Dover, DE
Dover plumbing permit fees
A Dover plumbing permit charges $35.00 for the first five fixtures and $3.00 for each additional fixture — a five-fixture bathroom job and a water-heater swap can both sit at the schedule's own $35.00 minimum row. Underground gas, water and sewer inspections are $30.00 for the first 150 feet plus $0.75 for each additional ten feet or multiple thereof.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plumbing fixtures ($35.00 first five + $3.00 each additional)Permit fee | $35.00 for the first 5 fixtures, plus $3.00 for each additional fixture | Each fixture on the permit | — |
| Gas, water and sewer inspection underground ($30.00 first 150 ft + $0.75 per additional 10 ft)Permit fee | $30.00 + $75.00 per 100 linear feet of linear feet above $1, or fraction thereof | linear feet is 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 residential kitchen and bath remodel in Dover adding 8 plumbing fixtures, with a 300-foot underground water service inspection on the same permit.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Fixtures | 8 |
| Occupancy class | Residential |
| Linear feet | 300 |
Example total
$85.25
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 2
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Plumbing fixtures ($35.00 first five + $3.00 each additional)Permit feeAppendix F, Chapter 22, Article VI, §22-185(a) Fixtures: "$35.00 first five fixtures and $3.00 for each additional fixture." The base covers up to five fixtures; each fixture beyond the fifth adds $3.00. A 5-fixture permit is $35.00; 8 fixtures are $35.00 + 3 x $3.00 = $44.00.Show the working
| $35.00 for the first 5 fixtures, plus $3.00 for each additional fixture | $44.00 |
Gas, water and sewer inspection underground ($30.00 first 150 ft + $0.75 per additional 10 ft)Permit feeAppendix F §22-185(a): "Gas, water, and sewer inspection underground — $30.00 for first 150 feet and $0.75 for each additional ten feet or multiple thereof." The first 150 feet price at the $30.00 base; each ten feet beyond is rounded up to a whole ten ('or multiple thereof') before the $0.75 rate is applied. The $0.75-per-ten-feet rate is $75.00 per 1,000 feet, the count-basis per-thousand form Minneapolis's "per 100 lineal feet" rows use, so one rule holds the base block, the threshold and the block rounding together.Show the working
| $30.00 + $75.00 per 100 linear feet of linear feet above $1, or fraction thereof, in $0 steps | $41.25 |
| Total | $85.25 |
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.
The fixture row charges $35.00 for the first five fixtures, and each fixture beyond the fifth is $3.00: 3 x $3.00 = $9.00, for $44.00.
The underground inspection charges $30.00 for the first 150 feet, and each ten feet beyond is $0.75 with partial tens rounded up: (300 − 150) / 10 = 15 whole tens, 15 x $0.75 = $11.25, for $41.25.
Total: $44.00 + $41.25 = $85.25. A 310-foot run would round to 16 tens — $42.00 — because 'or multiple thereof' buys the extra foot a whole ten-foot block. Garbage-disposal or water-heater work alone would sit at its own $35.00 minimum row instead of the fixture count.
What is different in Dover
The fixture row is block-structured rather than flat: $35.00 buys the first five fixtures, and each fixture beyond the fifth adds $3.00 — 8 fixtures are $35.00 + 3 x $3.00 = $44.00, and a 20-fixture commercial job is $35.00 + 15 x $3.00 = $80.00. Beside it, Appendix F gives garbage disposal and hot-water-heater work its own row at a $35.00 minimum fee, so the small jobs the fixture block would underprice carry their own floor.
The underground inspection row is the schedule's only linear-feet charge: $30.00 covers the first 150 feet of gas, water or sewer service underground, and each ten feet beyond — any multiple thereof — adds $0.75. A 300-foot run is $30.00 + 15 x $0.75 = $41.25. The row's phrasing prices the *inspection* rather than the pipe, which is why it sits inside the plumbing article rather than being a connection charge.
The plumbing article carries the doubling clause like every other permit row in Chapter 22: work started without a permit doubles the fee, subject to the inspector's waiver for non-professionals. And §22-185(a) itself just points at Appendix F, so the 2024 adoption of Ordinance #2024-19 is what gives these figures force.
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 is §22-185's plumbing rows. It excludes:
- Electrical permits — free by ordinance (§22-109(a)); no electrical page is published here.
- Mechanical permits (§22-145) for heating, air conditioning and heat pumps — their own page here.
- The building permit for the structure — the building page here, including its nonresidential $20.00-per-set plan review.
- Connection and capacity charges levied by Dover's utilities or Kent County's water and sewer authority — Appendix F prices the underground *inspection*, not the tap.
- The doubling penalty for work started without a permit — a multiplier, not a fee row.
- Reinspection charges ($0/$25/$50/$100) and the article's violation fines, listed separately in Appendix F.
What you need before applying
- Fixture count with the five-fixture baseRequired
§22-185(a) charges '$35.00 first five fixtures and $3.00 for each additional fixture', so the permit application carries the fixture count; garbage disposal and hot-water-heater work carries its own separate $35.00 minimum row.
Common questions
How much is a plumbing permit in Dover?
$35.00 for the first five fixtures plus $3.00 for each additional fixture. Eight fixtures are $44.00; twenty are $80.00.
What does a water heater replacement cost to permit?
Appendix F gives garbage disposal and hot-water-heater work its own row at a $35.00 minimum fee — the floor the small jobs carry instead of the fixture count.
How is the underground inspection priced?
$30.00 for the first 150 feet of gas, water or sewer service underground, plus $0.75 for each additional ten feet or multiple thereof. A 300-foot run is $41.25.
Is there a per-fixture rate from fixture one?
No — the $35.00 covers up to five fixtures. Only fixtures beyond the fifth pay the $3.00 rate.
Does the fee double if work started first?
Yes — §22-185(b) applies the same doubling clause as every Chapter 22 permit, waivable where neither applicant nor contractor is a professional.
Is a sewer tap included in the permit?
No — the Appendix F row prices the underground inspection, not the connection; tap and capacity charges are utility bills, not permit fees.
How does a commercial plumbing job differ?
Only in fixture count: the block structure is the same for all occupancies, so a 20-fixture restaurant is $35.00 + 15 x $3.00 = $80.00 plus any underground rows.
What about gas piping?
The underground gas inspection row prices the inspection of buried gas service at the same $30.00-first-150-feet structure; above-ground piping work rides the fixture and appliance rows.
Are partial hundreds of feet prorated?
No — 'or multiple thereof' rounds the excess up to whole ten-foot blocks, so a 305-foot run pays as 310 feet.
When did these amounts take effect?
With Ordinance #2024-19's adoption of the Appendix F text, final reading July 8, 2024 — the date this site records as effective.
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- 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.
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.