BuildingPermitCost

What Is Construction Valuation (ICC Building Valuation Data)?

Most permit fees are based on what your project is worth. Who decides that number, and how, can change your fee more than the fee rate itself.

What valuation means

Construction valuation is the dollar value of the work a permit covers: labor and materials for all the building work, usually including electrical, plumbing and mechanical. It is not the value of your house or land. The building department runs this number through its fee table to get the permit fee, so a higher valuation means a higher fee.

The three ways cities set it

  • Your contract or bid price (45 of the 267 jurisdictions here). You state it on the application; the building official can challenge numbers that look low.
  • A published cost table (58 here). The department multiplies your floor area by a cost per square foot for your building type, most often from the ICC Building Valuation Data, sometimes from a local table.
  • The higher of the two (21 here). Common for new construction, so a low bid does not reduce the fee.

Another 89 price permits by floor area directly, with no valuation step, and 44 schedules do not say how value is set.

The ICC Building Valuation Data

The International Code Council (ICC) publishes the Building Valuation Data (BVD): a table of average construction costs per square foot, by building occupancy group (homes, offices, stores and so on) and construction type (from fire-resistive concrete and steel to ordinary wood frame). ICC updates it every six months.

Three points from ICC's own description matter for permits:

  • It is an average for permit purposes and is "not intended to be used as an estimating guide."
  • It does not include the price of the land.
  • It is not intended to apply to alterations or repairs to existing buildings, which is why remodels are usually valued by contract price instead.

Most houses are occupancy group R-3 (one- and two-family dwellings) and construction type V-B (ordinary wood frame). Our standard new-home example uses that combination. Garages and unfinished space are often valued at the lower utility (U) rate.

How the BVD turns into a fee

ICC describes the calculation as:

Permit fee = gross floor area × cost per square foot × permit fee multiplier

Each jurisdiction sets its own multiplier, based on its construction volume and the share of its budget expected from permit fees. In practice, most departments use the BVD only for the first part (area × cost = valuation) and then run that valuation through their own fee table.

Real examples

  • Contract price: Bessemer, AL. Fee is 1% of the job cost. The application asks the applicant to state 'the total contract or valuation'.
  • ICC Building Valuation Data: Lee County, AL. The Building Official uses the ICC 'Square Foot Building Valuation Data' (updated periodically) to determine permit valuations; other cost-based methods may be used as necessary.
  • Higher of the two: Phoenix, AZ. "Project valuation is the higher of the minimum project valuation as calculated by Planning & Development, or the project valuation as provided by the applicant." Minimum valuation = building square footage times the city's standard rate for occupancy (Building Valuation Table revised January 20, 2026). Each separate building is calculated separately.
  • Local valuation table: Baldwin County, AL. New construction, additions and accessory structures use 'calculated ICC valuation': the county's Building Valuation Data table (effective 10/01/2024) = 65% of the original August 2023 ICC BVD (R-3 one- and two-family Type VB $107.69/sq ft; U utility/private garage VB $41.72), plus or minus any multiplier deemed necessary by the Building Official. Alterations/repairs and most other permits use job valuation (cost of labor and materials or contract amount; a signed contract may be required).

What this means for your budget

  • New homes and additions in table-based cities: budget from the table value for your floor area, not from your bid.
  • Remodels: valuation is usually the contract price, and schedules typically say it must cover all trades (electrical, plumbing and mechanical included).
  • Owner-builders: valuation normally counts labor and materials, so doing the work yourself does not necessarily lower the permit fee.
  • Each city page here states the method its schedule uses. How the rest of the fee is calculated

Figures computed November 5, 2026 from the official fee schedules on this site. Fees are estimates based on the official schedules; confirm with the permit office before applying.