Atlanta
City of Atlanta Department of City Planning (Office of Buildings; vending program)
In short
City of Atlanta Department of City Planning (Office of Buildings; vending program) issues 4 permits we publish for Atlanta, last verified 2026-10-09. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.
What this agency issues
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building Permit (Commercial Construction and Alterations)only if it applies to you | City of Atlanta Department of City Planning (Office of Buildings; vending program) | A $175 non-refundable minimum initial application fee, plus a building permit fee based on the valuation of the work under Building Code Amendments §104.2 (ICC Table 100 building valuation data); 50% of the estimated total permit fee is paid when plans are submitted for review | expires if work is not started within six months of issuance or is abandoned for six months | 2026-10-09 |
| Certificate of Occupancyonly if it applies to you | City of Atlanta Department of City Planning (Office of Buildings; vending program) | $100 per story for a tenant build-out of an interior commercial space; $200 for a new one-story commercial building, plus $200 for each added floor up to seven stories, and $300 per floor at eight stories or more; temporary and permanent certificates are each a separate fee | one-time | 2026-10-09 |
| Sign Permitonly if it applies to you | City of Atlanta Department of City Planning (Office of Buildings; vending program) | Wall sign: $150 minimum plus $1 per square foot of sign area; freestanding or shopping-centre sign: $450 minimum plus $1 per square foot; portable sign: $75 | one-time | 2026-10-09 |
| Contractor Registration | City of Atlanta Department of City Planning (Office of Buildings; vending program) | $100 a year | annual | 2026-10-09 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
About each permit
Building Permit (Commercial Construction and Alterations)
Figures are from the City's Building Code Amendments in the Code of Ordinances. §104.1(b) (Ord. 2025-07, 2-17-25): 'A nonrefundable minimum initial permit application fee of $175.00 shall be imposed for all building permit applications accepted for review.' §104.1(c)(i): applicants pay 50% of the total building permit fee, based on the cost of construction, when submitting for plan review. §104.2 (Ord. 2017-33, 6-28-17) values new work from ICC Table 100 (February 2009 data printed in the code); interior alterations without engineered structural work are valued at a minimum of 20%, and with structural engineering 40%, of new construction value. §104.2 also sets a $50.00 re-inspection fee, a $50.00 fee to change the contractor of record, double fees for work begun without a permit (penalty portion capped at $1,000.00), and MEP permits at a $150.00 minimum plus $150.00 for each additional trade.
Certificate of Occupancy
Building Code Amendments §104.8(a): no new building 'shall be occupied or used, in whole or in part, until a Certificate of Occupancy shall have been issued by the Director', and §104.8(c) applies the same rule to a building altered so as to change its occupancy classification. Fees are from §104.2(h) (Ord. 2017-33, 6-28-17): 'New commercial building of one story shall be $200.00'; over one story but under eight stories '$200.00 plus $200.00 per additional floor or portion thereof'; eight stories or higher '$300.00 per floor'; 'Tenant build-out for interior commercial spaces shall be $100 per story or portion thereof'. Temporary and permanent certificates 'are each a separate fee', and a duplicate certificate costs $50.00.
Sign Permit
Fees are from Building Code Amendments §104.2(o) (Ord. 2017-33, 6-28-17): wall signs 'Minimum fee of $150.00 plus $1.00 per square foot of sign area'; freestanding signs 'Minimum fee of $450.00 plus $1.00 per square foot of sign area'; 'Shopping center signs shall be charged at the same rate as freestanding signs'; 'Portable signs—$75.00'. A second sign of the same type reviewed on the same application is charged only the per-square-foot amount. All sign permit fees are payable on application and non-refundable, and a sign erected without a permit is charged double (penalty portion capped at $1,000.00, §104.2(g)). The fee does not decide whether a sign is allowed under the City's Sign Ordinance.
Contractor Registration
Building Code Amendments §104.2(k) (Ord. 2017-33, 6-28-17), in the City Code of Ordinances: 'The fee for the registration of contractors pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 8-2-26 shall be $100.00 per year.' The registration is with the City's building department and is separate from any state contractor license and from the City Occupational Tax Certificate. Changing the contractor of record on a permit or permit application costs $50.00 under §104.2(e).
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Atlanta
- Phone
- 404-330-6150
Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.
Sources
Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- Atlanta Building Code Amendments Section 104 (permits, fees, certificate of occupancy), Part III Appendix ACity of Atlanta / Municode · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-09
Other offices serving Atlanta
- Atlanta Police Department, License and Permits Unit
- Atlanta Fire Rescue Department, Office of the Fire Marshal
- City of Atlanta Department of Finance, Office of Revenue
- Atlanta Department of Transportation
- City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management, Grease Management Program
- DeKalb Public Health, Environmental Health Division
- Fulton County Board of Health, Environmental Health Services
The full permit list for this jurisdiction
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