Do I need a permit for foundation repair?

Permits are the way for municipalities cities and counties to regulate the environment where foundation repair is done. They have certain checks and balances, they want to see special inspections. They want to make sure that the work was done in a manner that's consistent with engineering principles.

This is their way of ensuring public safety and public health and that the work is safe for anyone to be inside of a structure that has been worked on by contractors. 

why are permits necessary to complete a job in Arizona?

let's talk about why you need permits. Why have them? The fact of the matter is that anytime there's a real estate transaction, one of the questions in the SPUDS, the Seller's Disclosure Statement, is was there any work done on the house that requires a permit? If you've had foundation repair work done that requires a permit, and the work was done without a permit, then you have to disclose that no, a permit was not pulled for this work. You're going to take a hit from the buyer. Now you CAN choose to NOT be truthful about it, but then that leaves you open for legal exposure down the road for not telling the truth. 

Is there different types of construction permits?

So there are different kinds of permits for different kinds of work. For instance, if you're getting a stem wall repaired, and you see a horizontal crack on the outside of your house near the bottom,  going around; that's a rusting rebar problem. That kind of permit is different than the kind of permits where maybe your house is settling and you need to install helical or push Piers to raise the house back up.

Those are two different kinds of permits and they require two different kinds of submittals. The various jurisdictions both require different kinds of information to be supplied to the jurisdictions.

so I believe that every jurisdiction requires permits for foundation repair, which is basically helical piers and push piers for foundation settlement. Not all the jurisdictions at this point require permits for stem wall repair, although that is changing very very quickly and I would guess before 2023 is finished every municipality will set guidelines.  

Is there any penalty or a fine for those who perform a construction work without a permit?

So what happens if a contractor does work without a permit? If they do it the first time they probably have to go and hire an engineer to satisfy the city that they built the project according to engineered principles. But if they continue to do this the city may very well likely ask the Registrar of Contractors to revoke their contractor's license. In which case they'll be out-of-business contractors. You Really shouldn't play with fire too much or they could push themselves out of business 

Will Homeowners face penalties for not pulling permits? Theoretically yes but probably no unless the homeowner is a repeat offender. 

Who pulls the permit? The Homeowner or the contractor? So the contractor is in charge of getting the permits. They will need to hire an engineer who will develop the design and Supply the calculations to show the city that the plan is sound and according to engineering principles. They will then submit them to the city and then be notified when they're ready to be picked up so the homeowner may need to sign a form, but the contractor should handle all of that work.  

Can I confirm if permits were obtained for previous work?

Yes. You should be able to go to the municipality and request work permits that have been done in the past. Each municipality is different and may be accessed in a different way. They may store them for different amounts of time but theoretically yes you should be able to get that information from each municipality. I would encourage you if you're having foundation repair work done to get a permit and protect yourself and make sure that all of the work is done according to engineering principles and that the permits are pulled and closed out properly