Local Search · July 13, 2026

Denver Building Permit Fees in 2026: The Valuation Formula, Worked Out

Denver does not publish one flat price for a building permit. The base building-permit fee follows the project's stated valuation, and plan review is generally another 50% of that permit fee once the valuation exceeds $2,000. Other agencies and project conditions can add charges that are not in the base table.

That means an online estimate can be useful, but it is not a city quote. This page shows the current formula, works three examples, and separates the known calculation from the items that still require a project-specific review.

The City and County of Denver fee page was checked July 13, 2026.

The seven valuation brackets

Project valuation	Base building-permit fee	Plan review
$1–$500	$20	$0
$501–$2,000	$35	$0
$2,001–$25,000	$35 for the first $2,000, plus $8 for each additional $1,000 or fraction	50% of the permit fee
$25,001–$50,000	$220 for the first $25,000, plus $8 for each additional $1,000 or fraction	50% of the permit fee
$50,001–$100,000	$420 for the first $50,000, plus $7 for each additional $1,000 or fraction	50% of the permit fee
$100,001–$500,000	$770 for the first $100,000, plus $5.60 for each additional $1,000 or fraction	50% of the permit fee
$500,001–$1 million	$3,010 for the first $500,000, plus $4.75 for each additional $1,000 or fraction	50% of the permit fee
More than $1 million	$5,385 for the first $1 million, plus $3.65 for each additional $1,000 or fraction	50% of the permit fee

The phrase “or fraction thereof” matters. If the amount above the bracket floor is $8,001, Denver charges for nine additional $1,000 units, not 8.001 units.

Three worked examples

These examples calculate only the base building-permit fee and the published plan-review percentage. They do not include zoning, wastewater, fire, transportation, affordable-housing, landmark, trade, or other possible charges.

Example 1: a $10,000 valuation

The first $2,000 costs $35. The remaining $8,000 creates eight $8 units.

Building-permit fee: $35 + (8 × $8) = $99
Plan review: 50% × $99 = $49.50
Base permit and plan-review estimate: $148.50

Example 2: an $80,000 valuation

The first $50,000 costs $420. The remaining $30,000 creates thirty $7 units.

Building-permit fee: $420 + (30 × $7) = $630
Plan review: 50% × $630 = $315
Base permit and plan-review estimate: $945

Example 3: a $750,000 valuation

The first $500,000 costs $3,010. The remaining $250,000 creates 250 units at $4.75.

Building-permit fee: $3,010 + (250 × $4.75) = $4,197.50
Plan review: 50% × $4,197.50 = $2,098.75
Base permit and plan-review estimate: $6,296.25

The examples use exact multiples of $1,000 so the rounding rule is visible without clutter. A valuation of $80,000.01 would add one more $7 unit.

What “project valuation” means in this calculation

The fee table is valuation-based, not contract-price-based in the casual sense of whatever number appears on one subcontract. The submitted valuation should represent the work covered by the permit application under Denver's current instructions. Owners and contractors should use the city's definition and application guidance for the exact permit type instead of lowering a figure to reach a cheaper bracket.

Keep the valuation support with the project record: signed scope, labor and material basis, equipment, subcontract work, and any city-requested documentation. If plan review changes the scope, ask whether the valuation and fee must also be updated.

Costs the base table does not settle

Denver's fee page warns that a project may receive charges from other departments and agencies. The final total can depend on the address, occupancy, use, project type, and reviews attached to the application.

Potential additions include:

zoning review and zoning permits;
wastewater, sewer-use, or utility review;
transportation, right-of-way, and street-occupancy permits;
fire-department permits and inspections;
electrical, plumbing, mechanical, boiler, elevator, or other trade permits;
landmark-preservation review;
affordable-housing linkage or other development charges where applicable;
resubmittal, reinspection, phased-permit, or after-hours service; and
payment-processing charges shown by the current portal.

Do not turn the base formula into a customer-facing “all permit fees included” allowance unless the responsible departments have been checked.

Same-day review, inspections, and solar

Denver's current table lists a same-day plan-review charge of 20% of the permit fee, with a $100 minimum for projects valued above $2,000. The city also lists reinspection and certain nonstandard inspection services at $100 per hour; off-hours inspections have a two-hour minimum.

The solar photovoltaic portion of a project uses a published $50 flat permit fee. Related structural, electrical, roofing, zoning, landmark, or other work can still create separate requirements. Treat the $50 line as the PV permit component, not proof that the entire installation costs $50 to permit.

A fee worksheet that belongs in every estimate

Confirm the property is inside City and County of Denver jurisdiction.
Define the work included in the permit application.
Record the supported project valuation.
Apply the correct bracket and round each additional partial $1,000 upward.
Add the published plan-review percentage.
List every trade and outside-department review separately.
Label the result estimate pending city assessment.
Save the invoice, permit record, corrections, inspections, and final approval.

Our separate Denver contractor-license and permit guide maps the credential, jurisdiction, permit, landmark, and inspection handoffs. Use this fee ledger after the permit path is known.

Search demand and the useful-content path

DataForSEO estimated 40 U.S. searches a month for “Denver building permit fees” in July 2026, with organic difficulty 3. “Denver e permits” showed substantially more demand, but that result is mostly navigational: the user wants the city's portal. This page targets the harder question the portal does not answer in one sentence—how the base calculation works and what it leaves out.

A Denver contractor can apply the same standard to its own website. Show the license, permit responsibility, fee assumptions, inspection owner, and a direct quote path. Denver Contractor Sites builds that information into contractor websites and local search systems, with planning prices and a scoped site review as the commercial next steps.

Official sources

Method: Campbell Digital Studio transcribed Denver's current valuation brackets, preserved the city's “each additional $1,000 or fraction” rule, and calculated three examples from the published formula. Last checked July 13, 2026. This is an educational estimate, not a fee quote, code interpretation, appraisal, or permitting decision.

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