Billings, MT
Billings electrical permit cost
A Billings electrical permit splits on occupancy.
Residential work prices as flats keyed on service size — a single-family dwelling with a 100–300 A service is $130.00 (garage included), 301+ A is $200.00, a rewire or addition $40.00. Commercial work climbs a five-band project-cost ladder: $30.00 to $500, then $30 + 6%, $60 + 2%, $240 + 0.5%, $440 + 0.3% — a ladder whose seams chain exactly.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial electrical, project cost $0–$500 — $30.00Permit fee | $30.00 flat fee | Project valuation up to $500 | — |
| Commercial electrical, $501–$1,000 — $30 + 6% of balancePermit fee | 6% of the first $1,000 | Project valuation over $500 and up to $1,000 | — |
| Commercial electrical, $1,001–$10,000 — $60 + 2% of balancePermit fee | $40.00 + 2% of the first $10,000 | Project valuation over $1,000 and up to $10,000 | — |
| Commercial electrical, $10,001–$50,000 — $240 + 0.5% of balancePermit fee | $190.00 + 0.5% of the first $50,000 | Project valuation over $10,000 and up to $50,000 | — |
| Commercial electrical, $50,001 or more — $440 + 0.3% of balancePermit fee | $290.00 + 0.3% of project valuation | Project valuation over $50,000 | — |
| Multi-family dwellings, per building — $100.00Permit fee | $100.00 flat fee | Occupancy is residential and mf per building is true | — |
| Multi-family dwellings, per unit (up to 12 units) — $40.00Permit fee | $40.00 per dwelling unit | Occupancy is residential and Dwelling units over 0 and Dwelling units up to 12 and mf per building is true | — |
| Interior rewire only or new addition to home — $40.00Permit fee | $40.00 flat fee | Occupancy is residential and Work type is one of alteration, remodel, addition and service change is not provided | — |
| Residential change of service — $25.00Permit fee | $25.00 flat fee | Occupancy is residential and service change is true | — |
| Single-family dwelling, 100–300 A service — $130.00Permit fee | $130.00 flat fee | Occupancy is residential and Work type is new construction and dsf is not provided and mf per building is not provided | — |
| Single-family dwelling, 301+ A service — $200.00Permit fee | $200.00 flat fee | Occupancy is residential and Work type is new construction and dsf 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 electrical scope with a project cost of $60,000 (labor plus material).
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Project valuation | $60,000 |
| Occupancy class | Commercial |
| Type of work | New construction |
Example total
$470.00
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 11
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Commercial electrical, $50,001 or more — $440 + 0.3% of balancePermit fee"$50,001 – or more — 440.00 for first $50,000 plus 0.3% of balance." Open-ended at 0.3% (30 bps).Show the working
| $290.00 + 0.3% of project valuation | $470.00 |
| Total | $470.00 |
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.
- Commercial electrical, project cost $0–$500 — $30.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Commercial electrical, $501–$1,000 — $30 + 6% of balance — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Commercial electrical, $1,001–$10,000 — $60 + 2% of balance — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Commercial electrical, $10,001–$50,000 — $240 + 0.5% of balance — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Multi-family dwellings, per building — $100.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Multi-family dwellings, per unit (up to 12 units) — $40.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Interior rewire only or new addition to home — $40.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Residential change of service — $25.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Single-family dwelling, 100–300 A service — $130.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Single-family dwelling, 301+ A service — $200.00 — 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.
One line — $470.00.
Commercial ladder, top band ('$50,001 or more'): base $440.00. The excess is $10,000 — 0.3% = $30.00.
Total: $440.00 + $30.00 = $470.00.
What moves it: the same $60,000 of work inside a 12-unit-or-less multi-family building would price as $100.00 per building + $40.00 per unit instead — the schedule's own instruction sends over-12-unit buildings to this ladder; and the ladder's 0.3% is open-ended, so a $500,000 commercial job pays $1,640.00.
What is different in Billings
The residential flats are named for the job, not the count: one number covers a single-family service including the garage wired at the same time; a multi-family building pays $100.00 plus $40.00 per unit up to 12 units, and beyond 12 units under one roof the commercial ladder takes over.
The commercial ladder is the rare printed schedule whose marginal rates verify: $30.00 + 6% of the $500 balance is $60.00 at $1,000 — the next band's base; $60.00 + 2% of $9,000 is $240.00 — the next base; $240.00 + 0.5% of $40,000 is $440.00 — the top base. A $60,000 commercial job pays $440.00 plus 0.3% of $10,000, or $470.00.
The 2026 resolution cut these amounts along with everything else; the schedule below is the reduced one, effective on the resolution's passage.
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 § 2's electrical permit fee. It excludes:
- The building permit and its 60% commercial plan review — on the building page.
- Accessory, modular and mobile-home flats — $25.00–$130.00 by service size and placement, recorded in the research file.
- Special installations — irrigation wells ($40.00), pumps ($35.00 per unit), temporary construction services ($25.00).
- Multi-family beyond 12 units — priced on the commercial project-cost ladder by § 2.K's own instruction.
What you need before applying
- Multi-family electrical caps the per-unit count at 12Required
§ 2.K: $100.00 per building plus $40.00 per unit 'up to and including 12 units'; over 12 units under one roof uses the commercial project-cost ladder instead — the per-unit row carries that cap as a condition, and a 12-unit building prices $100 + 12 × $40 = $580.00.
Common questions
How much is an electrical permit for a new house in Billings?
$130.00 for a 100–300 amp service or $200.00 for 301+ amps — the single-family row includes the garage wired at the same time. A rewire or new addition alone is $40.00; a service change $25.00.
How is a commercial electrical permit calculated?
By project cost: $30.00 to $500, then $30 + 6% of the balance to $1,000, $60 + 2% to $10,000, $240 + 0.5% to $50,000, and $440 + 0.3% above — the marginal rates chain exactly at every band edge.
What does a multi-family electrical permit cost?
$100.00 per building plus $40.00 per unit up to and including 12 units — $580.00 for a 12-plex. Over 12 units under one roof, § 2.K sends the project to the commercial project-cost ladder.
Is there a minimum electrical permit fee?
Yes, in effect: the smallest commercial row is $30.00 ($0–$500 project cost) and the smallest residential row is $25.00 (a service change), so no electrical permit prices below those.
Did the 2026 fee reduction lower electrical permits too?
Yes — Resolution 26-11315 cut the electrical schedules with everything else (staff estimated 23–31% across all families) and made the reduced amounts effective on passage, February 23, 2026.
Who issues Billings electrical permits?
The Building Division (Community Development) — the same resolution that sets the building ladder sets the electrical one, and the division is the contact at (406) 657-8231 for application questions.
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.