Planning & Code Enforcement
- Phone
- (207) 513-3125
- Hours
- Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Maine
Lewiston, ME permit fees and requirements
Lewiston prices permits from the City Council-adopted schedule:
renovation permits at $25.00 base + $5.00 per $1,000 of value (residential and commercial work alike reads the valuation basis here), with new construction priced per square foot on the schedule's area rows. The belated fee doubles the permit where work started before it issued.
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 Lewiston permit fee with our Building Permit Fee Calculator.
| Permit | Category | Last reviewed |
|---|---|---|
| Lewiston building permit fees | structural | 2026-09-26 |
| Lewiston electrical permit fees | electrical | 2026-09-26 |
| Lewiston plumbing permit fees | plumbing | 2026-09-26 |
Local context
What is specific to Lewiston
Lewiston's fee schedule is a City Council adoption — 'In accordance with the provisions of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Lewiston, the City Council hereby establishes the following fees' — updated April 16, 2013 with prices effective July 1, 2013. The schedule deliberately splits its pricing: new construction and additions read per-square-foot rows ($0.25/sf single-family, $0.30/sf multi-family, $0.07/sf accessory structures, $0.35/sf per floor for mobile homes), while renovation work reads the valuation rows — $25.00 base plus $5.00 per $1,000 of value.
That split matters to the estimator. A renovation declared at $18,000 prices $25.00 + 18 x $5.00 = $115.00; a $2,000 kitchen refresh prices $25.00 + 2 x $5.00 = $35.00. The schedule's smallest renovation row is the under-$2,500 one, and its arithmetic is the same $5.00 rate.
The schedule's enforcement clause is explicit: 'The customary permit fee shall double where work commences prior to the issuance of the appropriate permits' — the belated fee. And the reimbursement policy returns 75% within six months if no work commenced, the City retaining 25%.
Valuation
How valuation is determined here
The value of the work for renovation and addition pricing: $25.00 base plus $5.00 per $1,000 of value (mobile-home additions $7.00 per $1,000). New construction reads the schedule's per-square-foot rows instead, named here rather than modelled.
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 Lewiston's building permit fees from the adopted schedule. They exclude:
- The area rows for new construction and additions ($0.25/sf single family, $0.30/sf multi-family, $0.07/sf accessory structures, $0.35/sf per floor mobile homes) — priced by square footage, named here.
- The other schedule rows: swimming pools, underground storage tanks ($50 first tank + $15 additional), moving a building, fences, driveways, signs, and the demolition rows.
- The belated fee (doubling) for work started before the permit — a penalty, not a fee.
- Certificates of occupancy ($25 on the schedule) as a separate end-of-work charge.
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.
- Fee schedule (PDF)CityPrimary source
City of Lewiston — "BUILDING PERMIT FEE SCHEDULE" (City Council-adopted)
Read 2026-09-26 from the City's host (HTTP 200; text layer extracted). Header: 'In accordance with the provisions of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Lewiston, the City Council hereby establishes the following fees.' Footer: 'Updated 4/16/2013 — Prices Effective: 7/01/2013.' Valuation rows modelled: Single family — Renovation < $2,500 and Multi-family — Renovations at '$25 base + $5.00 per $1,000 value'; Mobile home — Additions at '$25 base + $7.00 per $1,000 value'. Area rows (single family new construction $0.25/sf, multi-family $0.30/sf, accessory $0.07/sf, mobile home $0.35/sf per floor) named in prose. Belated fee: the customary permit fee doubles where work commences before the permit issues. The PDF's layout scrambles the label/fee columns; the 2021-03-09 City Council agenda packet reproduces the schedule in clean layout and confirms the row set.
- City websiteCityPrimary source
Lewiston City Council Agenda, March 9, 2021
Reproduces the building permit fee schedule in clean layout ('Building Permit Fee Schedule. In accordance with the provisions of ... $25 base + $5.00 per $1,000 value. $50 for first piece plus $5 per ...'), confirming the adopted schedule's rows.