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How Much Is a Demolition Permit? (2026)

What a building permit costs for full demolition of a 1,500 sq ft single-family house ($10,000 job), compared across every jurisdiction PermitPrice has verified, with the formula behind each number and how to find the current rate where you live.

Jurisdictions compared
24 (MD, TX, VA), all from official fee schedules
Lowest
$35.00 · Cecil County, MD
Median
$83.03
Highest
$278.18 · Corpus Christi, TX
Example project
Full demolition of a 1,500 sq ft house
Written By
Munib Ur Rehman · November 2026
Key Takeaways
  • Across 24 verified jurisdictions, a permit for full demolition of a 1,500 sq ft single-family house ($10,000 job) runs from $35.00 (Cecil County, MD) to $278.18 (Corpus Christi, TX). The median is $83.03.
  • 23 of the 24 charge a flat fee, from $35.00 to $278.18. 1 price it on the project value.
  • Every jurisdiction in the table requires a permit to demolish a house. Most also require utility disconnection letters (gas, electric, water, sewer) before the demolition permit is issued.
  • Utility disconnects, sewer capping, tree protection, erosion control, historic review, and asbestos surveys can carry their own fees or requirements. None of those are in the totals on this page. The building permit fee alone is what this page compares.
  • Every figure here is computed by PermitPrice's calculator engine from the jurisdiction's own published fee schedule with the same inputs; the effective date of each schedule is shown in the table. 3 of the 24 rows are computed from schedules dated before 2024 and 5 from schedules with no printed date; those are flagged.
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What This Guide Covers - and What It Does Not

This guide covers: the residential building permit fee for full demolition of a 1,500 sq ft single-family house ($10,000 job), computed with the same inputs for every jurisdiction in PermitPrice's verified calculator data that publishes a fee line for this project type (24 jurisdictions). Size-based schedules use the square footage, value-based schedules use the dollar value, and flat-fee schedules ignore both. Each row links to the jurisdiction page with the full schedule and the official source.

This guide does NOT cover: trade permits (electrical, plumbing, mechanical), zoning or setback review, HOA approval, impact or utility connection fees, reinspection fees, or commercial work. Utility disconnects, sewer capping, tree protection, erosion control, historic review, and asbestos surveys can carry their own fees or requirements. None of those are in the totals on this page.

Coverage note: PermitPrice covers Virginia, Maryland, Texas and Washington, DC. Jurisdictions outside those states, and covered jurisdictions whose schedule has no separate line for this project type, are not in the table. The range is a range of verified fee schedules, not a national average.

How Jurisdictions Price a Demolition Permit

The dollar figures look arbitrary until you see the formula behind each one. Every jurisdiction in the table uses one of three methods, and the method matters more than the project.

Pricing methods found in the 24 verified schedules
Flat fee - one published amount for the permit, regardless of project cost or size. 23 of the 24 jurisdictions use it here.
Value-based - a percentage of the declared construction value, or a fee picked from value tiers, often with a minimum and with surcharges on top. 1 of the 24 use it here.
Size-based - a rate per square foot, or a flat amount chosen by size tier. 0 of the 24 use it here. Size-based schedules usually carry a minimum that small projects fall under.

Demolition Permit Cost by Jurisdiction

Building permit fee for full demolition of a 1,500 sq ft single-family house ($10,000 job), lowest to highest. Each total is computed by PermitPrice's calculator engine from the jurisdiction's published schedule with identical inputs, so the rows are directly comparable. Click a jurisdiction for its full fee schedule and source.

Demolition Permit, full demolition of a 1,500 sq ft house: 24 verified jurisdictions, sorted by total
Jurisdiction Method Line items All-in total Schedule effective Data quality
Cecil County, MD Flat fee Building Permit Fee $35.00 $35.00 Undated schedule Verified
McKinney, TX Flat fee Building Permit Fee $40.00 $40.00 Undated schedule Verified
Grand Prairie, TX Flat fee Building Permit Fee $50.00 $50.00 Sep 2, 2025 Verified
Round Rock, TX Flat fee Building Permit Fee $50.00 $50.00 Undated schedule Verified
Tyler, TX Flat fee Building Permit Fee $50.00 $50.00 Sep 9, 2026 Verified
Irving, TX Flat fee Building Permit Fee $65.00 $65.00 Feb 13, 2026 Verified
Norfolk City, VA Flat fee Building Permit Fee $50.00 + Processing Fee $15.00 + Virginia State Levy (2%) $1.00 $66.00 Jul 1, 2021 Source-age
College Station, TX Flat fee Building Permit Fee $69.00 $69.00 Oct 1, 2026 Verified
Loudoun County, VA Flat fee Building Permit Fee $70.00 + Virginia State Levy (required 2% on building-code fees; added if collected separately from the published fee) $1.40 $70.00 to $71.40 Jul 1, 2022 Source-age
Lubbock, TX Flat fee Building Permit Fee $75.00 $75.00 Oct 1, 2025 Verified
Waco, TX Flat fee Building Permit Fee $60.00 + Technology Fee $15.00 $75.00 Undated schedule Verified
Austin, TX Flat fee Building Permit Fee $81.07 $81.07 Oct 1, 2026 Verified
Calvert County, MD Flat fee Building Permit Fee $60.00 + Residential Application Submittal Fee $25.00 $85.00 Jul 1, 2026 Verified
York County, VA Flat fee Building Permit Fee $90.00 + Technology Fee $5.00 + Virginia State Levy (2%) $1.80 $96.80 Jul 1, 2025 Verified
Frederick County, MD Flat fee Building Permit Fee $63.00 + Filing Fee $33.00 + Automation Enhancement Fee $11.00 $107.00 Jul 1, 2026 Verified
Georgetown, TX Flat fee Building Permit Fee $100.00 + Technology Fee $10.00 $110.00 Oct 1, 2023 Source-age
El Paso, TX Flat fee Building Permit Fee $115.00 $115.00 Sep 1, 2026 Verified
Baytown, TX Flat fee Building Permit Fee $128.00 $128.00 Jun 1, 2026 Verified
Henrico County, VA Value tiers Building Permit Fee $130.00 + Virginia USBC State Levy $2.60 $132.60 Undated schedule Verified
Fairfax County, VA Flat fee Building Permit Fee $141.75 + Virginia USBC Code Academy Levy $2.84 + Fairfax County Technology Surcharge $14.18 $158.77 Jul 1, 2026 Verified
Montgomery County, MD Flat fee Building Permit Fee $180.34 $180.34 Jul 1, 2026 Verified
Richmond City, VA Flat fee Building Permit Fee $184.00 + Virginia USBC State Levy $3.68 $187.68 Jul 1, 2024 Verified
Denton, TX Flat fee Building Permit Fee $226.00 $226.00 Oct 1, 2026 Verified
Corpus Christi, TX Flat fee Building Permit Fee $266.20 + 4.5% Surcharge $11.98 $278.18 Oct 1, 2025 Verified

Verified = computed from the official fee schedule linked on the jurisdiction page. Source-age = the official schedule is dated before 2024 and may have been superseded; the jurisdiction page discloses the caveat. Undated schedule = the official source shows no printed effective date. Totals use each jurisdiction's own rounding and include only the line items shown. Loudoun County totals are a range: Virginia requires a 2% state levy on building-code permit fees (USBC Section 107.2), but Loudoun does not say whether its published fees already include it or whether it is charged on plan review, so the upper figure adds 2% of the building permit and plan review portion (the levy never applies to a zoning permit).

What Drives the 8x Difference

The same project costs $35.00 to permit in Cecil County, MD and $278.18 in Corpus Christi, TX. Four things account for almost all of that gap.

  • Pricing method. A schedule that charges on project value or floor area scales with the job; a flat fee does not. That alone separates the top of the table from the bottom.
  • Stacked surcharges. Virginia adds a 2% state levy on every permit. Some jurisdictions add a plan review fee, an application fee, or a technology fee. Each is a line on the invoice that a headline "permit fee" leaves out.
  • Minimum fees. Where a percentage or per-square-foot rate would produce a small number, the schedule's minimum applies instead.
  • Schedule age. Fee schedules are typically re-adopted each fiscal year (July 1 in Virginia and Maryland, October 1 in many Texas cities). A jurisdiction whose published schedule is several years old may charge more today than the table shows; those rows are flagged.
Find Your Demolition Permit Fee in Four Steps
1. Confirm a permit is required. Every jurisdiction in the table requires a permit to demolish a house. Most also require utility disconnection letters (gas, electric, water, sewer) before the demolition permit is issued.
2. Open your jurisdiction's page. Every row above links to a page that states the formula, the effective date and the official source document. If your city or county is not covered, its building department publishes the fee schedule, usually as a PDF or ordinance appendix.
3. Apply the formula to your numbers. Use your contract price for value-based schedules and your floor area for size-based ones. The permit fee calculator does this line by line for every jurisdiction in the table.
4. Add the surcharges and the separate permits. State levy, plan review or technology fee, then any electrical, plumbing or mechanical permit your project needs. Then verify the total with the building department before you budget.

When These Numbers May Not Apply

  • Your project cost or size differs from the example. Flat-fee rows do not change; value-based and size-based rows do. Use the jurisdiction page or the calculator with your own inputs.
  • The building official substitutes a valuation. Value-based jurisdictions may replace a low declared cost with a valuation table figure, raising the permit fee.
  • The schedule has been re-adopted. Rows flagged Source-age or Undated may be higher today. The jurisdiction page shows the last date PermitPrice verified the schedule.
  • Work started before the permit. After-the-fact permits, reinspection fees and penalties are outside every figure on this page.
  • Special districts. Historic overlays, floodplains and HOA covenants add review steps and sometimes fees that the building permit schedule does not include.

Frequently Asked Questions

Between $35.00 and $278.18 for full demolition of a 1,500 sq ft single-family house ($10,000 job) in the 24 jurisdictions PermitPrice has verified, with a median of $83.03. The cheapest charge a flat fee or a low per-square-foot rate; the most expensive price the permit on the project value or floor area and add surcharges. Your own fee depends on which method your jurisdiction uses, so start from its page in the table above.
No. Building permit fees are set by each county or city, usually by ordinance and usually re-adopted every fiscal year. States sometimes add a levy on top (Virginia charges 2% on every permit), but the base fee is always local. That is why the same project costs $35.00 in Cecil County, MD and $278.18 in Corpus Christi, TX.
No. Utility disconnects, sewer capping, tree protection, erosion control, historic review, and asbestos surveys can carry their own fees or requirements. None of those are in the totals on this page.
No. Utility companies and the water or sewer department handle disconnects and capping, often with their own fees. Many building departments will not issue the demolition permit until those disconnects are confirmed.
Each row shows the effective date of the official schedule it was computed from, and each jurisdiction page shows when PermitPrice last verified that schedule. 3 of the 24 rows are computed from schedules dated before 2024 and 5 from schedules with no printed date; those are flagged. This page was compiled on Nov 4, 2026.
Official .gov Sources · Compiled Nov 4, 2026

The remaining 21 jurisdictions in the table cite their official schedule, with effective and verified dates, on their linked pages.

State-level guides for this project type

Other project-type overviews: Deck · Shed · Fence · Pool · Room addition · Remodel · Roof.

Verify current fees directly with your local building department before budgeting or filing an application. Every total on this page is computed from a published fee schedule with the effective date shown; schedules are re-adopted regularly and some rows are flagged as older or undated. The jurisdiction pages list the department phone number and the official document for each row.
Disclaimer: All fee information on PermitPrice is for informational purposes only and is not an official permit quotation. Actual permit fees are determined by the local building department at the time of application. Fee schedules, surcharge rates, and permit requirements can change without notice. Verify all fees directly with the applicable building department before filing.

Written by: Munib Ur Rehman

Data verified against official fee schedule documents.