Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis plumbing permit cost
An Indianapolis plumbing permit is five subtypes, one figure each. A new residential structure is $185.00 up to 2,500 square feet plus $23.00 per additional 500; a residential repair, alteration or remodel is $153.00 up to 1,000 square feet plus $23.00 per additional 500; commercial work is $182.00 for up to 10 fixtures plus $23.00 per additional 5; a reconnection to a relocated structure is $134.00; and general service activity is $89.00. The commercial row is the only one priced by a count rather than by a building.
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 permit — commercial structure: $182 for 0 to 10 fixtures plus $23 per additional 5Permit fee | $182.00 for the first 10 fixtures, plus $23.00 for each additional 5 fixtures or part thereof | plumbing scope is commercial | — |
| Plumbing permit — general service activity: $89.00Permit fee | $89.00 flat fee | plumbing scope is general service | — |
| Plumbing permit — new residential structure, installation: $185 to 2,500 sq ft plus $23 per additional 500Permit fee | $185.00 + $46.00 per 1,000 sq ft of project area above 2,500 sq ft, or fraction thereof | plumbing scope is new residential | — |
| Plumbing permit — initial connection or reconnection to a relocated structure: $134.00Permit fee | $134.00 flat fee | plumbing scope is reconnection | — |
| Plumbing permit — residential repair, alteration or remodel: $153 to 1,000 sq ft plus $23 per additional 500Permit fee | $153.00 + $46.00 per 1,000 sq ft of project area above 1,000 sq ft, or fraction thereof | plumbing scope is repair residential | — |
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 fit-out with sixteen fixtures — one block over a block boundary, the ordinary way the commercial row is read.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Fixtures | 16 |
| Plumbing scope | commercial |
Example total
$228.00
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 5
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Plumbing permit — commercial structure: $182 for 0 to 10 fixtures plus $23 per additional 5Permit feeThe PLM row's third line, in full: "Commercial Structure--Installation, Repair, Alteration, Remodel, Additions, Accessory Structures ... $182 (0-10 fixtures) $23 (per additional 5 fixtures)". One row for every kind of commercial plumbing work, priced by the fixture count rather than by the building. Ten fixtures are inside the $182.00 base and each whole or partial five above them is $23.00, which is why the rate is carried as $4.60 a fixture inside a five-fixture increment: eleven fixtures is one block and $205.00, sixteen is two blocks and $228.00, and a hundred and six is twenty blocks and $642.00. The block, and not the head count, is what the $23.00 prices — the same reading the fire-protection sprinkler row needs in South Bend, and the reason both rows divide the block rate by its size.Show the working
| $182.00 for the first 10 fixtures, plus $23.00 for each additional 5 fixtures or part thereof | $228.00 |
| Total | $228.00 |
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.
- Plumbing permit — general service activity: $89.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Plumbing permit — new residential structure, installation: $185 to 2,500 sq ft plus $23 per additional 500 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Plumbing permit — initial connection or reconnection to a relocated structure: $134.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Plumbing permit — residential repair, alteration or remodel: $153 to 1,000 sq ft plus $23 per additional 500 — 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.
The row is "$182 (0-10 fixtures) $23 (per additional 5 fixtures)". Ten fixtures are inside the base, so the chargeable count is six, which buys two whole five-fixture blocks: $23.00 × 2 = $46.00. Total $228.00.
Fifteen fixtures would be one block, $205.00, and sixteen fixtures is two, $228.00 — one fixture over the boundary costs $23.00, which is what a five-fixture block means. A ten-fixture job is exactly $182.00 and pays no blocks at all.
Residential work is priced by the building instead. A new 3,000-square-foot house is $185.00 plus one 500-square-foot block above the 2,500 allowance, $208.00. A 3,000-square-foot remodel is $153.00 plus four blocks above the 1,000 allowance, $245.00 — $37.00 more than the new house of the same size, because the remodel's allowance is smaller and both rows use the same block. And moving a house needs two permits rather than one: the plumbing reconnection is $134.00 and the electrical one $89.00.
What is different in Indianapolis
The commercial row is where this schedule stops resembling its neighbours. Every other plumbing row in this dataset prices a fixture — Denver per fixture, Saint Paul per unit, South Bend at $6.00 each — and this one prices the first ten fixtures as a group: "$182 (0-10 fixtures) $23 (per additional 5 fixtures)". Ten fixtures is $182.00, eleven is $205.00, sixteen is $228.00, and a hundred and six would be $642.00. The block is five, so the fee moves in $23.00 steps and a job with one fixture over a block boundary pays for the whole block.
Residential work is priced by the building instead, and by two different buildings. A new house is $185.00 up to 2,500 square feet plus $23.00 per additional 500; a repair, alteration or remodel is $153.00 up to 1,000 square feet plus $23.00 per additional 500. The rate is the same and the allowances are not: the repair row allows less than half the area and starts $32.00 lower, so a 3,000-square-foot new house is $185.00 + one block, $208.00, while a 3,000-square-foot remodel is $153.00 plus four blocks, $245.00. A remodel can cost more than a new installation of the same size, and both numbers are on the sheet.
Two figures are shared with the electrical page, which is worth knowing because a moved house needs both permits: the reconnection row is $134.00 here against the electrical sheet's $89.00 — the $45.00 difference is what the sewer and water connection costs over the service reconnect — and general service activity is $89.00 on both.
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 the plumbing permit fee the schedule charges. It excludes:
- The four kinds of plumbing work that need no permit — replacement in kind of up to 20 per cent of the piping in a structure, the connection of plumbing to a mobile home not on a permanent foundation in a state-licensed park, replacement of appliances, fixtures, traps or valves, and a like-for-like water heater replacement.
- The structural and electrical permits on the same job — each is a separate trade permit on the same schedule, and the electrical sheet prices the same moved-house reconnect at $89.00.
- The sewer connection and its charges — the department's residential page says a sewer connection permit may be required before the structural permit is released, and it has its own rows on the same schedule rather than being part of the plumbing permit.
- The heating, ventilating and air-conditioning permit (HTG) — a separate trade at $153.00 for a heating or cooling system up to 2,500 square feet plus $23.00 per additional 1,000, and $185.00 for a combined system.
- The reinspection and accelerated-inspection options — inspections are included in the permit unless the table notes otherwise, and the noted extras run from $175.00 to $750.00.
- The plumbing contractor licence — $142.00 a year for a business entity or an individual, with $63.00 per eligible employee beyond five. A licence is not a permit.
What you need before applying
- Four kinds of plumbing work need no permitMay be required
Also from the residential page: "Replacement in kind of piping in a plumbing system when the replacement piping meets the same performance specifications and has the same capacity as the piping being replaced. It must not be more than 20 percent of all piping in the structure being replaced"; "Initial connection or reconnection of plumbing to a mobile home not placed on a permanent foundation located in a mobile home park licensed by the Indiana State Department of Health"; "Replacement of appliances, fixtures, traps, and valves in a plumbing system"; and "Replacement of a water heater with one that is identical as to venting arrangement and type of fuel or energy input". The 20-per-cent limit on replacement in kind is the only quantitative bound in any of the two trades' exemption lists, and it is the reason an identical replacement is free while a like-for-like one over that share is not.
Common questions
How much is a plumbing permit in Indianapolis?
Five subtypes: $185.00 up to 2,500 square feet plus $23.00 per additional 500 for a new residential structure; $153.00 up to 1,000 square feet plus $23.00 per additional 500 for a residential repair, alteration or remodel; $182.00 for up to 10 commercial fixtures plus $23.00 per additional 5; $134.00 for a reconnection to a relocated structure; and $89.00 for general service activity.
How is commercial plumbing priced?
By the fixture count rather than by the building: "$182 (0-10 fixtures) $23 (per additional 5 fixtures)". Ten fixtures is $182.00, eleven is $205.00 and sixteen is $228.00 — the block is five, so the fee moves in $23.00 steps and one fixture over a boundary buys the whole block. It is the only row in Indianapolis's plumbing section priced by a count.
Which plumbing work needs no permit?
The department's residential page lists four: replacement in kind of piping that meets the same performance specifications and capacity, "must not be more than 20 percent of all piping in the structure being replaced"; the initial connection of plumbing to a mobile home not on a permanent foundation in a state-licensed park; replacement of appliances, fixtures, traps and valves; and a water heater replaced with one identical as to venting arrangement and fuel type.
Why does a remodel sometimes cost more than a new installation?
Because the two rows have different allowances on the same rate. A new residential structure allows 2,500 square feet inside its $185.00 base and a remodel allows 1,000 inside its $153.00 base, and both then charge $23.00 per additional 500 square feet. A 3,000-square-foot new house is $208.00 and a 3,000-square-foot remodel is $245.00: $37.00 more for the same area, because four of the remodel's blocks are chargeable against one of the new house's.
Does moving a house need two plumbing permits?
No, but it needs two permits. The plumbing schedule prices an "Initial Connection or Reconnection to Relocated Structure" at $134.00 and the electrical schedule prices the same act at $89.00. They are separate permits on the same workbook, and the $45.00 difference is what a sewer and water connection costs over a service reconnect in this schedule.
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- Fee schedule (PDF)CityPrimary source
DBNS Fee Schedule — Permits, Inspections, Code Enforcement, Licenses, Misc. (as of 1.5.2026)
The department's fee schedule is a spreadsheet, not a PDF: a workbook with five worksheets headed "Permits", "Inspections", "Code Enforcement", "Licenses" and "Misc.", each stamped "As of 1.5.2026", fetched 2026-09-26 from the asset host behind the fee page. It was read cell by cell with the cell reference printed for every value, because the Permits sheet's three fee columns are the whole mechanism: the header row is "Permit Type | Subtype/Description | Application Fee | Review Fee | Issuance Fee", every Structural Permit row carries "$40 per application" in column C with a review figure in D and an issuance figure in E, and every Plumbing, Electrical and Heating/Cooling row carries its whole figure in column C with D and E empty. Reading the workbook as a spreadsheet rather than as extracted text is what settled that structure; the research file records the cell references. The workbook also carries a header row on the Permits, Inspections, Code Enforcement and Misc. sheets reading "Admin Fees 250", which is the 536-609 administrative fee and not a per-permit charge.
- City websiteCity
Residential Development Permits — Class 2 requirements, applications and exemptions
Read 2026-09-26 from the rendered page, like the fee page. It names the permitting sequence — infrastructure review (a drainage permit), then the improvement location permit, then the structural permit — and it carries the exemption lists this page states as requirements: the four electrical exceptions ("Replacement of an attic fan, bathroom exhaust fan, range hood exhaust fan, or whole house fan"; a single-phase circuit not exceeding 60 amperes serving specified equipment for which a building permit has been issued; household appliances installed without a new circuit; and temporary power for on-site construction) and the four plumbing ones ("Replacement in kind of piping ... It must not be more than 20 percent of all piping in the structure being replaced"; the initial connection of plumbing to a mobile home not on a permanent foundation in a state-licensed park; "Replacement of appliances, fixtures, traps, and valves in a plumbing system"; and a water heater replaced identically). It also states the structural application's document list and the point of the sequence: "You may be required to secure permits for sewer connection, flood, drainage, wrecking, and improvement location before the structural permit can be released."
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.