A Los Angeles building permit does not have a flat price. The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) calculates the building permit fee from the valuation of the work using the fee table in the Municipal Code, adds a plan check fee equal to 90 percent of the permit fee whenever plans are reviewed, then adds separate electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits, city and state surcharges and, for new square footage, the school district’s developer fee and the city’s sewer charge. Green Design and Build is a licensed, bonded and insured general contractor (CSLB #1110975) based in Van Nuys, serving homeowners across Los Angeles County, Orange County, Ventura County, western Riverside County and western San Bernardino County (Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga and neighbouring cities), and we pull these permits every week. This guide explains what each line is, who charges it, when it is paid and how it is calculated, citing the official schedules; the only figures that are not official are the budgeting ranges by project type, which are typical Los Angeles estimates, not a price list or a quote.
Who we are
Green Design and Build is led by Dekel Sofer. We hold a 4.7-star rating across 146 Yelp reviews and have completed hundreds of projects, most of them permitted through LADBS at the Van Nuys and Metro Development Services Centers or through the city building divisions across our five counties. Permits and fees appear as their own lines on every proposal we write, passed through at cost.
The fees, one by one
| Fee | Who charges it | How it is calculated | Official basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building permit fee | LADBS | From the valuation of the work using Table 1-A of the Building Code; the base table runs from $65 for work up to $2,000 to “$395 plus $3.50 per $1,000” between $100,000 and $500,000 and “$520 plus $3.25 per $1,000” up to $1,000,000, indexed to the Los Angeles consumer price index each July 1 | LAMC 91.107.2 and Table 1-A; 91.107.1.1 |
| Plan check fee | LADBS | 90 percent of the building permit fee, charged whenever plans must be reviewed; an expedited review costs 50 percent more | LAMC 91.107.3.1.1; LADBS Regular Plan Check page |
| Plan maintenance fee | LADBS | 2 percent of the building permit fee, minimum $10, maximum $300 | LAMC 91.107.4.3 |
| Fire hydrant fee | LADBS for the Fire Department | 0.22 percent of the total valuation on projects of $50,000 or more | LAMC 91.107.4.4 |
| Strong Motion Instrumentation fee | State of California, collected by LADBS | $13 per $100,000 of valuation for houses of one to three stories, minimum 50 cents | Public Resources Code 2705 |
| Electrical permit | LADBS | Per item: branch circuits from $17, outlet and light groups from $18, panels from $16; $55 or $90 minimum; $23 issuance fee; plus a 3 percent Development Services surcharge and a 6 percent Systems surcharge | LADBS electrical fee schedule (rev. 12/2016) |
| Plumbing permit | LADBS | Per item: $23 per new fixture, $10 to replace one, $28 per water heater, $40 for a sewer connection, $10 per gas outlet; $23 issuance fee; same surcharges | LADBS plumbing fee schedule (rev. 7/2017) |
| Mechanical (HVAC) permit | LADBS | Per item: $19 per gas furnace, $24 per air handler; $24 issuance fee; same surcharges | LADBS mechanical fee schedule (rev. 7/2017) |
| Certificate of Occupancy | LADBS | $150 per unit on new dwellings and ADUs | City of Los Angeles Housing Element fee summary |
| School developer fee | Los Angeles Unified School District | $5.17 per square foot of new residential space (rate effective June 8, 2024), on new houses and on additions of 500 square feet or more; paid to LAUSD for a certificate LADBS requires before issuing the permit | LAUSD Developer Fee program; Education Code 17620 |
| Sewerage Facilities Charge | LA Sanitation, before the sewer connection permit | Charged for a new connection and for each additional dwelling unit or bedroom | LAMC 64.16.1 |
| Planning clearances and cases | LA City Planning | Building permit clearance (minor) $324; HPOZ Certificate of Appropriateness for an addition $1,920; Zoning Administrator adjustment, single-family $9,966; Coastal Development Permit, single-family $13,046; plus a 3 percent surcharge (July 1, 2024 schedule, indexed each July) | City Planning CPI-adjusted fee schedule; LAMC 19.01–19.08 |
Three cautions. The building-code amounts are the base figures in the Municipal Code, and the trade schedules LADBS posts were last revised in 2016 and 2017; because the code indexes fees to inflation every July 1, the amount on your permit will be higher than the printed base, and the LADBS Permit Fee Calculator is the only place to get the current number. The Planning figures are from the schedule effective July 1, 2024 and are adjusted each July as well. And the school fee is the district’s posted rate; the State Allocation Board raised the statutory maximum to $5.38 per square foot in January 2026, which LAUSD may adopt on its own schedule. These official rates are what the city and the district charge; they are not a price list for a project, and the only real permit number is the one on a written proposal after a site visit.
What “valuation” means, and why it drives everything
Valuation is LADBS’s estimate of the cost of the work, and the building permit fee, the plan check fee, the plan maintenance fee, the hydrant fee and the state seismic fee all key off it. For new buildings and additions LADBS uses its Building Permit Valuation Table, a per-square-foot schedule by building type (an average-quality wood-frame dwelling is listed at $101 per square foot and a good-quality one at $137 on the table effective August 17, 2015, with patio covers at $16); for remodels the valuation follows the contract price. So a permit for a $150,000 kitchen costs more than one for a $60,000 kitchen with identical paperwork, and understating the valuation to shrink the fee is fraud against the city and a problem at sale, so we do not do it.
Who pays, and when
The contractor who pulls the permit is the applicant, and in our proposals the permit and plan check fees are their own line, paid by you at cost as they come due. The plan check fee is paid when the plans are submitted; after review and corrections, LADBS emails a fee statement, and the building permit fee, trade permits and surcharges are paid at issuance. The school certificate and the sewer charge are collected before issuance where they apply, and Planning fees are paid when the clearance or case is filed, before plan check.
Express permit, counter plan check or regular plan check
The path changes the fee as much as the valuation does, because the 90 percent plan check fee applies only when plans are reviewed.
- Express permit (no plan check). LADBS issues express permits, online as e-permits, for simple work: re-roofs, non-structural kitchen and bathroom remodels, same-size window and door replacement, water heaters, re-stucco and similar items on its express permit list. You pay the permit fee, trade permits and surcharges, and no plan check fee. Our posts on whether you need a permit to replace your roof, kitchen remodel permits and bathroom remodel permits cover which remodels stay on the express list.
- Counter plan check. Small plan sets, such as a non-bearing wall removal with an engineered beam, can be reviewed over the counter at a Development Services Center.
- Regular plan check. Additions, new buildings, ADUs and structural alterations must be filed through Building Plan Check before a permit is issued. Plans are assigned within a few days of submittal and returned within weeks depending on workload, with corrections in cycles. Paying 50 percent more of the plan check fee expedites the review.
What the permits look like by project
| Project | Path at LADBS | Fees that apply |
|---|---|---|
| Re-roof, like-for-like | Express permit | Building permit fee on the roofing valuation, surcharges, Certificate of Compliance at final |
| Kitchen or bathroom remodel, no structural change | Express permit | Building permit fee, electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits, surcharges |
| Kitchen or bathroom remodel with a wall removed or window enlarged | Counter or regular plan check | The above plus the plan check fee |
| Room addition | Regular plan check | Building permit and plan check fees, trade permits, surcharges, hydrant fee, seismic fee; LAUSD fee if 500 square feet or more; sewer charge for an added bedroom; Planning clearance in overlay zones |
| ADU | Regular plan check or City standard plan | The addition fees plus a Certificate of Occupancy; no impact fees under 750 square feet; no school fee under 500 square feet; no separate utility connection fee for an ADU inside the existing house |
| New single-family house | Regular plan check with Planning, Fire, Sanitation and DWP clearances | Every fee in the table, plus demolition, grading and fire sprinkler permits and utility charges |
These are typical Los Angeles budgeting estimates, not a price list or a quote. Your project can come in lower or higher depending on the house, the scope and the finishes; the only real number is a written proposal after a site visit.
For scale, our room addition cost guide treats plan check, permit and city fees as one of four soft-cost lines beside drawings and engineering, the soils report and the Title 24 report, and our new home construction page lists the school fee and sewer charge as separate pass-through lines. On a remodel the permit is a small fraction of the project; on an addition or a house it is a real line, mostly because of the school fee and the plan check.
ADU fee rules that lower the bill
State law removes several fees for ADUs, and they should be missing from any ADU estimate you compare. Under Government Code section 66324, no local agency, special district or water company may impose an impact fee on an ADU of less than 750 square feet, and impact fees on larger ADUs must be charged in proportion to the primary house. Since January 1, 2026, an ADU or junior ADU under 500 square feet is also treated as construction that does not trigger the school developer fee. An ADU created inside the existing house or an existing accessory structure, such as a garage conversion, cannot be required to have a new utility connection or pay a connection fee or capacity charge, unless it is built with a new house or sold separately. The LADBS permit and plan check fees still apply, and a detached ADU built from one of the City’s pre-approved standard plans moves through plan check faster than a custom set. Our ADU and ADU rules pages cover the zoning side.
Inspections and what they cost
The permit fee covers the inspections listed on the permit: foundation, framing, rough electrical, plumbing and mechanical, insulation, drywall and final for an addition; rough and final for most remodels; a sheathing inspection and the Certificate of Compliance for a re-roof. Each one is recorded on the Building Card, and a phase cannot be covered until its inspection has passed. What is not in the fee is a failed inspection that has to be repeated, which LADBS bills as a re-inspection, or work opened up because it was covered early; both are avoidable with scheduling.
What an unpermitted job costs instead
Our post on how to hire a general contractor without getting scammed tells the story of a $28,000 kitchen where the contractor pulled no electrical permit before disappearing at about 60 percent complete. The homeowner paid a second contractor to finish, then paid for permit corrections and code-compliance work on the electrical, which meant opening finished walls so an inspector could see what had been done. A permit’s fee is a small share of a project; retrofitting one is not, and an unpermitted addition is excluded from appraised square footage and surfaces at sale. Our guide to what a Los Angeles general contractor costs shows where permit fees sit in a full budget.
Where we do this work
The fee structure in this guide is the City of Los Angeles’s, which covers Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Studio City, Woodland Hills and the rest of the San Fernando Valley as well as the basin, the Westside and the harbor in Los Angeles County. Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Santa Clarita, Long Beach and Torrance run their own building divisions with their own fee schedules, and unincorporated areas use LA County Building and Safety. Every city in Orange County and Ventura County, Corona, Riverside, Murrieta and Eastvale in western Riverside County, and Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga and Chino in western San Bernardino County do the same under the same state codes; the school fee and the state seismic fee apply everywhere. Every city and county we serve is on our service areas page.
LADBS permit cost FAQs
How much does a building permit cost in Los Angeles?
An LADBS building permit is priced from the valuation of the work using the fee table in Municipal Code section 91.107, with a plan check fee of 90 percent of the permit fee when plans are reviewed, plus trade permits, a plan maintenance fee, a fire hydrant fee on projects of $50,000 or more, the state seismic fee and city surcharges. The code indexes the base table to inflation each July 1, so the LADBS Permit Fee Calculator gives the current number. Any total you see quoted elsewhere is a typical estimate, not a price list.
What is the LADBS plan check fee?
The LADBS plan check fee is 90 percent of the building permit fee for a building or structure under Municipal Code section 91.107.3.1.1, paid when the plans are submitted. It applies to any project that needs plans reviewed, such as an addition, an ADU, a new house or a remodel with structural changes, and not to express permits. An expedited review costs 50 percent more of the plan check fee.
Do I have to pay school fees for a room addition in Los Angeles?
Yes if the addition adds 500 square feet or more of residential space; the Los Angeles Unified School District’s developer fee, $5.17 per square foot at the rate effective June 8, 2024, is paid to the district for a certificate LADBS requires before issuing the permit. Residential additions under 500 square feet are exempt, and since January 1, 2026 an ADU under 500 square feet is treated the same way.
Are ADUs exempt from permit fees in Los Angeles?
ADUs still pay LADBS building permit, plan check and trade permit fees, but state law removes other charges: no impact fees on an ADU under 750 square feet (Government Code section 66324), proportionate impact fees above that, no school developer fee on an ADU under 500 square feet, and no new utility connection or connection fee for an ADU created inside the existing house or garage. Those items should be absent from any ADU estimate you compare.
What is an LADBS express permit?
An LADBS express permit is a permit for simple work that needs no plan check, issued online as an e-permit or at a Development Services Center. Re-roofs, non-structural kitchen and bathroom remodels, same-size window and door replacements, water heaters and re-stucco are on the express list. You pay the permit fee, trade permits and surcharges but no plan check fee, and the permit is usually issued in days.
Who pays the permit fees, the homeowner or the contractor?
The licensed contractor applies for the permit and is responsible for the work under it, and the fees are passed through to the homeowner at cost, inside the contract price or as a separate line. Green Design and Build lists permit, plan check, school and sewer fees on every proposal so you can see what the city charged. Be wary of a bid that leaves permits out or offers to skip them.
See the permit line before you see the price
Tell us what you want to build and where. On a free site visit we identify which permit path your project takes, which Planning clearances and school or sewer fees apply, and we itemize every one of them on the written proposal so the city's charges are visible, not buried.