Delaware
Dover, DE permit fees and requirements
Dover prices building permits on cost in three marginal legs:
$25.00 for the first $1,000 plus $8.00 per additional $1,000 (each partial thousand rounds up) up to $10 million, $6.00 per additional $1,000 to $20 million, and $5.00 per additional $1,000 above that. Plumbing is $35.00 for the first five fixtures plus $3.00 each additional, and mechanical permits run $40.00 per ton for the first five tons plus $7.00 per ton over (the same shape on BTUs for heating). Dover's electrical permits are free by ordinance — §22-109(a): "There shall be no fee for permits or renewals thereof."
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 Dover permit fee with our Building Permit Fee Calculator.
| Permit | Category | Last reviewed |
|---|---|---|
| Dover building permit fees | structural | 2026-09-26 |
| Dover plumbing permit fees | plumbing | 2026-09-26 |
| Dover mechanical permit fees (heating, AC and heat pumps) | mechanical | 2026-09-26 |
Local context
What is specific to Dover
Dover's fee schedule is Appendix F to its Code of Ordinances, last adopted through Ordinances #2024-15 and #2024-19 (final reading July 8, 2024), which this site reads from the City's own council packet. Chapter 22 points every permit at Appendix F: building under §22-65, heating/AC/heat pump under §22-145, and plumbing under §22-185.
The schedule's most distinctive line is the one that charges nothing. Article IV (Electrical Installations), §22-109(a): "No fee. There shall be no fee for permits or renewals thereof by the building inspector as may be required by this article." Appendix F's Article IV block contains only violation fines, no permit rows. Any inspection charge is set by the City's *authorized inspection agency* "as determined by said agency" (§22-109(b)) — a third-party amount Dover does not publish. That is why this site publishes a mechanical page for Dover instead of an electrical one: a page charging $0.00 would be arithmetic without a document behind it.
The rest of the schedule carries a warning most cities bury: every permit row doubles if work started without a permit, though the building inspector may waive the doubling where neither applicant nor contractor is a professional. Nonresidential plan review — $20.00 per set of plans — is the one row expressly marked "not subject to doubling". Sign permits are $0.75 per square foot of sign area with a $50 minimum per permit, demolition is $50.00 ($0.00 where the city or a public entity ordered the demolition), and moving a building is $250.00.
Valuation
How valuation is determined here
The declared cost of the work, banded in three marginal legs whose excesses each round up to whole thousands — $8.00 per $1,000 to $10M, $6.00 to $20M, $5.00 above. Plumbing is charged on the fixture count (five included in $35.00, then $3.00 each), mechanical on tons of cooling ($40.00 per ton to five, $7.00 above) or BTUs of heating ($40.00 first 10,000, $7.00 per additional 10,000), and the underground inspection on linear feet ($30.00 first 150 feet, $0.75 per additional ten feet or multiple thereof).
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 are Dover's building, plumbing and mechanical permit fees from Appendix F. They exclude:
- Electrical permit charges — deliberately, because there are none: §22-109(a) provides no fee for electrical permits or renewals, and any inspection charge is set by the authorized inspection agency rather than published by the City.
- The other building rows: fence permits ($25.00 first $1,000 + $8.00 per additional $1,000), sign permits ($0.75 per square foot, $50 minimum per permit), swimming pools ($25.00 first $1,000 + $8.00 per additional $1,000), demolition ($50.00, waived where ordered by the city or a public entity), and moving permits ($250.00 per building).
- Nonresidential construction plan review at $20.00 per set of plans, charged on the building page here only as a named surcharge for commercial work.
- Reinspection charges — first $0.00, second $25.00, third $50.00, subsequent $100.00.
- Violation fines, which Appendix F lists separately: $100-$1,000 escalating inspection penalties, and IBC violation penalties of $100-$10,000 per day.
- The doubling penalty for work started without a permit — a multiplier on these fees, not a fee of its own.
- Kent County and State of Delaware charges, which are separate jurisdictions.
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
Read 2026-09-26 in full (HTTP 200) from the City's own council-meeting packet for the June 24, 2024 Regular City Council meeting, which reprints the complete adopted texts. Ordinance #2024-15 amends Chapter 22 (ICC code adoption; §22-65, §22-109, §22-145, §22-185 fee sections) and Ordinance #2024-19, with Staff Amendment #1, reprints Appendix F's Chapter 22 fee rows: building permits $25.00 first $1,000 + $8.00 per additional $1,000 to $10M, $6.00 per additional $1,000 to $20M, $5.00 above $20M ('or multiples thereof' throughout); plumbing fixtures $35.00 first five + $3.00 each additional; underground gas/water/sewer inspection $30.00 first 150 feet + $0.75 per additional ten feet; mechanical permits $40.00 first 10,000 BTU / $40.00 per ton first five + $7.00 per unit above; electrical permits 'No fee' (§22-109(a)). First reading June 10, 2024; final reading July 8, 2024, the date recorded as effective.