Newark, NJ
Newark plumbing permit cost
Newark's plumbing subcode has two rates and they are easy to remember:
$14 for each fixture, piece of equipment or appliance connected to the plumbing system — and for each appliance connected to the gas or oil piping system — and $75 for each special device on the subcode's own list, which is grease traps, oil separators, refrigeration units, utility service connections, backflow preventers with test ports, steam and hot water boilers, active solar systems, sewer pumps and interceptors. The minimum fee is $58, and the State 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plumbing permit — fixtures, equipment and gas appliances, $14.00 eachPermit fee | $14.00 per fixture | Each fixture on the permit | — |
| Plumbing permit — special devices, $75.00 eachPermit fee | $75.00 per special device | Each special device on the permit | — |
| 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 | any project valuation | 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 restaurant fit-out with twelve plumbing fixtures, a grease interceptor and a backflow preventer with a test port, and $9,000 of plumbing work.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Project valuation | $9,000 |
| Fixtures | 12 |
| Number of special devices | 2 |
Example total
$335.10
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 3Rules considered 4
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Plumbing permit — fixtures, equipment and gas appliances, $14.00 eachPermit fee§7A:2-3(4)(h): "The fee shall be in the amount of $14 per fixture, piece of equipment or appliance connected to the plumbing system, and for each appliance connected to the gas piping or oil piping system." A water heater, a gas range and a lavatory are all $14.00 on this row; the special devices in the next row are the ones the subcode separates out.Show the working
| $14.00 per fixture | $168.00 |
Plumbing permit — special devices, $75.00 eachPermit fee§7A:2-3(4)(h): "The fee shall be $75 per special device for the following: Grease traps, oil separators, refrigeration units, utility service connections, backflow preventers equipped with test ports (double check valve assembly, reduced pressure zone and pressure vacuum breaker backflow preventers), steam boilers, hot water boilers (excluding those for domestic water heating), active solar systems, sewer pumps, and interceptors." The $75 is charged instead of the $14 fixture rate for a device on this list.Show the working
| $75.00 per special device | $150.00 |
New Jersey State permit surcharge, $1.90 per $1,000State surchargeN.J.A.C. 5:23-4.19(b): $1.90 per $1,000 of the value of construction, minimum $1.00. Newark's plumbing subcode prints the row as "D.C.A. fee: $1 per $1,000", an older rate of the same state fee.Show the working
| $1.90 per $1,000 of project valuation | $17.10 |
| Total | $335.10 |
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.
- Minimum permit fee, $58.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
Assumptions
- Calculated from 3 fee rules in effect on 2026-09-28.
- Amounts are rounded to the nearest cent, once, at the end of each component.
The two rows are charged separately and the total is their sum: twelve fixtures at $14.00 is $168.00, and the interceptor and the backflow preventer are both on the special device list, so two devices at $75.00 is $150.00. The State permit surcharge is $1.90 per $1,000 of the $9,000 of work, which is $17.10.
The fixture count is the number the subcode asks for rather than a list of device names, and it is worth reading the rows beside the device list before counting. A grease interceptor is a special device at $75.00 and not a fixture at $14.00; a gas range is a fixture at $14.00 and not a special device; and a water heater is $14.00, because the special device list names steam and hot water boilers but excludes "those for domestic water heating".
The $58 minimum does not apply here, because the permit's own rows come to $318.00. It exists for the small job — one fixture replaced, a single gas appliance swapped — where $14.00 alone would otherwise be the whole fee.
What is different in Newark
The list of what counts as a special device is the interesting part of this subcode, because those devices cost $75 instead of $14 and the list is printed. A backflow preventer with a test port is a special device; a water heater, a gas range and a lavatory are not, and all three are $14.00 each on the fixture row.
Gas appliances are priced here rather than on a separate gas permit: the fixture row covers "each appliance connected to the gas piping or oil piping system", so a new range or a boiler swap carries a $14.00 plumbing fee per appliance. That is unusual among the schedules on this site and it is what the City publishes.
Service connections are the third thing to check. A utility service connection is on the special device list, so a new water or sewer service is $75.00 rather than $14.00 — and if it is a backflow preventer being installed under a cross-connection control program, the $75 applies to the device as well.
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 plumbing subcode's fixture and special device rows, the $58 minimum and the State permit surcharge. It excludes:
- The fire protection subcode's own plumbing-adjacent rows, including standpipes at $263 and pre-engineered suppression systems at $106 a system, which are issued under a different subcode.
- The annual construction permit at $173 plus a $161 State training registration fee, which is for a firm maintaining premises rather than for a single job.
- Water and sewer charges made by the utility, which are for service rather than for a permit and are not in Chapter 7:2.
- Certificates of occupancy and of continued occupancy, at $230 and up by unit count or floor area, and $138 for a certificate of continued occupancy — issued at the end of the work rather than with the permit.
- The D.C.A. fee as the chapter prints it, "$1 per $1,000". The State surcharge charged here is N.J.A.C. 5:23-4.19(b)'s current $1.90 per $1,000, and the City's older figure is named on the page rather than charged.
- Plan review, which §7A:2-1 has paid at submission and deducted from the permit fee when it issues.
- Anything charged by another authority, including the State's plumbing licence and its training fees.
What you need before applying
- A licensed plumber, with an exception for an owner-occupied single-family houseRequired
§7A:2-3(4)(h): "all plumbers and plumbing work performed in the City of Newark shall be done consistent with the State Plumbing License Law of 1968 (N.J.S.A. 45:14C-1 et seq.) except for work specifically performed by individual homeowners for their own occupied single family premises as prescribed by law and DCA regulation."
- The permit is inspected, which is what the $58 minimum is charged forRequired
§7A:2-3(4)(h) sets a minimum fee of $58 on the plumbing subcode, and every subcode in the chapter carries the same figure. The subcode empowers the inspector to require repairs to be completed "within 15 days after notification", and the chapter's own minimum is the price of the inspection that notification implies.
Common questions
How much is a plumbing permit in Newark?
$14 for each fixture, piece of equipment or appliance connected to the plumbing system, and for each appliance connected to the gas or oil piping system. The subcode's minimum fee is $58, so a permit for one or two items pays $58 rather than $14 or $28.
What are the special devices charged at $75?
Grease traps, oil separators, refrigeration units, utility service connections, backflow preventers equipped with test ports — double check valve assemblies, reduced pressure zone and pressure vacuum breaker backflow preventers — steam boilers, hot water boilers other than those for domestic water heating, active solar systems, sewer pumps and interceptors. The list is printed in §7A:2-3(4)(h) and each device on it is $75.00 rather than $14.00.
Is a water heater a fixture or a special device?
A fixture, at $14.00. The special device list names steam boilers and hot water boilers explicitly "excluding those for domestic water heating", so a domestic water heater is on the fixture row — and so is a gas range, because the fixture row covers each appliance connected to the gas or oil piping system.
Does a new water or sewer service connection cost extra?
Yes — a utility service connection is on the special device list, so it is $75.00 rather than $14.00. A backflow preventer with a test port is on the same list and is also $75.00, which is the device rather than the cross-connection programme's own testing charge.
Who may do plumbing work in Newark?
A licensed plumber, under the State Plumbing License Law of 1968, with one exception in §7A:2-3(4)(h): work "specifically performed by individual homeowners for their own occupied single family premises as prescribed by law and DCA regulation". The exception is the homeowner's and not a contractor's.
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.