Sacramento, CA

Sacramento building permit cost

A City of Sacramento building permit is priced from estimated project valuation.

Table A prints a bracket for every $1,000 of valuation from $999 (which pays $75) to $99,999 (which pays $1,078), and then, instead of a hundred-and-first bracket, three formulas: $1,078 plus $0.006787 for every dollar above $100,000, rising at $3 million and again at $10 million. Four City charges are added on top of it.

Official fee scheduleVerified Sep 2026City of Sacramento Community Development Department

How this fee is calculated

These are the components the schedule defines for this permit, as they applied on 2026-09-28. A component only applies to your project if its conditions match — read that column before assuming a figure. Want a figure for your own project? Estimate this fee with the permit fee calculator.

Fee components for a building permit
Component	Formula	Applies when	Range
Non-structural bathroom remodelPermit fee	`$320.00 flat fee`	project type is bathroom remodel	—
Non-structural kitchen remodelPermit fee	`$425.00 flat fee`	project type is kitchen remodel	—
Pre-engineered patio coverPermit fee	`$250.00 flat fee`	project type is patio cover pre engineered	—
Site built patio coverPermit fee	`$288.00 flat fee`	project type is patio cover site built	—
Building permit fee, $100,000 to $2,999,999.99 of valuationPermit fee	`0.6787% of project valuation above the first $100,000 + $1,078.00`	Project valuation over $100,000 and up to $2,999,999.99	—
Building permit fee, $10,000,000 of valuation and abovePermit fee	`0.462% of project valuation above the first $10,000,000 + $56,692.00`	Project valuation at least $10,000,000	—
Building permit fee, $3,000,000 to $9,999,999.99 of valuationPermit fee	`0.5133% of project valuation above the first $3,000,000 + $20,761.00`	Project valuation at least $3,000,000 and up to $9,999,999.99	—
Building permit fee, Commercial column ($999 to $99,999 of valuation)Permit fee	`Project valuation — 100 brackets: $75.00 up to $999, … $1,078.00 from $98,999 to $100,000`	Project valuation up to $100,000 and not (project type is one of bathroom remodel, kitchen remodel, patio cover site built, patio cover pre engineered) and Occupancy is not residential	—
Building permit fee, Residential column ($999 to $99,999 of valuation)Permit fee	`Project valuation — 100 brackets: $75.00 up to $999, … $1,078.00 from $98,999 to $100,000`	Project valuation up to $100,000 and not (project type is one of bathroom remodel, kitchen remodel, patio cover site built, patio cover pre engineered) and Occupancy is residential	—
General Plan Maintenance FeeOther fee	`$2.60 per $1,000 of project valuation`	Every permit of this type	max $38,200.00
Construction Excise TaxOther fee	`0.8% of project valuation`	Every permit of this type	—
City Business Operations TaxOther fee	`$0.40 per $1,000 of project valuation`	not (Owner-builder is true)	max $5,000.00
Residential Construction Tax, one bedroom or a mobile home lotOther fee	`$250.00 per dwelling unit`	Occupancy is residential and bedrooms up to 1	—
Residential Construction Tax, two bedroomsOther fee	`$315.00 per dwelling unit`	Occupancy is residential and bedrooms is 2	—
Residential Construction Tax, three or more bedroomsOther fee	`$385.00 per dwelling unit`	Occupancy is residential and bedrooms at least 3	—

A real permit fee is these components added together. The department’s final calculation is the one that applies — this is the schedule it will be based on.

A worked example

Follow the arithmetic by hand. Every line is produced by the engine from the rules above, so the total cannot drift away from the schedule behind it.

A new single-family house in the City of Sacramento with a construction valuation of $450,000, four bedrooms, built by a licensed California contractor, permitted as a building permit.

Inputs used for this example
Input	Value
Project valuation	$450,000
Dwelling units	1
Occupancy class	Residential
Type of work	New construction
Bedrooms	4

Example total

$8,788.45

An estimate, not an official fee. It is calculated from the published fee schedule as it applied on 2026-09-28. The permit office’s own calculation is the one that applies, and your project may fall under rules this schedule does not describe.

Fee schedule as of 2026-09-28Rules applied 5Rules considered 15

Fee components
Component	How it is calculated	Amount
Building permit fee, $100,000 to $2,999,999.99 of valuationPermit feeTable A: "$1078 + $0.006787 each $1 > $100,000". The $1,078 is the last bracket of the ladder, so the formula and the ladder meet exactly at $100,000. Show the working Project valuation $350,000 Amount above the first $100,000 $350,000 Rate applied 0.6787% of project valuation Add factor $1,078.00 Component total $3,453.45	`0.6787% of project valuation above the first $100,000 + $1,078.00`	$3,453.45
General Plan Maintenance FeeOther fee"General Plan Maintenance Fee — $2.60 per $1,000 of building valuation, not-to-exceed $38,200 on permits with a valuation over $14.85 million." Show the working Project valuation $450,000 At $2.60 per $1,000 $1,170.00 Component total $1,170.00	`$2.60 per $1,000 of project valuation`	$1,170.00
Construction Excise TaxOther fee"Construction Excise Tax — .008 x of the 2002 ICBO Valuation." The tax is charged on "all new square footage constructed in the city", and patio covers are the sheet's own stated exception. Show the working Project valuation $450,000 Rate applied 0.8% of project valuation Component total $3,600.00	`0.8% of project valuation`	$3,600.00
City Business Operations TaxOther fee"City Business Operations Tax — $0.40 per $1,000 of project valuation (Maximum limit of $5,000.00 per calendar year per contractor)." The sheet marks it "Only charged if a California licensed contractor is the permit holder", so it is not charged to an owner-builder permit. Show the working Project valuation $450,000 At $0.40 per $1,000 $180.00 Component total $180.00	`$0.40 per $1,000 of project valuation`	$180.00
Residential Construction Tax, three or more bedroomsOther fee"Residential Construction Tax (Building) — 3+ bedroom units $385", per unit. Show the working Number of dwelling units 1 Rate per unit $385.00 Component total $385.00	`$385.00 per dwelling unit`	$385.00
Total		$8,788.45

Fees that do not apply here

Listed so you can see what was considered and left out, rather than wondering whether something is missing. A rule can also be left out because it is not published for this permit at all, and that is stated where it matters.

Non-structural bathroom remodel — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
Non-structural kitchen remodel — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
Pre-engineered patio cover — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
Site built patio cover — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
Building permit fee, $10,000,000 of valuation and above — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
Building permit fee, $3,000,000 to $9,999,999.99 of valuation — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
Building permit fee, Commercial column ($999 to $99,999 of valuation) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
Building permit fee, Residential column ($999 to $99,999 of valuation) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
Residential Construction Tax, one bedroom or a mobile home lot — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
Residential Construction Tax, two bedrooms — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.

Assumptions

Calculated from 5 fee rules in effect on 2026-09-28.
Amounts are rounded to the nearest cent, once, at the end of each component.

The valuation of $450,000 is above $100,000, so the fee is Table A's first formula: $1,078 plus $0.006787 for each dollar above $100,000, which is $1,078 + 350,000 × $0.006787 = $3,453.45. Three of the City's charges are then a rate on the same figure — the General Plan Maintenance Fee at $2.60 per $1,000 is $1,170.00, the Construction Excise Tax at 0.008 is $3,600.00, and the City Business Operations Tax at $0.40 per $1,000 is $180.00, which is charged because a licensed contractor holds the permit. The fourth is per unit rather than on the valuation: the Residential Construction Tax for a four-bedroom unit is $385.00. Total: $8,788.45.

Two variations show what moves. As an owner-builder permit the same house pays $8,608.45, because the City Business Operations Tax is charged only when a licensed contractor is the permit holder — a $180.00 difference that has nothing to do with the building. As a $250,000 commercial building the ladder is replaced by the same formula and the Residential Construction Tax disappears, so a $250,000 commercial permit is $2,096.05 of permit fee, $650.00 of General Plan, $2,000.00 of excise tax and $100.00 of business operations tax, $4,846.05 in all.

One caution belongs with the number. A valuation is the applicant's own figure and it is the whole basis of the fee, so a difference of $100,000 of declared value moves this permit by rather more than the fee itself. The plan review fee, which the City's sheet prints beside every flat scope and prices on a separate table, is not in any of these totals.

What is different in Sacramento

The ladders is the part a reader can check by eye, and the formulas are the part that decides most real permits. A house valued at $450,000 pays $1,078 plus 350,000 × $0.006787, which is $3,453.45 — and the same arithmetic at $3,000,000 arrives at $20,761, which is exactly where the second formula starts, and at $10,000,000 at $56,692, where the third does. That continuity is why this site models the bracket table and the formulas as one schedule with a hand-over, rather than picking one of them.

A reader with a small job should look at the top of the table instead. Nothing is valued under the first bracket, so a $20,000 project pays $447 and a $40,000 project $622, and both are the *whole* building permit fee. Table B.1 then takes a different kind of job out of the ladder entirely: a non-structural bathroom remodel is a flat $320 and a non-structural kitchen remodel a flat $425, whatever the sheet's valuation would have said.

The four City charges are where a Sacramento permit differs from the ladder a reader may have found elsewhere. The General Plan Maintenance Fee is $2.60 per $1,000 of valuation, capped at $38,200. The Construction Excise Tax is 0.008 of the valuation — the listing calls it "0.008 x of the 2002 ICBO Valuation". The City Business Operations Tax is $0.40 per $1,000, capped at $5,000, and is charged only "if a California licensed contractor is the permit holder", so an owner-builder permit does not pay it. The Residential Construction Tax is $250, $315 or $385 per unit by bedroom count. On a $450,000 house with four bedrooms and a licensed contractor those four come to $1,170.00, $3,600.00, $180.00 and $385.00, and the permit is $8,788.45 all in.

Two limits belong with the number. The plan review fee is a separate charge on a separate schedule the site does not transcribe, and the Technology Surcharge — 10% of the plan review fee and the building permit fee — cannot be stated without it. Both are named rather than guessed at.

What this figure does not include

Impact fees, utility connections and other departments’ permits are the usual omissions, and in some jurisdictions they are larger than the permit fee itself.

Not included in these figures

This estimate is Table A's valuation fee or Table B.1's flat scope for the job named, plus the four City charges the fee listing states. It excludes:

The plan review fee and the Technology Surcharge that is 10% of it plus the building permit fee, for the reason the summary gives: plan review is priced on a separate schedule this site does not carry.
The electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits on the same project. This site prices two of the three trades, and neither is included here.
Solar photovoltaic and solar water heater permits, which the City issues under its own streamlined solar permit.
Table B.1's other flat scopes — re-roof and wrecking permits at $175, site-built and pre-engineered patio covers at $288 and $250, which the site does model, and the plan review amounts printed beside them, which it does not.
The sign permit fee, priced by the City "based on the valuation of the sign" with its own valuation tables, and the $216 electrical fee for a sign, which the electrical page covers.
Hourly and penalty charges: the $216 staff hourly rate, expedited plan review, permit renewal at $216 per hour with a three-hour minimum, permit extension, re-inspection, emergency and overtime inspections, master plan review, and the work-without-permit penalty.
The City's impact fees and other agencies' charges collected with the permit: utilities' water, sewer, drainage and meter fees, the county sanitation district's charge, school impact fees, SAFCA flood control, the transportation authority's fee, and the fire department's plan review and inspection fees.

What you need before applying

The building permit fee is a valuation bracket up to $99,999 and a printed formula above itRequired
Table A: "$999 $75 … $40,999 $622 … $99,999 $1,078", and then, in place of a hundred-and-first bracket, "$1078 + $0.006787 each $1 > $100,000" rising at $3 million to "$20,761 + $0.005133 each $1 >$3 mil" and at $10 million to "$56,692 + $0.004620 each $1 >$10 mil". Estimated project valuation decides which of the two applies and what the fee is; nothing else about the building is priced.
Four City charges are added to a building permit, and one of them depends on who holds the permitRequired
The General Plan Maintenance Fee is "$2.60 per $1,000 of building valuation, not-to-exceed $38,200"; the Construction Excise Tax is ".008 x of the 2002 ICBO Valuation"; the Residential Construction Tax is "$250 … $315 … $385" per unit by bedroom count; and the City Business Operations Tax is "$0.40 per $1,000 of project valuation (Maximum limit of $5,000.00 per calendar year per contractor)", charged, the listing says, "Only … if a California licensed contractor is the permit holder" — so an owner-builder permit does not pay it.

Common questions

Is the fee a percentage of my project's valuation?

Above $100,000 it is — but not a flat percentage, and below it, not at all. Table A prints a bracket for every $1,000 of valuation to $99,999, so a $40,000 project pays $622 and that is the end of it; above $100,000 the schedule prints $1,078 plus $0.006787 for every dollar over $100,000, which is a marginal rate rather than a percentage of the whole. The City's own four add-ons do include two genuine percentages: the General Plan Maintenance Fee at $2.60 per $1,000 and the excise tax at 0.008.

Table A, Building Permit Fee Schedule (based on Valuation)

Why does the schedule stop printing brackets?

Because printing one per $1,000 of valuation stops being useful somewhere, and $99,999 is where the City stopped. From there the schedule prints three formulas instead: "$1078 + $0.006787 each $1 > $100,000", "$20,761 + $0.005133 each $1 >$3 mil" and "$56,692 + $0.004620 each $1 >$10 mil". They meet the ladder exactly — $1,078 at $100,000 is the last bracket's amount — so the formula is the same schedule continued, not a separate charge.

Table A, Building Permit Fee Schedule (based on Valuation)

What is the difference between the Commercial and Residential columns?

On 98 of the table's 100 rows, nothing — the two columns print the same amount. On two rows they differ: at $33,999 of valuation the Residential column prints $577 where the Commercial column prints $557, and at $36,999 it prints $586 where the Commercial column prints $585. This site carries both as printed, and reads the column from the occupancy of the job.

Table A, Commercial and Residential columns

What is the Construction Excise Tax charged on?

The listing says ".008 x of the 2002 ICBO Valuation", and that it is charged "on all new square footage constructed in the city", with patio covers as its own stated exception. This site charges 0.008 of the valuation a reader supplies. It says so plainly rather than implying the site reproduces the City's 2002 ICBO tables, which it does not.

City of Sacramento Fees and Charges, Construction Excise Tax

Do I pay the City Business Operations Tax?

Only if a California licensed contractor is the permit holder. The listing states it three ways — "$0.40 per $1,000 of project valuation (Maximum limit of $5,000.00 per calendar year per contractor)", "Only charged if a California licensed contractor is the permit holder" — so an owner-builder permit does not pay it, and this site does not charge it to one. On a $450,000 house it is $180.00.

City of Sacramento Fees and Charges, City Business Operations Tax

How much is the Residential Construction Tax?

"Per unit as applicable: Mobile home lot constructed or one bedroom unit $250; Two bedroom units $315; 3+ bedroom units $385." It is charged per dwelling unit rather than once, so two two-bedroom units pay $630.00 and not $315.00.

City of Sacramento Fees and Charges, Residential Construction Tax (Building)

Is plan review included?

It is not. The fee sheet prints a Plan Review Fee column beside every flat scope — $164 against the $288 site-built patio cover — and the City's record for it describes the fee as calculated either from a separate valuation table or hourly at the current staff rate. This site does not transcribe that table, so plan review is named here rather than computed, and so is the Technology Surcharge, which is 10% of the plan review fee and the building permit fee together.

City of Sacramento Fees and Charges, Plan Review Fee and Technology Surcharge

Source and verification

The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.

Fee schedule (PDF)CityPrimary source
Building Division Fee Detail — Table A, “Building Permit Fee Schedule (based on Valuation)”, and Table B.1, “Flat Fee Building Permits”
City of Sacramento Community Development Department, Building Division · Document dated July 19, 2025 · Effective July 19, 2025 · Retrieved September 24, 2026
Read 2026-09-24. The document is the attachment the City's fee record for "Building Permit Fee" (fee 28 in its searchable listing) publishes: "Building-Permit-Fee-Tables-A-and-B.1_2025-0719.pdf", 1,341,269 bytes, sha256 beginning e1de2a29ae12011e. Table A carries the header "TABLE A — Effective July 20, 2020*" with a footer "Revised July 19, 2025", and Table B.1 is headed "Effective July 19, 2025"; the schedule is therefore recorded as effective 2025-07-19. Extracted in three `pdftotext` modes, because the first pass through Table A mis-paired the Commercial and Residential columns by one row for part of the page and produced a ladder in which the residential column ran ahead of the commercial one — the row-by-row mode is the one whose every bracket reproduces the document's own arithmetic, and it is the one modelled.
City websiteCityPrimary source
City of Sacramento “Fees and Charges” searchable fee listing
City of Sacramento · Undated document · Retrieved September 24, 2026
Read 2026-09-24. The City's own searchable listing of every fee it charges, published both as a web application and as the "Fees and Charges" dataset on data.cityofsacramento.org. It is the source for the four charges that are not in the fee sheet: "General Plan Maintenance Fee — $2.60 per $1,000 of building valuation, not-to-exceed $38,200 on permits with a valuation over $14.85 million"; "Technology Surcharge Fee (Building) — 10% of the Plan Review Fee (if applicable) and Building Permit Fee (if applicable)"; "Construction Excise Tax — .008 x of the 2002 ICBO Valuation"; "City Business Operations Tax — $0.40 per $1,000 of project valuation (Maximum limit of $5,000.00 per calendar year per contractor)"; and "Residential Construction Tax (Building) — Mobile home lot constructed or one bedroom unit $250; Two bedroom units $315; 3+ bedroom units $385". No effective date is recorded because the listing prints none per row; each row is dated by the attachment or ordinance it cites, which is why the construction excise tax carries an explicit caveat on the page.

Verification

Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.