Boston, MA
Boston building permit cost
A Boston building permit is priced on the estimated cost of the work
row by row from the Inspectional Services Department's own two-page fee sheet: $20.00 plus $10.00 for each $1,000 of cost on a Short Form for minor alterations, $50.00 plus the same $10.00 on a Long Form for major ones, $20.00 plus $10.00 to amend an application, $20.00 or $50.00 flat to change a building's use, and $300.00 for the Nominal Fee route. None of those rows rounds the cost up — the sheet never prints "or fraction thereof" — so a partial thousand costs a partial rate.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building permit — Amendment to an existing application, $20.00 plus $10.00 per $1,000Permit fee | $20.00 + $10.00 per $1,000 of project valuation | form type is amendment | — |
| Building permit — change of occupancy, three dwellings or fewer, $20.00Permit fee | $20.00 flat fee | form type is change of occupancy and building category is one two three family | — |
| Building permit — change of occupancy, four dwellings or more or commercial, $50.00Permit fee | $50.00 flat fee | form type is change of occupancy and building category is none of one two three family | — |
| Building permit — Long Form (major alteration), $50.00 plus $10.00 per $1,000 of estimated costPermit fee | $50.00 + $10.00 per $1,000 of project valuation | form type is long form | — |
| Building permit — Nominal Fee application fee, $50.00Permit fee | $50.00 flat fee | form type is nominal fee | — |
| Building permit — Nominal Fee, $300.00Permit fee | $300.00 flat fee | form type is nominal fee | — |
| Building permit — Short Form (minor alteration), $20.00 plus $10.00 per $1,000 of estimated costPermit fee | $20.00 + $10.00 per $1,000 of project valuation | form type is none of long form, amendment, change of occupancy, nominal fee | — |
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 kitchen and bath renovation estimated at $47,500 — a minor alteration that changes neither the structure nor the use of the home — filed on the Short Form.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Project valuation | $47,500 |
| Form type | short_form |
Example total
$495.00
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 7
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Building permit — Short Form (minor alteration), $20.00 plus $10.00 per $1,000 of estimated costPermit feeISD's Building Division Permit Fees sheet, Rev. 2021: "Short Form Building: (Minor Alteration) — $20.00 primary fee plus $10.00 per $1,000.00 of the estimated cost of work". boston.gov restates it as "$20, plus $10 per $1,000 of estimated cost". This row is the schedule's catch-all: it applies whenever the application is not a Long Form, an Amendment, a Change of Occupancy or a Nominal Fee, which is also what the City means by "minor alterations that don't change a building's structure or use". The rate carries no "or fraction thereof", so $47,500 of cost pays $475.00 of rate rather than $480.00 — see research/massachusetts/boston.md, reading (b).Show the working
| $20.00 + $10.00 per $1,000 of project valuation | $495.00 |
| Total | $495.00 |
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.
- Building permit — Amendment to an existing application, $20.00 plus $10.00 per $1,000 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — change of occupancy, three dwellings or fewer, $20.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — change of occupancy, four dwellings or more or commercial, $50.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — Long Form (major alteration), $50.00 plus $10.00 per $1,000 of estimated cost — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — Nominal Fee application fee, $50.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — Nominal Fee, $300.00 — 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.
The Short Form's own ladder: a $20.00 primary fee plus $10.00 for each $1,000 of the $47,500 estimate. Forty-seven and a half thousands at $10.00 is $475.00 — the sheet's rate has no "or fraction thereof" behind it, so the half thousand is charged as half a rate rather than bought as a whole step — and the permit is $495.00.
Filing the same job as a Long Form raises the primary fee to $50.00 and the total to $525.00; filing it as an amendment to an existing Long Form brings it back to $495.00, because the Amendment row carries the Short Form's arithmetic. A Change of Occupancy does not read the cost at all: $20.00 in a building of three dwellings or fewer, $50.00 above that or in a commercial building.
What moves it by pennies: add $50 to the estimate and the fee moves fifty cents — $47,550 pays $495.50 — which is the proration in one number. The total here is ISD's fee alone. No plan review, technology or state line exists to add, and starting work before the permit issues doubles all of it.
What is different in Boston
Which row applies is decided by what the filing is, not by what it costs: the Short Form covers "minor alterations that don't change a building's structure or use" and the Long Form "major alterations or renovations that change a building's structure or use", in the City's own definitions. A $47,500 renovation on a Short Form is $20.00 primary fee plus $475.00 of rate — $495.00 — and the same job filed as a Long Form is $525.00. An amendment to an existing Long Form is $495.00 again, because the Amendment row carries the Short Form's arithmetic.
The rounding question is where Boston differs from its neighbours. $47,550 of cost pays $475.50 of rate and $495.50 in all, because "$10.00 per $1,000.00 of the estimated cost of work" has no "or fraction thereof" behind it; Cambridge, three miles west, prints that phrase four times on its own schedule and charges a rounded-up step instead. Both readings are asserted against the engine in their cities' tests, so neither can drift into the other.
Two charges a reader expects are absent here, and the absence is documented rather than assumed: no plan review percentage, no technology fee and no state surcharge appears in the sheet or in any of the four permit pages, and searches for those phrases come back empty. What the City does charge is upfront — all fees are due when you file — gives you six months to start, and doubles if you start early: the sheet's DOUBLE FEE, which the permit pages repeat as ISD "may: charge double the permit cost".
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 one row of ISD's Building Division Permit Fees sheet, priced on the estimated cost of the work. It excludes:
- The DOUBLE FEE. Starting work before the permit issues, or filing an estimate that undervalues the work, doubles the fee — a multiplier on a charge no rule type here can express, printed in capitals on the sheet.
- The sheet's other rows. Off Hour Application at $100.00 an event, Off Hour Inspection at $250.00, Board of Appeal at $150.00, Microfilming at $3.00 a sheet, Use of Premises at $50.00, Trench at $60.00, Subdivision or Combining Lots at $50.00 and $100.00, and Sheet Metal at $20.00 plus $25.00 per 200 linear or square feet — each read off the sheet and transcribed in the research record, none attached to this page.
- Trade permits. Plumbing and electrical are priced on their own pages; Sprinkler ($20.00 plus $1.00 a head) and Gasfitting are named here and priced nowhere on these three pages.
- Plan review, energy review, technology and state surcharges — none exist. No percentage appears in the sheet or the pages, and Massachusetts adds no levy of its own to a Boston permit.
- Other agencies' approvals and their fees: Fire Prevention, the Zoning Board of Appeal's own charges, bostonplans.org zoning review, Boston Landmarks Commission review, and Parks and Recreation approval for work within 100 feet of a park or parkway.
- Contractor licensing and examination fees, and the stamped design plans an application has to carry — requirements rather than fees for this permit.
What you need before applying
- An application carrying a scope, a cost and stamped design plansRequired
The Short-Form and Long-Form pages list the same attachments: a short description of the work including scope of work, materials, floors and rooms involved and any related permit numbers; the estimated total project cost, entered in the online portal without special characters such as $ or commas; and design plans stamped by a Massachusetts registered engineer or architect. Where the work needs another agency's sign-off — fire protection, or work within 100 feet of a park or parkway — the approvals are uploaded to the portal, and the City states that the permit cannot be issued until ISD receives and reviews them.
- A nominal fee letter where the work does not follow the intended zoningRequired
Both permit pages list it among the attachments: "A nominal fee letter if your work does not follow the intended Zoning of the property and you know you're going to engage the Zoning Board of Appeal". The letter is the ISD side of that route and carries the sheet's own price — the $300.00 Nominal Fee plus its $50.00 application fee, which this site charges as two rules under one form type. The Zoning Board of Appeal's own charges are separate and are not modelled.
- Fees are due upfront, and work must start within six monthsRequired
Both permit pages state that all fees are due upfront — payable online in the portal or in person at the Inspectional Services Department, 1010 Massachusetts Avenue, 5th Floor — and that work must start within six months after the permit is issued, with a possible 180-day extension for some project types. Starting before the permit issues is the DOUBLE FEE: the sheet prints it in capitals and the pages repeat it as ISD "may: charge double the permit cost". Timing is when the money moves and what the permit allows, not an extra charge, so no rule is written for either.
Common questions
How much is a building permit in Boston?
It depends on which of the sheet's rows the filing is. A Short Form for minor work is $20.00 plus $10.00 for each $1,000 of the estimated cost; a Long Form for major alterations is $50.00 plus the same $10.00; an amendment is $20.00 plus the same $10.00. A change of occupancy is flat at $20.00 for three dwellings or fewer and $50.00 above that or commercial, and the Nominal Fee route is $300.00 plus a $50.00 application fee. There is no plan review percentage or technology fee to add.
Which form do I need — Short Form or Long Form?
The City defines both: a Short-Form Permit "covers minor alterations that don't change a building's structure or use" — opening up a wall, repairs and replacements — while a Long-Form Permit "covers major alterations or renovations that change a building's structure or use". The two differ only in the primary fee, $20.00 against $50.00, because the $10.00-per-$1,000 rate is the same on both rows; ISD says to contact it when you are not sure which one applies.
Does Boston round the estimate up to the next $1,000?
No. The sheet prints "$10.00 per $1,000.00 of the estimated cost of work" with no "or fraction thereof" behind it, so a partial thousand is charged at a partial rate: $47,550 of cost pays $475.50 of rate, and the permit is $495.50. Cambridge, a few miles west, prints the rounding phrase on its own schedule and charges a whole step instead — the two cities are a mile apart and round differently.
Is there a plan review fee or a technology fee in Boston?
Not on this schedule. The fee sheet prints no plan review percentage, no technology fee and no state surcharge, and none appears on the four permit pages either — searches for those phrases come back empty. What the sheet does print besides the rates is a penalty: DOUBLE FEE for work started without a permit or on an undervalued estimate.
What does a change of occupancy cost?
$20.00 flat where the building has three dwelling units or fewer, and $50.00 for four family and up or for commercial buildings — the sheet's own categories, charged on the change rather than on a cost. Where the filing is instead a nominal fee letter for work that does not follow the intended zoning, the fee is $300.00 plus a $50.00 application fee, and the Zoning Board of Appeal's own charges are separate.
What happens if work starts before the permit is issued?
The sheet's last line: "DOUBLE FEE: When work has been started without a required permit or undervalued in the estimated cost." The City's permit pages repeat it in plain words — ISD "may: charge double the permit cost" — and add that a permit holder must start work within six months of issuance or let it lapse, with a possible 180-day extension for some project types.
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- Fee schedule (PDF)CityPrimary source
ISD — Building Division Permit Fees (Rev. 2021), the two-page sheet every figure here comes from
Read 2026-09-25 as a two-page PDF of 263,477 bytes served from boston.gov's own file store, footed on both pages with the department's block: Inspectional Services Department, 1010 Massachusetts Ave. (5th Floor) Boston, MA 02118, www.boston.gov/ISD, (617) 635-5300, Rev. 2021. The two columns were extracted twice, because they are laid out as separate text blocks: pdftotext's table-preserving mode mispairs them — Plumbing picks up the Off Hour Inspection amount and Use of Premises picks up Sprinkler's rate — while the reading-order mode emits each row's cells together and pairs them correctly, and that is the transcription this site uses. Four rows are independently confirmed by the City's live permit pages, where each prints the same two numbers.
- City websiteCityPrimary source
ISD — Long-Form Permit (major alterations and renovations)
Read 2026-09-25 for the other half of the building schedule and for the taxonomy the model depends on: "A Long-Form Permit covers major alterations or renovations that change a building's structure or use", Fees as "$50, plus $10 per $1,000 of estimated work cost" and again as "$50 application fee / Plus $10 for every $1,000 of the estimated cost of work". The page's subcategory list is what ties the sheet's rows to filing types — "Amendment: Only for changes to existing Long-Form permit applications" and "Use of Premise: Only for Use of Premise permit filings" — and it notes that an owner of a unit in a building with three or more dwellings must hire a licensed contractor.
- City websiteCityPrimary source
ISD — Short-Form Permit (minor alterations)
Read 2026-09-25 for the City's definition and its restatement of the fee: "A Short-Form Permit covers minor alterations that don't change a building's structure or use", with Fees as "$20, plus $10 per $1,000 of estimated cost" and again in prose as "There is a $20 application fee and $10 per every $1,000 of the work estimate". The page also lists what an application carries — a scope of work naming materials, floors and rooms, an estimated total project cost entered without special characters, design plans stamped by a Massachusetts registered engineer or architect, and a nominal fee letter where the work does not follow the intended zoning — and states that all fees are due upfront and that starting work early may mean ISD charges double the permit cost.
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.