Albuquerque, NM
Albuquerque plumbing permit cost
Albuquerque's plumbing permit is Table 112-D:
a $47.00 administrative charge on every application, then $10.00 for each plumbing fixture including its drain and vent, $15.00 for a backflow protective device of two inches or smaller and $30.00 above that size, $18.00 for a lawn sprinkler system on any one meter including its backflow protection, and flat rows for the connections a job makes — $14.00 from the property line to the building for a water service, $18.00 for a new storm or sanitary sewer tap, $28.00 for the house sewer with its 2-way cleanout, and $80.00 for a septic tank or cesspool. The regional modifier does not apply (§112.2.1 sets Table 112-D at 1.0), and plan review is 25% of the permit fee when plans are required.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative charge, $47.00 each applicationPermit fee | $47.00 flat fee | Every permit of this type | — |
| Backflow protective device, over 2 inches, $30.00 eachPermit fee | $30.00 per backflow device | backflow over 2in is true | — |
| Backflow protective device, 2 inches and smaller, $15.00 eachPermit fee | $15.00 per backflow device | not (backflow over 2in is true) | — |
| Plumbing fixtures, $10.00 eachPermit fee | $10.00 per fixture | Each fixture on the permit | — |
| Gas outlets, $6.00 eachPermit fee | $6.00 per opening | Each opening on the permit | — |
| House or building sewer with 2-way cleanout, $28.00 eachPermit fee | $28.00 flat fee | house sewer is true | — |
| Lawn sprinkler system per meter, $18.00Permit fee | $18.00 per meter | Each meter on the permit | — |
| Septic tank or cesspool, $80.00 eachPermit fee | $80.00 per septic tank | Each septic tank on the permit | — |
| New storm or sanitary sewer tap, $18.00 eachPermit fee | $18.00 flat fee | sewer tap is true | — |
| Water service from the property line, $14.00Permit fee | $14.00 flat fee | water service is true | — |
| Plan review fee, 25% of the permit feePlan review | 25% of calculated permit fee | plan review is true | — |
| Investigation fee for work without a permit, equal to the permit feeSurcharge | 100% of calculated permit fee | unpermitted work 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 permit for eight plumbing fixtures, two backflow protective devices of two inches or smaller, one lawn sprinkler system on a meter, with plans submitted for review.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Fixtures | 8 |
| Number of meters | 1 |
| Plan review | Yes |
| Number of backflow devices | 2 |
Example total
$218.75
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 5Rules considered 12
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Administrative charge, $47.00 each applicationPermit feeUAC Table 112-D item 1: "Administrative charge applicable to all applications and additions to permit — $47.00 each. EXCEPTION: re-inspection fee."Show the working
| $47.00 flat fee | $47.00 |
Backflow protective device, 2 inches and smaller, $15.00 eachPermit feeUAC Table 112-D item 13: "For each backflow protective device other than atmospheric-type vacuum breakers: (ALSO FOR REPAIR) 2 inches and smaller — $15.00." Atmospheric-type vacuum breakers are priced by item 12 instead ($15.00 for one through five, $3.00 each above five), and that row is named on the page rather than charged, because the schedule splits the two families by a device type this site asks for only one bit of.Show the working
| $15.00 per backflow device | $30.00 |
Plumbing fixtures, $10.00 eachPermit feeUAC Table 112-D item 6: "Plumbing fixture includes drain and vent — $10.00 each." One rate for the fixture and the drain and vent it carries.Show the working
| $10.00 per fixture | $80.00 |
Lawn sprinkler system per meter, $18.00Permit feeUAC Table 112-D item 11: "Lawn sprinkler system on any one meter including back-flow protection devices thereof — $18.00." The backflow protection rides with the meter, so it is not charged again on the backflow rows below.Show the working
| $18.00 per meter | $18.00 |
Plan review fee, 25% of the permit feePlan reviewUAC §112.3: "The plan review fees for electrical, mechanical, and plumbing, shall be equal to 25 percent of the total permit fee as set forth in Tables 112-B, 112-C, and 112-D." §112.3 adds that this fee "is separate from the permit fee ... and in addition to it", and charges it where §§110.2 and 110.3 require plans — so it is gated behind the plan-review input.Show the working
| 25% of calculated permit fee | $43.75 |
| Total | $218.75 |
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.
- Backflow protective device, over 2 inches, $30.00 each — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Gas outlets, $6.00 each — opening count was not provided, so this component could not be calculated.
- House or building sewer with 2-way cleanout, $28.00 each — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Septic tank or cesspool, $80.00 each — septic tank count was not provided, so this component could not be calculated.
- New storm or sanitary sewer tap, $18.00 each — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Water service from the property line, $14.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Investigation fee for work without a permit, equal to the permit fee — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
Limits of this estimate
- opening count is required by at least one fee rule and was not provided (input "custom.openings").
- septic tank count is required by at least one fee rule and was not provided (input "custom.septic_tanks").
Assumptions
- Calculated from 5 fee rules in effect on 2026-09-28.
- Amounts are rounded to the nearest cent, once, at the end of each component.
Four rows price this job before plan review: the $47.00 administrative charge, eight fixtures at $10.00 including their drains and vents ($80.00), one lawn sprinkler meter at $18.00 with its backflow protection included, and two backflow devices at $15.00 each ($30.00) — the devices are two inches or smaller, and the size is the only thing the table asks about them. The permit fee is $175.00, plan review at 25 percent is $43.75, and the total at submittal is $218.75.
Two things are worth noticing. The sprinkler row already carries its backflow protection, so the two devices charged separately are the testable ones elsewhere on the job — if they belonged to the sprinkler system they would be inside the $18.00. And had the devices been over two inches, the same permit would be $175.00 + $60.00 instead of $30.00 for those two rows, which changes plan review to $58.50 and the total to $293.50.
Valuation never enters this page. Eight fixtures in a $50,000 repair and eight fixtures in a $500,000 renovation carry the same $175.00 permit fee, because Table 112-D prices fixtures and connections rather than work.
What is different in Albuquerque
The fixture row is the spine of this table, and its wording is the whole definition: "Plumbing fixture includes drain and vent — $10.00 each." One fixture, and its drain and vent are inside the price — there is no separate venting row and no per-fixture plan-review multiplier to add.
The sprinkler and backflow rows are the ones that interact. A lawn sprinkler system is priced per meter at $18.00 "including backflow protection devices thereof", and atmospheric-type vacuum breakers that are not covered by that row have their own ladder ($15.00 for one through five, $3.00 each above five). Every other backflow protective device — the testable kind — is $15.00 at two inches or smaller and $30.00 above, charged for a repair exactly as for an installation: the table says "(ALSO FOR REPAIR)".
The connection rows are flat and separate, which is what makes a new build's plumbing permit predictable: $14.00 for the water service, $18.00 for the tap into the public sewer, $28.00 for the house sewer to the property line with its 2-way cleanout. They are three rows because they are three inspections, and the tap row is worded as one — "For new storm sewer or sanitary sewer tap inspection".
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 Table 112-D's administrative charge, fixture, backflow, sprinkler, connection and septic rows, with the 25% plan review §112.3 charges when plans are required. It excludes:
- Gas work priced by the other rows of the same table: gas line tests with no outlets or appliances ($10.00), recording chart and other high-pressure tests ($16.00) and temporary gas for heating ($40.00, not allowed before October 1 or after April 30 and never beyond 90 days). Gas outlets at $6.00 each are charged here; the tests are named rather than charged because this site has no input for a line test.
- Water distribution systems, including pool filling systems with their backflow prevention, at $14.00 each — the row parallel to the water service row this page does charge, left off because the schedule does not distinguish a distribution system from a service by any fact this site asks for.
- Atmospheric-type vacuum breakers by count ($15.00 for one through five, $3.00 each above five), sewer repair in a public street ($16.00), roof drains ($12.00 each), public and private swimming pools ($80.00 and $60.00) and the fire-protection rows — automatic fire extinguishing systems, type I hoods, wet and dry standpipes and combination standpipes, plus utility service lines, fire hydrant inspections, interceptors and sewer ejector pumps, and the catch-all fixture row for anything the Code requires that no other row covers.
- The hourly trade charges: installation with no prescribed fee, re-inspection under §113.5.8 and overtime or after-hour inspections at $47.00 an hour with a two-hour minimum — printed per hour on the trade tables, where the building table prints re-inspection as $47.00 each.
- Zoning and hydrology review and FasTrax at three times the standard plan review fee, both named on the building page rather than repeated as charges.
- Anything charged by another authority: the utility's own fees for service and meter work, State licensing for the trades, and the Construction Industries Division's statewide jurisdiction.
What you need before applying
- The sewer tap is its own inspected itemRequired
Table 112-D item 9 charges "$18.00 each" for a "new storm sewer or sanitary sewer tap inspection (connection to public storm or sanitary sewer)" — the City prices the connection as an inspection, which is what makes it a permit row rather than a utility bill, and item 10 charges the house sewer and its 2-way cleanout separately at "$28.00 each".
Common questions
How is an Albuquerque plumbing permit fee calculated?
A $47.00 administrative charge applies to every application, then Table 112-D's rows are charged as printed: $10.00 per plumbing fixture including its drain and vent, $15.00/$30.00 per backflow device by size, $18.00 per meter for a lawn sprinkler system, and $14.00/$18.00/$28.00 for water service, sewer tap and house sewer connections. Plan review, when required, is 25 percent of that permit fee.
What counts as a plumbing fixture?
The table's own definition: "Plumbing fixture includes drain and vent — $10.00 each." The fixture, its drain and its vent are one $10.00 row, and no other row in Table 112-D charges for them separately.
How are backflow devices charged?
Two rows, and the size decides. "For each backflow protective device other than atmospheric-type vacuum breakers: (ALSO FOR REPAIR) 2 inches and smaller — $15.00; over 2 inches — $30.00." Atmospheric-type vacuum breakers that are not part of a lawn sprinkler system are priced differently again — $15.00 for one through five and $3.00 each above five — and a lawn sprinkler system's backflow protection is already inside its own $18.00 meter row.
Does the regional modifier apply to plumbing permits?
No. §112.2.1 sets the modifier for Table 112-D — and for the mechanical, sign and wall tables — at 1.0: "The Albuquerque regional modifier for Table 112-D Plumbing Permit Fees shall be (1.0)." The .67 and .50 modifiers belong to the building table alone.
Is plan review 65 percent for plumbing too?
No — that is the building and sign rate. §112.3 sets electrical, mechanical and plumbing plan review at "25 percent of the total permit fee as set forth in Tables 112-B, 112-C, and 112-D", and makes it a separate fee, in addition to the permit fee, paid when plans are submitted.
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 from the City's own PDF of the 2024 UAC edition, whose Exhibit A states that the technical codes it amends carry an effective date of January 1, 2025. Section 112 read in full: §112.2's instruction that permit fees be set by Table 112-A and the other tables; §112.2.1's estimated-permit-value rule and the modifier schedule (.67 commercial and apartments, .50 one- and two-family and townhouse, 1.0 for Tables 112-B through 112-G, each with a $23.50 minimum on Table 112-A); §112.3's plan review fees (65 percent of the building or sign permit fee, 25 percent of the electrical, mechanical and plumbing permit fee, 'separate fees from the permit fees ... and are in addition to the permit fees'); §112.4's investigation fee for work without a permit; §112.5 on refunds; and Tables 112-A, 112-B and 112-D line by line. The fee tables themselves are printed inside this document — Section 112 collects no fees anywhere else.
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.