Raleigh, NC
Raleigh building permit cost
A City of Raleigh building permit is a percentage of the calculated construction value:
0.38% for new residential construction, and for new commercial work a three-band schedule of 0.21% up to $500,000, then a $1,050.00 base plus 0.06% to $10,000,000, then a $7,250.00 base plus 0.01% above it. Plan review is a further share of that same permit fee — 57% residential, 65% commercial — and a 4% technology surcharge is applied to the fees.
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 commercial building permit, Tier 1, $0 to $500,000Permit fee | 0.21% of project valuation | Occupancy is not residential and Work type is new construction and Project valuation up to $500,000.99 | — |
| New commercial building permit, Tier 2, $500,001 to $10,000,000Permit fee | 0.06% of project valuation + $1,050.00 | Occupancy is not residential and Work type is new construction and Project valuation at least $500,001 and Project valuation up to $10,000,000.99 | — |
| New commercial building permit, Tier 3, $10,000,001 and abovePermit fee | 0.01% of project valuation + $7,250.00 | Occupancy is not residential and Work type is new construction and Project valuation at least $10,000,001 | — |
| New residential building permit, 0.38% of calculated construction valuePermit fee | 0.38% of project valuation | Occupancy is residential and Work type is new construction | — |
| Plan review, 57% of the calculated building permit fee (new residential)Plan review | 57% of calculated permit fee | Occupancy is residential and Work type is new construction | — |
| Plan review, 65% of the calculated building permit fee (new commercial)Plan review | 65% of calculated permit fee | Occupancy is not residential and Work type is new construction | — |
| Technology surcharge, 4%Technology fee | 4% of fees charged | Every permit of this type | — |
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 single-family house in the City of Raleigh with a calculated construction value of $400,000 — the City's own figure, not the applicant's declaration.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Project valuation | $400,000 |
| Occupancy class | Residential |
| Type of work | New construction |
Example total
$2,481.86
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 7
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
New residential building permit, 0.38% of calculated construction valuePermit feeDevelopment Fee Guide FY27: "New Residential Building Permit / New Residential Construction Building Permit Fee — 0.35% prior, 0.38% FY27, % Of Calculated Construction Value." The City derives the value itself: it applies the ICC Building Valuation Data and then "reduces the national average by 12.4%" for a regional cost adjustment, so the figure a permit is priced from is the City's valuation rather than a declaration.Show the working
| 0.38% of project valuation | $1,520.00 |
Plan review, 57% of the calculated building permit fee (new residential)Plan reviewDevelopment Fee Guide FY27: "New Residential Plan Review Fee / New Residential Construction Plans Review Fee — 57.00% % Of Calculated Building Permit." It is a share of the building permit fee computed in the same run, which is why it reads the permit fee rather than the valuation a second time.Show the working
| 57% of calculated permit fee | $866.40 |
Technology surcharge, 4%Technology feeDevelopment Fee Guide FY27, Technology Fee Reference Guide: "A 4% technology surcharge is applied to the following development fees to support the technology resources that allow for permitting in the City of Raleigh. This guide will help you determine the total cost of your fee with the surcharge." The guide then restates each Building and Safety fee as "Fee" and "Fee Total = Fee + Surcharge" — $150.00 becomes $156.00, $124.00 becomes $129.00.Show the working
| 4% of fees charged | $95.46 |
| Total | $2,481.86 |
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 commercial building permit, Tier 1, $0 to $500,000 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- New commercial building permit, Tier 2, $500,001 to $10,000,000 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- New commercial building permit, Tier 3, $10,000,001 and above — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Plan review, 65% of the calculated building permit fee (new commercial) — 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.
Three figures, one base. The building permit is 0.38% of $400,000, which is $1,520.00. Plan review is 57% of that permit fee — not of the value — which is $866.40. The technology surcharge is 4% of the fees charged, $95.46, and the total is $2,481.86. The guide's own Technology Fee Reference Guide is where a reader can check the last step: it reprints each fee as "Fee" and "Fee Total = Fee + Surcharge".
Two variations show the commercial schedule. At $300,000 commercial the project is in Tier 1: 0.21% is $630.00, plan review at 65% is $409.50, and the surcharge $41.58, for $1,081.08. At $2,000,000 commercial it is in Tier 2: $1,050.00 plus 0.06% of the value is $2,250.00, plan review 65% is $1,462.50, surcharge $148.50, total $3,861.00. The bands do not meet at their boundary — that is the City's structure, and this site charges each band over its own range rather than smoothing the step.
One caution belongs with the number. The valuation is Raleigh's own, derived from the national Building Valuation Data and reduced by 12.4%, so a figure from a builder's estimate may not be the figure the City prices from.
What is different in Raleigh
The rate is small and the reason the bill is not is that five separate percentages of the same figure stack on one another. On a $400,000 new house the permit is 0.38%, which is $1,520.00; plan review is 57% of *that*, $866.40; and the technology surcharge is 4% of the fees, $95.46 — a total of $2,481.86. None of the three is a rate on the value twice: the first is on the value, the second is on the permit fee, the third is on the fees, and the guide says which is which by naming the unit in every row as "% Of Calculated Construction Value" or "% Of Calculated Building Permit".
The commercial schedule is a three-band table with base fees, and the bands are alternatives rather than a ladder. Tier 1 charges 0.21% with no base; Tier 2 charges $1,050.00 plus 0.06%; Tier 3 charges $7,250.00 plus 0.01%. They do not meet: at $500,000 the first band yields $1,050.00 and the second, opened at $500,001, yields $1,350.00 — a $300 step — and at $10,000,001 the third band opens at $8,250.00 against the $7,050.00 the second band yields at the top of its range, a $1,200 step in the same direction. The second and third formulas are only equal at $12,400,000, so above that figure Tier 2 would have charged more than Tier 3 does: the bands are alternatives, not a ladder. This site charges each band exactly as printed over its own range rather than interpolating between them, because the guide prints a base fee and a rate per band and nothing that would say the bands are meant to join.
Two limits belong with the number. The valuation is the City's, derived from the ICC Building Valuation Data and then "reduces[d] the national average by 12.4%", so a reader's own estimate and Raleigh's figure may differ and the fee follows Raleigh's. And the plan review share applies to new construction: the guide prints 57% and 65% for new work and, for alterations, a 55% share of a building permit fee it never prints — so alterations are named here rather than computed.
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 building permit fee, the plan review share and the 4% technology surcharge for new construction. It excludes:
- The electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits on the same project, which are separate figures; this site prices two of the three trades.
- The alteration levels' plan review and permit shares — 55% plan review and 28%, 50% or 75% by alteration level — which the guide prices against a building permit fee it does not print for an alteration.
- The special projects fee of 0.25% of calculated construction value per trade, and the conditional service fees of $215 per trade per unit commercial and $157 residential.
- Fire, Parks, Raleigh Water, Stormwater and Transportation fees, all in the same guide under other departments: water and sewer tap and meter fees, capital facility fees, thoroughfare and right-of-way charges, tree fees in lieu, and the fire marshal's permits.
- Express plan review at $1,146 per hour and the other expedited services, re-inspections at $122, after-hours inspections, and the pre-construction meeting fee of $419.
- Enumerated permits: demolition $150, manufactured homes $415, building relocation $472, temporary and partial certificates of occupancy, and the stocking permit.
What you need before applying
- The permit is priced from the City's own calculated construction valueRequired
The guide states the valuation is Raleigh's, not the applicant's: "Permit fees are based off a valuation calculation for construction projects. This calculation uses nationally … Building Valuation Data (BVD) … The City of Raleigh further adjusts the calculated values by using a regional cost adjustment … Currently, our valuation calculation reduces the national average by 12.4%." Every building, electrical and plumbing figure on these pages is a percentage of that number, so it is the single input that decides the bill.
- Plan review is a share of the building permit fee, and it is charged with itRequired
The guide prints "New Residential Plans Review Fee — 57.00%" and "New Commercial Plans Review Fee — 65.00%", both "% Of Calculated Building Permit". So plan review is not a second rate on the value: it is a share of the permit fee the same schedule has already computed, which is why a $400,000 residential project pays $1,520.00 of permit and $866.40 of plan review on the same basis.
Common questions
Is the fee a percentage of construction value?
Yes, and only 0.38% of it for new residential construction. The guide prints it as "% Of Calculated Construction Value", and the commercial schedule is the same idea in three bands — 0.21% on the first $500,000, then $1,050.00 plus 0.06%, then $7,250.00 plus 0.01%. What makes the total larger than the rate suggests is that plan review and the technology surcharge are percentages *of the permit fee and of the fees*, not of the value a second time.
Development Fee Guide FY27, Building and Safety
Who sets the construction value?
Raleigh does. The guide says so plainly: "Permit fees are based off a valuation calculation for construction projects … The City of Raleigh further adjusts the calculated values by using a regional cost adjustment … Currently, our valuation calculation reduces the national average by 12.4%." The guide carries the ICC Building Valuation Data tables as its appendix, which is the document a reader would check the figure against.
Development Fee Guide FY27, Appendix
How much is plan review?
57% of the calculated building permit fee for new residential construction and 65% for new commercial work — a share of the permit fee, not a second rate on the value. On a $400,000 new house that is 57% of $1,520.00, or $866.40.
Development Fee Guide FY27, Building and Safety
What is the 4% technology surcharge?
The guide states it in one sentence: "A 4% technology surcharge is applied to the following development fees to support the technology resources that allow for permitting in the City of Raleigh." It then reprints every fee as "Fee" and "Fee Total = Fee + Surcharge" — $150.00 becomes $156.00 and $124.00 becomes $129.00 — so the surcharge is 4% of each fee, and on this site it is charged last against everything calculated before it.
Development Fee Guide FY27, Technology Fee Reference Guide
Why do the commercial bands not meet at their boundaries?
Because each band carries its own base fee and its own rate, and the guide prints them as alternatives rather than as a ladder. At $500,000 the Tier 1 rate alone yields $1,050.00; Tier 2 opened at $500,001 yields $1,050.00 plus 0.06% of the value, about $1,350.00. This site charges each band exactly as printed over the range the guide states for it, and does not interpolate — the step is the City's.
Development Fee Guide FY27, Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 rows
Are alterations priced the same way?
Not on these pages. The guide prices alterations at 28%, 50% and 75% of the calculated building permit for Level 1, 2 and 3 — but it never prints a building permit fee for an alteration, only for new construction, so there is no figure for those shares to apply to. The pages say so rather than inventing the base.
Development Fee Guide FY27, Permit Fees for Alterations and Repairs
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- Fee schedule (PDF)CityPrimary source
Read 2026-09-25. 993,935 bytes, sha256 beginning b10565b399afaede, linked from raleighnc.gov/permits/services/development-fee-guide-and-calculator. The cover page states the period: "Development Fee Guide — July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027", which is why this schedule has an effective date from its own cover rather than from an inference about when a previous version ended. Every fee row prints two cost columns, Prior Year Cost and FY27 Cost, and both were read: taking the left-hand column would publish last year's schedule throughout, and the differences are not small — the new residential electrical permit went from 54% to 49% and the commercial plan review from an unread prior rate to 65%. The Technology Fee Reference Guide near the end of the document is what carries the 4% surcharge, and it was read there rather than inferred from the difference between the guide's two columns.
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.