Bismarck, ND
Bismarck plumbing permit cost
A Bismarck plumbing permit is a four-band ladder on the total cost of job:
$40.00 flat to $2,000, then $1.65 for each additional $1,000 to $20,000, then $1.10 to $100,000, then $0.60 above — over printed bases of $40.00, $69.70 and $157.70. Every band prorates, because the sheet prints no round-up phrase, and Septic/Drainfield work is its own $75.00 row beside the ladder.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plumbing permit — $100,001.00 and HigherPermit fee | $157.70 + $0.60 per $1,000 of project valuation above $100,000 | Project valuation over $100,000 | — |
| Plumbing permit — $20,001.00 to $100,000.00Permit fee | $69.70 + $1.10 per $1,000 of project valuation above $20,000 | Project valuation over $20,000 and up to $100,000 | — |
| Plumbing permit — $2,001.00 to $20,000.00Permit fee | $40.00 + $1.65 per $1,000 of project valuation above $2,000 | Project valuation over $2,000 and up to $20,000 | — |
| Plumbing permit — $0.00 to $2,000.00 ($40.00)Permit fee | $40.00 flat fee | Project valuation up to $2,000 | — |
| Plumbing permit — septic/drainfield, $75.00Permit fee | $75.00 flat fee | septic drainfield 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 $30,000 plumbing job — the trade sheet's third band.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Project valuation | $30,000 |
Example total
$80.70
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 5
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Plumbing permit — $20,001.00 to $100,000.00Permit feeAdditional Permit Fees sheet (Last Revised 1/10/2018), plumbing's own ladder: "$20,001.00 to $100,000.00 — $69.70 for first $20,000.00 PLUS $1.10 for each additional $1,000.00". Prorated, like every band on this sheet — no band prints "or fraction thereof" — so $2,500 of plumbing cost is $40.00 plus $500's share of the $1.65 rate. The ladder closes at its seams: $69.70 + 80 × $1.10 is exactly $157.70 at $100,000, the base this band prints — and the trade sheet's mechanical ladder, printed with figures identical to this one, is quoted on the page as a separate permit rather than attached to a page this site does not publish.Show the working
| $69.70 + $1.10 per $1,000 of project valuation above $20,000 | $80.70 |
| Total | $80.70 |
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.
- Plumbing permit — $100,001.00 and Higher — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Plumbing permit — $2,001.00 to $20,000.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Plumbing permit — $0.00 to $2,000.00 ($40.00) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Plumbing permit — septic/drainfield, $75.00 — 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.
The third band prices it: "$20,001.00 to $100,000.00 — $69.70 for first $20,000.00 PLUS $1.10 for each additional $1,000.00".
$30,000 of job cost is $10,000 above the band's floor, charged as the fraction it is: $10,000 × $1.10 per $1,000 = $11.00. Permit fee: $69.70 + $11.00 = $80.70.
Total: $80.70. What moves it: $2,500 of job cost computes $40.83 — $40.00 plus $500's share of the $1.65 rate — where a whole-$1,000 reading would be $41.65; the ladder closes at $20,000 ($69.70) and $100,000 ($157.70) exactly; septic/drainfield work adds its own flat $75.00 row beside the ladder; and the trade sheet's mechanical ladder, printed with identical figures, is a separate permit this page quotes rather than charges.
What is different in Bismarck
The trade sheet ("Last Revised 1/10/2018") prices plumbing the way the building sheets price construction — on the total cost of job — through four bands with the same shape as the building ladder and plumbing's own figures. It closes the way the building ladder closes: $40.00 + 18 × $1.65 is exactly $69.70 at $20,000, and $69.70 + 80 × $1.10 is exactly $157.70 at $100,000, each closing figure the next band's printed base.
Proration is the reading, and it is the phrase that decides it: no band says "or fraction thereof", so a fraction of a $1,000 step is charged as the fraction it is — $2,500 of plumbing cost is $40.00 plus $500's share of the $1.65 rate rather than a whole rounded step. The contrast is two states east: Fargo's sheets print the phrase in every band and round up; Bismarck's never print it and never round.
The sheet's other rows sit beside the ladder rather than inside it: Septic/Drainfield is $75.00 on its own fact, and the mechanical/HVAC ladder printed with figures identical to plumbing's is a separate permit — quoted on this page rather than attached to a mechanical page this site does not publish. The record keeps open whether those identical figures are policy or a copied table; either way, no mechanical number enters a total here.
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 plumbing permit fee — the four-band ladder and the septic row. It excludes:
- Mechanical/HVAC permits. The trade sheet prices them by a ladder whose figures are identical to plumbing's in every band; it is a separate permit, quoted on this page rather than charged, because this site publishes no mechanical page.
- The building and electrical permits beside it. Separate permits on their own pages — the trade sheet prices each apart, and this total adds neither.
- The hub's 2020 date. The Permit Fees page says "Effective January 1, 2020" while its own anchors carry the sheets' revision lines; the dated sheet wins and the disagreement is kept.
- A round-up that does not exist. No band prints "or fraction thereof", so nothing here is rounded to a whole $1,000 — an absence stated rather than silently filled.
- License, rental and administrative charges outside the permit sheets — not permitting, and not charged.
What you need before applying
- Plumbing is priced on the total cost of job; mechanical is a separate permit with its own ladderRequired
The trade sheet prices plumbing on the same measure as the building sheets — the total cost of job — through four bands that prorate every fraction. The same sheet prints a mechanical/HVAC ladder whose figures are identical to plumbing's in every band; it is a separate permit, quoted on this site's plumbing and building pages rather than attached to a mechanical page this site does not publish (the record keeps open whether the identical figures are policy or a copied table).
- Septic and drainfield work is its own permit rowMay be required
The trade sheet lists "Septic/Drainfield — $75.00" as a row of its own beside the plumbing ladder: a flat price for the permit rather than a band of the job cost, answering its own fact. A job that both runs plumbing work and touches the septic system carries the ladder and this row together, because each is a permit the sheet prices separately.
Common questions
How much is a plumbing permit in Bismarck?
$40.00 for a job cost to $2,000, then $1.65 for each additional $1,000 to $20,000, then $1.10 to $100,000, then $0.60 above — over printed bases of $40.00, $69.70 and $157.70. Septic/drainfield work is a separate flat $75.00 row when the job has it.
Does the job's cost change the plumbing fee?
Yes — plumbing is priced on the total cost of job, the same measure the building sheets use, through four bands of its own. What it never does is round: no band prints "or fraction thereof", so $2,500 of plumbing cost is $40.00 plus $500's share of the $1.65 rate rather than a whole rounded step.
How does the septic permit get charged?
As its own row: the trade sheet lists "Septic/Drainfield — $75.00" beside the plumbing ladder, a flat price for the permit rather than a band of the job cost. It answers its own fact, and a job that both runs plumbing work and touches the septic system carries the ladder and this row together.
Is a mechanical or HVAC permit included?
No. The trade sheet prints a mechanical/HVAC ladder whose figures are identical to plumbing's in every band, but it is a separate permit — quoted on this page rather than charged, because this site publishes building, electrical and plumbing pages only. Whether the identical figures are deliberate policy or a copied table is not stated anywhere on the sheet, and the record says so.
Do the bands connect at their seams?
Exactly, and the sheet was built to: $40.00 + 18 × $1.65 is $69.70 at $20,000 — the base the third band prints — and $69.70 + 80 × $1.10 is $157.70 at $100,000, the base the fourth prints. Each closing figure is the next band's printed base, and the tests walk both seams.
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).
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.