Long Beach, California Building Permit Cost Calculator

Long Beach sets the building permit fee on project valuation under the Building Permit and Plan Check Fees schedule with fee changes effective 5/20/2026. The fee is $101 per permit up to $500, then $101 for the first $500 plus $3 for each additional $100 through $2,000, then $149 for the first $2,000 plus $16 for each additional $1,000 through $20,000, then $441 for the first $20,000 plus $11 for each additional $1,000 through $50,000, then $786 for the first $50,000 plus $10 for each additional $1,000 through $100,000, then $1,264 for the first $100,000 plus $6 for each additional $1,000, and finally $6,506 for the first $1,000,000 plus $6 for each additional $1,000. As published these last two tiers do not meet: carrying the sixth tier to $1,000,000 yields $6,664 rather than the $6,506 at which the top tier starts. Standard plan check is 85 percent of the building permit fee with a $154 minimum. A combination permit covering building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical work for a Group R Division 3 or Group U-1 occupancy is 150 percent of the building permit fee with a $164 minimum. State charges are added on valuation, and work done without a permit adds 100 percent of the permit fee with an investigation fee of no less than $465.

Long Beach exempts private concrete pathways, driveways and decks that rise no higher than 30 inches over the ground beside them, so those need no permit and carry no fee. A deck whose walking surface sits higher than 30 inches off the ground needs a building permit, and Long Beach publishes no separate deck fee for it. Such a deck is charged on project valuation under the Building Permit and Plan Check Fees schedule with fee changes effective 5/20/2026, which starts at $101 per permit for valuations up to $500. Plan check, where required, is 85 percent of the building permit fee with a $154 minimum, and state charges based on valuation are added.

A minimum fee of $100 per permit applies to any electrical permit; the permit fee is otherwise built from itemized charges for services, panels, outlets, fixtures, circuits and equipment. Electrical plan check is charged separately at 100% of the electrical permit fee, but not less than $216 per plan check. Where no specific fee is identified for an electrical installation requiring a permit, the fee is the same as building permit fees based on the valuation of the electrical work, but not less than $109.

Long Beach publishes no flat fence fee. Wood, vinyl, wrought iron and similar fences up to 6 feet 6 inches in height need no building permit. Information Bulletin IB-BU-041 states that a building permit is required to build a new fence or garden wall of wood, chain link, wrought iron or similar material above 6 feet 6 inches, or of concrete, masonry, brick or similar material above 4 feet. An electrical permit may also be needed for lights or automatic gates. Where a permit is required the fence is charged on project valuation under the Building Permit and Plan Check Fees schedule with fee changes effective 5/20/2026, starting at $101 per permit for valuations up to $500. Planning Bureau review applies in all cases even when no building permit is needed. UNRESOLVED SOURCE CONFLICT OPENED 2026-09-11 (run 757, WebFetch-only, curl egress refused): the cited Long Beach Building Permit & Plan Check Fees schedule, re-read twice independently at the same stored URL, now presents itself as "Fee Changes Effective 10/1/2025" with "10/1/25" printed in the headers and footer and NO other date anywhere in the document, while these rows were written against an edition described as effective 5/20/2026. A cited effective date that moves BACKWARDS is not a normal supersession and is not explicable as a fee increase; the likeliest readings are (a) the city has replaced the content served at this stable URL with an earlier edition, which is the same stable-URL-rotating-content hazard that Raleigh's Development Fee Guide shows, or (b) the 5/20/2026 edition reference recorded on these rows was wrong when written. SECOND AND SUBSTANTIVE DISCREPANCY: both reads return Standard Plan Check as "75% of Building Permit fee per plan check, but not less than $154" against the stored 85%. This is NOT being rewritten, for a specific reason: the adjacent Grading Plan Check line also reads "75% of Grading Permit fee / plan check", and a Combination Plan Check line reads 75% as well, so a row-bleed from a neighbouring 75% line is a live alternative to a real 85%-to-75% change, and lane protocol forbids concluding a figure changed from WebFetch output alone. EVERYTHING ELSE RE-READ CLEAN AND VERBATIM and is unaffected either way: $101/permit up to $500; $101 for the first $500 plus $3 per additional $100 to $2,000; $149 for the first $2,000 plus $16 per additional $1,000 to $20,000; re-inspection $140; Strong-Motion 1-3 story residential $0.13 per $1,000 minimum $0.50; Green Building Standards $1 per $25,000 minimum $1; geologic/soils review 115% of consultant cost or $390/hour; grading permit $100 for 50 cubic yards or less and $201 for 51-100; grading plan check 75%. ROWS DELIBERATELY LEFT UNSTAMPED. NEXT PASS, HIGHEST PRIORITY IN THIS LANE: one curl + pdftotext -layout read of this schedule settles both the date and the plan check percentage at once; if the 85% figure is genuinely superseded it is a live wrong figure on the public page for the fence and retaining_wall rows. | 2026-09-14 (lane B run 1131) HELD UNSTAMPED, ONE SOURCING GAP. Seven of the eight figures were confirmed verbatim in the cited Building Permit & Plan Check Fees schedule ("Fee Changes Effective 5/20/2026", Last Updated 5/20/2026): valuation up to $500 $101/permit; $501-$2,000 $101 for the first $500 plus $3 per addtl $100; $2,001-$20,000 $149 for the first $2,000 plus $16 per addtl $1,000; standard plan check 85% of Building Permit fee not less than $154; and the two no-permit-required thresholds. The EIGHTH figure, "Electrical permit minimum, where lights or automatic gates are added = $100 / permit", is NOT in the cited document, which is a building-permit schedule only. longbeach.gov/lbcd/building/fee-schedules/ 404s and the electrical schedule could not be located on the city domain this pass (two candidate paths timed out). No figure was guessed or changed and verified_at was deliberately not advanced. NEEDED: locate and record the Long Beach electrical permit fee schedule, or drop that example. | 2026-09-14 (lane B run 1131) HOLD CLEARED WITHIN THE SAME RUN. The gap recorded earlier this pass - the "Electrical permit minimum, where lights or automatic gates are added = $100 / permit" figure not being in the cited building-permit schedule - is now closed. The Long Beach Electrical Permit & Plan Check Fees schedule ("Fee Changes effective 10/01/2025", Last Updated 10/1/2025) prints verbatim "For electrical permits, a minimum fee will be charged. $100 / permit". fee_source_url set to that schedule. All eight figures in this row are now confirmed against Long Beach documents and the row is stamped.

Long Beach exempts roofing work of up to 100 square feet on an existing building or structure within any 12 month period, so small patches carry no permit and no fee. A larger re-roof needs a building permit and can be obtained through the city's online Water Heater, Reroof, and Electrical Panel Changeout process for one and two unit homes, or by a registered contractor through the online building permit application. No flat re-roofing fee is published. The permit is charged on project valuation under the Building Permit and Plan Check Fees schedule with fee changes effective 5/20/2026, starting at $101 per permit for valuations up to $500 and reaching $149 for the first $2,000 plus $16 for each additional $1,000 through $20,000. State charges based on valuation are added. UNRESOLVED SOURCE CONFLICT OPENED 2026-09-11 (run 757, WebFetch-only, curl egress refused): the cited Long Beach Building Permit & Plan Check Fees schedule, re-read twice independently at the same stored URL, now presents itself as "Fee Changes Effective 10/1/2025" with "10/1/25" printed in the headers and footer and NO other date anywhere in the document, while these rows were written against an edition described as effective 5/20/2026. A cited effective date that moves BACKWARDS is not a normal supersession and is not explicable as a fee increase; the likeliest readings are (a) the city has replaced the content served at this stable URL with an earlier edition, which is the same stable-URL-rotating-content hazard that Raleigh's Development Fee Guide shows, or (b) the 5/20/2026 edition reference recorded on these rows was wrong when written. SECOND AND SUBSTANTIVE DISCREPANCY: both reads return Standard Plan Check as "75% of Building Permit fee per plan check, but not less than $154" against the stored 85%. This is NOT being rewritten, for a specific reason: the adjacent Grading Plan Check line also reads "75% of Grading Permit fee / plan check", and a Combination Plan Check line reads 75% as well, so a row-bleed from a neighbouring 75% line is a live alternative to a real 85%-to-75% change, and lane protocol forbids concluding a figure changed from WebFetch output alone. EVERYTHING ELSE RE-READ CLEAN AND VERBATIM and is unaffected either way: $101/permit up to $500; $101 for the first $500 plus $3 per additional $100 to $2,000; $149 for the first $2,000 plus $16 per additional $1,000 to $20,000; re-inspection $140; Strong-Motion 1-3 story residential $0.13 per $1,000 minimum $0.50; Green Building Standards $1 per $25,000 minimum $1; geologic/soils review 115% of consultant cost or $390/hour; grading permit $100 for 50 cubic yards or less and $201 for 51-100; grading plan check 75%. ROWS DELIBERATELY LEFT UNSTAMPED. NEXT PASS, HIGHEST PRIORITY IN THIS LANE: one curl + pdftotext -layout read of this schedule settles both the date and the plan check percentage at once; if the 85% figure is genuinely superseded it is a live wrong figure on the public page for the fence and retaining_wall rows.

Long Beach exempts retaining walls and planter boxes up to 4 feet in height that do not support a surcharge or sloping earth, so those carry no permit and no fee. A taller wall, or one holding back a surcharge or a slope, needs a building permit, and no separate retaining wall fee is published. The wall is charged on project valuation under the Building Permit and Plan Check Fees schedule with fee changes effective 5/20/2026, starting at $101 per permit for valuations up to $500. Plan check is 85 percent of the building permit fee with a $154 minimum. Where a soils or geologic report is required, its review is billed at 115 percent of the consultant cost charged to the city, or $390 per hour if city staff do the review. A grading permit is a separate charge keyed to cubic yards moved, beginning at $100 per permit for 50 cubic yards or less. UNRESOLVED SOURCE CONFLICT OPENED 2026-09-11 (run 757, WebFetch-only, curl egress refused): the cited Long Beach Building Permit & Plan Check Fees schedule, re-read twice independently at the same stored URL, now presents itself as "Fee Changes Effective 10/1/2025" with "10/1/25" printed in the headers and footer and NO other date anywhere in the document, while these rows were written against an edition described as effective 5/20/2026. A cited effective date that moves BACKWARDS is not a normal supersession and is not explicable as a fee increase; the likeliest readings are (a) the city has replaced the content served at this stable URL with an earlier edition, which is the same stable-URL-rotating-content hazard that Raleigh's Development Fee Guide shows, or (b) the 5/20/2026 edition reference recorded on these rows was wrong when written. SECOND AND SUBSTANTIVE DISCREPANCY: both reads return Standard Plan Check as "75% of Building Permit fee per plan check, but not less than $154" against the stored 85%. This is NOT being rewritten, for a specific reason: the adjacent Grading Plan Check line also reads "75% of Grading Permit fee / plan check", and a Combination Plan Check line reads 75% as well, so a row-bleed from a neighbouring 75% line is a live alternative to a real 85%-to-75% change, and lane protocol forbids concluding a figure changed from WebFetch output alone. EVERYTHING ELSE RE-READ CLEAN AND VERBATIM and is unaffected either way: $101/permit up to $500; $101 for the first $500 plus $3 per additional $100 to $2,000; $149 for the first $2,000 plus $16 per additional $1,000 to $20,000; re-inspection $140; Strong-Motion 1-3 story residential $0.13 per $1,000 minimum $0.50; Green Building Standards $1 per $25,000 minimum $1; geologic/soils review 115% of consultant cost or $390/hour; grading permit $100 for 50 cubic yards or less and $201 for 51-100; grading plan check 75%. ROWS DELIBERATELY LEFT UNSTAMPED. NEXT PASS, HIGHEST PRIORITY IN THIS LANE: one curl + pdftotext -layout read of this schedule settles both the date and the plan check percentage at once; if the 85% figure is genuinely superseded it is a live wrong figure on the public page for the fence and retaining_wall rows.

Long Beach exempts a detached accessory structure used as a tool shed, storage shed, children's playhouse or similar use where it stays within 120 square feet, rises no more than 8 feet from its floor to its roof, and contains no plumbing, electrical or mechanical work. Such a shed needs no permit and carries no fee. A shed beyond those limits, or one carrying utilities, needs a building permit, and no flat shed fee is published. It is charged on project valuation under the Building Permit and Plan Check Fees schedule with fee changes effective 5/20/2026, starting at $101 per permit for valuations up to $500, with plan check at 85 percent of the permit fee subject to a $154 minimum and state charges added on valuation.

Replacing a water heater in Long Beach is plumbing work and is covered by a plumbing permit, which the city offers through its online Water Heater, Reroof, and Electrical Panel Changeout process for one and two unit homes and through the Express Permit Service described in Information Bulletin IB-058, where a water heater replaced in the same location does not need plans reviewed. The Plumbing Permit and Plan Check Fees schedule with fee changes effective 10/1/2025 carries no line naming a water heater, so no water heater specific amount is published. What governs is the plumbing permit minimum of $100 per permit, which in practice sets the price of a simple replacement. The nearest itemized lines are $14 each for a plumbing fixture or waste discharging device including its drainage, vent and water piping, and $14 each for water using or water treating equipment; the bureau decides which applies. Where plan check is required it is 100 percent of the plumbing permit fee with a $216 minimum. Simple repairs such as replacing a thermocouple or an igniter need no permit. | 2026-09-30 (lane B run 1822) CITATION GAP REPAIRED, NO FIGURE CHANGED. The "$140 / re-inspection" line on this row is NOT in the cited plumbing-permit--plan-check-fees sheet (which is headed "Plumbing Permit & Plan Check Fees", "Fee Changes Effective 10/1/2025", and does carry the $100/permit plumbing minimum and the $16-each hot water heating boiler line). It verifies verbatim in the Long Beach building-permit--plan-check-fees sheet, "Re-inspection Fee ... $140 / re-inspection to be paid before any additional", Effective 5/20/2026. Both sheets are the operative citation for this row. WATCH: the Long Beach plumbing and electrical sheets are both dated "Fee Changes Effective 10/1/2025" and the building sheet carries a "Revised 10/1/25" line alongside its 5/20/2026 update, so an October 1 annual cycle is plausible for all six Long Beach rows; the URLs are unversioned globalassets paths whose bytes are replaced in place, so a re-check after 2026-10-01 is the only way to see it.