Richmond, VA permit fees and requirements

Richmond enforces the 2021 Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code, including the Virginia Residential Code for one- and two-family dwellings, through the Department of Planning & Development Review at 900 East Broad Street (Room 108). A Richmond building permit covers only the building and structural portion of a project — electrical, mechanical and plumbing work files under separate trade permits, each reviewed for code compliance when submitted and priced by the same value-of-work formulas: the schedule's opening sentence lists electrical and plumbing among the permits 'calculated as follows'.

Two features make Richmond's schedule distinctive. The value of work is not taken from the applicant alone: it is the higher of the contractor's estimate or the RS Means valuation, so understating a bid only moves the fee to the City's number. And the schedule prices withdrawn or rejected applications at 5% of the initial permit fee (minimum $25) with plan-review minimums at 10%, so abandoning a submittal is not free.

Both formulas print 'or fraction thereof', so the value of work rounds up to the whole $1,000 above the $2,000 threshold — a $12,300 residential job pays $63 + $6.07 × 11 = $129.77 before the surcharge. Other schedule rows a project may touch: demolition at $184 residential / $368 commercial (plus $.01/sq ft above 10,000 sq ft, capped at $1,000), certificates of occupancy at $263, re-inspections at $32/$63, and after-hours inspections at $110/hour.