Rapid City, SD
Rapid City plumbing permit cost
Rapid City's plumbing chapter adopts the 2015 UPC with city amendments — and prices nothing.
Like the electrical chapter, RCMC 15.24 defers to § 15.04.320's council-resolution mechanism, so a stand-alone plumbing job prices as a building permit application by declared valuation on Table 100-C: the $37.00 flat band to $1,600, then bands chaining exactly to a $5,608.75 base above $1,000,000, every excess rounded up to whole $1,000.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trade-scale permit valuation band 1 (Table 100-C)Permit fee | $37.00 flat fee | Project valuation up to $1,600 | — |
| Trade-scale permit valuation band 2 (Table 100-C)Permit fee | $69.25 flat fee | Project valuation over $1,600 and up to $2,000 | — |
| Trade-scale permit valuation band 3 (Table 100-C)Permit fee | $69.25 + $14.00 per $1,000 of project valuation above $2,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $2,000 and up to $25,000 | — |
| Trade-scale permit valuation band 4 (Table 100-C)Permit fee | $391.25 + $10.10 per $1,000 of project valuation above $25,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $25,000 and up to $50,000 | — |
| Trade-scale permit valuation band 5 (Table 100-C)Permit fee | $643.75 + $7.00 per $1,000 of project valuation above $50,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $50,000 and up to $100,000 | — |
| Trade-scale permit valuation band 6 (Table 100-C)Permit fee | $993.75 + $5.60 per $1,000 of project valuation above $100,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $100,000 and up to $500,000 | — |
| Trade-scale permit valuation band 7 (Table 100-C)Permit fee | $3,233.75 + $4.75 per $1,000 of project valuation above $500,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $500,000 and up to $1,000,000 | — |
| Trade-scale permit valuation band 8 (Table 100-C)Permit fee | $5,608.75 + $3.15 per $1,000 of project valuation above $1,000,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $1,000,000 | — |
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 stand-alone plumbing scope on an existing commercial building with a declared valuation of $18,000.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Project valuation | $18,000 |
| Occupancy class | Commercial |
Example total
$293.25
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 8
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Trade-scale permit valuation band 3 (Table 100-C)Permit feeTable 100-C row 3: "$2,001.00 to $25,000.00 — $69.25 for the first $2,000.00 plus $14.00 for each additional $1,000.00 or fraction thereof, to and including $25,000.00."Show the working
| $69.25 + $14.00 per $1,000 of project valuation above $2,000, or fraction thereof, in $1,000 steps | $293.25 |
| Total | $293.25 |
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.
- Trade-scale permit valuation band 1 (Table 100-C) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Trade-scale permit valuation band 2 (Table 100-C) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Trade-scale permit valuation band 4 (Table 100-C) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Trade-scale permit valuation band 5 (Table 100-C) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Trade-scale permit valuation band 6 (Table 100-C) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Trade-scale permit valuation band 7 (Table 100-C) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Trade-scale permit valuation band 8 (Table 100-C) — 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.
One line — $293.25.
Table 100-C, band 3 ('$2,001 to $25,000'): base $69.25. The excess is $16,000 — 16 whole $1,000 steps at $14.00 = $224.00.
Total: $69.25 + $224.00 = $293.25.
What moves it: 'or fraction thereof' — one cent of valuation rounds to one more step; and inside a building-permit application the plumbing work prices inside the declared construction valuation, with the plan review attaching on that page.
What is different in Rapid City
The 2015 UPC adoption covers the technical code — materials, fixtures, drainage. The money is elsewhere: the Common Council resolution behind the two Table PDFs, which price the whole construction valuation once on the building ladder rather than in trade pieces. § 15.04.170's definition already includes plumbing inside the declared value.
A stand-alone scope prices the same way as any commercial application: an $18,000 plumbing job lands in Table 100-C band 3 at $293.25 — $69.25 plus 16 whole $1,000 steps at $14.00. On a dwelling, Table 100-A applies and the plan-review row is 10% instead of 50%; on building-permit submittals those reviews attach there, not to stand-alone trade applications.
The plumbing chapter's own administrative contribution is the 180-day commencement rule and the refund cap — 80 percent within 180 days — which the code restates for every permit type.
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 page models the building permit's own price for trade-scale stand-alone work. It excludes:
- The 50% plan review — it attaches on building-permit submittals (the building page); a stand-alone trade application pays the ladder only.
- Event fees — the $47.00/hr inspection and additional-plan-review rows.
- The doubling rule for work begun before the permit issues.
- Development-application and air-quality fees on other schedules.
What you need before applying
- The plumbing chapter adopts the state code; the tables price the workRequired
Chapter 15.24 adopts the 2015 UPC with city amendments and, like the electrical chapter, prints no fee amounts — the Table 100-C ladder prices declared plumbing valuations. Permits expire if work is not commenced within 180 days, and the refund section caps refunds at 80% within 180 days.
Common questions
How much is a plumbing permit in Rapid City?
By declared valuation on the building tables — there is no separate plumbing fee table. An $18,000 scope on a commercial building pays $293.25 on Table 100-C band 3; scopes under $1,600 pay the $37.00 flat band.
What plumbing code does Rapid City use?
The state-adopted 2015 Uniform Plumbing Code with Rapid City amendments in RCMC Chapter 15.24. The chapter is technical adoption — the fee amounts live in the Common Council resolutions behind the Table 100-A/100-C PDFs.
Does the plumbing permit need plan review?
Plan review attaches on building-permit submittals — 50% of the permit fee for all occupancies except 1–2 family dwellings, 10% for dwellings. A stand-alone trade application pays the valuation ladder only.
How is the plumbing valuation determined?
By § 15.04.170's definition: the declared construction valuation includes plumbing, heating, finish work, roofing, elevators and permanent equipment — site improvements and parking lots out. The applicant declares it; the table prices it.
What if work starts before the plumbing permit issues?
§ 15.04.300 doubles the permit fee for work commenced before issuance, emergency exception aside — the same rule that applies to every permit type in Title 15.
How long do I have to start work?
180 days from issuance, or the permit becomes null. Refunds are capped at 80 percent within the same 180-day window by the code's refund section.
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- Fee schedule (PDF)CityPrimary source
Read 2026-09-26 from the Internet Archive captures of the city's own URLs (Wayback 2024-11-26 and 2025-04-30) after rcgov.org's Cloudflare challenge blocked scripted retrieval; the live Building Permits Fee Information page confirms both PDFs are the tables the city publishes today. Table 100-A: eight residential bands from a $37.00 flat to $3,539.50 base above $1,000,000, plus the 10% dwelling plan-review row and $42.00/hr event rows. Table 100-C: eight commercial bands from the same $37.00 flat to $5,608.75 base above $1,000,000, plus the 50% plan-review row and $47.00/hr event rows. Printed typos ('$500,00.00', '$100,000.000') resolved by the ladders' own chaining.
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.