Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia building permit cost
Philadelphia prices a building permit off the building's square footage in one of two columns.
A new one-or-two-family dwelling is $1,328 flat — the same price for a 1,600 square foot house and a 3,600 square foot one — while every other occupancy pays $253 for the first 500 square feet and $73 for each additional 100 square feet or fraction of one. Additions to a house are their own banded row ($75 plus $56 per additional 100), alterations another ($76 plus $56 residential, $253 plus $60 otherwise), and the schedule publishes an election to price an alteration at 2% of construction cost instead, with a $253 minimum. Two charges ride on every one of these: a filing fee that is credited toward the permit fee rather than added to it, and $7.50 of City and State surcharges.
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 — addition to a one- or two-family dwelling, $75 + $56 per 100 sq. ft.Permit fee | $0.56 per sq ft above the first 500 sq ft (per 100 sq ft or fraction thereof) + $75.00 | Work type is addition and single or two family is true and not (foundation only is true) | — |
| Building permit — alteration of a one- or two-family dwelling, $76 + $56 per 100 sq. ft.Permit fee | $0.56 per sq ft above the first 500 sq ft (per 100 sq ft or fraction thereof) + $76.00 | Work type is one of alteration, remodel, repair and single or two family is true and not (foundation only is true) and not (alteration by cost is true) | — |
| Building permit — alteration priced on 2% of construction cost, at the applicant's requestPermit fee | 2% of project valuation | Work type is one of alteration, remodel, repair and alteration by cost is true and not (foundation only is true) | min $253.00 |
| Building permit — alteration of an existing building, other occupanciesPermit fee | $0.6 per sq ft above the first 500 sq ft (per 100 sq ft or fraction thereof) + $253.00 | Work type is one of alteration, remodel, repair and not (single or two family is true) and not (foundation only is true) and not (alteration by cost is true) | — |
| Building permit — complete demolition, $25.30 per 100 sq. ft.Permit fee | $0.253 per sq ft (per 100 sq ft or fraction thereof) | Work type is demolition | min $253.00 · max $50,600.00 |
| Foundation-only building permit, $253 / $442 / $759 by areaPermit fee | Project area — $253.00 up to $5; $442.00 from $5 to $25; $759.00 above $25 | foundation only is true | — |
| Building permit — new one- or two-family dwelling, $1,328 flatPermit fee | $1,328.00 flat fee | Work type is new construction and single or two family is true and not (foundation only is true) | — |
| Building permit — new construction or addition, other occupanciesPermit fee | $0.73 per sq ft above the first 500 sq ft (per 100 sq ft or fraction thereof) + $253.00 | Work type is one of new construction, addition and not (single or two family is true) and not (foundation only is true) | — |
| Filing fee floor — building permit, $25.00 for a one- or two-family dwellingPermit fee | the shortfall up to the $25.00 minimum on calculated permit fee | permit fee under 2500 and single or two family is true | — |
| Filing fee floor — building permit, $100.00 for any other occupancyPermit fee | the shortfall up to the $100.00 minimum on calculated permit fee | permit fee under 10000 and not (single or two family is true) | — |
| City surcharge, $3.00 per permitSurcharge | $3.00 flat fee | Every permit of this type | — |
| State surcharge, $4.50 per permitState surcharge | $4.50 flat fee | 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 warehouse of one thousand square feet, built by a contractor on a site the owner already holds — an other occupancy, with no one-or-two-family flag set.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Project area | 1,000 sq ft |
| Occupancy class | Commercial |
| Type of work | New construction |
Example total
$625.50
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 12
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Building permit — new construction or addition, other occupanciesPermit feePG_012 (eff. January 1, 2025), Additions and New Construction: "$253 for the first 500 sq. ft.; plus $73 for each additional 100 sq. ft. or fraction thereof above 500" under Other Occupancies — the same figure for a new building and for an addition, which is why one row carries both work types. Enacted as Philadelphia Code §4-A-902.2.1 and revised by L&I's fee regulation effective January 1, 2025 (CPI multiplier 26.5% on the July 1, 2017 base: $232 → $253, $67 → $73). The "or fraction thereof" is what makes it a band: 1,000 sq ft is $253 + 5 × $73 = $618, and 1,050 sq ft pays the same six steps. Supply square footage; a one-or-two-family dwelling is a different row and is selected by custom.single_or_two_family.Show the working
| $0.73 per sq ft above the first 500 sq ft, or fraction thereof, rounded up in 100 sq ft steps + $253.00 | $618.00 |
City surcharge, $3.00 per permitSurchargeEvery L&I service page's Cost block: "City surcharge: $3 per permit". Flat, per permit, and outside the permit fee — the City's rough-in standard prints the two surcharges together as "Surcharges of $7.50 will apply". It is not in PG_012's table at all, which is why the table's own column totals are $7.50 short of what a filer pays.Show the working
| $3.00 flat fee | $3.00 |
State surcharge, $4.50 per permitState surchargeEvery L&I service page's Cost block: "State surcharge: $4.50 per permit" — a Commonwealth charge the City collects with its own fee, printed beside the City's $3.00 and summed as $7.50 in the rough-in standard. Neither PG_012 nor L&I's fee regulation contains the figure, so the source recorded here is the service page rather than an ordinance this pass could read.Show the working
| $4.50 flat fee | $4.50 |
| Total | $625.50 |
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 — addition to a one- or two-family dwelling, $75 + $56 per 100 sq. ft. — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — alteration of a one- or two-family dwelling, $76 + $56 per 100 sq. ft. — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — alteration priced on 2% of construction cost, at the applicant's request — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — alteration of an existing building, other occupancies — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — complete demolition, $25.30 per 100 sq. ft. — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Foundation-only building permit, $253 / $442 / $759 by area — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — new one- or two-family dwelling, $1,328 flat — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Filing fee floor — building permit, $25.00 for a one- or two-family dwelling — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Filing fee floor — building permit, $100.00 for any other occupancy — 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.
The other-occupancy band: $253 for the first 500 square feet, then five completed hundreds at $73 — 253 + 365 = $618.00. The filing fee does not appear as a charge: $100 of filing fee against a $618 permit fee leaves no shortfall, so the floor has nothing to add, which is exactly how the credited filing fee should behave. The two surcharges are the only additions, $3.00 and $4.50, for $625.50 in total.
Read the same job with custom.single_or_two_family set and the regime changes rather than the rate: the flat residential row applies, and a house of any size is $1,328.00 plus the same $7.50. Set custom.foundation_only instead and the area bands disappear entirely in favour of the three-tier table — 1,000 square feet falls in the middle tier at $442.00.
What is different in Philadelphia
The band is the shape of the schedule, and the "or fraction thereof" is what makes it bite: 1,000 square feet of other-occupancy new construction is $253 + 5 × $73 = $618, and 1,050 square feet pays for six steps rather than five. Three switches move the calculation to a different regime entirely. The one-or-two-family flag picks the residential column, where new construction is flat rather than banded. The foundation-only flag replaces every area row with the three-tier table — $253 up to 500 square feet, $442 from 501 to 2,500, $759 above — which the City's foundation page states with no occupancy split at all. And the alteration-by-cost flag takes the applicant's published 2% option and excludes the area row, because the two are alternatives the applicant chooses between, not a stack. Complete demolition sits apart from all of it at $25.30 per 100 square feet with a floor the schedule prints ($253) and a ceiling it prints too ($50,600).
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 PG_012's building side — the area bands, the flat residential row, the foundation tiers, the demolition row — plus the filing fee credited toward it and the $7.50 of surcharges. It excludes:
- The record retention fee of $4 per plan, a count of sheets this calculator does not collect.
- The development impact tax — fixed values for new construction, 1% of improvement costs for alterations and additions, only for abatement-eligible residential projects — published without its values or its eligibility test.
- Accelerated Plan Review, $2,000 for this permit, an optional service L&I says "will not be credited toward your final permit fee".
- Zoning fees, a separate schedule (PZ_008) that in most cases is bought before the building permit.
- Mechanical and fire suppression permits — 2% of construction value with a $189 minimum, and $15.10 per sprinkler head with a $189 minimum — priced on the same table, named on this site, not modelled here.
- Interior (non-load-bearing) demolition ($76 for the first 4,000 square feet, $5 each additional 100), the tenant fit-out row ($16.40 per 100 square feet, minimum $189) and manufactured housing ($569 / $1,138 per building), each its own row this page does not price.
- The Administrative Services rows — amended permits, copies, certificates of occupancy, preliminary review, extensions, reinstatements — whose labels PG_012's layout and L&I's regulation pair differently.
- Payment surcharges (credit +2.10%, debit +$3.45) and every other authority's charge: the Historical Commission, the Department of Streets, the Philadelphia Water Department, dust control.
What you need before applying
- An application with the full scope of work, filed in eCLIPSE with the filing feeRequired
The building permit page: any property owner or their authorized agent — design professional, attorney, contractor or licensed expediter — applies, and "The permit application must include the complete scope of work and current owner information." You must apply under the legal address established by the Office of Property Assessment; if the property was recently sold, submit the settlement sheet or deed; if the owner is not a natural person or a publicly-traded company, name the qualifying owners. And "No permits will be released for new construction unless the property is current on all City of Philadelphia taxes." The filing fee — $25 for a one-or-two-family dwelling, $100 otherwise — is paid with the application, is nonrefundable, and is applied toward the final permit fee.
- A licensed Philadelphia contractor, with every contractor named before final paymentRequired
"A licensed Philadelphia contractor must perform the work, except for projects on an existing one-or-two-family home that don't require an electrical or plumbing permit" — in which case the work may also be done by an owner who resides in the building or a registered PA Home Improvement Contractor holding a Philadelphia Commercial Activity License. Where the project requires contractors, "all contractors must be named before final payment for the permit can be accepted", and each must hold an active license, be current on City taxes, and have current insurance on file with L&I.
- A Zoning Permit first, and a stamped zoning site plan with the applicationRequired
"In most cases, you must get a Zoning Permit before you can apply for a Building Permit." The requirements list then asks for the "Zoning Permit & Approved Zoning Site Plan — Stamped by Licenses and Inspections for respective permit numbers" on new construction, addition and alteration projects that require submission of plans. Zoning fees themselves are a separate schedule (PZ_008) and are never inside a building total on this site.
- An executed contract or itemized cost estimate when the 2% alteration fee option is usedRequired
PG_012 lets the applicant elect to price an alteration at 2% of the cost of construction (minimum $253), and the building permit page's forms list makes the documentation that election requires explicit: "Executed contract or itemized cost estimate — For alteration projects using the option for 2 percent permit fee calculation." The choice is a published option rather than a default — without it the square-footage row applies, and with it the area row stops applying.
Common questions
How much is a building permit for a new house in Philadelphia?
$1,328 flat, whatever the house's size. PG_012 prints "If one-or-two-family dwelling, then $1,328 flat fee" in the Residential (1 or 2 family) column of Additions and New Construction — so a 1,600 square foot house and a 3,600 square foot house pay the same permit fee. Set the one-or-two-family flag to reach this row; without it the other-occupancy bands apply.
PG_012, Additions and New Construction (Philadelphia Code §4-A-902.2.1), effective January 1, 2025.
How is a building permit priced for an office, warehouse or apartment building?
$253 for the first 500 square feet, plus $73 for each additional 100 square feet or fraction of one. So 1,000 square feet is $253 + 5 × $73 = $618, and 1,050 square feet rounds up to six steps at $691. One row covers both a new building and an addition in the other-occupancy column; alterations take a slightly smaller increment of $60 above the same $253 base.
PG_012, Additions and New Construction and Alterations and Repairs (§4-A-902.2.1).
What is the filing fee, and does it cost extra?
$25 for a one-or-two-family dwelling, $100 for any other occupancy — paid when you apply, nonrefundable, and "applied towards the final permit fee". Because it is credited, it behaves as a floor rather than an extra charge: this site models it as a rule that adds only the shortfall when the calculated permit fee comes in below the filing fee, and adds nothing once the permit fee is above it. The $7.50 of City and State surcharges are separate and always apply.
Building permit page, Cost block, read 2026-09-25.
Can an alteration be priced by cost instead of by square footage?
Yes, at the applicant's request: "Alteration fees may be based on 2% of the cost of construction at request of the applicant (minimum $253)." It is a published election rather than an add-on — with it, the area row does not fire, and the City requires an executed contract or itemized cost estimate with the application. Below $12,650 of construction cost the $253 minimum governs, because 2% of $12,650 is $253.
PG_012, Alterations and Repairs (§4-A-902.2.1); the executed-contract requirement is on the building permit page.
How much is a demolition permit in Philadelphia?
$25.30 per 100 square feet or fraction, with a $253 minimum and a $50,600 maximum — one row spanning both columns of PG_012, which also prints the condition beside it: "Separate permit by licensed Demolition Contractor required for complete demolition." Interior, non-load-bearing demolition is a different row ($76 for the first 4,000 square feet, $5 each additional 100) and is not modelled on this site.
PG_012, Demolition (Philadelphia Code §4-A-902.2.x as cited in L&I's fee regulation).
Is there a separate plan review fee?
No separate plan review fee is published. Each service page's Cost block lists the filing fee, the permit fee, the two surcharges, record retention and one optional Accelerated Plan Review — $2,000 for building and foundation permits — and nothing else, so plan review sits inside the permit fee. Accelerated review is the only line that prices it, it is optional, and L&I says it "will not be credited toward your final permit fee".
Building permit page, Cost block ("Fee types that may apply"), read 2026-09-25.
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- Fee schedule (PDF)CityPrimary source
Construction Permit Fees, effective January 1, 2025 (PG_012, Rev 2.2026)
Read 2026-09-25 in both pdftotext -layout and plain modes, because layout mode mispairs labels with amounts in this document (its "Foundation Only" row appears to sit beside "$16.40 per 100 sq. ft."). Four pages, two columns — Residential (1 or 2 family) and Other Occupancies — covering building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, fire suppression and administration. Every figure this site charges comes from this table; the pairings recorded in the research file are the ones both extraction modes and the City's service pages agree on.
- City websiteCityPrimary source
Get a Building Permit — City of Philadelphia
Read 2026-09-25. Its Cost block publishes what PG_012 does not: the filing fee ("For one-or-two-family dwellings: $25. For any other occupancy: $100. This fee is nonrefundable and is applied towards the final permit fee"), City surcharge $3, State surcharge $4.50, record retention $4 per plan, Accelerated Plan Review at $2,000 ("Accelerated review fees will not be credited toward your final permit fee"), the development impact tax, and the payment surcharges. It also establishes the workflow (eCLIPSE, appointment-only counter), the zoning order ("In most cases, you must get a Zoning Permit before you can apply for a Building Permit"), the contractor rules, and the executed-contract requirement for the 2% alteration fee option.
- City websiteCityPrimary source
Get a Foundation-only Building Permit — City of Philadelphia
Read 2026-09-25. States the three foundation tiers without the table's column drift — "For foundations 500 sq. ft. or less: $253", $442 for 501 to 2,500, $759 above — and with no occupancy split at all, which is why one tier table prices both of PG_012's columns. This page is the sourceId of the foundation rule itself.
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.