How Much Does a Building Permit Cost?

Building permit fees are set locally, by city councils and county boards, and they vary widely from one jurisdiction to the next. The comparison below shows a $100,000 project costing about three times as much in permit and plan review fees in Seattle as in Denver. That makes national averages close to meaningless, and any website quoting a single “typical” permit price is guessing.

What does carry over from place to place is the method. Nearly every department builds its fees from the same handful of pieces. Once you know them, you can read your local fee schedule and work out a fair estimate before you apply.

What the model code says about fees

The International Residential Code does not set any dollar amounts. It leaves fees to local government and sets a few ground rules. The text below is from the 2021 IRC as adopted in Montana:

• R108.2 Schedule of permit fees. A fee for each permit is paid “in accordance with the schedule as established by the applicable governing authority.”
• R108.3 Building permit valuations. Valuation includes the total value of the work, “including materials and labor,” and covers electrical, gas, mechanical, plumbing equipment, and other permanent systems. The building official may not request proprietary information.
• R108.4 Related fees. Paying the building permit fee does not relieve you of other fees required by law, such as zoning, utility, or state charges.
• R108.6 Work commencing before permit issuance. Anyone who starts permit work before getting the permit is subject to a fee set by the governing authority, on top of the required permit fees.
• R105.5 Expiration. A permit becomes invalid if work does not start within 180 days of issuance, or if more than 180 days pass between inspections after work starts. The building official may grant written extensions of up to 180 days each for justifiable cause.

The main ways fees are calculated

Valuation-based tables

The most common method ties the building permit fee to the project’s construction value on a sliding scale: a base amount for the first slice of value, then an added amount per $1,000 (or $100) of value above it. Many departments do not simply accept your number. They calculate valuation from floor area times a cost per square foot, often taken from the International Code Council’s Building Valuation Data, which the ICC updates twice a year and describes as a benchmark jurisdictions use to set permit fees.

Flat fees

Simple, repetitive jobs are often priced at a flat rate. Denver charges a $50 flat fee for residential solar and other renewable energy permits, with no plan review fee. Phoenix offers fixed-fee residential solar options, for firms the department qualifies, from $293 to $780 depending on whether plan review is needed and how many inspections are included.

Square footage or project-type tables

Some departments skip valuation and price by project type and size. San Diego is a clear example: a single-family addition or remodel has a base plan check fee and inspection fee for the first 500 square feet, plus a per-square-foot increment above that.

Hourly fees

Unusual work, extra review rounds, and after-hours inspections are often billed hourly. Phoenix’s general hourly rate for plan review and inspection services is $195. Seattle’s 2026 hourly rate is $292 for most services and $551 for land use review.

How fees differ by city

Each row below comes from the city’s current official fee schedule. To compare like with like, the last column applies each schedule to a $100,000 residential project, counting only the base permit fee, plan review, and any percentage surcharge. Trade permits, zoning, and state fees are extra.

City	Fee method	Plan review	Other add-ons	$100,000 project
Denver, CO	Valuation table	50% of permit fee	Reinspections $100/hour	$770 + $385 = $1,155
Phoenix, AZ	Valuation table	80% of permit fee (residential over $50K; 100% at $50K or less)	Hourly rate $195	$1,153 + $922.40 = $2,075.40
Seattle, WA	Development Fee Index from valuation	100% of the index	5% technology fee	$1,821.50 × 2 + 5% = $3,825.15
San Diego, CA	Project type and square footage	Separate plan check table	$737 General Plan Maintenance fee	Not valuation-based (see below)

Denver. Denver’s fee policy (Admin 125 and 138, revised May 21, 2024, linked from the city’s Development Fees page) charges $420 for the first $50,000 of valuation plus $7 for each additional $1,000 up to $100,000, with plan review at 50 percent of the permit fee. Valuation is the higher of the ICC Building Valuation Data figure or the applicant’s number. For some residential work Denver uses its own per-square-foot table instead, for example $60 per square foot for residential interior renovations and $31 per square foot for a basement finish without a toilet or kitchen. Quick permits for replacements such as roofs and water heaters skip plan review and pay only the permit fee. Express plan review costs 20 percent of the permit fee, with a $100 minimum.

Phoenix. The Phoenix fee schedule (Ordinance G-7465, effective January 20, 2026) charges $703 for the first $50,000 plus $9 per additional $1,000 up to $200,000. The minimum is $98 for residential water heaters and fences and $195 for other small permits. Swimming pools have a $234 minimum plus a $30 aquatics surcharge. Starting work without a permit triggers an investigation fee of $250 or the permit fee, whichever is greater.

Seattle. Seattle’s 2026 Fee Subtitle (Seattle Municipal Code Chapter 22.900, effective January 1, 2026) first converts valuation into a Development Fee Index. At $100,000 the index is $1,821.50. A building permit then charges 100 percent of the index as the permit fee and another 100 percent as the plan review fee. A 5 percent technology fee is added to most fees in the subtitle.

San Diego. San Diego’s Information Bulletin 501 (August 2026) prices a single-family addition or remodel at $3,512.92 for plan check and $2,228.29 for inspection, covering the first 500 square feet. Above that, it adds $6.98 per square foot for plan check and $4.46 for inspection. That puts a 500-square-foot addition at $5,741.21 before the $737 General Plan Maintenance fee, the $12.16 mapping fee, and state fees. Homes built before 1978 also pay a $58 lead hazard prevention fee.

State surcharges you may see on the bill

Some states require local departments to collect a surcharge and send it to the state:

• Florida. Section 553.721 adds a surcharge of 1 percent of permit fees to fund the Florida Building Commission. Section 468.631 adds another 1.5 percent for the Building Code Administrators and Inspectors Fund and the Florida Homeowners’ Construction Recovery Fund. Each has a $2 minimum per permit.
• California. Under SB 1473 (2008), cities and counties collect $4 per $100,000 of valuation for the Building Standards Administration Special Revolving Fund. The state counts this as $1 per $25,000 of valuation, with a $1 minimum. California also collects a strong-motion instrumentation (seismic) fee. San Diego lists it at 13 cents per $1,000 of valuation for one- and two-story residential buildings.
• Washington. RCW 19.27.085, reprinted in Seattle’s fee subtitle, imposes $6.50 on each residential building permit and $25 on each commercial permit. It adds $2 for each residential unit after the first in buildings with more than one unit.

Other charges added on top

• Trade permits. Electrical, plumbing, and mechanical work is often priced per fixture, circuit, or appliance, or on that trade’s share of the valuation.
• Reinspection fees. These apply when work fails or is not ready. Denver bills reinspections at $100 per hour.
• Extra review rounds. Revised or incomplete drawings can trigger additional plan review fees, as Denver’s policy spells out.
• Impact and connection fees. New homes and accessory dwelling units may owe school, park, road, water, and sewer fees, which can exceed the permit fee. San Diego, for example, lists school fees and development impact fees separately from construction permit fees.

Checklist: estimating your fee

• Find your department’s current fee schedule and note its effective date. You can find your local building department in our directory.
• Identify the method for your project: valuation table, flat fee, square footage, or hourly.
• Work out valuation the way the department does, including materials and labor. If it uses ICC Building Valuation Data or its own per-square-foot table, apply that instead of your bid.
• Add the plan review fee (a percentage or a separate table).
• List every trade permit the job needs: electrical, plumbing, mechanical, fire.
• Add percentage surcharges such as technology fees and state surcharges.
• Ask whether impact, school, utility connection, or zoning review fees apply.
• Note which fees are due at submittal and which are refundable.

Denver and Seattle both post downloadable fee estimator spreadsheets on their fee pages.

Ways to avoid paying more than necessary

• Submit a complete application. Departments like Denver charge additional plan review fees when drawings are incomplete or changed.
• Be ready for inspections. Reinspection fees add up fast.
• Keep the permit active. Under IRC R105.5, a permit lapses if more than 180 days pass between inspections, and renewal or reapplication costs money.
• Get the permit first. Work started without a permit carries a locally set penalty fee under IRC R108.6. See unpermitted work.
• Ask about quick or over-the-counter permits. Replacement work that skips plan review, like Denver’s quick permits, avoids the plan review charge entirely.

Who pays the permit fee

The applicant pays. When a contractor pulls the permit, the cost is passed through in the contract price, so ask bidders in writing whether permit fees are included. Homeowners pulling their own permits should read owner-builder permits.

Questions to ask your building department

• Which fee method applies to my project, and where is the current fee schedule?
• Do you calculate valuation yourselves, or use my contract value?
• Is plan review a percentage of the permit fee, and is it due at submittal?
• Which trade permits will I need, and are they priced separately?
• Which state surcharges, technology fees, or impact fees apply?
• What do reinspections, extra review rounds, and permit extensions cost?