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Permit Cost
Residential New Construction and Additions | Includes all electric, mechanical and plumbing permits |
| Costs are calculated based on under roof square footage of structure, $400 minimum fee | $.441 x sq.ft. |
Residential Alteration / Remodel / Renovation / Repair | |
| Minor Alteration, Remodel, Renovation, Repair (defined as requiring one building inspection) | $60 |
| Major Alteration, Remodel, Renovation, Repair, based on under roof square footage of structure, $400 minimum fee (all trade permits included) | $.221 x sq.ft. |
| Residential Permits | |
| Accessory Buildings (greater than 12' in any direction) | $60 |
| Electrical Permit | $60 |
| Mechanical Permit | $60 |
| Plumbing Permit | $60 |
| Prior Cut On Electrical / Gas | $60 |
| Mobile Home Setup / Relocation (fee includes electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits) | $300 |
| Single Family Home Setup / Relocation (fee includes electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits) | $375 |
Residential Administration | |
| Copies of Records (no fee for permit holder) | .10 per page |
| Copy of Certificate of Occupancy (no fee for permit holder) | $10 |
| Site Conference | $50 |
Residential Penalties | |
| Excessive Inspections Service Fee | $50 |
| Failure to Obtain Final Inspection When Job Complete | $100 |
| Starting Work Without a Permit | $100 |
| Occupying a Structure Prior to Receiving Certificate of Occupancy (first day) | $100 |
| Occupying a Structure Prior to Receiving Certificate of Occupancy (second day) | $300 |
| Occupying a Structure Prior to Receiving Certificate of Occupancy (each day after 2nd day) | $500 |
| Starting and substantially completing work (1st occurrence) | $250 |
| Starting and substantially completing work (2nd occurrence) | $500 |
Permit Cancellations / Refunds | |
| Building permit fees shall be refunded minus a 25% service fee or $60 minimum, whichever is greater | |
| Building permits where work has commenced or expired are not eligible for refunds | |
The Building Safety Department revised and clarified its schedule, effective July 1, 2022. In general, the department’s intent is to make it easier for customers to understand how to use the formulas and the schedule. And more specifically, it assigns the same fee for all trade permits. The revised fee schedule should also make it easy for developers, architects, and builders to determine the permit and inspection costs before bidding a project, and there is no plan review fee.
Commercial
Minimum permit service fee is $75 unless otherwise noted, and the service fee amount,
which is the cost of providing service, is non-refundable.
| New construction and additions (minimum $400) | ICC Value per sq. ft. (A) | X | Total sq. ft. up to 15,000 (B) | X | NHC cost recovery factor (C) | plus | Sq. ft. over 15,000 (D) | X | ICC Value* per sq. ft. (E) | X | Reduced cost factor (0.0012) (F) | EQUALS | Permit Service Fee (G) |
| Shell buildings (minimum $400) | ICC Value per sq. ft. (A) | X | Total sq. ft. (B) | X | NHC cost recovery factor (C) | X | 80% Cost Factor (D2) | EQUALS | Permit Service Fee (H2) | ||||
| Upfit and major remodel (minimum $400) | ICC Value per sq. ft. (A) | X | Total sq. ft. (B) | X | NHC cost recovery factor (C) | X | 50% Cost Factor (D3) | EQUALS | Permit Service Fee (H3) |
For Modular buildings, calculate them as new construction using the utility/miscellaneous row under the “Group” heading/column in the ICC table for cost per sq. ft.
A. ICC value – International Code Council (ICC) Building Valuation tables contains values for different types of buildings, found on Page 2 of this document.
B. The total area is that which is within surrounding exterior walls or under the horizontal projection of the roof.
C. Cost recovery factor is inserted to recover a pre-determined percentage of Building Safety Department’s costs.
D. D is used for buildings larger than 15,000 sq. ft., and the total of the multiplication of D X E X F is added to the total of A X B X C. D2: Shell building permit service fees are 80% of the cost of new construction and have the cost represented by H2. Shell buildings – construction partially complete – never had a tenant. D3: Up-fit building permit service fees are half the cost of new construction and have the cost represented by H3. Up-fit – construction complete – has been occupied.
E. The ICC Value per sq. ft. is found on Page 2 of this document.
F. A reduced cost factor is used such that the square footage over 15,000 sq. ft. is reduced by this factor to ensure that fees for large buildings do not become too costly.
G. Permit Service Fee for New Construction and Additions. Electrical, Mechanical, and Plumbing trades have already been included in the fees*.
H. Major remodel Permit Service Fee is obtained by multiplying 50% with G (the permit service fee for new construction/additions). The remodel fees* are half the fees of new construction.
I. Included in the fees of G and H2 and H3 are the trades (electrical, mechanical, and plumbing work) associated with new construction, additions, and remodels.
J. For Wrightsville, Carolina or Kure Beach calculate trade fees at 25% of new construction permit fee for each trade with which the work will be performed.
Cost Recovery factor is 0.004 up to 15,000 sq. ft.
Cost recovery factor is 0.0012 for portion over 15,000 sq. ft.
August 2013 Table currently used ICC Table can be found at http://www.iccsafe.org/cs/Pages/BVD.aspx
Download the Commercial Fee Schedule (PDF)