Durham, NC
Durham plumbing permit cost
A Durham plumbing permit is priced by the scope of the work and the number of fixtures it touches
in six schedules. A new one- or two-family or townhouse dwelling is one flat $170.00, which covers the dwelling's new fixtures and its building water and sewer service. Multi-family construction is $6.24 per fixture with a $127.00 minimum; nonresidential work is $7.90 per fixture with a minimum of $187.00 without water and sewer and $265.00 with it. Additions are priced as separate lines — building sewer and water $65.00, then $94.00 for one to seven fixtures, $119.00 for eight to fifteen, and $7.90 per fixture above fifteen. Fixture replacement without a change to rough-in is $65.00 for one to four fixtures and $6.86 each for five or more, with an electric water heater permit at $65.00, and four miscellaneous flats close the schedule.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schedule A, new dwelling, all fixtures and building water and sewerPermit fee | $170.00 flat fee | plumbing schedule is new dwelling | — |
| Schedule B, multi-family, per fixture with a $127.00 minimumPermit fee | $6.24 per fixture | plumbing schedule is multifamily and Fixtures is provided | min $127.00 |
| Schedule C, nonresidential, per fixture with a $187.00 minimum (without water and sewer)Permit fee | $7.90 per fixture | plumbing schedule is nonresidential and Fixtures is provided and water sewer is not provided or water sewer is false | min $187.00 |
| Schedule C, nonresidential, per fixture with a $265.00 minimum (with water and sewer)Permit fee | $7.90 per fixture | plumbing schedule is nonresidential and Fixtures is provided and water sewer is true | min $265.00 |
| Schedule D, 1 to 7 fixturesPermit fee | $94.00 flat fee | plumbing schedule is addition and Fixtures is provided and Fixtures at least 1 and Fixtures up to 7 | — |
| Schedule D, 8 to 15 fixturesPermit fee | $119.00 flat fee | plumbing schedule is addition and Fixtures is provided and Fixtures at least 8 and Fixtures up to 15 | — |
| Schedule D, over 15 fixtures, per fixturePermit fee | $7.90 per fixture | plumbing schedule is addition and Fixtures is provided and Fixtures at least 16 | — |
| Schedule D, building sewer and waterPermit fee | $65.00 flat fee | plumbing schedule is addition and sewer water is true | — |
| Schedule E, fixture replacement, 1 to 4 fixturesPermit fee | $65.00 flat fee | plumbing schedule is replacement and Fixtures is provided and Fixtures at least 1 and Fixtures up to 4 | — |
| Schedule E, fixture replacement, 5 fixtures and over, per fixturePermit fee | $6.86 per fixture | plumbing schedule is replacement and Fixtures is provided and Fixtures at least 5 | — |
| Electric water heater permitPermit fee | $65.00 flat fee | water heater is true | — |
| Mobile unitPermit fee | $65.00 flat fee | plumbing item is mobile unit | — |
| Modular unitPermit fee | $78.00 flat fee | plumbing item is modular unit | — |
| Work not listed, with a water or sewer connectionPermit fee | $65.00 flat fee | plumbing item is other water sewer | — |
| Residential sprinkler permitPermit fee | $170.00 flat fee | plumbing item is residential sprinkler | — |
| Paper application surchargeSurcharge | $5.00 flat fee | paper application 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 plumbing permit for a new single-family house in Durham — the schedule's Schedule A, which prices the dwelling as one amount.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Plumbing schedule | new_dwelling |
Example total
$170.00
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 1Rules considered 16
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Schedule A, new dwelling, all fixtures and building water and sewerPermit feePlumbing Permit Fee Schedule, Schedule A: "New Residential Construction; One and Two Family and Townhouse Unit Ownership; Installation of New Plumbing Fixtures; Building Water and Sewer Service: All dwellings $170.00". One flat fee covers the dwelling.Show the working
| $170.00 flat fee | $170.00 |
| Total | $170.00 |
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.
- Schedule B, multi-family, per fixture with a $127.00 minimum — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Schedule C, nonresidential, per fixture with a $187.00 minimum (without water and sewer) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Schedule C, nonresidential, per fixture with a $265.00 minimum (with water and sewer) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Schedule D, 1 to 7 fixtures — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Schedule D, 8 to 15 fixtures — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Schedule D, over 15 fixtures, per fixture — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Schedule D, building sewer and water — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Schedule E, fixture replacement, 1 to 4 fixtures — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Schedule E, fixture replacement, 5 fixtures and over, per fixture — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electric water heater permit — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Mobile unit — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Modular unit — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Work not listed, with a water or sewer connection — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Residential sprinkler permit — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Paper application surcharge — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
Assumptions
- Calculated from 1 fee rule in effect on 2026-09-28.
- Amounts are rounded to the nearest cent, once, at the end of each component.
Schedule A reads "All dwellings $170.00" and covers new residential construction, one- and two-family and townhouse ownership, the installation of new plumbing fixtures and building water and sewer service — one flat figure with no count to take, which is why this example needs no fixture number at all.
Three variations show the schedules that do count. A twelve-fixture multi-family job is $6.24 per fixture, $74.80, which is under the schedule's $127.00 minimum for that row — so the permit is $127.00; forty fixtures are $249.60 and pay the rate. A ten-fixture nonresidential job is $79.00 of rate against a $187.00 minimum without water and sewer, or $265.00 with it, because the schedule prints two minima for that one row. A twelve-fixture addition is the $119.00 fixture line, and becomes $184.00 when the job also includes the $65.00 building sewer and water line the schedule prints above it.
One caution belongs with the number. The schedule's second note defines its three Type Application options — New Construction, Addition, Replacement — and the calculator asks for that scope because the same twelve fixtures price differently under each: $127.00 as multi-family, $119.00 as an addition, $82.32 as a replacement.
What is different in Durham
The floor on this schedule belongs to the row rather than to the permit, which is the opposite of the electrical schedule: "Per Fixture $6.24 / Minimum $127.00" prints the two together, so the minimum is a floor on that one row. It shows up clearly — twelve multi-family fixtures are $74.80 of rate and pay the $127.00 minimum, while forty are $249.60 and pay the rate. The nonresidential row carries two minima distinguished by one word: without the building water and sewer connection a ten-fixture job is $187.00, with it the same job is $265.00, and the calculator asks which rather than charging the larger. Additions read as the schedule prints them — a twelve-fixture addition is the $119.00 fixture line, plus the $65.00 building sewer and water line only when the job includes that work, for $184.00.
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 estimate is the plumbing schedule's six priced scopes and the paper-application surcharge. It excludes:
- The technology surcharge as a separate amount, which the schedule's header says is already included in its figures.
- The $50.00 trip charge "when due to the length of water or sewer work more than two trips are required" — a charge per extra inspector trip, not per permit.
- Re-inspections: $100.00 for four or more code items or an inspection that was not ready, $200.00 for a third, $300.00 for a fourth, and the schedule's `Work begun without a permit — Double Fee` and `Voiding of permits — 15% of permit cost` rows.
- After-hours inspections at $125.00 per hour with a two-hour minimum.
- The mechanical permit, published as a fourth schedule and not priced on this site.
- Water and sewer connection and meter charges, which are the water utility's fees rather than this department's, and the City Impact Fee Ordinance published beside these schedules.
What you need before applying
- The nonresidential row has two minima, selected by the water and sewer lineRequired
Schedule C prints "Per Fixture $7.90" with "Minimum (without water & sewer) $187.00" and "Minimum (with water & sewer) $265.00". Two floors for one row, distinguished by whether the job includes the building water and sewer connection — so they are two rules, and the page asks which one applies rather than choosing the larger.
Common questions
How much is a plumbing permit for a new house in Durham?
$170.00. Schedule A reads "All dwellings $170.00" and covers new one- and two-family and townhouse construction, the installation of new plumbing fixtures and building water and sewer service for the dwelling — one flat amount with no per-fixture calculation.
Plumbing Permit Fee Schedule, Schedule A
How much per plumbing fixture?
It depends on the schedule: $6.24 per fixture for new multi-family construction with a $127.00 minimum, $7.90 per fixture for nonresidential work with a minimum of $187.00 without water and sewer or $265.00 with it, and $6.86 per fixture for replacing fixtures with no change to rough-in when there are five or more (one to four is a flat $65.00).
Plumbing Permit Fee Schedule, Schedules B, C and E
Why does the same nonresidential job cost $187.00 or $265.00?
Because Schedule C prints two minima beside the one per-fixture rate: "Minimum (without water & sewer) $187.00" and "Minimum (with water & sewer) $265.00". The difference is whether the job includes the building water and sewer connection. This calculator asks which applies rather than charging the larger one.
Plumbing Permit Fee Schedule, Schedule C
What does a plumbing permit for an addition cost?
Schedule D prints the fixture rows and the building sewer and water line separately: $94.00 for one to seven fixtures, $119.00 for eight to fifteen, $7.90 each above fifteen, and $65.00 for building sewer and water. A twelve-fixture addition is $119.00, or $184.00 when the job includes the sewer and water work as well.
Plumbing Permit Fee Schedule, Schedule D
Is there a minimum plumbing permit fee?
Not on the permit as a whole — the minima in this schedule sit on individual rows: $127.00 for the multi-family per-fixture row, $187.00 or $265.00 for the nonresidential one. That is the opposite of the electrical schedule beside it, which states a $65.00 minimum permit fee and $100.00 or $150.00 for a rough-in permit, measured against the whole permit.
Plumbing Permit Fee Schedule, Schedules B and C
Does Durham add a technology surcharge to plumbing permits?
No separate amount: the schedule's header is `(Effective 7/1/18--Includes Technology Surcharge)`, so the published figures already contain it. The schedule does add $5.00 for a paper application, submitted manually rather than electronically, and that is charged as its own line.
Plumbing Permit Fee Schedule, header and surcharge notice
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- Fee schedule (PDF)CityPrimary source
Durham City-County Building & Safety Department — Plumbing Permit Fee Schedule
Read 2026-09-25, 1,060,919 bytes, sha256 beginning `fc4f685508fa5b60`. Three pages, Schedules A to G plus two notes. Note 1 is about inspector trips, not fees; the second note defines the schedule's own three Type Application options — New Construction, Addition, Replacement — which is the vocabulary the plumbing page asks a reader to choose from.
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.