Boise’s deck permit trigger is 12 inches above grade, stricter than almost anywhere, but the process is fast: current first reviews average 1 to 8 business days, no stamp is needed under six feet, and the whole checklist fits on one page.
This is Evalation’s home turf. This page carries the sourced permit facts for Boise and what Evalation does with them: design the deck in live 3D on the first visit, price it from the design, and generate the sheet set the #406 application asks for. The playbook for every city is at the permit-ready blueprints guide, and the trade page is at /for/deck-builders.
Boise permits decks through Planning and Development Services, and the threshold is lower than most contractors expect: a building permit is required for any deck more than 12 inches above grade. Not the 30 inches the model code allows, twelve. There is no square-footage exemption for decks in Boise's published guidance; the 200-square-foot allowance on the city's exemption list applies to detached sheds and pergolas, not decks.
The application is the #406 Residential Additions and Alterations permit, filed online or at the counter, and the checklist's deck section is specific. A site plan locating the existing structures and the proposed deck with dimensions and distances to property lines. A dimensioned framing plan, typically at quarter-inch scale, showing every footing and post, joist type, size, spacing, span and direction, beams, and connectors. Elevations of each side, with guardrail height and member spacing specified once the deck stands over 30 inches. And a section view running from the bottom of the footing up through the post, beam, joists, ledger, decking, and rail, with every connection named. Plans go on sheets of at least 11 by 17 inches.
No engineer is needed for the typical backyard deck. Stamped structural calculations from an Idaho licensed engineer are required only when the deck stands taller than six feet above grade or uses designs and materials outside the International Residential Code. Below that line, drawn plans to the checklist carry the application. Footings go to Boise's 24-inch minimum frost depth, ground snow load is 20 psf, and the city reviews under the 2018 IRC as adopted by Idaho.
On timing, the checklist says online applications are typically reviewed within two weeks, and the city's own quarterly numbers run faster: residential addition and alteration first reviews averaged 1 business day for simple Level 1 projects and 8 business days for Level 2 in the most recent published quarter. Simple in-person projects can clear the counter in about an hour. Sources: City of Boise Homeowner's Guide, the #406 submittal checklist (July 2025), the 301 Current Codes design criteria page, and the Permit Processing Timeframes report, all at cityofboise.org, accessed November 4, 2026.
Evalation Lab designs the deck in live 3D with the homeowner watching, on the first visit. The price comes off the design while you are still standing in the yard, and when the design is settled, the Lab generates the standard four-sheet permit set from it: S-1 for the structure, A-1, A-2, and A-3 for the plans, elevations, and details.
Boise’s #406 checklist asks for a site plan, a dimensioned framing plan, elevations, and a footing-through-rail section view, categories the Lab’s set covers from the design itself; size the footings for 24 inches and note the guardrail specs once the deck tops 30 inches. Check the generated set against the city's published checklist before you submit, and the first submission goes in clean.
Evalation Lab generates the standard sheet set most jurisdictions require, S-1, A-1, A-2, and A-3, from the finished deck design in under an hour.
Yes, for anything more than 12 inches above grade, which in practice is nearly every deck. Boise’s published trigger is stricter than the 30-inch threshold most cities use, and the city publishes no square-footage exemption for decks. Source: City of Boise Homeowner’s Guide, cityofboise.org, accessed November 4, 2026.
Only when it stands taller than six feet above grade or uses designs or materials the International Residential Code does not cover. Under that, drawn plans meeting the #406 checklist are accepted.
The checklist says online applications are typically reviewed within two weeks; the city’s current quarterly report shows residential addition and alteration first reviews averaging 1 to 8 business days depending on complexity, and simple counter applications about an hour.
To the city’s published 24-inch minimum frost depth, with ground snow load at 20 psf and review under the 2018 IRC as adopted. The footing size, depth, and post connection all appear on the required section view.
Evalation is built for residential contractors doing $700K to $3.5M a year who have outgrown entry-level tools but refuse enterprise pricing and enterprise implementation.
Evalation costs $297 per month for the first 50 founding members, locked for life, with no per-user fees. Every membership starts with a free 14-day trial. Full breakdown at /pricing.
Live 3D design on the first visit, the price from the design, and the sheet set generated for a clean Planning and Development Services submission. Compare it against your current tool at /compare/jobtread.
Free 14-day trial, then the Founding Member rate.