Garland, Texas Building Permit Cost Calculator

Garland prices residential building permits on a per-square-foot basis rather than by construction valuation. A new single-family house is charged per square foot of living area with a floor of $800, and additions are charged at the same per-square-foot rate with a lower minimum. On top of the permit fee, Garland collects a non-refundable 25% processing fee that is due when the application is submitted and does NOT credit toward the final permit amount; for new single-family permits that processing fee is never less than $200. Permit fees are rounded to the nearest dollar. Commercial and non-residential work is priced differently, on a construction-valuation basis of $4.50 per $1,000 of valuation with a $1,000 minimum for new buildings and a $140 minimum for remodels, shells and canopies, also plus the 25% processing fee. New-house permits also pick up separate water meter, water impact, walk/approach, fence and stormwater charges. Re-verified 2026-09-10 on the city's New House page: "$0.52 per square foot of living area - $800 minimum", "A non-refundable permit processing fee of 25% will be assessed to the building permit fee; but in no case less than $200 will be charged to all new single-family permits", "Stormwater Fee - $50" and "Walk and Approach - $140 ($70 each)" all still printed with their labels. UNRESOLVED FOR A THIRD CONSECUTIVE PASS, RECORDED NOT GUESSED: the fifth example, "Commercial new construction and additions, $4.50 per $1,000 of construction valuation, $1,000 minimum", is on none of the reachable garlandtx.gov pages - Commercial Building Permits (/2156) and Permits (/1704) both return HTTP 404 and the Addition page (/2163) publishes no dollar figures. The figure has been left as stored rather than guessed at or silently dropped; a human should decide whether to source it from the city directly or empty it. SOURCING GAP FOUND 2026-09-15 (run 1291), NOT GUESSED, FIGURE LEFT AS STORED: garlandtx.gov/3167/New-House was read in full today and four of the five stored figures verify verbatim on it - "$0.52 per square foot of living area - $800 minimum", "A non-refundable permit processing fee of 25% will be assessed to the building permit fee; but in no case less than $200", "Stormwater Fee - $50", and "Walk and Approach - $140 ($70 each)". The fifth line, "Commercial new construction and additions, per $1,000 of construction valuation ($1,000 minimum) = $4.50", does NOT appear on that page, which is a residential New House page and whose only mention of commercial is a navigation heading. It is also commercial-scoped and therefore does not price the residential building permit this row describes. HUMAN ACTION: cite Garland's commercial permit fee page for that line, or drop it.

Garland charges patio and porch cover permits at the same per-square-foot rate it uses for house additions, with a flat minimum, plus the citywide 25% non-refundable processing fee that is collected at submittal and is itself subject to a $25 floor. The city's page states the higher applicable amount will apply, so very small covers pay the minimum rather than the computed square-foot amount. Uncovered decks or platforms are permitted under the same residential construction categories; Garland does not publish a separate line item for an uncovered deck.

Electrical repair and meter base upgrade permits are a flat fee in Garland, and the city explicitly states the amount is the same whether a homeowner or a contractor pulls the permit. The published figure is an all-in number combining the base electrical permit fee with the standard processing fee on miscellaneous residential permits. There is no per-circuit, per-outlet or per-amp component for a residential repair or service upgrade. Electrical work performed as part of a new house, addition or remodel is not charged separately, since Garland's per-square-foot residential building permit fee is stated to include mechanical, electrical and plumbing.

Fence permits in Garland are a flat fee with no linear-foot or height component. The published amount is an all-in figure consisting of the base permit fee plus the separate processing fee applied to miscellaneous residential permits. One exception worth noting: when a fence is applied for at the same time as a new house permit, Garland's new-house fee sheet lists a bundled fence charge of $70, versus $50 quoted for a fence applied for separately as part of that new-house package.

Re-roofing in Garland is a flat-fee permit, not valuation-based or per-square. The city quotes an all-in amount that bundles the base permit fee with the separate processing fee it charges on miscellaneous residential permits. No square-footage or valuation multiplier applies, so a small re-roof and a full tear-off of a large house pay the same permit amount. Applicants must also submit either a copy of the executed roofing contract or the insurance adjuster's scope, and the roofing contractor must be registered with the city as a General Contractor with proof of insurance naming the City of Garland as certificate holder.

Garland does not maintain a separate retaining wall permit type. Retaining wall permits are issued under a fence permit number and applicants fill out the fence permit application, so the wall is charged the same flat fee as a residential fence: a base permit fee plus the standard miscellaneous-permit processing fee, quoted by the city as one combined amount. There is no per-linear-foot or valuation component. Walls holding a surcharge must be engineered to handle those additional pressures, which may add engineering submittal requirements but not additional city permit fees.

Detached accessory and storage buildings are priced per square foot at Garland's lower residential rate, subject to a flat minimum, plus the citywide 25% non-refundable processing fee with its own $25 floor. Re-verified 2026-09-10 on the city's Accessory / Storage Building page, which prints "$0.44 per square foot, minimum fee $100. Plus a 25% processing fee, but in no case less than $25". TRANSCRIPTION DEFECT REMOVED IN THIS PASS: the row also carried "Detached accessory building 400 sq ft or larger, charged as an addition, per square foot - $0.52". The 400-square-foot threshold on that page is a FOUNDATION requirement ("Accessory buildings attached to the main structure or those 400 square feet and larger in floor area must have a foundation that meets the pier and beam or slab-on-grade requirements"), not a fee reclassification, and no Garland page publishes a $0.52 addition rate for accessory buildings - the Addition page publishes no dollar figures at all. The line has been deleted rather than carried forward without a source.

Water heater replacement is a flat-fee plumbing permit in Garland, priced differently for residential and commercial buildings, and each published figure bundles the base permit fee with the applicable processing fee. There is no per-fixture, per-gallon or valuation component. The same flat residential plumbing amount applies to related plumbing permits such as sewer relays and repairs.