The permit office for land that is not inside a city.
Last verified: September 2, 2026. Housing-stock figures below are the same unincorporated-county SFR counts already used on the Waddell and White Tank Mountains pages.
The short answer
This is not a city. "Unincorporated" is a legal status. It issues no permit.
Maricopa County Planning & Development issues the permit for land outside any city. The office is at https://www.maricopa.gov/planning, 602-506-3301.
Places in this city
These names nest here. Measurement picked the parent; the child page discloses any split.
- Waddell — URL: /service-areas/maricopa-county/waddell
- White Tank Mountains — URL: /service-areas/maricopa-county/white-tank-mountains
- Sun City — URL: /service-areas/maricopa-county/sun-city
- Sun City West — URL: /service-areas/maricopa-county/sun-city-west
- Rio Verde — URL: /service-areas/maricopa-county/rio-verde
- Anthem — URL: /service-areas/maricopa-county/anthem
- Wigwam — URL: /service-areas/maricopa-county/wigwam
Names we measured and did not give a child page in this pass:
- Corte Bella — Why no child page: 95.94% county / 4.06% Mesa
A mailing city of Waddell, Litchfield Park, or Phoenix does not move a parcel under that city. Parent in the URL is who issues the permit.
What is built out here
Across all of unincorporated Maricopa County there are 115,245 single-family parcels. The middle one was finished in 1997, has 1,949 square feet, and sits on 0.221 acres — a lot about a third larger than the median inside any West Valley city on this site. 22.7% have a pool. The middle 80% were built between 1971 and 2020.
What this page does not tell you
It does not tell you what you may build. A.R.S. § 9-461.18 and § 9-462.13 apply to municipalities over the population thresholds. Unincorporated Maricopa County is not a municipality under those statutes. County zoning is the rule set, and nobody on this project has read it for this page.
CHECK YOUR ADDRESS FIRST → /contact
How Coker works here
/ ONE POINT OF RESPONSIBILITY
ONE BUILDER FOR HOME AND SMALL-COMMERCIAL WORK
Start with the parcel and the goal. We help turn them into a buildable scope, a permit path through the right authority, and a clear next decision.
During construction, we coordinate the work and keep you informed about what is complete, what is next, and what needs a decision.
When regulated electrical, plumbing, HVAC, fire protection, pool, spa, well, or other specialty work is required, a properly licensed trade partner handles it.
Resources bridge
/ ARIZONA PROJECT GUIDANCE
PLAN WITH BETTER INFORMATION
Read the rules before you draw the plans. Our resource library cites the statute or ordinance for every claim and shows the date we last checked it.
Arizona Residential Building Rules → /resources Is the Arizona Starter Homes Act law? → /blog/az-starter-homes-act
Closing CTA
Tell us the address and what you are planning. The first thing we will help you settle is who issues the permit.
START A CONVERSATION → /contact
FAQ
The answers below are the same sentences as the JSON-LD FAQPage block.
Is unincorporated Maricopa County a city?
No. Unincorporated is a legal status, not a city. The office that issues the permit is Maricopa County Planning & Development.
Who issues a building permit in unincorporated Maricopa County, AZ?
Maricopa County Planning & Development. The permit office is at https://www.maricopa.gov/planning, 602-506-3301.
If my mailing address says Waddell or Litchfield Park, who permits me?
The mailing city is not the test. Confirm the parcel. Land outside any city is permitted by Maricopa County; land inside a city is permitted by that city.
Sources
- Official permitting authority: https://www.maricopa.gov/planning
- Maricopa County Assessor parcel and taxing-jurisdiction data: https://gis.maricopa.gov/arcgis/rest/services/GIO/PermittingSupport/MapServer/1
- Maricopa County city/county boundary control: https://gis.maricopa.gov/arcgis/rest/services/Reference/ParcelCityCounty/MapServer/1
- US Census TIGERweb incorporated-place control: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/4
- Arizona ADU statute, A.R.S. § 9-461.18: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/9/00461-18.htm
- Arizona middle-housing statute, A.R.S. § 9-462.13: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/9/00462-13.htm