Cedar Rapids, IA
Cedar Rapids plumbing permit cost
A Cedar Rapids plumbing permit has the same two sections as electrical.
Section A is a flat price list: $75.00 for appliance replacement permits (furnace, water heater, AC), $75.00 for fuel gas permits and $75.00 for sewer permits. Section B is the shared valuation ladder for all other plumbing work, reading the trade's total contract price or estimated final invoice: $25.00 flat to $1,000, then 1% of the amount over $1,000, easing through 0.9% down to 0.2% marginal bands. New one/two-family and townhouse structures of four units or less carry their plumbing fee inside the building permit.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appliance replacement permit (furnace, water heater, AC) — $75.00Permit fee | $75.00 flat fee | scope is appliance replacement and res new bundled is not provided | — |
| Fuel gas permit — $75.00Permit fee | $75.00 flat fee | scope is fuel gas and res new bundled is not provided | — |
| All other work — $25.00 flat to $1,000, then marginal percentage bands of the amount overPermit fee | $25.00 + no charge on the first $1,000, plus 1% above $1,000, plus 0.9% above $100,000, plus 0.8% above $200,000, plus 0.7% above $300,000, plus 0.6% above $400,000, plus 0.5% above $500,000, plus 0.4% above $600,000, plus 0.3% above $700,000, plus 0.2% above $800,000, plus 0.2% above $900,000 | res new bundled is not provided and trade bundled is not provided | — |
| Sewer permit — $75.00Permit fee | $75.00 flat fee | scope is sewer and res new bundled 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 plumbing build-out with a trade contract price of $120,000 — not part of a bundled new-dwelling project.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Project valuation | $120,000 |
| Occupancy class | Commercial |
Example total
$1,195.00
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 4
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
All other work — $25.00 flat to $1,000, then marginal percentage bands of the amount overPermit feeSection B: "$1.00 to $1,000.00 — $25.00; $1,001.00 to $100,000.00 — $25.00 plus 1% of the amount over $1,000.00; $100,001.00 to $200,000.00 — $1,015.00 plus 0.9% of the amount over $100,000.00; ... $900,001.00 and up — $4,715.00 plus 0.2% of the amount over $800,000.00." The bands chain exactly ($25 + 1% of $99,000 = $1,015.00), so the ladder is modelled as marginal percentage tiers over a $25.00 base. The final band's own text repeats the $800,000 threshold and 0.2% rate of the band below — charged as printed, which is a marginal continuation.Show the working
| $25.00 + no charge on the first $1,000, plus 1% above $1,000, plus 0.9% above $100,000, plus 0.8% above $200,000, plus 0.7% above $300,000, plus 0.6% above $400,000, plus 0.5% above $500,000, plus 0.4% above $600,000, plus 0.3% above $700,000, plus 0.2% above $800,000, plus 0.2% above $900,000 | $1,195.00 |
| Total | $1,195.00 |
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.
- Appliance replacement permit (furnace, water heater, AC) — $75.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Fuel gas permit — $75.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Sewer permit — $75.00 — 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.
One line — $1,088.50.
Section B, band 3: the $120,000 contract price sits in the '$100,001.00 to $200,000.00 — $1,015.00 plus 0.9% of the amount over $100,000.00' band. $1,015.00 + 0.9% × $20,000 = $1,015.00 + $180.00 = $1,195.00... check the seam first: the band above ends at $100,000 with $25.00 + 1% × $99,000 = $1,015.00 — exactly the printed base, so the ladder chains. Band total: $1,195.00.
Total: $1,195.00. The marginal reading matters: at $100,001 the fee is $1,015.01, not $1,015.00 + 1% of the whole — each band prices only its own excess.
What moves it: a water-heater swap is a flat $75.00 Section A row; the same contract price inside a bundled new dwelling is $0.00 here and inside the building fee; and the trade ladder never reads the building permit's valuation column.
What is different in Cedar Rapids
The Exhibit prints one Section B for all three trades — 'ALL OTHER PERMITS FOR ELECTRICAL, MECHANICAL, AND PLUMBING' — so a plumbing permit and an electrical permit of the same contract price cost the same, and neither reads the building's valuation, only the trade's own contract price or estimated final invoice.
The Section A rows are scope-named, not size-named: a water heater swap is the appliance-replacement row at $75.00 whether it is a 40-gallon residential tank or a commercial unit, and a sewer lateral is the sewer row at $75.00 regardless of length. Repairs that touch only faucet working parts, stoppage clearance or like-for-like fixture replacement without altering waste, vent or water piping need no permit at all — the code's own exception.
The bundled-dwelling rule applies here as on the electrical page: a new dwelling's plumbing is inside the building permit's flat amount.
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 Exhibit A's plumbing permit fee. It excludes:
- The building permit and its plan check — on the building page.
- Mechanical permits as a page — the Exhibit prices them on the same sections; recorded in the research file.
- Stand-alone commercial trade plan checking ($200, if required) and the event fees (re-inspection $100, after-hours $150/hr, investigation $100/hr) — recorded, not modelled.
- Work-before-permit doubling ($250 min, $1,000 max).
What you need before applying
- The Section B ladder is shared by all three tradesRequired
'ALL OTHER PERMITS FOR ELECTRICAL, MECHANICAL, AND PLUMBING — Fees for permits for all other electrical, mechanical, and plumbing work shall be based on the total contract price or estimated final invoice for that trade.' One ladder, three trades; each permit reads its own trade's contract price.
Common questions
How much is a plumbing permit in Cedar Rapids?
Named scopes are $75.00 flat (Section A): appliance replacement (furnace, water heater, AC), fuel gas and sewer permits. Everything else prices on the shared Section B ladder — $25.00 flat to $1,000 of the trade's contract price, then marginal percentage bands from 1% down to 0.2%.
Do I need a plumbing permit to replace a water heater?
Yes, but it is the flat $75.00 appliance-replacement row. Like-for-like faucet, valve and fixture replacement that does not alter existing waste, vent or water piping is the code's own no-permit exception.
Is the plumbing ladder different from the electrical one?
No — the Exhibit prints one Section B for electrical, mechanical and plumbing: 'Fees for permits for all other electrical, mechanical, and plumbing work shall be based on the total contract price or estimated final invoice for that trade.' Same ladder, each trade reading its own contract price.
Does the trade permit read the project's building valuation?
No. Section B reads 'the total contract price or estimated final invoice for that trade', and 'each permit is for individual structures' — the building permit's valuation column is a different number on a different page.
What does a new home's plumbing permit cost?
Nothing separately: 'New one/two-family and townhouse structures not greater than 4 units shall be included in the building permit fee.' The flat building rows ($1,000–$2,400 by area) bundle plumbing, electrical, mechanical and erosion control.
Where do I get a Cedar Rapids plumbing permit?
Building Services at the City Services Center, 500 15th Avenue SW — apply through the Customer Self Service portal, by email, mail or in person; plumbing inspection questions go to plumbinginspector@cedar-rapids.org.
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- OrdinanceCityPrimary source
Read 2026-09-26. The PDF (9 pp., HTTP 200 application/pdf from the City's CMS host; the City's HTML pages 403 scripted requests) embeds its text in a Type 3 font with no usable ToUnicode map — pdftotext and PyMuPDF return glyph codes — so the pages were rendered to PNG at 150 dpi and OCR-read (RapidOCR). Carries: the $20 administration fee with its stated exceptions; the residential new-construction flat area table ($1,000/$1,400/$2,400, trades bundled, no admin fee); Table A valuation bands above $100,000 (residential $671.48 + $3.68, $2,141.48 + $3.15, $3,716.48 + $2.10; commercial $987.00 + $5.36, $3,147.90 + $4.62, $5,507.25 + $3.05 — every band 'or fraction thereof'); the 40% plan check for non-R-3 buildings over $1,000 of valuation; trade Section A flats at $75; and the shared Section B trade ladder ($25 flat to $1,000, then 1%/0.9%/0.8%/0.7%/0.6%/0.5%/0.4%/0.3%/0.2%/0.2% marginal bands whose bases chain exactly). Table B (valuations $1–$100,000, 100 rows) is recorded in the research file and not modelled — OCR interleaves its two fee columns.
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.