Little Rock Building Codes Division
- Phone
- (501) 371-4790
- Hours
- Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. CT
Arkansas
Little Rock, AR permit fees and requirements
The Little Rock Building Codes Division issues building
electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits under City Code Sec. 8-31. Building permit fees follow a valuation ladder that starts at $30.00 (first $500 up to $2,000, plus $3.50 per additional $1,000 or fraction) and runs to $1,158.00 plus $1.60 per $1,000 above $500,000. Commercial projects also pay a plan-checking fee equal to one-half of the building permit fee (minimum $50.00), and every permit carries a $3–$8 data processing fee and a $30.00 minimum. Electrical and plumbing work on new one- and two-family dwellings is priced at $0.08 per square foot under roof; other work is priced from unit-cost schedules.
Permit costs we have worked out
Each page shows the fee components, the formula the jurisdiction uses, and a worked example you can follow by hand.
Estimate your potential Little Rock permit fee with our Building Permit Fee Calculator.
| Permit | Category | Last reviewed |
|---|---|---|
| Little Rock Building Permit Cost | structural | 2026-09-26 |
| Little Rock Electrical Permit Cost | electrical | 2026-09-26 |
| Little Rock Plumbing Permit Cost | plumbing | 2026-09-26 |
Local context
What is specific to Little Rock
Little Rock anchors a consolidated city-county permitting landscape in Pulaski County: the City's Building Codes Division permits everything inside city limits, while Pulaski County and neighboring cities (North Little Rock, Jacksonville) run their own offices for work outside it. The City cuts permit fees by 75% in three Targeted Neighborhood Enhancement Areas — Central High, Downtown and Philander Smith — a reinvestment incentive written directly into Sec. 8-31's fee section.
Plan review is split by occupancy: residential construction proceeds with over-the-counter review, while commercial plans pay the plan-checking fee described on this page. The data processing fee that rides every permit funds the division's permitting software and staff training.
Valuation
How valuation is determined here
Valuation is the total value of the work, including labor and materials. Applicants must present a copy of the contract or an affidavit; when documentation is not presented, the Building Codes Division uses the ICC building valuation data chart to set the permit valuation.
Who to contact
The office that issues the permit, with the details we have verified. Confirm current hours before travelling.
What these fees do not include
The list is not a disclaimer: on a new house the fees left out can outweigh the permit fee several times over. Every entry here is stated on the permit page as well.
Not included in our estimates
These figures cover the City of Little Rock building, electrical and plumbing permit fees only. They exclude:
- Mechanical (HVAC) permits, priced on a separate schedule in the same section.
- Pulaski County and state permits — septic systems, floodplain and right-of-way work.
- Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority connection and capacity charges.
- Fire marshal plan review for suppression systems and special-events permits.
- Zoning, boarding and variance application fees from the Planning Department.
Official sources for this jurisdiction
The documents these figures are transcribed from. Where a source contradicts itself we keep both readings and say so on the permit page.
- Municipal codeCityPrimary source
Little Rock City Code, Chapter 8 Art. III, Sec. 8-31 — Building permits and permit fees
Sec. 8-31(c) establishes the permit fee schedules for building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical and other related work. Full text of the published City of Little Rock Building Code (including Sec. 8-31's fee tables) read via the City's WebLink record; a public full-text mirror of the same code (archive.org/details/gov.ar.littlerock.buiding) was used for reading because the WebLink server requires cookie sign-in for scripted access.
- City websiteCityPrimary source
Planning & Development Department — Building Codes Division
Department page naming the Building Codes Division as the permit issuer and linking the eTrakit portal.