Title 21 — Real Property

This Chapter may be cited as the Building Law of Guam. SOURCE: GC § 31000. COL 2026-06-10

The purpose of this Chapter is to secure and promote the safety, health and general welfare of the people of the Territory of Guam by providing standards for the location, design, material, construction, alteration, repair, building service equipment, maintenance, use, occupancy,…

All buildings and structures, appurtenances connected and attached thereto, or equipment thereof, which are erected, constructed, installed or moved within the Territory of Guam after the effective date of this Chapter shall comply with all provisions of this Chapter; provided, h…

(a) General. Buildings or structures to which additions, alterations or repairs are made shall comply with all the requirements for new buildings or structures except as specifically provided in this Section. (b) Addition, Alterations and Repairs: More than Fifty Percent (50%). W…

Notwithstanding any provision of law, a building permit, application or notice to the building official shall not be required to paint or clean any building or structure or to build any fence which otherwise complies with government of Guam laws, rules and regulations. SOURCE: En…

No building or structure shall be constructed, extended, repaired or altered in violation of the provisions of this Chapter, except for ordinary repairs as defined in § 66104(f) and except further that the raising or lowering or moving of a building or structure as a unit necessi…

Any requirement essential for structural, fire or sanitary safety of an existing or proposed building or structure, or essential for the safety of the occupants thereof and which is not specifically covered by this Chapter shall be determined by the Director of Public Works. COL …

All buildings and structures and all parts thereof, both existing and new, shall be maintained in a safe and sanitary condition. SOURCE: GC § 31006.

The administration and enforcement of the provisions of this Chapter shall be the responsibility and duty of the Director of Public Works or his designated representatives, who for such purposes shall be known as the building official. SOURCE: GC § 31007 as amended by P.L. 14-112…

The Director of Public Works is hereby empowered to delegate any authority granted herein, except the authority to promulgate rules and any regulations as hereinafter set forth in § 66116, to any employee of the Department of Public Works. Any duty prescribed herein to be perform…

No employee or officer engaged in administering or enforcing the provisions of this Chapter shall engage in any activity inconsistent with his duties under this Chapter; and no such officer and employee so employed shall during the term of his employment, be engaged directly or i…

Any officer or employee duly charged with the enforcement of this Chapter, acting for the government of Guam in the discharge of his duties, shall not thereby render himself liable personally, and he is hereby relieved from all personal liability for any damage that may accrue to…

The Director of Public Works shall keep official records of applications received, permits and certificates issued, fees collected, reports of inspections, and notices, rules, regulations, decisions and orders issued. File copies of all papers in connection with building operatio…

The Director of Public Works shall annually submit a report to the Governor of Guam which report shall include a summary of all permits and certificates issued, rules, regulations and other promulgated, and materials approved. SOURCE: GC § 31012.

Officials of other departments in the government of Guam exercising any degree of control over construction, use or occupancy of buildings or structures, appurtenances connected or attached thereto or equipment thereof, under other applicable laws of Guam shall cooperate and assi…

(a) The provisions of this Chapter are designed to set forth the standards of safety, strength, sanitation and fire resistance and the express approval of certain materials, methods, devices or equipment which will satisfy these same standards. (b) In furtherance of the intent of…

(a) No regulation of the Director of Public Works issued pursuant to this Chapter shall become effective until fifteen (15) days after notice of intention to enforce it shall have been given in a newspaper in general circulation in the Territory of Guam, and until a public hearin…

The Director of Public Works may vary or modify the application of any provision of this Chapter or of any regulation adopted pursuant thereto, consonant with the spirit and intent of the law, upon application of the owner or his representative, if any of the following conditions…

(a) Any new or alternative materials, methods, devices or equipment may be used by their proponent only when the proposed use has been expressly authorized in writing by the Director of Public Works in execution of the broad policy set forth in Section § 66116(a) of this Chapter.…

It shall be unlawful to construct, enlarge, alter, remove or demolish, or change the occupancy of a building from one use group to another requiring greater strength, exit or sanitary provisions, or to change to a prohibited use, or to install or alter any equipment for which pro…

The application for a permit shall be submitted in such form as the building official may prescribe and shall be accompanied by the required fee as prescribed in § 66408. SOURCE: GC § 31019.

Application for a permit shall be made by the owner or lessee of the property, or agent of either, or by the licensed engineer or architect employed in connection with the proposed work. If the application is made by a person other than the owner in fee, it shall be accompanied b…

Government Agencies. (a) A permit for Clearing, Grading, and Construction shall be required of government, autonomous, and public entities in the same manner as private citizens. An application for the permit shall be submitted to the Department of Public Works by the entity who …

The application shall contain a general description of the proposed work, its location, the use and occupancy of all parts of the building or structures and of all portions of the site or lot not covered by the building, and such additional information as may be required by the b…

The application for the permit shall be accompanied by not less than two copies of specifications and of plans drawn to scale, with sufficient clarity and detail dimensions, showing the nature and character of the work to be performed. When quality or its equivalent is used, info…

There shall also be filed a plot plan showing to scale the size and location of all the new construction and all existing structures on the site, distances from lot lines and established street grades; and it shall be drawn in accordance with an accurate boundary- line survey. In…

The building official may require adequate details of structural, mechanical and electrical work including computations, stress diagrams and other essential technical data to be filed. All engineering plans and computations shall bear the signature of the engineer or architect re…

The building official shall promptly examine or cause to be examined, each application for a building permit and all materials filed in conjunction therewith, in order to ascertain whether the proposed work is in accordance with the requirements of the provisions of this Chapter.…

(a) The building official shall act upon each application for a building permit without unreasonable or unnecessary delay. On finding conformity with all the requirements of this and other applicable laws, the building official shall, upon receipt of the required fee, issue the p…

The building official, upon the issuance of a permit, shall endorse in writing or stamp on both sets of plans and specifications “APPROVED FOR PERMIT #.........” and affix his signature to such endorsement. SOURCE: GC § 31027.

Approved plans and specifications shall not be changed, modified or altered in any manner affected by the provisions of this or other applicable laws, without express written authorization from the building official, and all work shall be done in accordance with the approved plan…

The building official shall retain one set of approved and endorsed plans and specifications with their attached data and return the other set to the applicant. The applicant’s set shall be kept at the work site at all times during which the authorized work is in progress, and sh…

COL 2026-06-10 (a) The issuance of a building permit or approval of plans and specifications shall not be construed to be a permit for, or approval of any violation of the provisions of this Chapter or of the terms and conditions imposed by the Guam Land Use Commission or the Dep…

The building official may, at his discretion, after receipt of an application for a building permit and pending issuance of such building permit, issue a special permit for the foundations, and without assurance that a building permit for the superstructure will be granted. Such …

Whenever there is a cessation in the authorized construction of any building or structure of more than twelve (12) months, the building official, by written order served upon the permit holder and the owner of the premises, shall require the holder of the permit or said owner to …

No building or structure hereafter erected shall be occupied or used, in whole or in part, until a certificate of occupancy shall have been issued by the building official and posted on the premises certifying that such building confirms to the provisions of this Chapter. SOURCE:…

No building or structure hereafter enlarged or extended, or so altered, wholly or in part, as to change its classification or occupancy, shall be occupied or used, in whole or in part, until a COL 2026-06-10 certificate of occupancy shall have been issued by the building official…

In addition to the certification as to compliance with the provisions of this Chapter, the certificate of occupancy shall state the purposes for which the building may be used in its several parts, the maximum permissible live loads on the several floors, the number of individual…

(a) No change of occupancy shall be made in a building or structure hereafter erected or altered that is not consistent with the last issued certificate of occupancy, unless a new certificate of occupancy is secured. No change of occupancy that would bring a building or structure…

Any person desiring a certificate of occupancy as hereinabove required shall, after completion of the work for which the building permit was issued, file with the building official a signed application therefore on a form furnished by the building official stating, in writing, th…

The building official, upon receipt of an application for a certificate of occupancy, shall promptly inspect or cause to be inspected the construction, enlargement, alteration, repair, conversion, movement or improvement of the building, structure or appurtenances, or the install…

(a) If after inspection as provided in § 66306, it is found that the proposed work has been completed in accordance with the requirements of the building permit, the terms and conditions set by the Guam Land Use Commission for use of the property, and the provisions of this Chapt…

The building official or his authorized representative, insofar as may be necessary in the performance of his duties, upon showing proper credentials, may enter at any reasonable time any building, structure or premises in the Territory of Guam to perform any duty imposed upon hi…

(a) The building official, in order to accomplish the express purpose of this law as set forth in § 66102, shall inspect or cause to be inspected from time to time, but not less than once every three (3) years, all buildings, structures, appurtenances and equipment in order to ve…

(a) The building official shall inspect or cause to be inspected from time to time during the progress of work thereon, all buildings or structures for work on which a building permit has been issued and is outstanding. A record shall be made of every inspection and of all violat…

(a) Whenever there is insufficient evidence that any material or any construction does not conform to the requirements of this Title, or in order to substantiate claims for alternate materials or methods of construction, the building official may require tests as proof of complia…

Where the unit or component parts of a prefabricated building are not readily accessible to inspection, the building official may accept a certification from an approved national testing agency that the building is identical with a specimen previously approved by the national aut…

(a) Upon notice from the building official that work on any building or structure is being prosecuted in violation of the provisions of this or other applicable laws, or rules and regulations issued pursuant thereto, or in violation of any of the terms and conditions imposed upon…

The building official shall revoke a permit or approval issued under the provisions of this law: (a) in any case of a false statement or misrepresentation as to a material fact in any application or COL 2026-06-10 plans and specifications in which the permit was issued, or approv…

Building Permit Fees. A fee for each permit issued by the building official in connection with any work covered by this Chapter shall be paid to the Treasurer of Guam. The building Official shall charge fees as set forth in Table 3A of the latest edition of the Uniform Building C…