Madison
City of Madison Development Services Center, Building Inspection Division
In short
City of Madison Development Services Center, Building Inspection Division issues 4 permits we publish for Madison, last verified 2026-09-06. 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 Madison Development Services Center, Building Inspection Division | $10 for the first certificate; $150 for each additional certificate | issued once per qualifying occupancy | 2026-09-06 |
| Commercial Building Permit | City of Madison Development Services Center, Building Inspection Division | Plan review — commercial alterations/remodeling: $0.04/sq ft, minimum $100 (HVAC alterations: $0.03/sq ft, same minimum); new construction uses the same $0.04/sq ft rate. Structural review of building elements: $50 per element. Inspection fee for existing-building alterations/repairs: $11 per $1,000 of value (or fraction), minimum $25. New buildings/additions are billed by occupancy group instead — e.g., assembly/office/retail is $0.51/sq ft, minimum $25. Trade fees: plumbing fixtures $8 each (min $25); electric service replacement $50/panel; electrical openings $25 for the first ten, $1 each additional. | one-time, per project | 2026-09-06 |
| Day Care Center Conditional Use Permit — Fee Waivedonly if it applies to you | City of Madison Development Services Center, Building Inspection Division | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-06 |
| Sign Contractor License | City of Madison Development Services Center, Building Inspection Division | $15 test fee, then a $125 license fee, renewed annually at $125. A $10,000 bond is also required. | annual renewal | 2026-09-06 |
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
Per the City's Building Inspection Fees page, the first Certificate of Occupancy is $10 and each additional certificate is $150 (Madison General Ordinances section 29.09(3)). A Zoning Certificate (a change of use without a building permit) is separately $75, per Madison General Ordinances sections 29.07(3)(e) and 28.206.
Commercial Building Permit
Per the City's Building Inspection Fees page, plan review for commercial alterations is $0.04 per square foot (minimum $100) and the inspection fee for alterations to an existing building is $11 per $1,000 of value (minimum $25). A commercial-only Early Start Permit is $50 plus $0.01/sq ft; revisions to previously-examined plans are $100.
Day Care Center Conditional Use Permit — Fee Waived
Quoted directly: 'Conditional use application for the following conditional uses: Day care centers (includes adult day care)... No fee' (Sec. 28.206). Reading the Zoning Code's own use tables directly (Sec. 28.032, Table 28C-1 for residential districts; Sec. 28.061, Table 28D-2 for mixed-use and commercial districts), a stand-alone 'Day care center' is a Conditional Use in all fifteen residential zoning districts (SR-C1 through TR-P) and in the Limited Mixed-Use (LMX) district, but permitted by right in every other mixed-use/commercial district (NMX, TSS, MXC, CC-T, CC, RMX). A day care center operated inside a school or place of worship is permitted by right in every residential district except Traditional Residential-Rural (TR-R), where it is conditional. In-home 'family' day care is listed as permitted-or-conditional (P/C), depending on Sec. 28.151's supplemental standards, in nearly every district.
Sign Contractor License
Required to pull a sign permit in Madison. The sign permit's own per-square-foot fee schedule is published on the City's own Zoning Fees page (Sec. 31.041(3)): $1.75 per square foot of net area (minimum $50) for most new signs, $1.75 per square foot of gross area for ground signs, and $2.50 per square foot of net area for advertising signs; a business-opening or portable sign is a flat $50, and changing a sign's face or copy is $1.50 per square foot of net area (minimum $25).
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Madison
- Phone
- (608) 266-4551
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 Madison — Building Inspection FeesCity of Madison Development Services Center · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-06
- City of Madison — Sign Contractor LicensingCity of Madison Development Services Center · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-06
- City of Madison — Zoning FeesCity of Madison Development Services Center · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-06
- Madison General Ordinances, Chapter 28 (Zoning Code) Sec. 28.032 and Table 28C-1 — Residential District Uses, showing 'Day care center' as a Conditional Use in all fifteen residential zoning districts (SR-C1 through TR-P)City of Madison · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Madison General Ordinances, Chapter 28 (Zoning Code) Sec. 28.061 and Table 28D-2 — Mixed-Use and Commercial District Uses, showing 'Day care center' permitted by right in every mixed-use/commercial district except Limited Mixed-Use (LMX), where it is conditionalCity of Madison · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
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The full permit list for this jurisdiction
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