Kansas City, MO
Kansas City, Missouri building permit cost
A Kansas City building permit is priced on the building trade's declared valuation per building:
$1–$50,000 as a flat table ($48.00 to $686.00 in 50 brackets), then $686.00 + $12.50 per $1,000 to $200,000, $2,561.00 + $8.30 to $1,000,000, and $9,201.00 + $3.60 beyond — each band chaining exactly to the one below. Plan review at one-half is a credited prepayment, not a second charge.
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 — $1,000,001 and over: $9,201.00 plus $3.60 per $1,000 or fraction above $1,000,000Permit fee | $9,201.00 + $3.60 per $1,000 of project valuation above $1,000,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $1,000,000 | — |
| Building permit — $200,001 to $1,000,000: $2,561.00 plus $8.30 per $1,000 or fraction above $200,000Permit fee | $2,561.00 + $8.30 per $1,000 of project valuation above $200,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $200,000 and up to $1,000,000 | — |
| Building permit — $50,001 to $200,000: $686.00 plus $12.50 per $1,000 or fraction above $50,000Permit fee | $686.00 + $12.50 per $1,000 of project valuation above $50,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $50,000 and up to $200,000 | — |
| Building permit — $1 to $50,000: flat table $48.00 to $686.00 (50 brackets)Permit fee | Project valuation — 50 brackets: $48.00 up to $500, … $686.00 from $49,000 to $50,000 | Project valuation up to $50,000 | — |
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 new mixed-use commercial building — $400,000 building valuation plus $80,000 of plumbing and $60,000 of electrical, each trade billed separately per building.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Project valuation | $400,000 |
Example total
$4,221.00
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 |
|---|---|---|
Building permit — $200,001 to $1,000,000: $2,561.00 plus $8.30 per $1,000 or fraction above $200,000Permit feeThe sheet\'s "$2,561.00 for the first $200,000 plus $8.30 for each additional $1,000 or fraction thereof, to and including $1,000,000." $2,561.00 is $686.00 + 150 × $12.50, so the printed base is the arithmetic of the band below.Show the working
| $2,561.00 + $8.30 per $1,000 of project valuation above $200,000, or fraction thereof, in $1,000 steps | $4,221.00 |
| Total | $4,221.00 |
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 — $1,000,001 and over: $9,201.00 plus $3.60 per $1,000 or fraction above $1,000,000 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — $50,001 to $200,000: $686.00 plus $12.50 per $1,000 or fraction above $50,000 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — $1 to $50,000: flat table $48.00 to $686.00 (50 brackets) — 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.
Building (at $400,000): the $200,001–$1,000,000 band — $2,561.00 for the first $200,000 plus $8.30 per $1,000 or fraction above it. $200,000 above $200,000 is 200 full thousands, so $2,561.00 + $1,660.00 = $4,221.00. Plan review ($2,110.50) is paid at intake and credited at issuance — it is not part of the permit fee.
Plumbing (different valuation, same ladder): $80,000 falls in the $50,001–$200,000 band — $686.00 + $12.50 × 30 = $1,061.00. Electrical ($60,000): $686.00 + $1.50 extra? No — $10,000 above $50,000 is 10 × $12.50 = $811.00? Wait: $60,000 − $50,000 = $10,000 = 10 × $1,000, so $686.00 + $125.00 = $811.00. The project's three trades total $6,093.00 — the City's trade-by-trade instruction, not a guess.
A $49,500 commercial job never leaves the table: $49,001–50,000 $686.00. Put it at $50,100 — $686.00 plus one whole $1,000 or fraction at $12.50 = $698.50.
What is different in Kansas City
The sheet that prices Kansas City is one page and four shapes on it. The $1–$50,000 block is the only `tiered_table` left in Missouri — 50 flat amounts, one per $1,000 window. It is easy to misread as a rate; it is not: $1–500 is $48.00, $501–2,000 $86.00, $2,001–3,000 $98.50, then one more $12.50 step per thousand until $49,001–50,000 at $686.00. $12,300 pays $223.50 there — the $12,001–13,000 row — not $12,300 × $12.50.
Above $50,000 the schedule writes the other way: 'for the first $50,000 plus $12.50 for each additional $1,000 or fraction thereof, to and including $200,000' — so $75,100 is $686.00 + 26 × $12.50 = $1,011.00, because the $100 of fraction buys a whole $12.50 step. The next band is $2,561.00 for the first $200,000 plus $8.30 — and $2,561.00 is not a new figure but $686.00 + 150 × $12.50 — then $9,201.00 for the first $1,000,000 plus $3.60, where $9,201.00 is $2,561.00 + 800 × $8.30. A $500,000 commercial building is $2,561.00 + $8.30 × 300 = $5,051.00; a $2,000,000 building is $9,201.00 + $3.60 × 1,000 = $12,801.00.
And on a per-trade-per-building sheet, that $12,801.00 is not the project: a mixed-use building whose building valuation is $1,400,000 but whose plumbing valuation is $80,000 is $10,641.00 for the building permit and $1,061.00 for the plumbing — two filings on the same ladder at two valuations. The City's trade total is the sum of such filings.
Also on the sheet — never charged as a second fee — the plan-review line: one-half of the permit cost at submission, credited when the permit issues. Half of $5,051.00 is $2,525.50 paid at plan intake and credited at issuance; half of $12,801.00 is $6,400.50. Five more flats are printed beside it: changes $50.00; partial permit minimum $77.00 (each partial permit is a separate permit fee, so two partials cost more than one full permit); supplemental minimum $50.00; resubmittal one-eighth capped at $272.00; express $69.00.
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 Kansas City commercial building permit fee. It excludes:
- One- and two-family residential — no such Kansas City ladder was readable from this sandbox, so no such amount is invented.
- Plan review's half as a second permit fee — credited prepayment, see above; named on this page together with its five ancillaries ($50 / $77 / $50 / $272 / $69).
- Any doubling of the $50,000 table into a rate — the flat table does not state a rate and is charged by bracket; the bands above it are the ones that carry `or fraction thereof`.
- Fees for trades not billed on this sheet — mechanical, elevator and fire protection are billed on the same ladder (each valuation supplied separately), not on a different schedule.
What you need before applying
- One valuation per trade per building, stated at applicationRequired
The sheet's own instruction: 'At the time of building permit application, separate construction valuation shall be provided for each trade of work involved in the project' and 'PERMIT FEES SHALL BE CALCULATED SEPARATELY FOR EACH BUILDING' — so a $400,000 office with $280,000 of building work, $60,000 of plumbing and $60,000 of electrical is three filings on the same ladder at three valuations, not one filing at $400,000.
- Plan review at one-half is a credited prepayment, not a second permit feeRequired
The sheet's own block: 'A fee of one-half of the permit cost is required to be paid at the time plans are submitted for plan review, this will be credited towards the total fee when the permit is issued.' — so at application the applicant pays half the permit fee, and at issuance the permit fee is due less that half. The sentence is why no plan_review rule adds 50% here. The same block adds: changes to previously approved plans $50.00; minimum partial permit fee $77.00 (a partial permit is its own separate permit fee, not a supplement); minimum supplemental permit fee $50.00; resubmittal one-eighth of the total fee capped at $272.00 when previously identified deficiencies remain uncorrected; express plan review $69.00 paid prior to meeting with the plan reviewer.
Common questions
How much is a building permit in Kansas City, Missouri?
The commercial building valuation ladder (per building per trade): $1–500 $48, $501–2,000 $86, $2,001–3,000 $98.50 … $49,001–50,000 $686.00 as a flat table; $50,001–$200,000 at $686 + $12.50 per $1,000 or fraction; $200,001–$1,000,000 at $2,561 + $8.30; $1,000,001+ at $9,201 + $3.60. A $500,000 building is $5,051.00; a $2,000,000 building is $12,801.00.
Does plan review add 50% on top of the permit?
No — the schedule's own line says 'A fee of one-half of the permit cost is required to be paid at the time plans are submitted for plan review, this will be credited towards the total fee when the permit is issued.' So at plan intake you pay half the permit fee, and at issuance you pay the permit fee less that half. The five ancillaries ($50 changes, $77 partial-minimum, $50 supplemental, $272 resubmittal cap, $69 express) are flat rows beside it.
Is the $1–$50,000 block a rate on the whole valuation?
No — every $1,000 window prints one flat amount rather than a rate. $12,300 of valuation pays $223.50 (the $12,001–13,000 row), not $12,300 × $12.50. The 'plus $12.50 per $1,000 or fraction' appears only above $50,000.
Why does $200,001 not jump at the band seam?
Because the bands chain: $2,561.00 for the first $200,000 is exactly $686.00 + 150 × $12.50, and $9,201.00 for the first $1,000,000 is $2,561.00 + 800 × $8.30. The schedule prints amounts that the arithmetic below them produces, so there is no seam to charge over.
Is one fee schedule used for all trades?
Yes — the sheet's header lists BUILDING, MECHANICAL, PLUMBING, ELECTRICAL, ELEVATOR and FIRE PROTECTION together with 'PERMIT FEES SHALL BE CALCULATED SEPARATELY FOR EACH BUILDING' and 'separate construction valuation shall be provided for each trade of work involved in the project.' One ladder, read against each trade's valuation.
What about residential buildings of one or two dwelling units?
No Kansas City schedule for that class was readable from this sandbox — the City's Building and Development fee hub answers 403 here, and the codifier consolidation was not found for this sheet — so no such amount is modelled and no amount is guessed.
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- Fee schedule (PDF)CityPrimary source
Read 2026-09-26 as a 68,049-byte PDF (SHA-256 350051f8f1b081bee9e716bc60050284123aa280c07d2068edb6b7b59b8bda84, HTTP 200) with pymupdf text extraction; printed 05/01/2012 from Ord #080766 eff. 05/01/2012. One page carries the whole commercial ladder: $1–$50,000 flat table ($48.00–$686.00 in 50 brackets), $50,001–$200,000 at $686.00 + $12.50 per $1,000 or fraction, $200,001–$1,000,000 at $2,561.00 + $8.30, and $1,000,001+ at $9,201.00 + $3.60 — each band chaining to the one below. The same page states the credited plan-review share (one-half), the $50 changes / $77 partial-minimum / $50 supplemental / 1/8 capped at $272 resubmittal / $69 express flats, and the per-trade-per-building instruction.
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.