Billings, MT
Billings building permit cost
A Billings building permit climbs one ladder — the same table for a house and a hospital.
Resolution 26-11315 (February 2026) consolidated the residential and commercial schedules into one eight-band valuation ladder: $45.00 flat to $2,000, then bands chaining exactly to a $9,529.00 base above $5,000,000. Commercial plan review adds 60% of the permit fee; residential projects pay no plan-review fee at all — the 2026 consolidation eliminated it.
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 valuation band 1 (both occupancies)Permit fee | $45.00 flat fee | Project valuation up to $2,000 | — |
| Building permit valuation band 2 (both occupancies)Permit fee | $45.00 + $8.00 per $1,000 of project valuation above $2,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $2,000 and up to $25,000 | — |
| Building permit valuation band 3 (both occupancies)Permit fee | $229.00 + $5.00 per $1,000 of project valuation above $25,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $25,000 and up to $50,000 | — |
| Building permit valuation band 4 (both occupancies)Permit fee | $354.00 + $3.50 per $1,000 of project valuation above $50,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $50,000 and up to $100,000 | — |
| Building permit valuation band 5 (both occupancies)Permit fee | $529.00 + $2.50 per $1,000 of project valuation above $100,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $100,000 and up to $500,000 | — |
| Building permit valuation band 6 (both occupancies)Permit fee | $1,529.00 + $2.00 per $1,000 of project valuation above $500,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $500,000 and up to $1,000,000 | — |
| Building permit valuation band 7 (both occupancies)Permit fee | $2,529.00 + $1.75 per $1,000 of project valuation above $1,000,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $1,000,000 and up to $5,000,000 | — |
| Building permit valuation band 8 (both occupancies)Permit fee | $9,529.00 + $1.50 per $1,000 of project valuation above $5,000,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $5,000,000 | — |
| Commercial plan review — 60% of the permit feePlan review | 60% of calculated permit fee | Occupancy is not residential and plan review 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 commercial build-out with a declared valuation of $650,000, submitted through commercial plan review.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Project valuation | $650,000 |
| Occupancy class | Commercial |
| Plan review | Yes |
Example total
$2,926.40
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 2Rules considered 9
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Building permit valuation band 6 (both occupancies)Permit fee"$500,001 to $1,000,000 — 1,529.00 for the first $500,000 plus 2.00 for each additional $1,000 or fraction." $529 + 400 × $2.50 = $1,529.00.Show the working
| $1,529.00 + $2.00 per $1,000 of project valuation above $500,000, or fraction thereof, in $1,000 steps | $1,829.00 |
Commercial plan review — 60% of the permit feePlan review§ 1, final line: "COMMERCIAL PLAN REVIEW FEE SHALL BE ASSESSED AT 60% OF THE PERMIT FEE." The 2026 consolidation reduced this from 65% and ELIMINATED the residential plan-review fee entirely — the rule answers only on non-residential occupancy (custom.plan_review). Additional plan review for changed plans prices at § 6's $75.00/hr with a half-hour minimum — named, not charged.Show the working
| 60% of calculated permit fee | $1,097.40 |
| Total | $2,926.40 |
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 valuation band 1 (both occupancies) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit valuation band 2 (both occupancies) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit valuation band 3 (both occupancies) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit valuation band 4 (both occupancies) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit valuation band 5 (both occupancies) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit valuation band 7 (both occupancies) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit valuation band 8 (both occupancies) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
Assumptions
- Calculated from 2 fee rules in effect on 2026-09-28.
- Amounts are rounded to the nearest cent, once, at the end of each component.
Two lines — $2,926.40.
§ 1, band 6 ('$500,001 to $1,000,000'): base $1,529.00. The excess is $150,000 — 150 whole $1,000 steps at $2.00 = $300.00. Band total: $1,529.00 + $300.00 = $1,829.00.
Commercial plan review: 60% of the permit fee — 0.60 × $1,829.00 = $1,097.40.
Total: $1,829.00 + $1,097.40 = $2,926.40. Under the pre-2026 schedule the same project paid roughly $11,010 — the February 2026 reduction cut it by more than a quarter, and 'or fraction thereof' means $650,000.01 would round to 151 steps.
What is different in Billings
The fee reads the higher of total bid price or the ICC Building Safety Journal valuation table — the resolution's own device for keeping a low bid from dodging the table.
The ladder's discipline is its chaining: $45.00 + 23 × $8.00 is $229.00, $229.00 + 25 × $5.00 is $354.00, $354.00 + 50 × $3.50 is $529.00, and so on to $9,529.00 — all six seams exact. A $650,000 commercial build-out lands in band 6: $1,529.00 plus 150 whole $1,000 steps at $2.00, or $1,829.00, with the 60% plan review adding $1,097.40.
The February 2026 vote cut all of this by roughly a quarter: the same project paid about $4,000 more under the old 65%-review regime, and residential builders now pay the ladder alone — no review percentage on top. Staff estimated 23–31% reductions across the board and plan to revisit the numbers every fiscal year.
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 building permit fee under Resolution 26-11315. It excludes:
- Fire system permits — § 5's separate project-cost table ($45–$2,000 per system).
- Mechanical permits — the $20.00-minimum equipment list on the same resolution, recorded in the research file.
- Trade permits — electrical and plumbing price their own rows on their own pages.
- Event fees — $75.00/hr after-hours inspections, reinspection, and additional plan review for changed plans (½-hour minimum).
What you need before applying
- The fee reads the HIGHER of bid price or ICC-derived valuationRequired
§ 1: fees 'are to be charged on the higher of total bid price values or based on the most recent valuation table established in the International Code Council Building Safety Journal.' An applicant with a low bid on a large project does not escape the valuation table — the higher number walks the ladder.
- Residential projects carry no plan-review feeMay be required
The 2026 consolidation eliminated the residential plan-review fee outright (council coverage: 'residential projects will no longer have a plan review fee'); only the commercial 60% line survives in the resolution. Changed plans trigger additional review at § 6's $75.00/hour with a half-hour minimum.
Common questions
How much is a building permit in Billings?
One ladder for both occupancies: $45.00 flat to $2,000 of valuation, then $8.00 per additional $1,000 to $25,000, $5.00 to $50,000, $3.50 to $100,000, $2.50 to $500,000 — up to a $9,529.00 base above $5,000,000 plus $1.50 per $1,000.
Does Billings charge a plan review fee on houses?
No. The February 2026 fee reduction eliminated the residential plan-review fee outright; only the commercial 60% line remains in the resolution.
What is the commercial plan review fee in Billings?
60 percent of the building permit fee, reduced from 65% by the 2026 consolidation. Additional review for changed plans bills at $75.00 per hour with a half-hour minimum.
How did the 2026 fee reduction change Billings permit costs?
City Council Resolution 26-11315 (adopted February 23, 2026, effective on passage) cut every schedule an estimated 23–31%: a $2.5M commercial project dropped from about $11,010 to $8,246, residential plan review disappeared, and the two building ladders merged into one table.
Which valuation does Billings use if my bid is low?
The higher one: the resolution charges 'on the higher of total bid price values or based on the most recent valuation table established in the International Code Council Building Safety Journal.'
Where do Billings' permit fees come from?
From a stand-alone Council resolution rather than the municipal code: Resolution 26-11315 repealed the 2011 schedule (Resolution 11-19068) and carries every permit family — building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical and fire systems — in one document.
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- OrdinanceCityPrimary source
Read 2026-09-26. The adopted PDF (7 pp.) is an image-only scan; its page 1 was read visually in the browser and matches the Gazette's published text-layer draft of the same resolution word for word (identical whereas clauses, building bands, and the 60% commercial plan-review line). The draft's text layer is the amount source: § 1's consolidated eight-band building ladder (chaining exactly at every seam from $45.00 to a $9,529.00 base), the 60% commercial plan review, § 2's residential electrical flats and five-band commercial project-cost ladder, § 3's $20.00 plumbing issuance plus unit rows (read out of the scan by word coordinates), § 4's mechanical rows and § 5's fire-system bands. Adoption (APPROVED 11-0) verified on the February 23, 2026 council agenda; the Gazette reports the operational go-live 'on or after March 2'.
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.