timeline.
Open guide →Fees & penalties
Understand fee schedules, enforcement exposure, and stop-work liabilities.
Open guide →Codes & exemptions
Read the code framework, minor-work exemptions, and inspection lane.
Open guide →Agency website
Visit the primary public source for current notices and contact changes.
Open guide →Source trail
Official sources for this profile
Use these direct agency or licensing links to confirm current instructions before you file, pay, or schedule work. External pages control if their information differs from this directory.
Project questions
Frequently asked questions for Crittenden County
Who handles permitting for this jurisdiction?
This record is marked Municipal Fallback. Confirm whether a city, state agency, or other local authority controls the parcel before filing.
How should I begin an application?
Begin with the online permit gateway listed in the application guide. If the portal does not recognize the address or project type, contact 870-739-3200 (Crittenden County Judge Woody Wheeless); 870-732-7520 (West Memphis Planning & Development/Building Inspections); 870-732-7521 (Planning & Development Director Mardis Jones).
How long might review take?
N/A. West Memphis requires the Building Official to inspect a property within a reasonable time after a completed application for a Certificate of Occupancy, but the reviewed permit pages do not publish a general building-plan review timeline.
How are inspections scheduled?
West Memphis Building Inspections conducts inspections, issues permits, reviews plans, and validates licenses and insurance. The iWorQ portal supports permit searches, document uploads, and inspection requests; contact Planning & Development/Building Inspections at 870-732-7520 for the required inspection sequence and timing. Floodplain lots require a Flood Plain Development Application and Footing/Foundation Permit as additional submittals.
Which codes and exemptions should I review?
West Memphis’s current Building Inspections page lists the 2021 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code Volumes I (Fire), II (Building), and III (Residential); 2023 National Electrical Code; 2021 Arkansas Mechanical Code; 2018 Arkansas Plumbing and Gas Codes; 2014 Arkansas Energy Code; and 2012 Property Maintenance Code. The city is in Seismic Zone 3. N/A. West Memphis’s reviewed official building pages do not publish a general minor/cosmetic exemption list. The current residential application covers single-family, two-family, footing-only, new, and addition work and requires site, erosion-control, grading, floor, and framing information as applicable; confirm maintenance exemptions with Planning & Development before work begins.