Des Moines, IA
Des Moines electrical permit cost
A Des Moines electrical permit is flat for dwellings and unit-priced for everything else.
New dwellings — temporary power pole included — pay $225.00; alterations and additions to existing dwellings and accessory structures pay $75.00. Commercial permits pay a $75.00 base fee plus any unit fees the job triggers: circuits at $4.00 each of the first ten (including feeders), $2.00 each from the eleventh through the hundredth, $1.50 beyond; openings added to existing circuits at $1.20; fixed appliances at $6.50; fixtures at $0.50; motors by class.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed appliances (includes electrical signs) — $6.50 eachPermit fee | $6.50 per special device | Occupancy is not residential and special devices over 0 | — |
| Commercial electrical permit base fee — $75.00Permit fee | $75.00 flat fee | Occupancy is not residential | — |
| Commercial circuits, ten or fewer — $4.00 each (incl. feeders)Permit fee | $4.00 per circuit | Occupancy is not residential and circuits over 0 and circuits up to 10 | — |
| Commercial circuits 11–100 — $2.00 eachPermit fee | the first 10 circuits is included in the permit fee, then $2.00 for each additional circuit | Occupancy is not residential and circuits over 10 | — |
| Commercial circuits — the first ten as a $40.00 blockPermit fee | $40.00 flat fee | Occupancy is not residential and circuits over 10 | — |
| Openings added to existing circuits — $1.20 eachPermit fee | $1.20 per opening | Occupancy is not residential and openings over 0 | — |
| Electrical permit, alterations and additions to existing dwellings — $75.00Permit fee | $75.00 flat fee | Occupancy is residential and Work type is one of addition, alteration, remodel, repair, replacement | — |
| Electrical permit, new dwellings (incl. temporary power pole) — $225.00Permit fee | $225.00 flat fee | Occupancy is residential and Work type is new construction | — |
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 tenant finish-out: 30 circuits including feeders, 12 openings added to existing circuits, 4 fixed appliances.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Project valuation | $20,000 |
| Occupancy class | Commercial |
| Active circuits | 30 |
| Number of openings | 12 |
| Number of special devices | 4 |
Example total
$195.40
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 5Rules considered 8
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Fixed appliances (includes electrical signs) — $6.50 eachPermit fee"Each fixed appliance (includes electrical signs) — $6.50." The count reads the special-device fact the engine keys, this schedule's nearest unit for a named appliance list.Show the working
| $6.50 per special device | $26.00 |
Commercial electrical permit base fee — $75.00Permit fee"Electrical permit base fee for other than townhouses, single-family dwellings, two-family dwellings and buildings accessory thereto (Electrical Permit requires base fee plus any unit fees listed below): $75.00."Show the working
| $75.00 flat fee | $75.00 |
Commercial circuits 11–100 — $2.00 eachPermit fee"Circuits; Eleventh through 100 circuits, each — $2.00." Each circuit beyond the first ten pays $2.00.Show the working
| the first 10 circuits is included in the permit fee, then $2.00 for each additional circuit | $40.00 |
Commercial circuits — the first ten as a $40.00 blockPermit fee"Circuits; First ten circuits, including feeders, each — $4.00." With more than ten circuits the first ten are still $4.00 each — a $40.00 block — and the excess prices on ELEC-COMM-CIRCUITS-2.Show the working
| $40.00 flat fee | $40.00 |
Openings added to existing circuits — $1.20 eachPermit fee"Each opening added to existing circuits (includes switches, receptacles and outlets) — $1.20." The openings count is the same fact the per-unit engine keys as openings.Show the working
| $1.20 per opening | $14.40 |
| Total | $195.40 |
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.
- Commercial circuits, ten or fewer — $4.00 each (incl. feeders) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electrical permit, alterations and additions to existing dwellings — $75.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electrical permit, new dwellings (incl. temporary power pole) — $225.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
Assumptions
- Calculated from 5 fee rules in effect on 2026-09-28.
- Amounts are rounded to the nearest cent, once, at the end of each component.
Four lines — $195.40.
Base: $75.00, on every commercial electrical permit.
Circuits: the first ten are inside a $40.00 allowance at $4.00 each; circuits 11–30 are twenty more at $2.00 — $40.00. Circuit total $80.00.
Openings: 12 × $1.20 = $14.40.
Fixed appliances: 4 × $6.50 = $26.00.
Total: $75.00 + $80.00 + $14.40 + $26.00 = $195.40. The residential comparison: the same scope inside an existing dwelling is a flat $75.00 alteration permit — the flat-vs-unit-priced split is the schedule's own.
What is different in Des Moines
The schedule's own parenthetical does the work: the commercial base fee is only the start — the 'Electrical Permit requires base fee plus any unit fees listed below', so a 30-circuit fit-out is $75.00 base + $40.00 (first ten) + $40.00 (twenty more at $2.00), not a flat $75.00.
The residential rows are scope-priced, not size-priced: a $500 panel swap and a $50,000 rewiring of an existing dwelling are the same $75.00 alteration permit, and a new home's $225.00 covers the temporary construction power pole as well — the schedule says so in its own parenthesis.
All of this sits in the PDC's consolidated schedule effective February 1, 2025; the trade rows did not exist in the superseded Building Division sheet's form.
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 PDC's electrical permit fee. It excludes:
- The building permit and its plan check, priced separately on the building page.
- Commercial motors and kilowatt rows (baseboard heat $0.75/kW, motors by horsepower class, starting permit $50.00, deenergization $15.00) — unit rows recorded in the research file without rules in this pass.
- Meter settings ($10.00 first, $5.00 each additional) — a unit row recorded but not charged by this calculator.
- Mechanical and plumbing permits, priced on their own pages.
What you need before applying
- The commercial base fee is only the start of the calculationRequired
The schedule's own parenthetical says the commercial electrical permit 'requires base fee plus any unit fees listed below' — circuits, openings, appliances, fixtures, motors — so a commercial permit is the $75 base plus every row the job triggers.
Common questions
How much is an electrical permit for a new house in Des Moines?
$225.00 flat — and the schedule's own parenthesis includes the temporary power pole in that amount. The fee covers the electrical installations associated with the construction of the new dwelling.
What about electrical work on an existing home?
$75.00. 'Electrical permit for electrical installations associated with alterations and additions to existing dwellings and accessory structures: $75.00' — flat regardless of the project's value.
How are commercial electrical permits priced?
A $75.00 base fee 'plus any unit fees listed below': $4.00 per circuit for the first ten (including feeders), $2.00 for circuits 11–100 and $1.50 beyond 100; $1.20 per opening added to existing circuits; $6.50 per fixed appliance; $0.50 per fixture; motors, baseboard kilowatts and meter settings at their own unit rates.
Are feeders counted as circuits?
Yes — the schedule's own words: 'Circuits; First ten circuits, including feeders, each $4.00.' Feeders count in the circuit total, so a permit with six branch circuits and four feeders has used up its ten at the $4.00 rate.
Do I pay more if my electrical project costs more?
Only on the commercial side, and only indirectly: the base fee and unit fees are priced by counts (circuits, openings, appliances), not by declared value. A bigger commercial job costs more because it has more circuits and devices, not because it is worth more.
Who issues electrical permits in Des Moines?
The Permit and Development Center, the City's consolidated permit office at 400 Robert D. Ray Drive, which issues building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits under one schedule and one counter.
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- Fee schedule (PDF)CityPrimary source
Des Moines Permit and Development Center Permit Fees — New Fees 2-1-25 (4 pp.)
Read 2026-09-26 from the City's CMS host (cms2.revize.com serves the PDF unguarded; HEAD-verified HTTP 200 application/pdf). Contains the residential flat building rows by finished floor area, the six-band commercial valuation ladder (every band printing 'or fraction thereof'), plan check 65% of the building permit fee, energy review 2% with a $21 minimum, demolition, residential trade flats ($225/$75 electrical, $200/$75 plumbing, $125/$75 mechanical) and the commercial trade base-plus-unit price lists.
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.