Department of Inspection & Standards
- Phone
- (401) 680-5201
- Hours
- Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Rhode Island
Providence, RI permit fees and requirements
Providence prices building permits from project valuation on the statewide schedule:
$23.00 per $1,000 to $10,000, $230 + $21.00 per $1,000 to $50,000, then $1,070 + $19.00 per $1,000 above — with a printed $125 minimum. Electrical and plumbing permits read the same ladder.
Permit costs we have worked out
Each page shows the fee components, the formula the jurisdiction uses, and a worked example you can follow by hand.
Estimate your potential Providence permit fee with our Building Permit Fee Calculator.
| Permit | Category | Last reviewed |
|---|---|---|
| Providence building permit fees | structural | 2026-09-26 |
| Providence electrical permit fees | electrical | 2026-09-26 |
| Providence plumbing permit fees | plumbing | 2026-09-26 |
Local context
What is specific to Providence
Rhode Island is a statewide-fee state, and that is the first thing to know about a Providence permit: the City does not set its own rate. Regulation 510-RICR-00-00-21, promulgated by the Building Code Commission under R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-27.3-119, computes every municipality's building permit fee, and §21.6 makes the §21.12 schedules the fees municipalities must charge. Providence's schedule (§21.12(A)(28)) is the state's most expensive ladder.
The ladder is three linear legs whose bases chain exactly: $23.00 per $1,000 of project valuation to $10,000 ($230 at the seam), $21.00 per $1,000 above $10,000 to $50,000 ($1,070 at the seam), then $19.00 per $1,000 above $50,000 with no upper limit. A $50,000 project prices $1,070.00; a $150,000 project prices $1,070.00 + $19.00 x 100 = $2,970.00. The printed note adds the floor: no permit computes below $125.00.
The department behind the counter is Inspection & Standards at 780 Allens Avenue, and its e-Permitting portal takes building, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, moving and demolition applications online. The regulation's one carve-out worth knowing: its schedules are 'exclusive of the levy mandated by R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-27.3-108.2(c)(1)' — a separate statutory levy the schedule does not include.
Valuation
How valuation is determined here
Project valuation — total cost of the work — read against the statewide ladder: $23.00 per $1,000 to $10,000, $21.00 per $1,000 from $10,001 to $50,000, $19.00 per $1,000 above $50,000, $125.00 minimum. Each partial thousand rounds up.
Who to contact
The office that issues the permit, with the details we have verified. Confirm current hours before travelling.
What these fees do not include
The list is not a disclaimer: on a new house the fees left out can outweigh the permit fee several times over. Every entry here is stated on the permit page as well.
Not included in our estimates
These figures are the statewide schedule's permit fees for Providence. They exclude:
- The statutory levy of R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-27.3-108.2(c)(1) — the regulation says its schedules are exclusive of it.
- Mechanical, moving and demolition permits, which e-Permitting takes but which this dataset prices only where a printed schedule says so.
- Plan review — the regulation's schedule publishes no plan-review percentage.
- Zoning and historic-district approvals, which are separate City processes before the permit.
Official sources for this jurisdiction
The documents these figures are transcribed from. Where a source contradicts itself we keep both readings and say so on the permit page.
- Municipal codeStatePrimary source
510-RICR-00-00-21 State Wide Permitting Fee — §21.12(A)(35) City of Warwick schedule
Read 2026-09-26 from the Secretary of State's regulations host (HTTP 200). ACTIVE RULE, amendment effective 2023-12-10. §21.6 requires municipalities to compute permit fees from the §21.12 schedules. Warwick (§21.12(A)(35)): $10.00 per $1,000 to $10,000; $100 + $8.00 per $1,000 exceeding $10k to $50,000; $420 + $6.00 per $1,000 exceeding $50k above; $75 minimum fee. Band bases chain exactly ($10 x 10 = $100; $100 + $8 x 40 = $420).
- City websiteCityPrimary source
Department of Inspection & Standards — Permit Inspections
The issuing office (780 Allens Avenue, 401.680.5201, weekdays 8:30-4:30). The department's FAQ directs applicants to 'see the fee schedule for Building, Plumbing, Mechanical' — the schedule the statewide regulation fixes.
- Permit portalCityPrimary source
The application route: building, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, moving and demolition permits are available online through the City's e-Permitting launch.