Green Bay, WI
Green Bay building permit cost
A Green Bay building permit is priced on the building's square footage, at a rate the property class sets:
$0.01 per square foot for new construction in a one- or two-family dwelling, $0.14 in multi-family, and $0.07 or $0.14 for commercial work depending on the building group the Inspection Division assigns. Flat rows sit beside the ladder — windows and doors at $75.00, demolition at $75.00 to $100.00 by class — and no area row carries a minimum or a rounding rule.
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 — commercial group 1, $0.07 per square footPermit fee | $0.07 per sq ft | property class is commercial and building group is 1 | — |
| Building permit — commercial group 2, $0.14 per square footPermit fee | $0.14 per sq ft | property class is commercial and building group is 2 | — |
| Building permit — raze/demolish building, commercial, $100.00Permit fee | $100.00 flat fee | property class is commercial and building item is raze | — |
| Building permit — general construction, multi-family, $0.14 per square footPermit fee | $0.14 per sq ft | property class is multi family | — |
| Building permit — raze/demolish building, multi-family, $100.00Permit fee | $100.00 flat fee | property class is multi family and building item is raze | — |
| Building permit — new construction, one- and two-family, $0.01 per square footPermit fee | $0.01 per sq ft | not (property class is provided and not (property class is one two family)) | — |
| Building permit — raze/demolish building, one- and two-family, $75.00Permit fee | $75.00 flat fee | not (property class is provided and not (property class is one two family)) and building item is raze | — |
| Building permit — windows/doors, one- and two-family, $75.00Permit fee | $75.00 flat fee | not (property class is provided and not (property class is one two family)) and building item is windows doors | — |
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 2,000-square-foot single-family house — one- and two-family residential, new construction under the schedule's first building row.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Project area | 2,000 sq ft |
| Property class | one_two_family |
Example total
$20.00
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 |
|---|---|---|
Building permit — new construction, one- and two-family, $0.01 per square footPermit feeThe schedule's "One- and two-family residential construction permits — Principal or accessory building permits — New construction (per sq. foot) $0.01". A penny a foot is the whole variable fee: 1,500 square feet is $15.00. The row prints no minimum and no rounding, so the area is charged exactly. The rule is written as the catch-all for the class — it also matches an application that states no property class at all, which prices an unstated class at the residential rate rather than charging nothing.Show the working
| $0.01 per sq ft | $20.00 |
| Total | $20.00 |
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 — commercial group 1, $0.07 per square foot — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — commercial group 2, $0.14 per square foot — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — raze/demolish building, commercial, $100.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — general construction, multi-family, $0.14 per square foot — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — raze/demolish building, multi-family, $100.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — raze/demolish building, one- and two-family, $75.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit — windows/doors, one- and two-family, $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 residential row: $0.01 per square foot of new construction, charged exactly — 2,000 × $0.01 is $20.00, and that is the whole building permit fee. No minimum applies, because the schedule prints none.
The same 2,000 square feet priced as a multi-family building is 2,000 × $0.14, or $280.00; as a commercial group 1 building, $140.00; as commercial group 2, $280.00. The property class moves the fee by a factor of fourteen, which is why the application's occupancy boxes matter more than anything else on the form.
The fee does not include the §8-47 plan approval ($75.00 for a principal-use one- and two-family plan, paid at application) or the State of Wisconsin's own UDC seal requirements. Windows/doors-only permits are the $75.00 flat row; demolition is $75.00 here and $100.00 in the multi-family and commercial sections.
What is different in Green Bay
The class is asked, not derived: the City's own application forms print the occupancy boxes (Single-Family, Two-Family, Multi-Family, Commercial, Educational, Manufacturing, Other), and the schedule prices the same scope at a different rate across them. A 1,500-square-foot house is $15.00 of fee at a penny a foot; the same footprint as a multi-family building is $210.00 at fourteen cents; the same footprint as a commercial group 1 building is $105.00.
The area is charged exactly — no minimum, no rounding, no bands — because no row of the schedule prints any. What the schedule prints instead of a floor is a penalty on skipping the permit: the City's permitting-process page says failure to obtain a building permit may result in the doubling of permit fees, a municipal citation of over $500, and the work ordered redone or removed.
Two things sit on the same sheet but outside this page. The §8-47 plan-approval fees — $75.00 to $125.00 for a principal-use plan, with the residential energy calculations and fixture list printed at $0.00 — are application-stage charges, paid before the permit fee exists. And the commercial building groups are not defined anywhere the City publishes: the model asks which group the Division assigned, and an application that states none charges nothing rather than guessing.
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 building-permit section of the City's 2026 fee schedule. It excludes:
- The §8-47 plan-approval fees — $75.00/$125.00 principal-use, $50.00/$125.00 accessory-use, $125.00 HVAC and plumbing system plans, $75.00 sign structural plan — paid at application, before any permit fee. The two residential rows printed at $0.00 (energy calculations, fixture list) are filed, not priced.
- The doubling penalty for work started without a permit, plus the municipal citation of over $500 — multipliers and citations rather than charges.
- Roofing replacement and siding — $100.00 plus $0.01 per square foot for built-up/membrane roofing or brick veneer siding, multi-family and commercial sections only.
- Move building — $75.00/$100.00 plus a $0.14 per-square-foot foundation-area fee, which needs a second area figure.
- The accessory-structure grid — curb cut, culvert, driveway, fencing, hot tub, swimming pool, pond, satellite receiver, tower structure at $75.00/$100.00 each; subdivision signage at $50.00 plus $0.50/sq ft; temporary or mobile sign $50.00.
- Plan review percentages, technology fees and state surcharges — none exist on the schedule, and Wisconsin adds no levy of its own.
What you need before applying
- A complete application: site plan, building plan, cost estimate and every contractor's credentialRequired
The permitting-process page lists what a permit needs: a site plan drawn to scale showing property lines and buildings, a building plan with framing for anything structural (often available from the lumber supplier), the estimated project cost, and the names of all contractors including plumbers and electricians with their state credential numbers, addresses and phone numbers. All trades' permits must be submitted with the Building Permit Application, and everything must be submitted together — applications are reviewed in the order received, about a week for sheds, driveways and fences.
- Historic properties need a Certificate of Appropriateness before the permitRequired
Any property listed as a historic property within the City must submit a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) application to the Landmarks Commission, reviewed by staff or the Commission, which meets the third Wednesday of every month. COA review is required prior to the issuance of a building permit. An erosion control permit and plan are likewise required before permitting and before any land-disturbing construction.
Common questions
How much is a building permit in Green Bay?
For new construction, $0.01 per square foot in a one- or two-family dwelling, $0.14 per square foot in multi-family, and $0.07 or $0.14 per square foot for commercial work depending on building group — charged on the exact area with no minimum. Flat rows sit beside it: windows/doors $75.00 (residential), demolition $75.00 to $100.00 by class.
Why does the property class matter so much?
Because the schedule prices the same scope at different rates across three classes — one- and two-family residential, multi-family residential, and commercial/educational/institutional/industrial — and the City's application forms ask you to check the box. A 2,000-square-foot build is $20.00 in a house and $280.00 in multi-family. The class is a fact you supply; the calculator's residential rate is the default when none is stated.
Is there a minimum building permit fee?
No. Every area row on the schedule charges the exact square footage — '(per sq. foot)' with no minimum, no rounding and no bands printed anywhere in the building section. A small addition pays pennies a foot and nothing else. What the City publishes instead of a floor is a penalty: work without a permit can double the fees.
What are the commercial building groups?
The commercial section splits general construction into 'building group 1' at $0.07 per square foot and 'building group 2' at $0.14 — but neither the schedule nor the City's pages define what assigns a building to a group. That determination belongs to the Inspection Division at application. The calculator asks which group you were given and charges only the stated group.
Does the building permit include plan review?
Not as a percentage. The schedule's §8-47 plan-approval fees are flat application-stage charges — $75.00 or $125.00 for a principal-use plan — and the two residential plan rows are printed at $0.00: energy calculations and the plumbing fixture list are filed, not priced. There is no technology fee and no Wisconsin state surcharge to add.
What happens if I build without a permit?
The City's permitting-process page is specific: failure to obtain a building permit may result in the doubling of permit fees, a municipal citation of over $500, and the work ordered redone or removed if in non-compliance. The doubling is a multiplier on a fee that has not been computed, so it is stated here rather than charged as a rule.
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- Fee schedule (PDF)CityPrimary source
City of Green Bay Fee Schedule (PDF) — Chapter 8, Buildings and construction
Read 2026-09-25 as a 309,782-byte PDF with three columns — "Code Section", "Description", "2026 Fee" — and ordinance sections keyed in the margin (8-47 plan approval, 8-360 building and plumbing permits, 8-369 private wells, 8-449 electrical reinspections, 8-451 electrical permits, 8-478 mechanical permits). Extracted three ways: -layout mispairs columns exactly as Boston's sheet did (water heater handed the lawn sprinkler amount, the commercial section offset by a row), -raw scrambles the same tail, and -table pairs every row cleanly — that transcription is the one this site uses. The fee column is headed "2026 Fee"; the permit-guides page dates it to January 1, 2026.
- City websiteCityPrimary source
Permitting Process — the penalty, the two application forms, and the queue
Read 2026-09-25 for the penalty — "Failure to obtain a building permit may result in the doubling of permit fees, a municipal citation of over $500, and the work ordered redone or removed if in non-compliance" — and for the application structure: a short form for driveway expansions, yard sheds, fences and patios, a long form for everything else, all commercial projects on the long form, all trades' permits submitted with the building permit application, estimated project cost and all contractors' state credential numbers required, and a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Landmarks Commission for listed historic properties.
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.