Charleston
Charleston Fire Department, Fire Prevention Bureau
In short
Charleston Fire Department, Fire Prevention Bureau issues 1 permit we publish for Charleston, last verified 2026-09-11. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fire Protection Service Charge | Charleston Fire Department, Fire Prevention Bureau | Assessed annually on the owner of a commercial/institutional building, banded by total square footage (exterior building dimensions multiplied by number of stories, excluding unfinished basements/attics, porches, and residential garages) per Charleston City Code § 54-181(f)(2): $42.00 (1-1,000 sq ft), $63.00 (1,001-1,500), $85.00 (1,501-2,000), $106.00 (2,001-2,500), $127.00 (2,501-3,000), $149.00 (3,001-3,500), $170.00 (3,501-4,000), $191.00 (4,001-4,500), $211.00 (4,501-5,000), $232.00 (5,001-5,500), $253.00 (5,501-6,000), $274.00 (6,001-6,500), $295.00 (6,501-7,000), $316.00 (7,001-7,500), $337.00 (7,501-8,000), $358.00 (8,001-8,500), $380.00 (8,501-9,000), $401.00 (9,001-9,500), $422.00 (9,501-10,000), $632.00 (10,001-15,000), $843.00 (15,001-20,000), $1,054.00 (20,001-25,000), $1,265.00 (25,001-30,000), $1,476.00 (30,001-35,000), $1,687.00 (35,001-40,000), $1,897.00 (40,001-45,000), $2,108.00 (45,001-50,000), $2,319.00 (50,001-55,000), $2,529.00 (55,001-60,000), $2,739.00 (60,001-65,000), $2,950.00 (65,001-70,000), $3,161.00 (70,001-75,000), $3,372.00 (75,001-80,000), $3,582.00 (80,001-85,000), $3,792.00 (85,001-90,000), $4,003.00 (90,001-95,000), $4,214.00 (95,001-100,000), $5,268.00 (100,001-125,000), $6,322.00 (125,001-150,000), $7,375.00 (150,001-175,000), $8,428.00 (175,001-200,000), $9,482.00 (200,001-225,000), $10,536.00 (225,001-250,000), and a flat $12,643.00 for 250,000 sq ft and over. | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-09-11 |
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
Fire Protection Service Charge
A genuine, citywide charge assessed on commercial and institutional buildings by square footage, separate from any operational fire-code permit. Charleston City Code § 54-181(f)(2), read directly, sets out the complete banded table reproduced in this record's fee formula, running from $42.00 (1-1,000 sq ft) to a flat $12,643.00 (250,000 sq ft and over); the City's own current 'Introduction to Municipal Fire Protection and Refuse Service Fee' overview independently reprints the identical table. This charge is distinct from Charleston Fire Department's own published 'Restaurant Fire Safety Requirements,' which is a maintenance checklist (hood/duct cleaning schedule, extinguisher inspection, exit-lighting maintenance) rather than a separately priced permit, and from its 'Fire Prevention Code' article, which names only Open Fires/Outdoor Burning, Blasting, Fireworks, and Outdoor Special Events permits — no Places-of-Assembly or commercial-kitchen-hood-suppression operational permit fee is published anywhere for Charleston.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Charleston
- Phone
- (304) 348-8058
- Website
- charlestonfire.org
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.
- Code of the City of Charleston, Chapter 54 (Fire Prevention and Protection), Article IV (Fire Protection Service Charge), § 54-181 — pricing commercial/institutional buildings from $42.00 to $12,643.00 by square footageCity of Charleston, West Virginia (Code of Ordinances, via Municode) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
- Introduction to Municipal Fire Protection and Refuse Service Fee (Revised 6/2018) — the City Collector's own current fee overview, currently linked live from the Department's Fire/Refuse Fee Overview page, reprinting the complete Fire Protection Service Charge table by square footage for both residential and commercial/institutional buildings and matching Sec. 54-181's own figures exactlyCity of Charleston, Office of the City Collector · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
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