Denver, CO
Denver building permit cost
A Denver building permit comes from Table No.
1 of the City's building policy: $20.00 for a valuation up to $500, $35.00 up to $2,000, then $35.00 plus $8.00 for every additional $1,000, with the rate easing to $7.00, $5.60, $4.75 and $3.65 as the valuation rises. Plan review is the third column of that same table — 50% of the permit fee, and $0 below $2,000 — so a $250,000 project pays $1,610.00 in permit fees and $805.00 in review.
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.
| Component | Formula | Applies when | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building permit fee, valuation $1 to $500Permit fee | $20.00 flat fee | Project valuation up to $500 | — |
| Building permit fee, valuation $1,000,001 and overPermit fee | $5,385.00 + $3.65 per $1,000 of project valuation above $1,000,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $1,000,000 | — |
| Building permit fee, valuation $100,001 to $500,000Permit fee | $770.00 + $5.60 per $1,000 of project valuation above $100,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $100,000 and up to $500,000 | — |
| Building permit fee, valuation $2,001 to $25,000Permit fee | $35.00 + $8.00 per $1,000 of project valuation above $2,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $2,000 and up to $25,000 | — |
| Building permit fee, valuation $25,001 to $50,000Permit fee | $220.00 + $8.00 per $1,000 of project valuation above $25,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $25,000 and up to $50,000 | — |
| Building permit fee, valuation $500,001 to $1,000,000Permit fee | $3,010.00 + $4.75 per $1,000 of project valuation above $500,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $500,000 and up to $1,000,000 | — |
| Building permit fee, valuation $50,001 to $100,000Permit fee | $420.00 + $7.00 per $1,000 of project valuation above $50,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $50,000 and up to $100,000 | — |
| Building permit fee, valuation $501 to $2,000Permit fee | $35.00 flat fee | Project valuation over $500 and up to $2,000 | — |
| Express plan review fee, 20% of the permit feePlan review | 20% of calculated permit fee | Project valuation over $2,000 and permit kind is not provided and review type is express | min $100.00 |
| Type-approved plan review fee, 10% of the permit feePlan review | 10% of calculated permit fee | Project valuation over $2,000 and permit kind is not provided and review type is type approved | — |
| Plan review fee, 50% of the permit feePlan review | 50% of calculated permit fee | Project valuation over $2,000 and permit kind is not provided and review type is not provided | — |
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.
Worked example
A commercial tenant finish with a declared construction valuation of $250,000, built in one phase, with plans submitted for a standard review rather than an express or type-approved one.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Project valuation | $250,000 |
Example total
$2,415.00
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 2Rules considered 11
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Building permit fee, valuation $100,001 to $500,000Permit feeTable No. 1: "$770.00 for the first $100,000 plus $5.60 for each additional $1,000 or fraction thereof, to and including $500,000".Show the working
| $770.00 + $5.60 per $1,000 of project valuation above $100,000, or fraction thereof, in $1,000 steps | $1,610.00 |
Plan review fee, 50% of the permit feePlan reviewTable No. 1, third column: "50%" beside every band from $2,000 of valuation up, and "0" for the two below it. Section 200: the plan review fee "is a percentage of the building permit fee as shown in Table No. 1" and is "separate from and in addition to the permit fee".Show the working
| 50% of calculated permit fee | $805.00 |
| Total | $2,415.00 |
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.
- Building permit fee, valuation $1 to $500 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit fee, valuation $1,000,001 and over — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit fee, valuation $2,001 to $25,000 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit fee, valuation $25,001 to $50,000 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit fee, valuation $500,001 to $1,000,000 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit fee, valuation $50,001 to $100,000 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit fee, valuation $501 to $2,000 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Express plan review fee, 20% of the permit fee — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Type-approved plan review fee, 10% of the permit fee — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
Assumptions
- Calculated from 2 fee rules in effect on 2026-09-28.
- Amounts are rounded to the nearest cent, once, at the end of each component.
Table No. 1's sixth band: $770.00 for the first $100,000, plus $5.60 for each of the 150 additional thousands, which is $1,610.00. Plan review is 50% of that permit fee, $805.00, and it is charged in addition to it rather than inside it. Two things would move these figures and neither is charged on this page: a two- or three-phase project adds 25% or 50% to both fees, and an express review replaces the 50% with 20% of the permit fee subject to a $100 minimum.
What is different in Denver
The table is a run of chained bands, and its arithmetic is checkable at every handover. Five of the six close exactly: at $2,000, $50,000, $100,000, $500,000 and $1,000,000 the band below produces precisely the amount the band above opens with — $35, $420, $770, $3,010 and $5,385. The sixth does not. The band covering $2,001 to $25,000 is written as $35.00 for the first $2,000 plus $8.00 for each additional $1,000, which comes to $219.00 at its own top, while the band above opens at $220.00.
One dollar is the whole of the discrepancy, and the table's own phrase "or fraction thereof" is what makes it cost more than a dollar. A valuation of $25,001 falls in the band above, which charges $220.00 for the first $25,000 plus a further $8.00 for the one dollar — rounded up to a whole $1,000 — that pushed it over. So the step from $25,000 to $25,001 is $9.00, and it is the City's table that says both things.
"Or fraction thereof" applies throughout, and one cent past any thousand buys a whole additional one. At $100,000 exactly the fifth band closes at $770.00; at $100,001 the sixth opens at $770.00 plus $5.60.
Plan review is the part most people miss, because it is a column rather than a section. Section 200 puts it in one sentence: "The plan review fee is a percentage of the building permit fee as shown in Table No. 1", and it "is separate from and in addition to the permit fee". The column prints 50% beside every band from $2,000 up and 0 beside the two below it, so a small repair pays no review fee at all and a $250,000 project pays half again as much in review as in permit fees. Three modes replace the 50% rather than adding to it — express review at 20% of the permit fee with a $100 minimum, type-approved permits at 10%, and master plans at 50% of their own valuation, which the policy notes is the same arithmetic as the column.
One more thing this page does not charge: quick permits, which cover roof coverings, hot water heaters, light fixtures and similar replacements, take building permit fees from the same table and no plan review at all — "a review is not performed and there are no plan review fees associated with quick permits". The City's own square-foot prices for that work are in Table No. 2: $5.25 per square foot for a residential shingle roof, $7.25 for a commercial low-slope roof.
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 the Table No. 1 permit fee plus the plan review fee from the same table's third column. It excludes:
- Multi-phase surcharges: the policy adds 25% to both fees for a two-phase permit and 50% for three or more phases. It does not say whether the review surcharge is taken before or after the permit surcharge, so neither is charged here.
- The Affordable Housing Linkage Fee, set in Chapter 27 of the Denver Revised Municipal Code and adjusted annually, and the Fee-in-Lieu alternative that can replace it.
- Shoring and benching permits, which are separate permits on commercial projects. On a single-family or duplex project, shoring and excavation are *inside* the valuation instead.
- Demolition permits, which carry their own review fee at the express rate with a $100 minimum.
- Hourly review and inspection fees: $125.00 per hour for additional plan review of incomplete, deferred or modified drawings, and $100.00 per hour for re-inspection or out-of-hours inspection with a two-hour prepaid minimum after hours.
- All other development charges the City collects: linkage, zoning, wastewater, transportation and parks fees, and the Denver Fire review for projects that need one.
- Contractor licences (Table No. 3), which are not permits.
- The affordable-housing reduction, which can take up to 50% off the construction permit fee for qualifying projects — a figure quoted here is the un-reduced one.
What you need before applying
- A valuation, and it is the higher of two numbersRequired
Section 100 sets the rule in one sentence: "Valuation shall be the higher of either the base data derived from the current International Code Council (ICC) building valuation data or the value of the work covered by the permit provided by the applicant at the time of permit application." The policy lists what the valuation must include — labour, materials, profit, overhead, finish work, roofing, electrical, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, elevators and any other permanent equipment — and adds shoring and excavation for single-family and duplex projects. For commercial work, shoring and excavation are logged and permitted separately. The Building Official's determination "is not subject to appeal".
- Plan review is paid before review beginsRequired
"The plan review process will not begin for a project until the plan review fee is paid in full", and an application whose review fee is unpaid 45 days after notification expires. The fee is charged as a percentage of the permit fee, so it is known before submission — the payment is what starts the clock rather than what ends it.
- Licensed contractors, with one exception for a homeownerRequired
Permits "must be obtained by contractors licensed with the City and County of Denver" — Table No. 3 prices those licences at $250 every three years, with supervisor and journeyman certificates at $60 and $40. The exception is narrow and stated: a homeowner may be issued permits for a single-family home, but not for an accessory dwelling unit.
- One permit per discipline, priced per disciplineRequired
Once plans are released, "separate permits are required for each discipline" — architectural, structural, mechanical, plumbing and electrical — and each one's fee "is based on the valuation of the work for that specific trade permitted under that specific permit". Four disciplines are four permits and four valuations, not one fee split four ways.
Common questions
Is plan review included in the Denver permit fee?
No, and it is the largest line most projects miss. Table No. 1 prints plan review as a third column: 50% of the permit fee everywhere from $2,000 of valuation up, and 0 for the two bands below it. Section 200 says the review fee "is separate from and in addition to the permit fee", so a $250,000 project pays $1,610.00 plus $805.00.
What is the valuation based on?
The higher of two numbers: the ICC's published construction cost data for the building type, or the value of the work you declare. Denver list what the value must include — labour, materials, profit, overhead, finish work, roofing, electrical, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, elevators and permanent equipment — and the Building Official's determination is not subject to appeal.
Why does one dollar of valuation cost nine dollars?
Because two printed rows disagree and the table rounds up. The band ending at $25,000 comes to $219.00 at its own top, while the band above opens at $220.00 — a dollar apart, in the City's own table. It also says "or fraction thereof", so $25,001 falls in the band above and buys a whole additional $1,000 of increment at $8.00. The fee goes from $219.00 to $228.00.
Do I need a separate permit for electrical and plumbing?
Yes. "Once released, separate permits are required for each discipline", and each discipline's fee is based on the valuation of its own work rather than on a share of the building fee. A $25,000 electrical scope costs the same in permit fees as a $25,000 building project, which is $219.00 on this table.
What is an express review and when is it cheaper?
It is a faster review for eligible projects, charged at 20% of the permit fee with a $100 minimum instead of the standard 50%. On the $250,000 project above, that is $322.00 rather than $805.00 — and the policy applies the express rate to any construction review with a valuation over $2,000 and to all demolition projects.
Does a water heater need plan review?
No. Water heaters, light fixtures, roof coverings and similar replacements are quick permits: they take building permit fees from Table No. 1 and no plan review, because "a review is not performed and there are no plan review fees associated with quick permits". Compliance is checked by field inspection instead.
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- Fee schedule (PDF)CityPrimary source
Building Permit Policy — Building and Related Fees (ADMIN 125 and 138)
Six pages, revision date 21 May 2024, replacing the policy dated 1 February 2024. Read 2026-09-24 in three pdftotext modes: `-layout` interleaves Table No. 1's three columns, `-table` pairs them, and `-raw` confirms the order of the rows. Table No. 1 is the valuation table, Table No. 2 is ICC valuation data and quick-permit square-foot prices, and Table No. 3 is contractor licence fees.
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.