Las Cruces, NM
Las Cruces building permit cost
Las Cruces draws the line between its two building-permit prices in a single sentence:
a new single-family dwelling, townhouse or duplex is $0.20 per square foot of gross floor area measured to the outside walls, and "Remodels and additions follow the commercial process" — which is the Fee Table, seven bands from a flat $50 under $2,000 up to $5,830 plus $4 for each additional $1,000 above $1,000,000 of total project valuation without land. Plan check is the first 25% of the building permit fee, due with the application and non-refundable — the first quarter of the fee, not a charge on it. A technology fee rides every permit ($20 residential, the greater of $100 or 5% commercial), and fees are tripled for work started without an approved permit.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New single-family dwelling, townhouse or duplex — $0.20 per square footPermit fee | $0.2 per sq ft | one two family is true and Work type is new construction | — |
| Fee table, $100,001–$500,000 — $830 plus $6 per $1,000Permit fee | $830.00 + $6.00 per $1,000 of project valuation above $100,000 | not (one two family is true and Work type is new construction) and Project valuation over $100,000 and up to $500,000 | — |
| Fee table, $2,001–$25,000 — $50 plus $10 per $1,000Permit fee | $50.00 + $10.00 per $1,000 of project valuation above $2,000 | not (one two family is true and Work type is new construction) and Project valuation over $2,000 and up to $25,000 | — |
| Fee table, $25,001–$50,000 — $280 plus $8 per $1,000Permit fee | $280.00 + $8.00 per $1,000 of project valuation above $25,000 | not (one two family is true and Work type is new construction) and Project valuation over $25,000 and up to $50,000 | — |
| Fee table, $500,001–$1,000,000 — $3,330 plus $5 per $1,000Permit fee | $3,330.00 + $5.00 per $1,000 of project valuation above $500,000 | not (one two family is true and Work type is new construction) and Project valuation over $500,000 and up to $1,000,000 | — |
| Fee table, $50,001–$100,000 — $480 plus $7 per $1,000Permit fee | $480.00 + $7.00 per $1,000 of project valuation above $50,000 | not (one two family is true and Work type is new construction) and Project valuation over $50,000 and up to $100,000 | — |
| Fee table, $1,000,001 or more — $5,830 plus $4 per $1,000Permit fee | $5,830.00 + $4.00 per $1,000 of project valuation above $1,000,000 | not (one two family is true and Work type is new construction) and Project valuation over $1,000,000 | — |
| Fee table, valuation under $2,000 — $50Permit fee | $50.00 flat fee | not (one two family is true and Work type is new construction) and Project valuation up to $2,000 | — |
| Technology fee, commercial — the greater of $100 or 5% of the permit feeOther fee | 5% of calculated permit fee | Occupancy is not residential | min $100.00 |
| Technology fee, residential — $20 per permitOther fee | $20.00 flat fee | Occupancy is residential | — |
| Reinspection, $45.00 per occurrenceInspection fee | $45.00 flat fee | reinspection is true | — |
| Expedited permitting — the greater of $1,000 or an additional permit feeOther fee | 100% of calculated permit fee | Expedited review is true | min $1,000.00 |
| Work without a permit — the permit fee tripledSurcharge | 200% 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 commercial remodel whose covered work is valued at $120,000 without land — the commercial process, not the residential-new rate — with a normal (non-expedited) review.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Project valuation | $120,000 |
| Occupancy class | Commercial |
| Type of work | Remodel |
| One two family | No |
Example total
$1,050.00
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 2Rules considered 13
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Fee table, $100,001–$500,000 — $830 plus $6 per $1,000Permit feeResolution 21-019, Fee Table: "$101,001 through $500,000 — $830 for the first $100,000 plus $6 for each additional $1000". The band's opening value is "$101,001" in the printed table while its base is "the first $100,000" and the band below ends at $100,000 — a one-thousand-dollar gap in the range labels and no gap in the arithmetic. The range is read as $100,001 to $500,000, matching the base the same row states, and the typo is printed on the page rather than quietly smoothed.Show the working
| $830.00 + $6.00 per $1,000 of project valuation above $100,000 | $950.00 |
Technology fee, commercial — the greater of $100 or 5% of the permit feeOther feeResolution 21-019, Administrative Fees: "Commercial New, Alteration and Addition — $100 or 5% of permit fee, whichever is greater." Five percent of the calculated permit fee with a one-hundred-dollar floor, which is what makes the floor bind on small commercial jobs: a $130 permit fee owes $100 of technology fee rather than $6.50. Charged on the permit fee — the fee table's own figure — and not on the bill.Show the working
| 5% of calculated permit fee | $100.00 |
| Total | $1,050.00 |
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.
- New single-family dwelling, townhouse or duplex — $0.20 per square foot — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Fee table, $2,001–$25,000 — $50 plus $10 per $1,000 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Fee table, $25,001–$50,000 — $280 plus $8 per $1,000 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Fee table, $500,001–$1,000,000 — $3,330 plus $5 per $1,000 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Fee table, $50,001–$100,000 — $480 plus $7 per $1,000 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Fee table, $1,000,001 or more — $5,830 plus $4 per $1,000 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Fee table, valuation under $2,000 — $50 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Technology fee, residential — $20 per permit — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Reinspection, $45.00 per occurrence — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Expedited permitting — the greater of $1,000 or an additional permit fee — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Work without a permit — the permit fee tripled — 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 valuation sits in the $100,001–$500,000 band: $830.00 for the first $100,000, plus $6.00 for each of the twenty additional thousands — $950.00. The commercial technology fee is then the greater of $100.00 or 5% of that $950.00, and 5% is $47.50, so the $100.00 floor binds and the total is $1,050.00.
Plan check is already inside those numbers. "Plan check fee is the first 25% of the building permit fee" — $237.50 of this $950.00 is due with the application and non-refundable, and the remaining $712.50 comes due at issuance. The $100 technology fee is a separate administrative charge and is not part of the 25%.
Two things are absent because this job answered the questions. Expedited review would add the greater of $1,000 or another $950.00 — $1,000.00 — on request; and had this work started without a permit, the schedule's standing sentence would triple the permit fee, adding $1,900.00 to it while leaving the technology fee and the plan-check split alone. The $20 residential technology fee never applies here because the schedule prices commercial building permits differently, and the answer of "commercial" is what selects it.
What is different in Las Cruces
The two paths meet at the same house. A new 1,600-square-foot duplex is $320.00 — 1,600 × $0.20 — plus the $20 technology fee. The same 1,600 square feet remodelled is a commercial-process job: if the value of the covered work is $120,000, the Fee Table charges the $100,001–$500,000 band, $830 for the first $100,000 plus $6 per $1,000 above it — $950.00 — and the commercial technology fee is the greater of $100 or 5% of the $950, which is $100. The rate you pay follows the work, not the wall.
Plan check is the second thing to settle, and it behaves unlike the plan-review charges in most cities: "Plan check fee is the first 25% of the building permit fee" — part of the fee, paid at application, non-refundable, with the rest at issuance. On that $950 permit the application takes $237.50 and issuance takes the remaining $712.50. This site shows the split as a payment schedule and does not add 25% to any total.
The Fee Table has two seams worth knowing about. Its bands prorate — "$10 for each additional $1000" with no "or fraction thereof" — so $2,001 costs $50.01 rather than $60.00, and each band closes at exactly the next band's printed base ($280, $480, $830, $5,830). And it disagrees with itself once: the $500,001 band opens at $3,330 while the band below computes $3,230 at $500,000 — a $100 jump the document prints and this page charges, rather than reconciling.
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 permit fee — the $0.20 residential-new rate or the Fee Table — with the technology fee, the plan-check payment split, the expedited option and the tripling for unpermitted work. It excludes:
- Plan check is not an extra fee: it is the first 25% of this fee, shown as the application payment rather than added to the total. The Administrative Fees table's separate Revision/Addendum Fee ($45 per reviewer) is a charge this site does not model, because the number of reviews is not knowable at application.
- Mechanical, roofing and demolition: mechanical has its own three-band ladder on material value ($50 / $100 / $100 plus $5 per $1,000 or fraction); roofing is priced by "the Building Permit Fee schedule ... per the applicant's valuation"; demolition is $0 with a building permit, $50 for interior non-load bearing work and $175 for all other. Named on the plumbing and building pages, not priced.
- Site work: grading ($100 under an acre, $250 to three acres, $250 plus $25 an acre to ten, $425 plus $10 an acre above), floodplain review ($150), the site cleanup fee ($1,000 plus cost), rock retaining walls (5% of construction value), right-of-way permits (5% of construction value), and traffic review ($50 control review, $175–$350 per week or month for occupied lanes, $85 an hour for impact analysis).
- Signs ($45–$250 by type), fire systems (head-count ladders from $120 to $640 plus $200 per hundred, alarm devices, hoods, after-hours at $60 an hour), and the mobile home installation permit ($75).
- Certificates and other building fees: change of occupancy ($45 without inspection, $100 with), permit reinstatement (25% of the building permit fee), a temporary certificate of occupancy (the greater of $100 or 25% of the fee) and a same-day certificate ($100).
- The expedited option itself: modelled and gated — it is charged only when expedited review is requested — but a reader should know it exists before assuming a normal timeline: the greater of $1,000 or an additional permit fee.
- The UNAPPROVED OR NON-PERMITTED variance fees ($100 to $2,000 by valuation), which a board charges before it will hear a variance for work done without a permit — separate from the tripling this page charges.
- Fee waivers and the infill incentive: fees are waived only where the Municipal Code allows it and then credited from a city account, and qualifying infill projects may be reimbursed permit fees on a certificate of occupancy, above $5,000 only with City Council approval.
- Anything charged by another authority — Doña Ana County, the State, the utility, and the land-use and administrative review application fees ($150–$1,000) that run alongside a permit rather than as one.
What you need before applying
- The valuation of the work covered, with the schedule's two modifiers built into itRequired
Resolution 21-019, Commercial Building Permit Fee: "This fee is based on the value of the work covered by the permit. It shall be determined using the City of Las Cruces Valuation Table (pp. 8-9) as adjusted by the scope modifier and the local area modifier (p. 7)." The valuation table's own footnote makes the order explicit: "*Local area modifier and scope modifier will be applied to the table values above." The scope modifier is a percentage of value by work type — 100% for new and additions, 75% shell, 50% remodel, repair, tenant finish and tenant remodel — and the local area modifier is 88%, the ICC's national cost data adjusted to Las Cruces. The determination itself belongs to the building official: "The determination of the valuation of any construction shall be made by the building official based on the adopted Building Valuation Data Table."
- Plan check is paid with the application — the first 25% of the feeRequired
Resolution 21-019, PLAN CHECK FEE: "Plan check fee is the first 25% of the building permit fee for residential and commercial applications. This fee applies to building and sitework permits to assure that the design complies with all city codes. Fee is due at the time of application and is non-refundable. The rate in effect at the time of application applies." The first quarter of the fee, at application, on the rate in effect that day — not a separate charge added to the total.
- Work that starts without a permit triples the fee — and asks for a variance firstRequired
The standing sentence above the building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, roofing, demolition, grading, sign and right-of-way schedules: "This fee is tripled on permits for work started or completed without an approved permit." The schedule also carries an UNAPPROVED OR NON-PERMITTED FEES table for the variance process that such work requires — $100 under $500 of valuation, $250 to $2,500, $500 to $10,000, $1,000 to $20,000 and $2,000 above — assessed before a variance request will be heard, and charged by the board rather than by the permit.
Common questions
How does Las Cruces calculate a building permit fee?
Two ways, selected by one sentence. A new single-family dwelling, townhouse or duplex is $0.20 per square foot of gross floor area measured to the outside walls. Everything else — remodels, additions, and all commercial work — follows the commercial process: the Fee Table, seven bands on the total project valuation without land cost, from a flat $50 under $2,000 to $5,830 plus $4 per $1,000 above $1,000,000. A technology fee and the plan-check payment ride along.
What is the plan check fee — is it extra?
It is not extra. The schedule says "Plan check fee is the first 25% of the building permit fee for residential and commercial applications ... Fee is due at the time of application and is non-refundable." It is the first quarter of the fee itself, paid when the plans go in, with the rest due at issuance — a payment schedule rather than a surcharge, so this site does not add 25% to any total.
What are the scope and local area modifiers?
Two published multipliers that build the valuation the Fee Table reads: the scope modifier, which is a percentage of value by work type (100% for new and additions, 75% for a shell, 50% for remodels, repairs, tenant finishes and tenant remodels), and the local area modifier of 88%, which scales the ICC's national square-foot construction costs to Las Cruces. The valuation table's footnote states both: "Local area modifier and scope modifier will be applied to the table values above." The building official determines the resulting valuation against the adopted Building Valuation Data Table.
Does the Fee Table round partial thousands up?
No — and the schedule's own wording is the reason. The fee table's bands say "$10 for each additional $1000" with no "or fraction thereof", while the mechanical and plumbing ladders in the same document print that phrase and charge a whole increment for a fraction. So $2,001 of valuation is $50.01 on the fee table, not $60.00, and each band closes at exactly the next band's printed base.
What is the technology fee?
An administrative charge on every permit of the One Stop Shop: $20 for residential new, alteration and addition permits; the greater of $100 or 5% of the permit fee for commercial ones; $10 a trade permit; $10 other permits. On the building side it is a flat $20 residential and a 5%-with-a-$100-floor commercial, charged with the permit and not tripled by the unpermitted-work sentence.
What happens if work started without a permit?
The fee is tripled. Every schedule in the resolution carries the same sentence: "This fee is tripled on permits for work started or completed without an approved permit" — so the permit fee itself is charged three times, while the technology fee and plan check are not the permit fee and do not multiply. A variance for the unpermitted work is a separate charge, $100 to $2,000 by valuation, assessed by the board that hears it.
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- OrdinanceCityPrimary source
Read 2026-09-25 from the City's own document portal, which serves the resolution as a text-extractable PDF. Adopted August 17, 2020; the resolution's title states it is "to be effective September 1, 2020" and its enactment clause repeats the date. The whole fee schedule is Exhibit "A": general information and contact block, administrative fees (technology fees, expedited review, revision fees), building permit fees (the $0.20 residential rate, the commercial valuation process, plan check, the Fee Table and the scope and local-area modifiers), the ICC-derived valuation tables, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, roofing, demolition and other building permit fees, site permit and grading fees, floodplain, rock walls, signs, fire systems, mobile home installation, inspection fees, right-of-way, traffic, land-use and administrative review application fees, the unpermitted-work variance fees, and a historic preservation section marked "to be developed". Every rate modelled on this site comes from this one document.
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.