Cambridge, MA
Cambridge building permit cost
A Cambridge building permit is priced on the construction cost, rounded up:
$20.00 for each $1,000.00 or fraction thereof of construction cost, with a $50.00 minimum fee — the phrase is printed on every cost row of the Building Fees page, so a partial thousand buys a whole step. A building of three residential dwelling units or less pays the Exemption rate instead: $15.00 per $1,000 or fraction, same minimum.
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 — $20.00 per $1,000 or fraction of construction cost (minimum $50.00)Permit fee | $20.00 per $1,000 of project valuation, or fraction thereof | not (moving buildings is true) and not (residential units is provided and residential units up to 3) | min $50.00 |
| Building permit — exempt rate, three residential dwelling units or less, $15.00 per $1,000Permit fee | $15.00 per $1,000 of project valuation, or fraction thereof | not (moving buildings is true) and residential units is provided and residential units up to 3 | min $50.00 |
| Building permit — moving buildings, $15.00 per $1,000 rounded up (minimum $50.00)Permit fee | $15.00 per $1,000 of project valuation, or fraction thereof | moving buildings is true | min $50.00 |
| Building permit — sheet metal, $50.00 primary feePermit fee | $50.00 flat fee | linear feet is provided | — |
| Building permit — sheet metal, $25.00 per 100 linear feetPermit fee | $0.25 per linear foot | linear feet is 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 $18,750 alteration to a two-family house — repairs and alterations under the schedule's standard row, the building inside the Exemption line at three units or less.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Project valuation | $18,750 |
| Residential units | 2 |
Example total
$285.00
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 |
|---|---|---|
Building permit — exempt rate, three residential dwelling units or less, $15.00 per $1,000Permit feeThe schedule's own second line, printed beneath each of the four cost rows: "Exemption: $15.00 per $1,000.00 or fraction thereof of construction cost for three residential dwelling units or less, $50.00 minimum fee." It is selected by `custom.residential_units` at three or below, and the standard $20.00 rule above is written as the negation of that condition so a reader who does not state a unit count pays the standard rate rather than nothing. The word is the City's, and the row still charges: $18,750 in a two-unit house is nineteen steps of $15.00, or $285.00.Show the working
| $15.00 per $1,000 of project valuation, or fraction thereof, in $1,000 steps | $285.00 |
| Total | $285.00 |
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 — $20.00 per $1,000 or fraction of construction cost (minimum $50.00) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — moving buildings, $15.00 per $1,000 rounded up (minimum $50.00) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — sheet metal, $50.00 primary fee — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — sheet metal, $25.00 per 100 linear feet — 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 Exemption rate is selected by the building: $15.00 for each $1,000 or fraction of the $18,750 construction cost. The fraction is printed on the page, so the chargeable basis is rounded up to $19,000 — nineteen steps — and the permit is 19 × $15.00, or $285.00.
The same job in a four-unit building pays the standard rate, 19 × $20.00, or $380.00 — $95.00 more, because the Exemption line is a rate for small residential buildings, not a waiver. A reader who does not state a unit count also pays the standard rate: the standard rule is written as the negation of the Exemption condition, so the absence of the fact charges rather than exempts.
The minimum never moves these numbers — it binds below $2,500 of cost, where one step of $20.00 or $15.00 would fall under $50.00. Starting work before the permit issues triples whatever the permit comes to.
What is different in Cambridge
The page prints the identical pair of numbers under four row names — "All new construction Repairs & Alterations", "Amendments to plans", "Demolition of buildings & structures" and "Preliminary permits for foundation" — so one arithmetic answers all four. A $18,750 job is nineteen steps of $20.00, or $380.00; the same job in a two-unit house is nineteen steps of $15.00, or $285.00; a $2,000 job is two steps of $20.00, $40.00, charged at the $50.00 minimum.
The rounding is where Cambridge differs from Boston, three miles east: Boston's sheet never prints "or fraction thereof" and prorates a partial thousand — $47,550 pays $475.50 of rate there — while Cambridge buys the whole step. Both readings are asserted against the engine in their cities' tests, so neither can drift into the other.
Two further rows are charged on this page. Sheet Metal is $50.00 plus $25.00 per 100 linear feet — 25 cents a foot, charged on the exact run, because that row alone prints neither rounding phrase. Moving buildings is $15.00 per $1,000 rounded up whatever the building. And one expected charge is documented as absent: the schedule's one plan-review cell reads "$100 included in building permit fee$50.00" — one cell, two amounts, no legend — so nothing is charged for plan review and the cell is quoted verbatim.
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 ISD's Building Fees page, priced on the construction cost. It excludes:
- The triple fee. Work started before the permit issues triples the fee — ordinance 15.04.010, printed on the page itself, a multiplier rather than a charge.
- Certificates of Occupancy and Certificates of Inspections — seven rows priced on units, rooms, occupants and square feet, read and transcribed in the research record, not attached to this page.
- Signs — $10 per $100 of sign cost rounded up, $20.00 minimum: a percentage of a sign cost, which no basis here reads.
- Building licenses ($50.00 initial, $50.00 renewal, $60.00 late, $10.00 a year after), annual sign inspections ($10.00) and publicly subsidized dwelling inspections ($100.00).
- Plan review — the schedule's one plan-review cell is quoted verbatim rather than charged; no percentage, technology fee or state surcharge exists anywhere on the page.
- Other departments' fees — DPW's sidewalk obstruction permits and the utility inspectors' overtime fee from the January 2024 announcement, and any zoning board charges.
What you need before applying
- Work may not start before the permit issues — the fee is tripled if it doesRequired
All three fee pages carry the same ordinance header, Section 15.04.010: where work "for which a permit is required by this code is started or proceeded with, prior to obtaining such permit, the fee specified shall be tripled, but payment of such triple fee shall not relieve any person from fully complying with the requirements of this code". The triple fee is a multiplier on a fee that has not been computed, so it is stated here rather than charged as a rule.
Common questions
How much is a building permit in Cambridge?
$20.00 for each $1,000.00 or fraction thereof of construction cost, with a $50.00 minimum fee — printed identically under four row names on the Building Fees page. A building of three residential dwelling units or less pays $15.00 per $1,000 or fraction instead, same minimum. There is no plan review charge and no state surcharge to add.
Does Cambridge round the cost up to the next $1,000?
Yes — the page prints "or fraction thereof" on every cost row, so a partial thousand buys a whole step: $18,750 is nineteen steps, not eighteen and three quarters. Boston, three miles east, prints no such phrase and prorates a partial thousand; the two cities round differently and both readings are asserted in their own tests.
What is the Exemption rate?
The schedule's own second line, printed beneath each cost row: $15.00 per $1,000.00 or fraction thereof for buildings of three residential dwelling units or less, with the same $50.00 minimum. It is a rate, not a waiver — the row still charges, 25% less than the standard $20.00. The rate is selected by the building, and a reader who does not state a unit count pays the standard rate.
Is there a plan review fee in Cambridge?
Not one that can be charged. The schedule's plan-review cell reads verbatim "$100 included in building permit fee$50.00" — one table cell, two amounts, no separator and no legend — so no plan-review rule exists and the cell is quoted rather than interpreted. No percentage, technology fee or state surcharge appears anywhere on the page.
What does moving a building cost?
The Building Fees page prints it twice: $15.00 per $1,000 rounded up to the next thousand of the construction cost, with the $50.00 minimum — the Exemption rate for any building, whatever its unit count. Its own words, "rounded up to the next thousand", are the second place the schedule states the round-up that "or fraction thereof" states four times.
What happens if work starts before the permit is issued?
The fee is tripled. All three ISD fee pages carry the same ordinance header — Section 15.04.010, the fee "shall be tripled" where work starts before the permit — with payment explicitly not relieving anyone from complying with the code. The triple fee is a multiplier on a fee rather than a charge, so it is stated rather than computed here.
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- City websiteCityPrimary source
ISD — "Building Fees" (the cost ladder, its Exemption line, Sheet Metal, Moving buildings)
Read 2026-09-25 as a two-column HTML table: the cost ladder ($20.00 per $1,000.00 or fraction thereof of construction cost, $50.00 minimum fee) printed identically under four row names — "All new construction Repairs & Alterations", "Amendments to plans", "Demolition of buildings & structures" and "Preliminary permits for foundation" — with the "Exemption" line at $15.00 for three residential dwelling units or less beneath each. Moving buildings is $15.00 per $1,000 rounded up with the same $50.00 minimum; Sheet Metal is $50 plus $25 per each 100 linear feet, the one row priced in linear feet without a block phrase; signs are priced on a percentage of a sign cost, which no basis here reads. The plan-review cell reads verbatim "$100 included in building permit fee$50.00" — one cell, two amounts, no legend — so no plan-review rule is written.
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.