Denver, CO
Denver electrical permit cost
A Denver electrical permit is a building permit for electrical work:
the City requires a separate permit for each discipline once plans are released, and prices it "based on the valuation of the work for that specific trade". So an electrical permit reads the same Table No. 1 as a building, applied to the electrical contract value — $25,000 of electrical work is $219.00, exactly what $25,000 of building work costs.
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 | — |
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 stand-alone electrical permit for a service upgrade and distribution work with an electrical contract value of exactly $25,000. No building permit is being pulled with it.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Project valuation | $25,000 |
Example total
$219.00
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 1Rules considered 8
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Building permit fee, valuation $2,001 to $25,000Permit feeTable No. 1: "$35.00 for the first $2,000 plus $8.00 for each additional $1,000 or fraction thereof, to and including $25,000". At $25,000 this produces $219.00 while the band above opens at $220.00 — the table's one seam that is off, by a dollar.Show the working
| $35.00 + $8.00 per $1,000 of project valuation above $2,000, or fraction thereof, in $1,000 steps | $219.00 |
| Total | $219.00 |
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 $100,001 to $500,000 — 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.
Assumptions
- Calculated from 1 fee rule in effect on 2026-09-28.
- Amounts are rounded to the nearest cent, once, at the end of each component.
Table No. 1's band for $2,001 to $25,000: $35.00 for the first $2,000, plus $8.00 for each of the twenty-three additional thousands, which is $219.00. One dollar more would move this into the next band at $228.00, because the table rounds a partial thousand up to a whole one — the seam the building page explains at length.
What is different in Denver
The trade fee in Denver is not a surcharge on the building permit and not a flat inspection fee. The policy is explicit twice over: separate permits "are required for each discipline", and each one's fee "is based on the valuation of the work for that specific trade permitted under that specific permit". That single sentence decides everything on this page — the electrical value is the input, and the table does the rest.
Which makes the electrical page a demonstration of the same seam the building page has to explain. An electrical scope of exactly $25,000 lands in the band covering $2,001 to $25,000, which charges $35.00 for the first $2,000 plus $8.00 for each additional $1,000: twenty-three increments, $184.00, for $219.00. One dollar more puts the same scope in the band above, which charges $220.00 for the first $25,000 plus $8.00 for the dollar that pushed it over, rounded up to a whole $1,000 as the table's "or fraction thereof" requires — $228.00. The nine-dollar step is the table's arithmetic rather than this site's.
Two things this page does not charge, both deliberately. The first is plan review. Table No. 1's review column is written about the building permit, and the commercial plan review team is described as reviewing "architectural, structural, mechanical, plumbing, and electrical" disciplines together — that is the building's drawings, not a separate trade review. Whether a *stand-alone* electrical permit attracts its own review fee is not stated in the policy, so nothing is charged for it and the question is recorded rather than answered.
The second is anything per-device. Denver's policy prices electrical work by value, not by outlet, fixture or circuit, so this page asks for one number and returns one figure. A jurisdiction that prices the same work per device — Houston does, and Clark County charges $0.45 per low-voltage point — answers a different question, which is why those pages ask for different inputs.
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 No. 1's permit fee for the electrical value of the work. It excludes:
- Plan review. The review column is the building permit's, at 50% of the permit fee above $2,000 of valuation; whether a stand-alone electrical permit attracts one is not stated in the policy, so none is charged here.
- The building permit fee, if the electrical work is part of a construction project rather than a stand-alone electrical permit.
- The other disciplines' permits. Mechanical, plumbing and sometimes fire suppression permits are separate permits with their own valuations on the same project.
- Multi-phase surcharges of 25% or 50% on both the permit and the review fee, for projects permitted in two or more phases.
- Hourly fees: additional plan review at $125.00 per hour, re-inspection and out-of-hours inspection at $100.00 per hour with a two-hour prepaid minimum after hours.
- Electric service connection and utility charges, which are made by the utility rather than by Community Planning & Development and are not in this policy.
- The Affordable Housing Linkage Fee and every other development charge the City collects on a project.
- Licensing: an electrical contractor working in Denver must hold a City licence and the individual holding the permit a certificate, priced in Table No. 3 at $250.00 and $60.00 every three years.
What you need before applying
- The value of the electrical workRequired
An electrical permit is priced from Table No. 1 on "the valuation of the work for that specific trade", so the electrical contract value is the input. It is not a share of the building valuation and it is not a percentage of the building permit fee — Denver's trades are not surcharges on the building permit the way Westminster's are.
Common questions
How much is an electrical permit in Denver?
It depends on the electrical value of the work, not on the size of the building. The table runs from $20.00 for work valued up to $500 to $5,385.00 for the first $1,000,000 plus $3.65 per additional $1,000. A $25,000 electrical scope is $219.00, which is exactly what a $25,000 building project pays.
Is the electrical fee a percentage of the building permit fee?
No. Denver requires a separate permit for each discipline and prices each one "based on the valuation of the work for that specific trade permitted under that specific permit". The fee is computed from the electrical value directly, so it never moves when an unrelated part of the building's valuation moves.
Does an electrical permit include plan review?
Not on this page, and that is a stated reading rather than a certainty. Table No. 1's review column is written about the building permit, and the commercial review team reviews the building's drawings across all disciplines. The policy does not say whether a stand-alone electrical permit attracts its own review fee, so none is charged here.
Is a permit needed to change a light fixture or a panel?
Light fixtures are named in the policy's quick-permit list, which covers small projects that replace existing systems and take building permit fees with no plan review. Compliance is checked by field inspection. A service upgrade or new distribution work is not quick-permit work and is priced from the value of the electrical scope.
Does a licensed contractor have to pull the permit?
Permits "must be obtained by contractors licensed with the City and County of Denver". A homeowner may be issued permits for a single-family home, but not for an accessory dwelling unit. Contractor licences are $250.00 every three years and certificates for the individual in charge $40.00 to $60.00.
What if the project is built in phases?
A two-phase construction permit adds 25% to both the permit and the plan review fee, and three or more phases adds 50%. Neither surcharge is included in any figure on this page, because the policy does not say whether the review surcharge is taken before or after the permit 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 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.