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How Much Is a Shed Permit? (2026)

What a building permit costs for a backyard shed or other accessory structure, compared across every jurisdiction PermitPrice has verified, and why many sheds need no permit at all.

Jurisdictions compared
11 (MD, TX, VA), all from official fee schedules
Lowest
$25.00 · Arlington, TX
Median
$100.00
Highest
$402.90 · Loudoun County, VA
Example project
A $5,000, 160 sq ft storage shed
Written By
Munib Ur Rehman · September 2026
Key Takeaways
  • Across 11 verified jurisdictions, a permit for a $5,000, 160 sq ft storage shed runs from $25.00 (Arlington, TX) to $402.90 (Loudoun County, VA). The median is $100.00.
  • 3 of the 11 jurisdictions charge a flat fee, from $50.00 to $402.90. 3 price the permit on the project value; those are where the highest totals appear. 5 price it by floor area or size tier.
  • Most jurisdictions exempt small sheds entirely, usually below 120, 200 or 256 sq ft with no plumbing or electrical. Above the local threshold a building permit is required and the fees below apply. The exemption size is set locally and is stated on each jurisdiction page.
  • A shed with power or water adds separate electrical or plumbing permits. The building permit fee alone is what this page compares.
  • Every figure here is computed from the jurisdiction's own published fee schedule with the same inputs; the effective date of each schedule is shown in the table, and 4 of the 11 rows carry a source-age or undated-schedule caveat.
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What This Guide Covers - and What It Does Not

This guide covers: the residential building permit fee for a $5,000, 160 sq ft storage shed, computed with the same inputs for every jurisdiction in PermitPrice's verified data set that publishes a fee line for this project type (11 of 64 covered jurisdictions). Each row links to the jurisdiction page with the full schedule, the worked example 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. A shed with power or water adds separate electrical or plumbing permits. The building permit fee alone is what this page compares.

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.

Three Ways Jurisdictions Price a Shed 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 11 verified schedules
Flat fee - one published amount for the permit, regardless of project cost. 3 of the 11 jurisdictions charge a flat fee, from $50.00 to $402.90. A flat fee is easy to budget and is what most Texas cities and several Maryland counties use.
Percent of construction cost - the permit is a percentage of the declared value, often with a minimum, and surcharges are layered on top. 3 price the permit on the project value; those are where the highest totals appear. Fairfax County stacks three line items: 3% of cost (minimum $141.75), the 2% Virginia levy and a 10% county technology surcharge (FY2027, effective July 1, 2026). Half of the permit fee is paid at application as a deposit and credited at issuance, so it is not an extra charge.
Size-based - a rate per square foot, or a flat amount chosen by size tier. 5 price it by floor area or size tier. Size-based schedules usually carry a minimum that small projects fall under.

Shed Permit Cost by Jurisdiction

All-in building permit fee for a $5,000, 160 sq ft storage shed, 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.

Shed permit, $5,000 shed: 11 verified jurisdictions, sorted by total
Jurisdiction Method Line items All-in total Schedule effective Data quality
Arlington, TX Flat by size tier Building Permit Fee $25.00 $25.00 Sep 1, 2025 Verified
Round Rock, TX Flat fee Building Permit Fee $50.00 $50.00 Undated schedule Verified
Killeen, TX Flat fee Building Permit Fee $70.00 $70.00 Oct 1, 2025 Verified
Baltimore County, MD Flat by size tier Building Permit Fee $85.00 $85.00 Nov 26, 2018 Source-age
College Station, TX Per sq ft Building Permit Fee $89.60 $89.60 Oct 1, 2025 Verified
Grand Prairie, TX Flat by size tier Building Permit Fee $100.00 $100.00 Sep 2, 2025 Verified
Henrico County, VA Value tiers Building Permit Fee $100.00 + 2% VA levy $2.00 $102.00 Undated schedule Verified
Anne Arundel County, MD Flat by value tier Building Permit Fee $103.00 + application fee $43.00 $146.00 Oct 1, 2024 Verified
Fairfax County, VA Percent of cost Building Permit Fee $150.00 + 2% VA levy $3.00 + 10% technology surcharge $15.00 $168.00 Jul 1, 2026 Verified
Frederick County, MD Flat by size tier Building Permit Fee $144.00 + Filing Fee $33.00 + automation fee $11.00 $188.00 Jul 1, 2026 Verified
Loudoun County, VA Flat fee Building Permit Fee $395.00 + 2% VA levy $7.90 $402.90 Jul 1, 2022 Source-age

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.

What Drives the 16x Difference

The same shed costs $25.00 to permit in Arlington, TX and $402.90 in Loudoun County, VA. Four things account for almost all of that gap.

  • Percentage pricing. A schedule that charges a percent of project value scales with your budget; a flat fee does not. For a $5,000 shed, percentage schedules produce the top of the table.
  • Stacked surcharges. Virginia adds a 2% state levy on every permit. Some jurisdictions add a separate plan review or filing fee (often 50% of the permit), 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 tiny number, the schedule's minimum applies instead. Small projects in those jurisdictions pay the minimum plus surcharges.
  • 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 Shed Permit Fee in Four Steps
1. Confirm a permit is required. Most jurisdictions exempt small sheds entirely, usually below 120, 200 or 256 sq ft with no plumbing or electrical. Above the local threshold a building permit is required and the fees below apply. The exemption size is set locally and is stated on each jurisdiction page.
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 percent-of-value schedules and your floor area for size-based ones. The permit fee calculator does this line by line for 15 or more jurisdictions.
4. Add the surcharges and the separate permits. State levy, filing or plan review fee, technology fee, then any electrical, plumbing or barrier 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; percentage and per-square-foot rows do. Use the jurisdiction page or the calculator with your own inputs.
  • The building official substitutes a valuation. Percent-of-value 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 $25.00 and $402.90 for a $5,000, 160 sq ft storage shed in the 11 jurisdictions PermitPrice has verified, with a median of $100.00. The cheapest are flat-fee cities; the most expensive price the permit as a percentage of the project cost 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 shed can cost $25.00 in one place and $402.90 in another.
Because the permit scales with the project and the surcharges scale with the permit. A 3% fee on a $5,000 shed is already several times a typical flat fee, and a 50% plan review or filing fee plus a state levy multiplies it again. Flat-fee jurisdictions charge the same amount whether the project costs $3,000 or $30,000.
No. A shed with power or water adds separate electrical or plumbing permits. The building permit fee alone is what this page compares. Trade permits are issued by the same department but priced on separate schedules, and none of the totals on this page include them.
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. 2 of the 11 rows are computed from schedules dated before 2024 and 2 from schedules with no printed date; those are flagged and should be confirmed with the building department before budgeting. This page was compiled on September 18, 2026.
Official .gov Sources · Compiled September 18, 2026

The remaining 8 jurisdictions in the table cite their official schedule, with effective and verified dates, on their linked pages.

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

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.