Bismarck, ND
Bismarck electrical permit cost
A Bismarck electrical permit is two fees from two governments:
a flat $25.00 from the City's trade sheet, and the North Dakota State Electrical Board's inspection fee on the job cost — $50.00 minimum up to $500, 2% of the balance above it to $20,000 (where the formula closes at exactly $440.00), then $440.00 plus one tenth of one percent of everything over. The board's table is effective July 1, 2024, and $50.00 more is owed if the wiring certificate is filed late.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical permit — City of Bismarck, $25.00Permit fee | $25.00 flat fee | Every permit of this type | — |
| Electrical — NDSEB inspection fee, job cost over $20,000 ($440 for the first $20,000, 1/10 of 1% after)State surcharge | 0.1% of project valuation above the first $20,000 + $440.00 | Project valuation over $20,000 | — |
| Electrical — NDSEB inspection fee, job cost to $20,000 ($50 minimum, 2% of the balance over $500)State surcharge | 2% of project valuation above the first $500 + $50.00 | not (Project valuation over $20,000) | — |
| Electrical — NDSEB late wiring certificate, $50.00State surcharge | $50.00 flat fee | late certificate 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 kitchen remodel whose work the inspector values at $10,500 of contract cost — the City's permit and the board's first band.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Project valuation | $10,500 |
Example total
$275.00
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 4
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Electrical permit — City of Bismarck, $25.00Permit feeAdditional Permit Fees sheet (Last Revised 1/10/2018): "Electrical permits — $25.00". The City's whole published price for an electrical permit — flat, unconditional, and the base of every electrical total on this page. The rest of the money is the state board's, and the rules below say so by their component type.Show the working
| $25.00 flat fee | $25.00 |
Electrical — NDSEB inspection fee, job cost to $20,000 ($50 minimum, 2% of the balance over $500)State surchargeNDSEB Inspection Fees, effective July 1, 2024: "Up to $500.00 — $50.00 (minimum fee)" and "$500.00 to $20,000.00 — $50.00 for the first $500.00 plus 2% on balance up to $20,000.00". One rule holds both printed rows: the $50 base *is* the minimum fee below $500 (the threshold charges nothing there), and 2% runs on the balance above $500 up to $20,000, where $50 + 2% of $19,500 closes at exactly $440.00 — the base of the band above. Prorated: the state table prints no round-up phrase. The basis is "the total amount of the contract or total cost to the owner, including extras", less the four exclusions the board names (appliances, HVAC units, electric motors/PLC/generators, industrial machines).Show the working
| 2% of project valuation above the first $500 + $50.00 | $250.00 |
| Total | $275.00 |
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.
- Electrical — NDSEB inspection fee, job cost over $20,000 ($440 for the first $20,000, 1/10 of 1% after) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electrical — NDSEB late wiring certificate, $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 City's line first: "Electrical permits — $25.00", flat, on every electrical permit.
The board's first band answers on the job cost: "$500.00 to $20,000.00 — $50.00 for the first $500.00 plus 2% on balance up to $20,000.00". The balance is $10,500 − $500 = $10,000, and 2% of $10,000 is $200.00 — so $50.00 + $200.00 = $250.00 of state fee.
Total: $25.00 + $250.00 = $275.00. What moves it: at $500.00 and below the balance is nothing and the $50.00 minimum is the whole state fee; at $20,000.00 the same formula closes at exactly $440.00, the base the second band prints; above that one tenth of one percent runs, so a $40,000 job cost is $440.00 plus 0.1% of $20,000, or $460.00 — plus the City's $25.00. A wiring certificate filed late adds $50.00 more, and the board's four exclusions come out of the job cost before any of it computes.
What is different in Bismarck
The two halves never blur. The City's sheet — "Additional Permit Fees, Last Revised 1/10/2018" — prints one line, "Electrical permits $25.00", flat and unconditional, and it is the base of every electrical total here. Everything else on the page belongs to the state board: the job-cost bands, the basis, the exclusions and the late-certificate increase, each a state_surcharge in the breakdown because that is what they are.
The board's arithmetic closes on itself: $50.00 for the first $500.00 plus 2% of the balance reaches $440.00 at a job cost of $20,000 — the figure the second band prints as its own base — and above that one tenth of one percent runs on the balance. The basis is "the total amount of the contract or total cost to the owner, including extras", and four things are left out of it: appliances, HVAC units, electric motors, PLCs, generators and industrial machines "need not be included in the cost". The table prints no round-up phrase, so both rates are prorated.
What the state charges, the state dates: the board's page prints "Effective July 1, 2024" above the current table with the superseded one beneath it, and this page charges the dated figures — $50.00 more for a wiring certificate filed late, its own gated line.
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 City's $25 permit plus the state board's inspection fee — the whole of what an electrical permit in Bismarck costs. It excludes:
- The four exclusions the board lists. Appliances, HVAC units, electric motors, PLCs, generators and industrial machines "need not be included in the cost" — they come out of the job cost before either band computes.
- The correction-order administration charge. A correction order not completed in time is a $50.00 administration charge under the board's rules; it needs a correction order this calculator does not collect, and it is quoted beside the bands.
- Special services and mileage. The board charges $50.00 per hour plus mileage — priced by hours, quoted rather than charged.
- Mechanical, plumbing and building permits. Separate permits with separate pages; the trade sheet prices each apart, and none of them is in this total.
- License, rental and administrative charges outside the permit sheets — not permitting, and not charged.
What you need before applying
- The board's fee is computed on the contract cost less four named exclusionsRequired
NDSEB's basis: "the total amount of the contract or total cost to the owner, including extras" — and four things stay out of it: "Appliances, HVAC units, electric motors, PLC's and generators, Industrial machines … need not be included in the cost." The City's flat $25 permit is billed beside that state fee, not inside it, so the exclusions move the state line only. The board's page also prints the superseded table beneath the current one; the July 1, 2024 figures are the ones this site charges.
- A wiring certificate filed late adds $50 to the state feeMay be required
The board's rule: whenever an electrical installation "is commenced or in use without submitting an electrical wiring certificate the certificate may be considered late and the normal inspection fee … is increased in the amount of fifty dollars." It is a state increase with its own gated line on this site — and the board's $50-per-hour special services and $50 correction-order administration charge are quoted beside the bands rather than charged, because this calculator collects neither hours nor correction orders.
Common questions
How much is an electrical permit in Bismarck?
$275.00 on a $10,500 job: $25.00 flat from the City, plus the state board's $50.00 minimum and 2% of the balance above $500. In general the City's share is always $25.00 and the board's share is $50.00 up to $500 of job cost, then 2% of the balance to $20,000 (closing at $440.00), then $440.00 plus one tenth of one percent — with $50.00 more for a late wiring certificate.
Why is part of the fee a state charge?
Because the North Dakota State Electrical Board sets the inspection fee, and the City's sheet prints nothing else: "Electrical permits $25.00" is the City's entire published line. The board bills the installer on the job cost under its own table, effective July 1, 2024 — so the breakdown labels the board's lines as state surcharges, which is what they are, and the City's $25.00 stands beside them as the base.
What is the job cost measured from?
The board's own basis: "the total amount of the contract or total cost to the owner, including extras". Four things stay out of it — appliances, HVAC units, electric motors, PLCs, generators and industrial machines "need not be included in the cost" — and the exclusions move only the state line, since the City's $25.00 reads no cost at all.
What does a late wiring certificate cost?
$50.00 more. The board's rule: an installation "commenced or in use without submitting an electrical wiring certificate" may have the certificate considered late, and then "the normal inspection fee … is increased in the amount of fifty dollars." It is charged as its own state line when the filing is late.
Does the fee round up to a whole thousand?
No — the state table prints no round-up phrase anywhere, so 2% and one tenth of one percent charge the balance as the fraction it is. The distinction matters at the seams: the first band's formula reaches exactly $440.00 at $20,000 of job cost, which is the base the second band prints — the table closes on itself without any rounding to close it.
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).
- State agencyStatePrimary source
North Dakota State Electrical Board — Inspection Fees
Read 2026-09-25 as the board's own page, printing "Effective July 1, 2024" above the current table with the superseded table beneath it. Both job-cost bands are transcribed from it (up to $500.00 → $50.00 minimum; $500.00 to $20,000.00 → $50.00 plus 2% on the balance; over $20,000.00 → $440.00 plus 1/10 of 1% on the balance), with the basis sentence ("the total amount of the contract or total cost to the owner, including extras"), the four exclusions (appliances, HVAC units, electric motors/PLC/generators, industrial machines) and the $50.00 late-certificate increase. Bismarck and Fargo each carry their own source row for the board, because NDSEB bills the installer directly in both — a state fee, not a city one.
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.