Bismarck, ND
Bismarck building permit cost
A Bismarck building permit runs on one ladder both sheets print identically:
$40.00 flat to $500 of job cost, then $1.85 for each additional $100 to $2,000, and five more bands of $8.40 down to $2.20 per $1,000 over bases that reach $3,408.45. A house and a store pay the same table; a commercial permit adds one line the residential sheet never prints — 20% of the permit fee, charged on all of them.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building permit — demolition, $75.00Permit fee | $75.00 flat fee | Work type is demolition | — |
| Building permit — home occupation, $25.00Permit fee | $25.00 flat fee | home occupation is true | — |
| Building permit — $1,000,001.00 and HigherPermit fee | $3,408.45 + $2.20 per $1,000 of project valuation above $1,000,000 | not (Work type is demolition) and Project valuation over $1,000,000 | — |
| Building permit — $100,001.00 to $500,000.00Permit fee | $623.45 + $3.40 per $1,000 of project valuation above $100,000 | not (Work type is demolition) and Project valuation over $100,000 and Project valuation up to $500,000 | — |
| Building permit — $2,001 to $25,000.00Permit fee | $67.75 + $8.40 per $1,000 of project valuation above $2,000 | not (Work type is demolition) and Project valuation over $2,000 and Project valuation up to $25,000 | — |
| Building permit — $25,001.00 to $50,000.00Permit fee | $260.95 + $6.10 per $1,000 of project valuation above $25,000 | not (Work type is demolition) and Project valuation over $25,000 and Project valuation up to $50,000 | — |
| Building permit — $500,001.00 to $1,000,000.00Permit fee | $1,983.45 + $2.85 per $1,000 of project valuation above $500,000 | not (Work type is demolition) and Project valuation over $500,000 and Project valuation up to $1,000,000 | — |
| Building permit — $50,001.00 to $100,000.00Permit fee | $413.45 + $4.20 per $1,000 of project valuation above $50,000 | not (Work type is demolition) and Project valuation over $50,000 and Project valuation up to $100,000 | — |
| Building permit — $501.00 to $2,000.00Permit fee | $40.00 + $18.50 per $1,000 of project valuation above $500 | not (Work type is demolition) and Project valuation over $500 and Project valuation up to $2,000 | — |
| Building permit — $0.00 to $500.00 ($40.00)Permit fee | $40.00 flat fee | not (Work type is demolition) and Project valuation up to $500 | — |
| Building permit — manufactured homes, $150.00Permit fee | $150.00 flat fee | manufactured home is true | — |
| Building permit — moving, $25.00Permit fee | $25.00 flat fee | house moving is true | — |
| Building permit — temporary use, $50.00Permit fee | $50.00 flat fee | temporary use is true | — |
| Commercial building permit — review fee, 20% of the permit feePlan review | 20% of calculated permit fee | not (one two family 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 $60,000 commercial alteration — the shared ladder's fifth band and the commercial sheet's unconditional review fee.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Project valuation | $60,000 |
| Occupancy class | Commercial |
| Type of work | Alteration |
| One two family | No |
Example total
$546.54
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 14
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Building permit — $50,001.00 to $100,000.00Permit feePrinted identically on the residential sheet and the commercial sheet — same base, same rate — so this is one rule answering both classes rather than two rules that must agree. "$50,001.00 to $100,000.00 — $413.45 for first $50,000.00 PLUS $4.20 for each additional $1000.00". Neither sheet prints "or fraction thereof" — the phrase Fargo's sheets print in every band and Bismarck never prints — so the cost above the threshold is charged as the fraction it is: $2,500 of job cost is $67.75 plus $500's share of the $8.40 rate, or $4.20, for $71.95 where a whole-thousand reading would be $76.15. The ladder closes at every seam — $260.95 + 25 × $6.10 is exactly $413.45 at $50,000, the base this band prints. Both sheets' own typography is read as the figure the arithmetic confirms: the residential copy prints this band's range as "$50,0001.00" (a typo for $50,001.00, since $260.95 + 25 × $6.10 is exactly $413.45 at $50,000) and the commercial copy prints its rate as "$$4.20" (a doubled dollar sign, since $413.45 + 50 × $4.20 closes the next seam at $623.45).Show the working
| $413.45 + $4.20 per $1,000 of project valuation above $50,000 | $455.45 |
Commercial building permit — review fee, 20% of the permit feePlan reviewCommercial sheet (Last Revised 1/10/2018): "A Review Fee of 20% of the permit fee will be added to all Commercial Building Permits." The word the sentence turns on is "all": there is no condition about plans, so no plan-review fact gates this rule — the class is the only switch the sheet leaves, and the residential sheet, which prints no review line, charges no twin of it. The percentage reads the permit fee the ladder computed, and nothing else sits between them: Bismarck prints no application fee on either sheet.Show the working
| 20% of calculated permit fee | $91.09 |
| Total | $546.54 |
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.
- Building permit — demolition, $75.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — home occupation, $25.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — $1,000,001.00 and Higher — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — $100,001.00 to $500,000.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — $2,001 to $25,000.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — $25,001.00 to $50,000.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — $500,001.00 to $1,000,000.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — $501.00 to $2,000.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — $0.00 to $500.00 ($40.00) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — manufactured homes, $150.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — moving, $25.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — temporary use, $50.00 — 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 fifth band prices it: "$50,001.00 to $100,000.00 — $413.45 for first $50,000.00 PLUS $4.20 for each additional $1000.00".
$60,000 of job cost is $10,000 above the band's floor, and the rate charges it as the fraction it is: $10,000 × $4.20 per $1,000 = $42.00. Permit fee: $413.45 + $42.00 = $455.45.
Review fee: twenty percent of that permit fee, $91.09 — unconditionally, because the commercial sheet adds it to "all Commercial Building Permits" and conditions it on nothing.
Total: $455.45 + $91.09 = $546.54. What moves it: the same job on a one- and two-family dwelling runs the identical ladder but no review line, for $455.45 — the residential sheet prints none; a $2,500 job computes $71.95 with no round-up, where a whole-thousand reading would be $76.15; and demolition instead of alteration is the trade sheet's flat $75.00, with the ladder excluded from the job entirely.
What is different in Bismarck
The residential sheet ("Last Revised 1/01/25") and the commercial sheet ("Last Revised 1/10/2018") print eight bands that are numerically identical — same bases, same rates — so this page charges one ladder for both classes rather than two copies that must agree to stay honest. What the sheets actually differ on is the review fee, and the difference is a sentence: "A Review Fee of 20% of the permit fee will be added to all Commercial Building Permits" — unconditional, because the sheet conditions it on nothing, and commercial-only, because the residential sheet prints no such line.
Neither sheet prints "or fraction thereof" — the phrase Fargo's sheets print in every band and Bismarck never prints — so every band prorates: $2,500 of job cost is $67.75 plus $500's share of the $8.40 rate, or $4.20, for $71.95, where a whole-thousand reading would be $76.15. The ladder closes at all seven seams, each band's endpoint being the printed base of the band above: $40.00 + 15 × $1.85 is exactly $67.75 at $2,000, and the chain runs through $260.95, $413.45, $623.45, $1,983.45 and $3,408.45. Two printed typos are read as the figure the arithmetic confirms — the residential copy's "$50,0001.00" and the commercial copy's "$$4.20" — and recorded rather than quietly cleaned.
The trade sheet's building-shaped rows are added beside the ladder as their own permits: demolition $75.00, moving $25.00, manufactured homes $150.00, home occupation $25.00 and temporary use $50.00, each on its own fact, with the ladder excluding demolition work so the two never answer the same job. Neither sheet prints an application fee, and this page charges none.
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 Bismarck building permit fee — the shared ladder, the commercial review fee, and the flat rows the job triggers. It excludes:
- Mechanical/HVAC permits. The trade sheet prices them by a ladder printed with figures identical to plumbing's — a separate permit, quoted rather than attached to a mechanical page this site does not publish.
- The area-table derivation. New-construction valuations are built from the sheet's per-square-foot rates ($165.67 first floor, $79.50 second, $25.00 garage…) and alterations from the total bid; producing that figure is the applicant's calculation, quoted on the page rather than run here.
- The residential review fee that does not exist. The residential sheet prints no review line; no residential rule charges one, and the absence is recorded rather than assumed — whether the City requires one anyway is the record's open question.
- The hub's 2020 date. The Permit Fees page says "Effective January 1, 2020" while linking the 2025 sheet; the dated sheets win and the stale sentence is kept beside them.
- Electrical, plumbing and septic permits. Separate permits on their own pages — the trade sheet prices them apart from the building ladder, and this total adds none of them.
- License, rental and administrative charges. Not permitting, and not charged.
What you need before applying
- The valuation is determined before the ladder runs: area table for new work, total bid for alterationsRequired
The residential sheet states how the number the ladder reads is produced: for new construction, square footage at the sheet's own per-square-foot rates — Garage $25.00, 1st Floor $165.67, 2nd Floor $79.50, Unfinished Basement $15.25, Finished Basement $36.75, Deck $15.75, Covered Deck $22.50, Covered Patio/Entry $15.00, Basement Finish $21.50, Detached Shed $15.00, Detached Shop or Garage $25.00 — and for alterations, "the construction value based on the total bid amount of the project". The commercial sheet prices its own "TOTAL COST OF JOB". This site takes the resulting figure as its input; the area-times-rate derivation is the applicant's calculation, quoted on the page rather than re-run (the same stance as Buffalo's ICC table and Fargo's ICC-minus-15%).
- A review fee of 20% rides every commercial building permit — unconditionallyRequired
The commercial sheet's own sentence: "A Review Fee of 20% of the permit fee will be added to all Commercial Building Permits." The word "all" is the requirement: no condition about plans is printed, so the fee answers every commercial permit whether or not drawings accompany it — and the residential sheet prints no such line, so a one- or two-family job never carries a twin of it. The percentage reads the permit fee the ladder computed, and there is no application fee for it to include: neither sheet prints one.
- Title 4 — Building Regulations is the ordinance the Division enforcesMay be required
The City's building ordinance, published as Title 4 in the document centre and read for this pass as jurisdiction context: it is the regulation the Building Inspections Division administers, and the fee sheets are its price list. No figure on this site is taken from the ordinance — the three fee PDFs are the operative documents, each carrying its own "Last Revised" line.
Common questions
How much is a building permit in Bismarck?
$40.00 for a job cost to $500, then $1.85 for each additional $100 to $2,000, and five bands after that — $8.40, $6.10, $4.20, $3.40, $2.85 and $2.20 per $1,000 over printed bases running from $67.75 to $3,408.45. A commercial permit adds 20% of the permit fee as the sheet's review line. Flat rows on the trade sheet — demolition $75, moving $25, manufactured homes $150, home occupation $25, temporary use $50 — are added when the job triggers them.
Do a house and a store pay the same ladder?
Yes — the two sheets print numerically identical tables. The residential sheet's eight bands and the commercial sheet's eight bands carry the same bases and the same rates, verified row by row against each other, so this page runs one ladder for both classes. The sheets differ in exactly one printed price: the commercial sheet's unconditional 20% review fee, which the residential sheet does not print.
Why does a fraction of a thousand cost a fraction of the rate?
Because neither sheet prints the round-up phrase. Fargo's sheets say "or fraction thereof" in every band and round up; Bismarck's sheets never print it, so the fraction is charged as the fraction it is: $2,500 of job cost is $67.75 plus $500's share of the $8.40 rate — $4.20 — for $71.95, where a whole-thousand reading would be $76.15. The phrase decides, and the phrase is absent.
Is plan review charged, and when?
On commercial permits, always: "A Review Fee of 20% of the permit fee will be added to all Commercial Building Permits." The sentence conditions it on nothing — not on plans, not on project type — so no fact gates it here; the class is the only switch it leaves. The residential sheet prints no review line, so a one- or two-family job pays none. There is no application fee on either sheet.
How is a residential valuation determined?
From the sheet's own table: square footage at its per-square-foot rates — $165.67 for a first floor, $79.50 for a second, $25.00 a garage, $15.25 an unfinished basement, $36.75 a finished one, and the deck, shed, shop and finish rows beside them — while alterations are "the construction value based on the total bid amount of the project". This site takes the resulting number as its input; the multiplication is the applicant's side of the exchange.
Where does the review fee's percentage come from?
The permit fee the ladder computed — 20% of it, added as its own line in the breakdown. Nothing else sits in the basis: the sheets print no application fee for the percentage to have swallowed, so a $60,000 commercial alteration with a $455.45 permit fee pays exactly $91.09 of review.
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 as the Division's own one-page PDF, printed "Last Revised 1/10/2018". Transcribed in full: plumbing's four-band valuation ladder ($40.00 flat to $2,000; then $1.65, $1.10 and $0.60 per $1,000 over bases $40.00, $69.70 and $157.70); the mechanical/HVAC ladder, printed with figures identical to plumbing's; "Electrical permits $25.00"; Septic/Drainfield $75.00; Home Occupation $25.00; Temporary Use $50.00; Demolition $75.00; Moving $25.00; Manufactured Homes $150.00. The rows are split across this site's three pages by what they permit (reading f).
- Fee schedule (PDF)CityPrimary source
City of Bismarck — Commercial Permit Fees (the same ladder, plus the review fee)
Read 2026-09-25 as the Division's own one-page PDF, printed "Last Revised 1/10/2018". Transcribed: "TOTAL COST OF JOB" priced by eight bands numerically identical to the residential sheet's — same bases, same rates, verified row by row against the 2025 sheet — and the one line the residential sheet does not print: "A Review Fee of 20% of the permit fee will be added to all Commercial Building Permits." The commercial copy prints its fifth band's rate as "$$4.20" (a doubled dollar sign), read as $4.20 because $413.45 + 50 × $4.20 closes the next seam at $623.45. Extracted with pdftotext -table, which pairs the wrapping fee column that -layout mispairs, cross-checked against -layout.
- Fee schedule (PDF)CityPrimary source
City of Bismarck — Residential Permit Fees (permit fee multiplier table and area valuation)
Read 2026-09-25 as the Division's own one-page PDF, printed "Last Revised 1/01/25" — the later of the two building sheets, which is why the shared ladder is sourced here. Transcribed: the eight-band permit fee multiplier table ($40.00 flat; then $1.85 per $100, $8.40, $6.10, $4.20, $3.40, $2.85 and $2.20 per $1,000, over printed bases $40.00 through $3,408.45), the area valuation table (Garage $25.00, 1st Floor $165.67, 2nd Floor $79.50, and the rest), and the valuation instructions (new construction from the area table; alterations "the construction value based on the total bid amount of the project"). The sheet prints its fifth range as "$50,0001.00" — a typo for $50,001.00, read as the figure the arithmetic confirms.
- Municipal codeCity
City of Bismarck — Title 4, Building Regulations (the ordinance the Division enforces)
Read 2026-09-25, HTTP 200 — the City's building ordinance, readable here unlike the codifiers that answered 403 in New Jersey, New York and Buffalo. Cited for jurisdiction context only: the fee sheets, not the ordinance, are the operative price list, and no figure on this site comes from Title 4.
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.