Jersey City, NJ
Jersey City building permit cost
A Jersey City building permit is priced on the volume of the structure if the work is new construction:
$0.027 a cubic foot for buildings of all use groups except A-1, A-2, A-4, A-5, F-1, F-2, S-1 and S-2, which pay $0.15. A renovation, alteration or repair is priced on the estimated cost of work instead, at $15 per $1,000, with a $50 minimum for a short permit and $100 when a plan is filed. A permit that mixes new construction with alterations is charged for each, and the State's permit surcharge is added to both.
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 — renovation, alteration or repair, $15 per $1,000Permit fee | $15.00 per $1,000 of project valuation | building alteration is true | — |
| Building permit — new construction, $0.027 per cubic footPermit fee | $0.027 per cubic foot | use group is provided and use group is none of A-1, A-2, A-4, A-5, F-1, F-2, S-1, S-2 and not (building alteration is true) | — |
| Building permit — new construction, $0.15 per cubic footPermit fee | $0.15 per cubic foot | use group is one of A-1, A-2, A-4, A-5, F-1, F-2, S-1, S-2 and not (building alteration is true) | — |
| Minimum fee, plan permit for renovations, alterations and repairs, $100.00Permit fee | the shortfall up to the $100.00 minimum on calculated permit fee | building alteration is true and plan permit is true | — |
| Minimum fee, short permit for renovations, alterations or repairs, $50.00Permit fee | the shortfall up to the $50.00 minimum on calculated permit fee | building alteration is true and not (plan permit is true) | — |
| New Jersey State permit surcharge, $1.90 per $1,000State surcharge | $1.90 per $1,000 of project valuation | building alteration is true | min $1.00 |
| New Jersey State permit surcharge, $0.00371 per cubic footState surcharge | $0.00371 per cubic foot | use group is provided and not (building alteration is true) | min $1.00 |
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 residential building of 40,000 cubic feet in use group R, no alterations and no addition, with no plan-review credit applied.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Use group | R |
| Building volume | 40,000 cu ft |
Example total
$1,228.40
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 7
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Building permit — new construction, $0.027 per cubic footPermit fee§160-1 M(1)(a): "Fees for new construction shall be based upon the volume of the structure. Volume shall be computed in accordance with N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.28. The new construction fee shall be in the amount of $.027 per cubic foot of volume for buildings and structures of all use groups", except for the use groups listed in the row above at $0.15. Stored as 27/10 cents a cubic foot so the arithmetic is exact.Show the working
| $0.027 per cubic foot | $1,080.00 |
New Jersey State permit surcharge, $0.00371 per cubic footState surchargeN.J.A.C. 5:23-4.19(b): $0.00371 per cubic foot of new buildings and additions, minimum $1.00, collected by the enforcing agency and forwarded to the Division of Codes and Standards. §160-1 M(1)(g) prints the same fee as "$0.00265 per cubic foot volume of new construction" — the State's pre-1995 amount — and the code says in terms that "certain fees ... are set by the State of New Jersey" and that changes to them "will be incorporated herein by reference".Show the working
| $0.00371 per cubic foot | $148.40 |
| Total | $1,228.40 |
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 — renovation, alteration or repair, $15 per $1,000 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — new construction, $0.15 per cubic foot — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Minimum fee, plan permit for renovations, alterations and repairs, $100.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Minimum fee, short permit for renovations, alterations or repairs, $50.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- New Jersey State permit surcharge, $1.90 per $1,000 — 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.
R is a general-rate use group, so the fee is 40,000 cubic feet at $0.027, which is $1,080.00. Reading the same building as an A-2 or an F-1 would put it on the $0.15 row instead and multiply the fee to $6,000.00 — the single largest variable in any Jersey City building permit.
The State permit surcharge is the second line, at $0.00371 a cubic foot: $148.40, collected by the City and forwarded to the Division of Codes and Standards. The City's own M(1)(g) prints that fee as $0.00265 a cubic foot, which would be $106.00; N.J.A.C. 5:23-4.19(b) sets it, and the code says State-set fees are incorporated by reference as they change, so the State's figure is the one charged.
Plan review at 25% is not in the total. The City's row makes it non-refundable and payable with the application, and the State standard the ordinance implements has it deducted from the permit fee when the permit issues — so on this building it is $270.00 paid up front against the $1,080.00, not another $270.00 on top of it.
What is different in Jersey City
The use group decides more here than in most cities. A 100,000 cubic foot building is $2,700.00 at the general rate and $15,000.00 if it is an assembly or storage-and-factory group — the same volume, five and a half times the fee — and the list of high-rate groups is printed with A-2 in it twice and A-3 absent. This site charges the list as printed, which means an A-3 building is at the general rate, and a reader with an A-3 project should confirm the point with the Construction Official before relying on the figure.
Alteration work is a single rate, and that makes Jersey City simpler than its neighbour: $15 per $1,000 of estimated cost, with no band to read. The two floors are the part to watch — a short permit is floored at $50 and a permit filed with plans at $100 — because a small job pays the floor rather than the rate.
M(1)(e) is worth knowing before adding anything up. Where an application covers new construction, an addition and alterations at once, the City computes the fees separately and sums them, which is why the calculator here can charge a volumetric row and a cost row on one permit rather than choosing between them.
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 subcode's fee and the State permit surcharge. It excludes:
- Plan review, which is not charged here: M(1)(o) sets it at 25% of the estimated cost of the permits and N.J.A.C. 5:23-4.18(a)1 requires it to be deducted from the permit fee when the permit is issued, so it is a prepayment of the first quarter of the fee. If the City reads its own row as an addition rather than a prepayment, every building permit is 25% higher than the figure shown.
- The State surcharge as the City prints it. M(1)(g) reads "$0.00265 per cubic foot volume of new construction" and "$0.00135 of cost of construction for alterations"; the amount charged here is N.J.A.C. 5:23-4.19(b)'s current $0.00371 a cubic foot and $1.90 per $1,000, minimum $1.00. The code says State-set fees are incorporated by reference as the State changes them.
- The fire subcode, which a project with sprinklers or alarms also carries: heads, suppression systems, standpipes, alarm devices, kitchen exhaust, gas and oil fired devices, tanks, and a $75 minimum with a $125 Public Safety connection.
- Asbestos removal at $50, lead paint abatement at $140, exterior hoistways at $260, above-ground pools at $50 and $100 and in-ground pools at $75 and $150 by size, tents over 900 square feet at $92, and signs at $1.50 a square foot.
- Demolition at $200 for use groups R-3 and R-5 and $250 otherwise, variations at $200 an application, and certificates of occupancy at $100, or $200 for a certificate of continued occupancy.
- Prototype filing, where the master plan pays the full permit fees and each additional prototype is 80% of the permit value, and the annual construction permit at $667 a worker for up to twenty-five workers.
- Emergency and exit lights, at $25 for the first ten and $25 for each additional twenty-five, which the schedule prices on its own row rather than with the other devices.
- Anything charged by another authority — Hudson County, the Municipal Utilities Authority, or the State's own permits and licences.
What you need before applying
- Volume measured under the State's own rule, for new constructionRequired
§160-1 M(1)(a): "Fees for new construction shall be based upon the volume of the structure. Volume shall be computed in accordance with N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.28." The ordinance does not restate the measurement, it adopts the State's: the volume of the building as the construction official computes it, which is the same measurement Newark's §7A:2-2 spells out in its own words.
- A permit that mixes new construction, an addition and alterations is charged for eachRequired
§160-1 M(1)(e): "Total fee for combination of new construction, additions to existing structures and repairs, renovations and alterations shall be the sum of the fees computed separately in accordance with Subsections M(1) through (5)." It is the City's own statement of what the calculator does with a mixed application, and the reason a volumetric row and a cost row can both belong to one permit.
- Plan review is 25% of the permit fee, paid at submissionRequired
§160-1 M(1)(o): "Plan Review Fee shall be 25% of the estimated cost of permits which is nonrefundable." N.J.A.C. 5:23-4.18(a)1, which every New Jersey municipal fee ordinance has to meet, provides that the plan review fee is paid when the application is submitted and that the amount "shall then be deducted from the amount of the fee due for a construction permit, when the permit is issued" — so it is the first quarter of the permit fee rather than a further 25% on top of it.
Common questions
How much is a building permit in Jersey City?
New construction is $0.027 per cubic foot of the structure's volume for most use groups, and $0.15 per cubic foot for use groups A-1, A-2, A-4, A-5, F-1, F-2, S-1 and S-2. Renovations, alterations and repairs are $15 per $1,000 of estimated cost of work, with a $50 minimum for a short permit and $100 for a permit filed with plans.
Why does the fee jump so much for some use groups?
M(1)(a) charges $0.15 a cubic foot instead of $0.027 for assembly buildings and for the F-1, F-2, S-1 and S-2 storage and factory groups — about five and a half times the general rate, on the same volume. A 40,000 cubic foot residential building is $1,080.00; the same building as an A-2 is $6,000.00.
The list of use groups names A-2 twice — what applies to an A-3 building?
The ordinance prints "A-1, A-2, A-2, A-4, A-5, F-1, F-2, S-1 and S-2" — A-2 twice, A-3 not at all — and does not say which was meant. This site charges the list as printed, so an A-3 building is at the general $0.027 rate here. Given the gap between the two rates, an A-3 project should confirm the point with the Construction Official before relying on either figure.
Is plan review an extra 25%?
No. M(1)(o) makes the plan review fee 25% of the estimated cost of the permits and non-refundable, payable when the application is submitted. N.J.A.C. 5:23-4.18(a)1 — the State standard the ordinance implements — requires that amount to be deducted from the fee due for the construction permit when it is issued, so it is a prepayment of part of the permit fee.
What is the State surcharge on a Jersey City building permit?
$0.00371 per cubic foot of new construction and additions, or $1.90 per $1,000 of value for other construction, with a $1.00 minimum, collected by the City for the Division of Codes and Standards under N.J.A.C. 5:23-4.19(b). The City's own schedule prints the pre-1995 pair — $0.00265 a cubic foot and $0.00135 per $1,000 — and states that State-set fees are incorporated by reference as they change.
Does a permit that adds to a building and renovates it pay both fees?
Yes. M(1)(e) says the total fee for a combination of new construction, additions, repairs, renovations and alterations "shall be the sum of the fees computed separately", so the new volume is charged at the volumetric rate and the alteration work at $15 per $1,000 of its estimated cost.
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- Municipal codeCityPrimary source
Read 2026-09-25 through the City's codifier, whose consolidation is Supplement No. 52. §160-1 M carries the whole construction fee schedule: the building subcode in (1), plumbing in (2), electrical in (3), fire in (4), elevators in (5) and miscellaneous fees in (6), with the amendment history of the block — 4-13-2005 by Ord. 04-154 and 9-11-2013 by Ord. 13-081 — attached to the rows those ordinances changed. The row that decides most of the arithmetic, M(1)(a), is the one that prints A-2 twice.
- State agencyStatePrimary source
Read 2026-09-25 as the Department's consolidated PDF of Subchapter 4, current through New Jersey Register Volume 58 No. 16. §5:23-4.18(a)1 is the rule that makes Jersey City's 25% plan review a prepayment rather than a surcharge — the plan review fee "shall then be deducted from the amount of the fee due for a construction permit, when the permit is issued" — and §5:23-4.19(b) sets the State permit surcharge at $0.00371 a cubic foot of new construction and $1.90 per $1,000 of other construction, minimum $1.00. The code's own note that State-set fees "will be incorporated herein by reference" is what the City's older printed figures are measured against.
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.