Cambridge, MA
Cambridge plumbing permit cost
A Cambridge plumbing permit is priced on the fixture count with an allowance:
$50.00 for 5 fixtures and $5.00 for each additional fixture — the Plumbing Fees page's own cell, with the fourteen-fixture list that defines the count printed beside it. One to five fixtures are $50.00 together; each one after the fifth adds $5.00.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plumbing permit — $50.00 for five fixtures, $5.00 for each additional fixturePermit fee | $50.00 for the first 5 fixtures, plus $5.00 for each additional fixture | Each fixture on the permit | — |
| Plumbing permit — water heater (electric, gas or indirect), $50.00Permit fee | $50.00 flat fee | water heater is one of electric, gas, indirect | — |
| Plumbing permit — tankless water heater, $100.00Permit fee | $100.00 flat fee | water heater is tankless | — |
| Plumbing permit — re-inspection fee, $50.00Inspection fee | $50.00 flat fee | re inspection is true | — |
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 full bathroom rough-in on one permit: tub, lavatory, toilet and washing machine connection, with the kitchen's dishwasher and food disposal added to the same filing — six fixtures in all.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Fixtures | 6 |
Example total
$55.00
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 |
|---|---|---|
Plumbing permit — $50.00 for five fixtures, $5.00 for each additional fixturePermit feeCambridge's Plumbing Fees page defines the count and its price in one cell: the fixture list — "Bathtub, Dishwasher, Drinking Fountain, Floor/Area Drain, Food Disposal, Icemaker, Kitchen Sink, Lavatory, Roof Drain, Mop Sink, Shower Stall, Toilet, Urinal, Washing Machine" — marked "Include in Fixture Count", priced "$50.00 for 5 fixtures, $5.00 for each additional fixture". That is a $50.00 base covering the first five and $5.00 after them: three fixtures are $50.00, five are $50.00, eight are $65.00. It is the opposite shape from Boston's straight $5.00-a-fixture row three miles east, and both are asserted in their cities' tests.Show the working
| $50.00 for the first 5 fixtures, plus $5.00 for each additional fixture | $55.00 |
| Total | $55.00 |
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.
- Plumbing permit — water heater (electric, gas or indirect), $50.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Plumbing permit — tankless water heater, $100.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Plumbing permit — re-inspection fee, $50.00 — 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 block: $50.00 covers the first five fixtures together and the sixth costs $5.00, so the permit is $55.00.
The allowance is what makes the shape: one to five fixtures all cost $50.00 — three are $50.00, five are $50.00 — and only the sixth and beyond add $5.00 each, so eight are $65.00 and twelve $85.00. Boston, three miles east, prices the same six fixtures at $20.00 plus 6 × $5.00, or $50.00 — $5.00 less at six, $5.00 more at five, and the two cross between five and six fixtures.
Add a tankless water heater to the filing and it adds $100.00, twice the $50.00 a tanked heater costs. Starting work before the permit issues triples all of it.
What is different in Cambridge
The count is defined on the same page: "Bathtub, Dishwasher, Drinking Fountain, Floor/Area Drain, Food Disposal, Icemaker, Kitchen Sink, Lavatory, Roof Drain, Mop Sink, Shower Stall, Toilet, Urinal, Washing Machine", marked "Include in Fixture Count". Three fixtures are $50.00, five are $50.00, eight are $50.00 plus $15.00 — $65.00.
The shape is the opposite of Boston's plumbing row, three miles east: Boston charges $5.00 for each fixture from the first, so five fixtures are $45.00 there against Cambridge's $50.00, and eight are $60.00 against $65.00 — Cambridge is $5.00 more at five and diverges further as the count grows. Both readings are asserted in their cities' tests.
Water heaters are charged beside the block: $50.00 for electric, gas or indirect, and $100.00 for tankless — twice the tanked price. The page's own header carries the enforcement lines: triple the permit fee for work started without one, $50.00 for failing to call the final inspection within five days of completion, and a $50.00 re-inspection fee, charged as an inspection component when one actually happens.
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 Plumbing Fees page, priced from the fixture block. It excludes:
- Rows for individual devices, read and transcribed in the research record: back water valve, hose bib, irrigation meter and water meter at $25.00; cross-connection devices at $50.00 testable and $20.00 non-testable; dedicated systems at $100.00; disconnects, emergency showers, grease interceptors, lab sinks and the rest of the $50.00 rows; water piping and sanitary waste and vent at $50.00 per floor; sprinklers at $50.00 up to five heads plus $2.00 each after; standpipe valves at $40.00 plus $5.00 each; backflow preventors at $50.00. Each would need a fact of its own; the fixture block is the row a plumbing job starts from.
- The $50.00 re-inspection fee — charged as an inspection component when one actually happens, not part of a first-time permit.
- The $50.00 failure-to-call penalty — a consequence of not calling the final inspection within five days, named rather than charged.
- The triple fee for work started before the permit issues — a multiplier printed on the page, not a charge.
- Plan review, technology and state surcharges — none exist on the page.
What you need before applying
- A final inspection is called for within five days of completionRequired
The plumbing page's own header lines: "Performing work without a permit: Triple the permit fee", "Failure to call for final inspection within 5 days of completion — $50.00" and "Re-Inspection Fee — $50.00". The failure-to-call line is a consequence of not calling, so it is named rather than charged a second time; the re-inspection is charged as an inspection component when one actually happens.
Common questions
How much is a plumbing permit in Cambridge?
$50.00 for 5 fixtures and $5.00 for each additional fixture — the page's own cell, with the fourteen-fixture list (bathtub through washing machine) that defines the count printed beside it. One to five fixtures are $50.00 together; each one after the fifth adds $5.00.
What counts as a fixture?
The fourteen items the page lists under "Include in Fixture Count": bathtub, dishwasher, drinking fountain, floor/area drain, food disposal, icemaker, kitchen sink, lavatory, roof drain, mop sink, shower stall, toilet, urinal and washing machine. The page defines the count and its price in one cell, so the list and the $50.00-for-5 price are read together.
How does this compare with Boston?
Boston charges $5.00 for each fixture from the first plus a $20.00 application fee; Cambridge charges $50.00 for up to five and $5.00 after. Five fixtures are $45.00 in Boston and $50.00 in Cambridge; eight are $60.00 against $65.00. The two shapes are asserted in their cities' tests so neither can drift into the other.
How much is a water heater?
$50.00 for electric, gas or indirect — three rows at one price — and $100.00 for tankless, twice the tanked price. The two are separate rows on the page and are charged beside the fixture block, so a filing with six fixtures and a tankless heater is $55.00 plus $100.00.
What are the penalties on the page?
Three lines from the page's own header: work started without a permit triples the permit fee; failing to call the final inspection within five days of completion costs $50.00; and a re-inspection is $50.00. The re-inspection is charged as an inspection component when one actually happens; the other two are multipliers and consequences rather than permit charges.
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- City websiteCityPrimary source
ISD — "Plumbing Fees" (the fixture block and the device rows)
Read 2026-09-25: the fixture list — "Bathtub, Dishwasher, Drinking Fountain, Floor/Area Drain, Food Disposal, Icemaker, Kitchen Sink, Lavatory, Roof Drain, Mop Sink, Shower Stall, Toilet, Urinal, Washing Machine" — marked "Include in Fixture Count", priced "$50.00 for 5 fixtures, $5.00 for each additional fixture"; water heaters at $50.00 (electric/gas/indirect) and $100.00 (tankless); the page's own header lines "Re-Inspection Fee - $50.00" and the triple-fee ordinance warning. Boston prices the same trade straight per fixture, with no allowance — both readings are asserted in their cities' tests.
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.