Newark, NJ
Newark building permit cost
A Newark building permit is priced on the volume of the building for new construction and additions — $0.02 a cubic foot for use groups A
F, I and S and $0.03 a cubic foot for B, E, H, M, R and U — and on the estimated cost of construction for renovations and alterations, at a graduating $28 per $1,000 on the first $50,000, $21 on the next $50,000 and $17 above that. A non-refundable $58 processing fee is charged with the application and applied against the total permit fee, and the State's own permit surcharge is added on top.
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 and alteration, by estimated costPermit fee | 2.8% of the first $50,000, plus 2.1% above $50,000, plus 1.7% above $100,000 | building alteration is true | — |
| Building permit — new construction and additions, $0.02 per cubic footPermit fee | $0.02 per cubic foot | use group is one of A, F, I, S and not (building alteration is true) | — |
| Building permit — new construction and additions, $0.03 per cubic footPermit fee | $0.03 per cubic foot | use group is one of B, E, H, M, R, U and not (building alteration is true) | — |
| Minimum permit fee, $58.00Permit fee | the shortfall up to the $58.00 minimum on calculated permit fee | permit fee under 5800 | — |
| 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 60,000 cubic feet, whose occupancy is use group R, with no alteration, addition or other use on the permit.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Use group | R |
| Building volume | 60,000 cu ft |
Example total
$2,022.60
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 6
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Building permit — new construction and additions, $0.03 per cubic footPermit fee§7A:2-3: $0.03 per cubic foot for use groups B (Business), E (Educational), H (High Hazard), M (Mercantile), R (Residential) and U (Utility and Miscellaneous). An addition is priced the same way as new construction, on the volume of the added portion — which is also what N.J.A.C. 5:23-4.18(c)1iii requires.Show the working
| $0.03 per cubic foot | $1,800.00 |
New Jersey State permit surcharge, $0.00371 per cubic footState surchargeN.J.A.C. 5:23-4.19(b): "This fee shall be in the amount of $0.00371 per cubic foot volume of new buildings and additions", with a minimum of $1.00. Not collected on demolition, asbestos or lead abatement permits, low and moderate income housing, work consequential to a natural disaster, or pre-engineered commercial farm buildings. Newark's own §7A:2-3 prints the line as "State Surcharge $0.016 per cubic feet" — an older state figure, which the page names alongside the amount charged here.Show the working
| $0.00371 per cubic foot | $222.60 |
| Total | $2,022.60 |
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 and alteration, by estimated cost — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — new construction and additions, $0.02 per cubic foot — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Minimum permit fee, $58.00 — 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.
The building is new, so the fee is volume and not cost: 60,000 cubic feet at three cents a cubic foot is $1,800.00, and no valuation is asked for. Use group R is on the three cent side of the table, with B, E, H, M and U; a use group of A, F, I or S in the same building would be $1,200.00 instead.
The State permit surcharge is the second line, and it is the part of the bill the City keeps none of. N.J.A.C. 5:23-4.19(b) sets it at $0.00371 a cubic foot on new buildings and additions and has the enforcing agency collect and forward it, so 60,000 cubic feet is $222.60 on its own line. Newark's own chapter prints the same line as "$0.016 per cubic feet", which is an older figure of the same State fee — the City collects it rather than setting it, and the amount is the regulation's, so that is the amount charged here.
The $58 minimum never comes into it, because the calculated fee is $1,800.00. It would apply to a small demolition-free permit of a few hundred cubic feet, where the fee would otherwise be a few dollars.
What is different in Newark
Which of the two rates applies is the first question, and it is not about the applicant: a new building or an addition pays by volume, and a renovation or alteration pays by cost. On a 60,000 cubic foot residential building the volume rate is $1,800.00; the same work as an alteration with a $400,000 estimated cost is $7,550.00, and the two figures are not comparable because they measure different things.
The use group changes the volume rate by 50%, and it is worth checking before the number is trusted: $0.02 a cubic foot for A, F, I and S, $0.03 for B, E, H, M, R and U. On a 200,000 cubic foot warehouse that is $2,000 of difference between reading the building as Storage and reading it as Mercantile.
The $58 is the third thing to know, and it behaves like a floor rather than a fee. The chapter calls it a non-refundable processing fee charged with the application and says it "will be applied against the total permit fee"; it also publishes "Minimum Building Permit: $58". A permit whose rows exceed $58 pays its rows; one that does not pays $58.
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, the $58 that attaches to every permit, and the State permit surcharge. It excludes:
- Plan review, which is not charged twice: §7A:2-1 has 20% of the construction fee paid at submission and then deducted from the permit fee when the permit issues. The chapter also reduces the permit fee by 20% when a plan review is waived, and that reduction is not applied here either.
- The fire protection subcode — sprinkler heads, detectors, standpipes, suppression systems, kitchen hood exhaust and gas or oil fired appliances — which is published in §7A:2-3 and not priced on any page of this site.
- Certificates of occupancy, which are priced separately and by a different measurement: $230 for a one- or two-unit dwelling, $288 to $403 by unit count up to 40, $460 above that plus $20 a unit over 100, $173 to $460 by floor area for business, factory, mercantile and storage buildings, and $115 to $1,150 for assembly, institutional and high-hazard occupancies.
- Demolition ($144 under 30 feet and under 5,000 square feet, $403 otherwise), asbestos abatement ($81 plus $32 for a certificate of clearance), lead abatement ($161 plus $32), signs ($1 a square foot one side only, $690 maximum) and the R-3/R-4/R-5 siding and roofing permit at $58.
- The annual construction permit at $173 plus a $161 State training registration fee, and elevator permits, which are priced by N.J.A.C. 5:23-12.5 and 5:23-12.6 with a 40% administrative fee added.
- Anything charged by another authority. Essex County, the Newark Watershed and the State of New Jersey each charge their own fees, and the State permit surcharge shown here is the only State charge included.
- The fee waivers for City-occupied properties and for non-profit developers of low and moderate income housing, which can remove the building fee entirely for a qualifying project.
What you need before applying
- The volume of the building, and what it includesRequired
§7A:2-2 defines the measurement the new-construction fee is charged on. A structure with a basement or cellar counts "all enclosed dormers, porches, penthouses, and other enclosed portions ... extending from the basement or cellar floor to the mean height of a pitched roof or the average height to the top of the roof beams of a flat roof"; one without counts from the same top line down to a point one fifth of the way from the first floor to the bottom of the footings, "but not to exceed 2 1/2 feet below the first floor level"; and an open shed or similar structure is measured "within the perimeter of the roof for a height from grade line to the mean roof level". N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.28 is the State rule §7A:2-2 implements.
- Cost data for an alteration, and the Construction Official's determination of itRequired
§7A:2-3: "In order to determine estimated cost of construction, the applicant shall submit to the Construction Official such cost data as may be available, produced by the architect or engineer of record or by a recognized estimating firm or by the contractor. A bona fide contractor's bid, if available, shall be submitted. The Construction Official shall make the final determination regarding estimated cost of construction." The renovation and alteration fee is charged on that figure, not on the contract price alone.
- Plan review is paid with the application, and credited against the permitRequired
§7A:2-1: "20% of the construction fee shall be the plan review fee paid at the time of submission of an application for a permit, the amount of this fee shall then be deducted from the amount of the fee due for a construction permit when same is issued. Plan review fees are not refundable." N.J.A.C. 5:23-4.18(a)1 requires the same treatment, and adds that when a plan review is waived the permit fee is reduced by 20 percent from the municipal schedule.
Common questions
How does Newark calculate a building permit fee?
Two ways, and the work decides which. New construction and additions are charged on the volume of the building at $0.02 a cubic foot for use groups A, F, I and S or $0.03 for B, E, H, M, R and U. Renovations and alterations are charged on the estimated cost of construction at $28 per $1,000 up to $50,000, $21 on the next $50,000 and $17 above $100,000.
What is the minimum building permit fee in Newark?
The chapter publishes "Minimum Building Permit: $58" and charges a non-refundable processing fee of $58 on all permits, which it says "will be applied against the total permit fee". So $58 is a floor rather than a charge on top: a permit whose own rows come to more than $58 pays its rows and no more.
How is the volume of the building measured?
§7A:2-2 defines it. A building with a basement or cellar counts all enclosed dormers, porches, penthouses and other enclosed portions, from the basement floor to the mean height of a pitched roof or the top of the roof beams of a flat roof. A building without one is measured down to a point one fifth of the way from the first floor to the bottom of the footings, but no more than two and a half feet below the first floor. Open sheds are measured within the roof perimeter from grade to the mean roof level.
Do the alteration bands apply to the whole cost or only to each band?
Only to each band. The first $50,000 of estimated cost is charged at $28 per $1,000 whatever the job costs, the next $50,000 at $21, and anything above $100,000 at $17 — which is how the other New Jersey ordinances that print the same State table state it, as "an additional fee" for each band above the first.
Is plan review an extra fee?
No. §7A:2-1 says 20% of the construction fee is paid as the plan review fee at the time of submission, and that the amount "shall then be deducted from the amount of the fee due for a construction permit when same is issued". N.J.A.C. 5:23-4.18(a)1 is the same rule. It is a prepayment, and this site does not add it to the total.
What is the State surcharge on a Newark building permit?
N.J.A.C. 5:23-4.19(b) requires the City to collect $0.00371 per cubic foot of new construction and additions, or $1.90 per $1,000 of value for all other construction, with a $1.00 minimum, and forward it to the Division of Codes and Standards. Newark's own chapter prints older figures for the same fee — $0.016 a cubic foot and $0.80 per $1,000 — and says the surcharge is added "as required by U.C.C. 5:23-4.19(B)". The State's current amount is what is charged here.
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- 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.
- Municipal codeCityPrimary source
Read 2026-09-25 through the City's codifier, whose consolidation carries the section's full amendment history — §7A:2-3 is annotated "amended 3-20-2024 by Ord. No. 6PSF-A, 03-20-2024", and that ordinance is the instrument behind every modelled amount. Newark's own website could not be read from this environment (it answers with a bot challenge to non-browser clients), so the codifier's text is the source of record. It carries the two per-cubic-foot building rates by use group, the three-band renovation and alteration table, the $58 permit review fee and the $58 minimum, the certificates of occupancy and other permits, the electrical, fire protection and plumbing subcodes, and the elevator administrative fee.
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.