El Paso, Texas Building Permit Cost Calculator
Estimates permit cost in El Paso from the city's own published fee schedule — not a national average. Every figure is computed from a rule quoted verbatim from that document, and rules that cannot be computed honestly are shown as the published text instead of a number.
217 jurisdictions with fee schedules on file
Total cost of work, labor and materials
Used by cities that price per square foot
Fences and retaining walls
Electrical permits priced by the ampere
Building Permit
These lines are alternatives, not a running bill. Pick the one that describes your project and any percentage-based add-ons will be calculated from it.
○Residential: additions or new single-family construction, 401 to 1,299 square feet (single structure on one parcel containing a single-family dwelling, duplex, triplex or quadraplex) $0.87 x 2,000 = $1,740.00 | $1,740.00 |
○Residential: additions or new single-family construction, 1,300 to 2,399 square feet $0.82 x 2,000 = $1,640.00 | $1,640.00 |
○Residential: additions or new single-family construction, 2,400 to 3,399 square feet $0.81 x 2,000 = $1,620.00 | $1,620.00 |
○Residential: additions or new single-family construction, 3,400 to 4,399 square feet $0.72 x 2,000 = $1,440.00 | $1,440.00 |
○Residential: additions or new single-family construction, greater than 4,400 square feet $0.61 x 2,000 = $1,220.00 | $1,220.00 |
Building Permit - Residential, schedule line printed as: For additional lines than 400 square feet $307 and applicable technology fee | see rule |
Residential permit, allocation of the total permit cost across trades Master Permit 66%, Electrical 20%, Plumbing 7%, Mechanical 7%; technology fee assessed to each permit | see rule |
Commercial: structural repair over $500 and less than $15,000, and all repair, new and remodeling work valued under $15,000 requiring plans and plan review $160.49 plus plan review fee and applicable technology fee | see rule |
Commercial: valuation from $15,000 up to and including $100,000 $161.12 for the first $15,000 plus $8.48 per additional $1,000 or fraction, plus plan review fee and applicable technology fee | see rule |
Commercial: valuation over $100,000 up to and including $500,000 $837.40 for the first $100,000 plus $6.36 per additional $1,000 or fraction, plus plan review fee and applicable technology fee | see rule |
Commercial: valuation over $500,000 up to and including $1,000,000 $3,112.72 for the first $500,000 plus $3.28 per additional $1,000 or fraction, plus plan review fee and applicable technology fee | see rule |
Commercial: valuation over $1,000,000 $4,758.34 for the first $1,000,000 plus $2.12 per additional $1,000 or fraction, plus plan review fee and applicable technology fee | see rule |
Commercial plan review, review fee Equal to 30% of building permit fee plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Residential permit submittal fee deposit (credited to the permit fee) $200 plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Commercial permit submittal fee deposit (credited to the permit fee) $400 plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Foundation only permit · add-on 10% of total permit fee plus applicable technology fee — select the permit fee line above to calculate | see rule |
Completion permit · add-on 50% of current permit fee plus applicable technology fee — select the permit fee line above to calculate | see rule |
Building permit inspection fee, business hours $110 plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Building permit inspection fee, non-business hours $127 (two hour minimum) plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Technology fee added to the applicable application/base fee (all seven tiers: $5-$100, $101-$500, $501-$1,000, $1,001-$3,000, $3,001-$5,000, $5,001-$10,000, $10,001 and over) · add-on 4.5% of the application fee — select the permit fee line above to calculate | see rule |
Contractor starting work without a permit Triple the permit fee for working without a permit plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Homeowner starting work without a permit on his own residential property Double the permit fee for working without a permit plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
How this jurisdiction calculates the fee
New and added single-family residential floor area is priced at a per-square-foot rate that steps down as the area grows; commercial work is priced from the valuation of the work as a flat amount for the first bracket plus a per-thousand-dollar increment, with a separate plan review fee. A tiered technology fee keyed to the size of the base fee is added to every permit. Figures are from the City of El Paso FY 2027 Schedule C Departmental Fee List (as amended on 08/18/2026), re-based 2026-09-07. SUPERSESSION AND SOURCE MOVE, 2026-09-07: the previously cited misc/Current-FY-Schedule-C.pdf (FY 2026) now returns HTTP 404 and has been removed; the Planning & Inspections Forms & Docs page instead links misc/FY-2027-Schedule-C.pdf, an image-only scan of the budget resolution read here by OCR at 200 and 400 dpi. Every Planning & Inspections building-permit figure in this row was re-read there and is UNCHANGED, with ONE EXCEPTION: the technology fee, which FY 2026 set as flat tier amounts ($3.00 for a base fee of $5-$100; $6.00 for $101-$500; $20.00 for $501-$1,000; $40.00 for $1,001-$3,000; $130.00 for $3,001-$5,000; $200.00 for $5,001-$10,000; $400.00 for $10,001 and over), is set in FY 2027 at 4.5% of the application fee for all seven tiers (lines 2402-2408, Information Technology, Software Maintenance Fee). ADOPTION CAVEAT LEFT UNRESOLVED: every page footer of the FY 2027 document reads "FY 2027 Proposed - (As amended on 08/18/2026)", while El Paso City Council adopted the FY 2027 budget on 2026-08-18 and FY 2027 began 2026-09-01; the document does not describe itself as adopted. Both readings are recorded here rather than one being chosen. | SOURCE-DOCUMENT FORM CHANGED, FIGURES UNCHANGED, 2026-09-12 (lane B run 814): the cited URL .../misc/FY-2027-Schedule-C.pdf now serves an 88-page IMAGE-ONLY scan (internal title "27. Budget Reso Fy26-27.pdf", PDF CreationDate 2026-08-27, ModDate 2026-09-03) with no text layer, so pdftotext returns only the running head and any text-layer reading of it is worthless. It was read by rendering all 88 pages at 200dpi and running tesseract OCR; every stored amount on this row was then located with its label in the OCR output. The running head reads "FY 2027 Proposed - (As amended on 08/18/2026)", but El Paso City Council adopted the FY 2027 budget on 2026-08-18, the same date as the amendment, and the City serves this file from the Planning and Inspections department path as its current Schedule C, so it is the schedule in force for FY2027 (beginning 2026-09-01). The "Proposed" wording in the head is a stale preliminary-book running head, not an adoption status. Flagged here because any future pass that reads this URL without OCR will see no figures at all and must not read that as the fees having been withdrawn.
Source: published fee schedule · Verified 9/15/2026
Electrical Permit
These lines are alternatives, not a running bill. Pick the one that describes your project and any percentage-based add-ons will be calculated from it.
$1,000.00 to $6,000.00 Repair work costing over $1,000.00 and all new and remodeling work with a building permit valuation up to including $6,000.00 shall be $76 plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
$6,000.00 to $15,000.00 Building permit valuation over $6,000.00 shall be $78 for the first $6,000.00 plus $1.05 for each additional thousand of fraction thereof up to and including $15,000.00 plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
$15,000.00 to $100,000.00 Building permit valuation over $15,000 fee shall be $89 for the first $15,000.00 plus $1.05 for each additional thousand or fraction thereof up to and including $100,000.00 plus applicable tech fee | see rule |
$100,000.00 to $500,000.00 $222 for the first $100,000.00 plus $1.05 for each additional thousand or fraction thereof up to and including $500,000.00 plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
$500,000.00 to $1,000,000.00 $634 for the first $500,000.00 plus $1.05 for each additional thousand or fraction thereof up to and including $1,000,000.00 plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
$1,000,000.00 and over $1,051 for the first $1,000,000.00 plus $1.05 for each additional thousand for fraction plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Ordinary minor repairs costing under $1,000.00 or jobs without building permits Fees as herein established shall be paid for ordinary minor repairs costing under $1,000.00 or jobs without building permits plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Base fee, ea. (non-refundable) $110 plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Service entrance: Each Temporary Service or Each Service Release $30 based on quantity plus base fee and applicable technology fee | see rule |
New change or replace: Each Service or new/replacement of electrical panel/panel board $47 based on quantity plus base fee and applicable technology fee | see rule |
Max Service Entrance Fee $130 plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Outlets: 1 to 20 ea. $1.17 based on quantity plus base fee and applicable technology fee | see rule |
Outlets: 21 to 40 ea. $0.90 based on quantity plus base fee and applicable technology fee | see rule |
Outlets: Over 40 ea. $0.90 based on quantity plus base fee and applicable technology fee | see rule |
Fixtures: Appliances to include: Range, Dyers, Water Heaters, Furnace, Dishwasher, Garbage Disposal, Trash Compactor, Bathroom Heaters and Evaporative Coolers $3.18 Based on quantity plus base fee and applicable technology fee | see rule |
Refrigerated air conditioner, per ton $1.05 based on quantity plus base fee and applicable technology fee | see rule |
Motor, per H.P.: 1 to 20 H.P., ea. $2.11 based on quantity plus base fee and applicable technology fee | see rule |
Swimming pool/hot-tub/spa/Jacuzzi ea. $46 based on quantity plus base fee and applicable technology fee | see rule |
Solar panels ea. $14 based on quantity plus base fee and applicable technology fee | see rule |
Solar heating systems $24 based on quantity plus base fee and applicable technology fee | see rule |
Generators $51 based on quantity plus base fee and applicable technology fee | see rule |
Mobile home $14 based on quantity plus base fee and applicable technology fee | see rule |
Contractor starting work without a permit on a residential building, structure, electrical, gas, mechanical, irrigation, or plumbing system before obtaining the necessary permits or written authorization from the building official Triple the permit fee for working without a permit plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Homeowner starting work without a permit on his own residential building, structure, electrical, gas, mechanical, irrigation or plumbing system before obtaining the necessary permits or written authorization Double the permit fee for working without a permit plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Building Permit: Inspection fee-business hours $110 plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Building Permit: Inspection fee-non-business hours $127 (Two Hour Minimum) plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
How this jurisdiction calculates the fee
Electrical permit fees are set from the building permit valuation of the work, or, for ordinary minor repairs and jobs without a building permit, from a non-refundable base fee plus per-item charges for service entrances, outlets, fixtures, appliances and motors; a technology fee is added to the applicable base fee. SUPERSESSION AND SOURCE MOVE, 2026-09-07: the previously cited misc/Current-FY-Schedule-C.pdf (FY 2026) now returns HTTP 404 and has been removed; the Planning & Inspections Forms & Docs page instead links misc/FY-2027-Schedule-C.pdf, an image-only scan of the budget resolution read here by OCR at 200 and 400 dpi. Every Planning & Inspections figure in this row was re-read there and is UNCHANGED, with ONE EXCEPTION: the technology fee, which FY 2026 set as flat tier amounts ($3.00 for a base fee of $5-$100; $6.00 for $101-$500; $20.00 for $501-$1,000; $40.00 for $1,001-$3,000; $130.00 for $3,001-$5,000; $200.00 for $5,001-$10,000; $400.00 for $10,001 and over), is set in FY 2027 at 4.5% of the application fee for all seven tiers (lines 2402-2408, Information Technology, Software Maintenance Fee). ADOPTION CAVEAT LEFT UNRESOLVED: every page footer of the FY 2027 document reads "FY 2027 Proposed - (As amended on 08/18/2026)", while El Paso City Council adopted the FY 2027 budget on 2026-08-18 and FY 2027 began 2026-09-01; the document does not describe itself as adopted. Both readings are recorded here rather than one being chosen. | SOURCE-DOCUMENT FORM CHANGED, FIGURES UNCHANGED, 2026-09-12 (lane B run 814): the cited URL .../misc/FY-2027-Schedule-C.pdf now serves an 88-page IMAGE-ONLY scan (internal title "27. Budget Reso Fy26-27.pdf", PDF CreationDate 2026-08-27, ModDate 2026-09-03) with no text layer, so pdftotext returns only the running head and any text-layer reading of it is worthless. It was read by rendering all 88 pages at 200dpi and running tesseract OCR; every stored amount on this row was then located with its label in the OCR output. The running head reads "FY 2027 Proposed - (As amended on 08/18/2026)", but El Paso City Council adopted the FY 2027 budget on 2026-08-18, the same date as the amendment, and the City serves this file from the Planning and Inspections department path as its current Schedule C, so it is the schedule in force for FY2027 (beginning 2026-09-01). The "Proposed" wording in the head is a stale preliminary-book running head, not an adoption status. Flagged here because any future pass that reads this URL without OCR will see no figures at all and must not read that as the fees having been withdrawn.
Source: published fee schedule · Verified 9/15/2026
Fence Permit
These lines are alternatives, not a running bill. Pick the one that describes your project and any percentage-based add-ons will be calculated from it.
Building Permits, building /fences $110 plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Building Permits, Building/electrical fence $152 plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Technology fee added to the applicable application/base fee (all seven tiers: $5-$100, $101-$500, $501-$1,000, $1,001-$3,000, $3,001-$5,000, $5,001-$10,000, $10,001 and over) · add-on 4.5% of the application fee — select the permit fee line above to calculate | see rule |
Building permit inspection fee, business hours $110 plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Building permit inspection fee, non-business hours $127 (two hour minimum) plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Contractor starting work without a permit Triple the permit fee for working without a permit plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Homeowner starting work without a permit on his own residential property Double the permit fee for working without a permit plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
How this jurisdiction calculates the fee
A fence permit is charged as a flat per-permit building permit fee set in the adopted departmental fee schedule, with a higher flat fee where the fence is electrified. It is not valuation-based or length-based. A tiered technology fee keyed to the size of the base fee is added. Figures are from the City of El Paso FY 2027 Schedule C Departmental Fee List (as amended on 08/18/2026), re-based 2026-09-07. SUPERSESSION AND SOURCE MOVE, 2026-09-07: the previously cited misc/Current-FY-Schedule-C.pdf (FY 2026) now returns HTTP 404 and has been removed; the Planning & Inspections Forms & Docs page instead links misc/FY-2027-Schedule-C.pdf, an image-only scan of the budget resolution read here by OCR at 200 and 400 dpi. Every Planning & Inspections building-permit figure in this row was re-read there and is UNCHANGED, with ONE EXCEPTION: the technology fee, which FY 2026 set as flat tier amounts ($3.00 for a base fee of $5-$100; $6.00 for $101-$500; $20.00 for $501-$1,000; $40.00 for $1,001-$3,000; $130.00 for $3,001-$5,000; $200.00 for $5,001-$10,000; $400.00 for $10,001 and over), is set in FY 2027 at 4.5% of the application fee for all seven tiers (lines 2402-2408, Information Technology, Software Maintenance Fee). ADOPTION CAVEAT LEFT UNRESOLVED: every page footer of the FY 2027 document reads "FY 2027 Proposed - (As amended on 08/18/2026)", while El Paso City Council adopted the FY 2027 budget on 2026-08-18 and FY 2027 began 2026-09-01; the document does not describe itself as adopted. Both readings are recorded here rather than one being chosen. | SOURCE-DOCUMENT FORM CHANGED, FIGURES UNCHANGED, 2026-09-12 (lane B run 814): the cited URL .../misc/FY-2027-Schedule-C.pdf now serves an 88-page IMAGE-ONLY scan (internal title "27. Budget Reso Fy26-27.pdf", PDF CreationDate 2026-08-27, ModDate 2026-09-03) with no text layer, so pdftotext returns only the running head and any text-layer reading of it is worthless. It was read by rendering all 88 pages at 200dpi and running tesseract OCR; every stored amount on this row was then located with its label in the OCR output. The running head reads "FY 2027 Proposed - (As amended on 08/18/2026)", but El Paso City Council adopted the FY 2027 budget on 2026-08-18, the same date as the amendment, and the City serves this file from the Planning and Inspections department path as its current Schedule C, so it is the schedule in force for FY2027 (beginning 2026-09-01). The "Proposed" wording in the head is a stale preliminary-book running head, not an adoption status. Flagged here because any future pass that reads this URL without OCR will see no figures at all and must not read that as the fees having been withdrawn.
Source: published fee schedule · Verified 9/15/2026
Reroof Permit
These lines are alternatives, not a running bill. Pick the one that describes your project and any percentage-based add-ons will be calculated from it.
Building Permit, Roofing Permit $118 plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Technology fee added to the applicable application/base fee (all seven tiers: $5-$100, $101-$500, $501-$1,000, $1,001-$3,000, $3,001-$5,000, $5,001-$10,000, $10,001 and over) · add-on 4.5% of the application fee — select the permit fee line above to calculate | see rule |
Building permit inspection fee, business hours $110 plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Building permit inspection fee, non-business hours $127 (two hour minimum) plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Building permit inspection fee, expedited on-demand inspection $127 (two hour minimum) plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Contractor starting work without a permit Triple the permit fee for working without a permit plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Homeowner starting work without a permit on his own residential property Double the permit fee for working without a permit plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
How this jurisdiction calculates the fee
Re-roofing is charged as a flat Roofing Permit fee in the adopted departmental fee schedule rather than from the valuation or area of the work, plus a tiered technology fee keyed to the size of the base fee. Figures are from the City of El Paso FY 2027 Schedule C Departmental Fee List (as amended on 08/18/2026), re-based 2026-09-07. SUPERSESSION AND SOURCE MOVE, 2026-09-07: the previously cited misc/Current-FY-Schedule-C.pdf (FY 2026) now returns HTTP 404 and has been removed; the Planning & Inspections Forms & Docs page instead links misc/FY-2027-Schedule-C.pdf, an image-only scan of the budget resolution read here by OCR at 200 and 400 dpi. Every Planning & Inspections building-permit figure in this row was re-read there and is UNCHANGED, with ONE EXCEPTION: the technology fee, which FY 2026 set as flat tier amounts ($3.00 for a base fee of $5-$100; $6.00 for $101-$500; $20.00 for $501-$1,000; $40.00 for $1,001-$3,000; $130.00 for $3,001-$5,000; $200.00 for $5,001-$10,000; $400.00 for $10,001 and over), is set in FY 2027 at 4.5% of the application fee for all seven tiers (lines 2402-2408, Information Technology, Software Maintenance Fee). ADOPTION CAVEAT LEFT UNRESOLVED: every page footer of the FY 2027 document reads "FY 2027 Proposed - (As amended on 08/18/2026)", while El Paso City Council adopted the FY 2027 budget on 2026-08-18 and FY 2027 began 2026-09-01; the document does not describe itself as adopted. Both readings are recorded here rather than one being chosen. | SOURCE-DOCUMENT FORM CHANGED, FIGURES UNCHANGED, 2026-09-12 (lane B run 814): the cited URL .../misc/FY-2027-Schedule-C.pdf now serves an 88-page IMAGE-ONLY scan (internal title "27. Budget Reso Fy26-27.pdf", PDF CreationDate 2026-08-27, ModDate 2026-09-03) with no text layer, so pdftotext returns only the running head and any text-layer reading of it is worthless. It was read by rendering all 88 pages at 200dpi and running tesseract OCR; every stored amount on this row was then located with its label in the OCR output. The running head reads "FY 2027 Proposed - (As amended on 08/18/2026)", but El Paso City Council adopted the FY 2027 budget on 2026-08-18, the same date as the amendment, and the City serves this file from the Planning and Inspections department path as its current Schedule C, so it is the schedule in force for FY2027 (beginning 2026-09-01). The "Proposed" wording in the head is a stale preliminary-book running head, not an adoption status. Flagged here because any future pass that reads this URL without OCR will see no figures at all and must not read that as the fees having been withdrawn.
Source: published fee schedule · Verified 9/15/2026
Retaining Wall Permit
These lines are alternatives, not a running bill. Pick the one that describes your project and any percentage-based add-ons will be calculated from it.
Building Permits, building/retaining walls $115 plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Technology fee added to the applicable application/base fee (all seven tiers: $5-$100, $101-$500, $501-$1,000, $1,001-$3,000, $3,001-$5,000, $5,001-$10,000, $10,001 and over) · add-on 4.5% of the application fee — select the permit fee line above to calculate | see rule |
Building permit inspection fee, business hours $110 plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Building permit inspection fee, non-business hours $127 (two hour minimum) plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Grading permit, all other commercial or residential, 0 to 5 acres (charged separately where grading is required) $456.00 plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Contractor starting work without a permit Triple the permit fee for working without a permit plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Homeowner starting work without a permit on his own residential property Double the permit fee for working without a permit plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
How this jurisdiction calculates the fee
A retaining wall permit is charged as a flat per-permit building permit fee in the adopted departmental fee schedule, not from wall height, length or valuation, plus a tiered technology fee keyed to the size of the base fee. Figures are from the City of El Paso FY 2027 Schedule C Departmental Fee List (as amended on 08/18/2026), re-based 2026-09-07. SUPERSESSION AND SOURCE MOVE, 2026-09-07: the previously cited misc/Current-FY-Schedule-C.pdf (FY 2026) now returns HTTP 404 and has been removed; the Planning & Inspections Forms & Docs page instead links misc/FY-2027-Schedule-C.pdf, an image-only scan of the budget resolution read here by OCR at 200 and 400 dpi. Every Planning & Inspections building-permit figure in this row was re-read there and is UNCHANGED, with ONE EXCEPTION: the technology fee, which FY 2026 set as flat tier amounts ($3.00 for a base fee of $5-$100; $6.00 for $101-$500; $20.00 for $501-$1,000; $40.00 for $1,001-$3,000; $130.00 for $3,001-$5,000; $200.00 for $5,001-$10,000; $400.00 for $10,001 and over), is set in FY 2027 at 4.5% of the application fee for all seven tiers (lines 2402-2408, Information Technology, Software Maintenance Fee). ADOPTION CAVEAT LEFT UNRESOLVED: every page footer of the FY 2027 document reads "FY 2027 Proposed - (As amended on 08/18/2026)", while El Paso City Council adopted the FY 2027 budget on 2026-08-18 and FY 2027 began 2026-09-01; the document does not describe itself as adopted. Both readings are recorded here rather than one being chosen. | SOURCE-DOCUMENT FORM CHANGED, FIGURES UNCHANGED, 2026-09-12 (lane B run 814): the cited URL .../misc/FY-2027-Schedule-C.pdf now serves an 88-page IMAGE-ONLY scan (internal title "27. Budget Reso Fy26-27.pdf", PDF CreationDate 2026-08-27, ModDate 2026-09-03) with no text layer, so pdftotext returns only the running head and any text-layer reading of it is worthless. It was read by rendering all 88 pages at 200dpi and running tesseract OCR; every stored amount on this row was then located with its label in the OCR output. The running head reads "FY 2027 Proposed - (As amended on 08/18/2026)", but El Paso City Council adopted the FY 2027 budget on 2026-08-18, the same date as the amendment, and the City serves this file from the Planning and Inspections department path as its current Schedule C, so it is the schedule in force for FY2027 (beginning 2026-09-01). The "Proposed" wording in the head is a stale preliminary-book running head, not an adoption status. Flagged here because any future pass that reads this URL without OCR will see no figures at all and must not read that as the fees having been withdrawn.
Source: published fee schedule · Verified 9/15/2026
Shed Permit
These lines are alternatives, not a running bill. Pick the one that describes your project and any percentage-based add-ons will be calculated from it.
Building Permit - Residential, schedule line printed as: For additional lines than 400 square feet $307 and applicable technology fee | see rule |
○Building Permit - Residential, additions or new single family residential construction 401 to 1,299 square feet $0.87 x 2,000 = $1,740.00 | $1,740.00 |
○Building Permit - Residential, additions or new single family residential construction 1,300 to 2,399 square feet $0.82 x 2,000 = $1,640.00 | $1,640.00 |
Residential permit submittal fee deposit (credited to the permit fee) $200 plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Technology fee added to the applicable application/base fee (all seven tiers: $5-$100, $101-$500, $501-$1,000, $1,001-$3,000, $3,001-$5,000, $5,001-$10,000, $10,001 and over) · add-on 4.5% of the application fee — select the permit fee line above to calculate | see rule |
Building permit inspection fee, business hours $110 plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Building permit inspection fee, non-business hours $127 (two hour minimum) plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Demolition Permit $115 plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Homeowner starting work without a permit on his own residential property Double the permit fee for working without a permit plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Contractor starting work without a permit Triple the permit fee for working without a permit plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
How this jurisdiction calculates the fee
City of El Paso FY 2027 Schedule C, Departmental Fee List (as amended on 08/18/2026). El Paso publishes no shed, storage building or accessory structure line item anywhere in the schedule. A shed that requires a permit is charged under the Building Permit - Residential heading, which sets one flat amount for work at or below 400 square feet and per-square-foot rates in size bands above that. A tiered technology fee keyed to the size of the base fee is added to every permit, and a trade permit is charged separately where electrical, mechanical, plumbing or irrigation work is involved. SUPERSESSION AND SOURCE MOVE, 2026-09-07: the previously cited misc/Current-FY-Schedule-C.pdf (FY 2026) now returns HTTP 404 and has been removed; the Planning & Inspections Forms & Docs page instead links misc/FY-2027-Schedule-C.pdf, an image-only scan of the budget resolution read here by OCR at 200 and 400 dpi. Every Planning & Inspections figure in this row was re-read there and is UNCHANGED, with ONE EXCEPTION: the technology fee, which FY 2026 set as flat tier amounts ($3.00 for a base fee of $5-$100; $6.00 for $101-$500; $20.00 for $501-$1,000; $40.00 for $1,001-$3,000; $130.00 for $3,001-$5,000; $200.00 for $5,001-$10,000; $400.00 for $10,001 and over), is set in FY 2027 at 4.5% of the application fee for all seven tiers (lines 2402-2408, Information Technology, Software Maintenance Fee). ADOPTION CAVEAT LEFT UNRESOLVED: every page footer of the FY 2027 document reads "FY 2027 Proposed - (As amended on 08/18/2026)", while El Paso City Council adopted the FY 2027 budget on 2026-08-18 and FY 2027 began 2026-09-01; the document does not describe itself as adopted. Both readings are recorded here rather than one being chosen. | SOURCE-DOCUMENT FORM CHANGED, FIGURES UNCHANGED, 2026-09-12 (lane B run 814): the cited URL .../misc/FY-2027-Schedule-C.pdf now serves an 88-page IMAGE-ONLY scan (internal title "27. Budget Reso Fy26-27.pdf", PDF CreationDate 2026-08-27, ModDate 2026-09-03) with no text layer, so pdftotext returns only the running head and any text-layer reading of it is worthless. It was read by rendering all 88 pages at 200dpi and running tesseract OCR; every stored amount on this row was then located with its label in the OCR output. The running head reads "FY 2027 Proposed - (As amended on 08/18/2026)", but El Paso City Council adopted the FY 2027 budget on 2026-08-18, the same date as the amendment, and the City serves this file from the Planning and Inspections department path as its current Schedule C, so it is the schedule in force for FY2027 (beginning 2026-09-01). The "Proposed" wording in the head is a stale preliminary-book running head, not an adoption status. Flagged here because any future pass that reads this URL without OCR will see no figures at all and must not read that as the fees having been withdrawn.
Source: published fee schedule · Verified 9/15/2026
Water Heater Permit
These lines are alternatives, not a running bill. Pick the one that describes your project and any percentage-based add-ons will be calculated from it.
Gas Water Heater $13.76 based on quantity plus base fee and applicable technology fee | see rule |
Gas base fee, ea. (non-refundable) $110 plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Back-up water heaters, gas $13.76 based on quantity plus base fee and applicable technology fee | see rule |
Gas water heater (pool, Jacuzzi, etc.) $13.76 based on quantity plus base fee and applicable technology fee | see rule |
Plumbing base fee, ea. (non-refundable) $110 plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Grease trap, sand traps, separation tanks, dental chair, dishwater, washing machine, garbage disposal unit, water softener, electric water heater, indirect waste line into plumbing drain or fixture, (all other this category), ea. $10.59 based on quantity plus base fee and applicable technology fee | see rule |
Plumbing Permits / Appliances $76.25 permit fee plus $17.47 per fixture and applicable technology fee | see rule |
Electrical base fee, ea. (non-refundable) $110 plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Electrical appliances to include: Range, Dyers, Water Heaters, Furnace, Dishwasher, Garbage Disposal, Trash Compactor, Bathroom Heaters and Evaporative Coolers $3.18 Based on quantity plus base fee and applicable technology fee | see rule |
Gas opening, appliance by others, ea. $7.41 based on quantity plus base fee and applicable technology fee | see rule |
Service yard line $13.76 based on quantity plus base fee and applicable technology fee | see rule |
Homeowner starting work without a permit on his own residential building, structure, electrical, gas, mechanical, irrigation or plumbing system before obtaining the necessary permits or written authorization Double the permit fee for working without a permit plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
Contractor starting work without a permit on a residential building, structure, electrical, gas, mechanical, irrigation, or plumbing system before obtaining the necessary permits or written authorization from the building official Triple the permit fee for working without a permit plus applicable technology fee | see rule |
How this jurisdiction calculates the fee
Gas, plumbing and electrical permits are each charged a non-refundable base fee per permit plus a charge based on the quantity of appliances or fixtures installed, and a technology fee is added to the applicable base fee. SUPERSESSION AND SOURCE MOVE, 2026-09-07: the previously cited misc/Current-FY-Schedule-C.pdf (FY 2026) now returns HTTP 404 and has been removed; the Planning & Inspections Forms & Docs page instead links misc/FY-2027-Schedule-C.pdf, an image-only scan of the budget resolution read here by OCR at 200 and 400 dpi. Every Planning & Inspections figure in this row was re-read there and is UNCHANGED, with ONE EXCEPTION: the technology fee, which FY 2026 set as flat tier amounts ($3.00 for a base fee of $5-$100; $6.00 for $101-$500; $20.00 for $501-$1,000; $40.00 for $1,001-$3,000; $130.00 for $3,001-$5,000; $200.00 for $5,001-$10,000; $400.00 for $10,001 and over), is set in FY 2027 at 4.5% of the application fee for all seven tiers (lines 2402-2408, Information Technology, Software Maintenance Fee). ADOPTION CAVEAT LEFT UNRESOLVED: every page footer of the FY 2027 document reads "FY 2027 Proposed - (As amended on 08/18/2026)", while El Paso City Council adopted the FY 2027 budget on 2026-08-18 and FY 2027 began 2026-09-01; the document does not describe itself as adopted. Both readings are recorded here rather than one being chosen. | SOURCE-DOCUMENT FORM CHANGED, FIGURES UNCHANGED, 2026-09-12 (lane B run 814): the cited URL .../misc/FY-2027-Schedule-C.pdf now serves an 88-page IMAGE-ONLY scan (internal title "27. Budget Reso Fy26-27.pdf", PDF CreationDate 2026-08-27, ModDate 2026-09-03) with no text layer, so pdftotext returns only the running head and any text-layer reading of it is worthless. It was read by rendering all 88 pages at 200dpi and running tesseract OCR; every stored amount on this row was then located with its label in the OCR output. The running head reads "FY 2027 Proposed - (As amended on 08/18/2026)", but El Paso City Council adopted the FY 2027 budget on 2026-08-18, the same date as the amendment, and the City serves this file from the Planning and Inspections department path as its current Schedule C, so it is the schedule in force for FY2027 (beginning 2026-09-01). The "Proposed" wording in the head is a stale preliminary-book running head, not an adoption status. Flagged here because any future pass that reads this URL without OCR will see no figures at all and must not read that as the fees having been withdrawn.
Source: published fee schedule · Verified 9/15/2026
See the full write-up: El Paso building permit cost
Estimate only.Fee schedules change, and building departments set the final valuation and decide which fees apply to your scope. Confirm with the jurisdiction before budgeting. Lines marked “see rule” could not be computed from the published wording and are shown verbatim rather than guessed.