Buffalo
City of Buffalo Department of Permit and Inspection Services
In short
City of Buffalo Department of Permit and Inspection Services issues 3 permits we publish for Buffalo, last verified 2026-09-05. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate of Occupancy | City of Buffalo Department of Permit and Inspection Services | $200–$900 $300 for commercial property up to 25,000 square feet, $600 up to 50,000, $900 above that; a conditional certificate is $200 | issued once per qualifying occupancy | 2026-09-05 |
| Commercial Building Permitonly if it applies to you | City of Buffalo Department of Permit and Inspection Services | A $50 application fee, plus a plan review fee of 75 cents per $1,000 of mean construction cost (minimum $75), plus a permit fee of $8 per $1,000 of mean construction cost (minimum $100). | one-time, per project | 2026-09-05 |
| Sign Permitonly if it applies to you | City of Buffalo Department of Permit and Inspection Services | $25–$75 $50 for a flat wall sign or a freestanding sign under six feet tall, $75 for a projecting or awning sign, $25 for a portable sign or a face replacement | per sign | 2026-09-05 |
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
Certificate of Occupancy
A separate $50 Use Permit fee applies whenever the occupancy or use class of a space changes.
Commercial Building Permit
Construction cost itself is computed from an ICC-based valuation table by occupancy group and construction type, not simply what the owner reports paying the contractor.
Sign Permit
This covers only the installation permit itself — a separate Sign Business license exists for companies that install signs commercially, priced apart from this per-sign fee.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Buffalo
- Phone
- (716) 851-4290
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.
- City of Buffalo — commercial building permit fee schedule, effective July 1, 2025City of Buffalo Department of Permit and Inspection Services · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
Other offices serving Buffalo
The full permit list for this jurisdiction
Industry permit lists that include this agency
New York jurisdictions
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.