What do these permits involve in Wilmington?

Question

Accepted Answer

Building Permit

Who may pull the permit depends on job valuation: the owner/authorized agent alone for $10,000 or less; a City of Wilmington Licensed General Contractor for $10,001-$25,000; and a City-licensed General Contractor with plans sealed by a licensed architect or professional engineer above $25,000. All contractors and subcontractors listed on the application must hold a City of Wilmington Business License (listed separately for this jurisdiction). A separate Fire Protection Plan Review fee (listed elsewhere for this jurisdiction) applies on top of this permit for most commercial projects. This is the same $12.00/$20.00-per-trade formula the City's own 2016 Development Review guide showed, unchanged for this component even as the Certificate of Occupancy and Fire Protection Plan Review fees have since been updated (recorded separately below).

Zoning Certificate (Written Zoning Verification)

This $25.00 figure comes from the City's own 2016 Development Review Process guide, which states that for this fee 'an applicant may obtain a written certification from L&I that states the zoning designation for the parcel, whether the proposed use is allowable under that zoning designation and a list of any outstanding violations.' No current Land Use & Planning document cited here restates the figure, so it is given with its 2016 source date; confirm the current amount with the Zoning Manager. A verbal zoning determination remains available free of charge from the Zoning Manager without this written certification.

Zoning Board of Adjustment Variance Application

Confirmed from the City's own current Zoning Board of Adjustment Application, dated 6/24/2025 and published by the Department of Land Use and Planning, which prints the two rates directly under 'Application Fees.' An undated earlier version of the form circulating on a non-City site shows $250.00 commercial and $100.00 residential; the 2025 form served from the City's own domain is the newer document and its figures are the ones given here. The application also requires a notarized affidavit certifying the applicant is not delinquent on city property taxes, water and sewer billing, vacant property fees, instant housing violation tickets or property maintenance fees for the subject parcel, and the Board may in its discretion refund part or all of the fee where an interpretation appeal succeeds, while variance fees are not returnable regardless of outcome. The Board is a three-member quasi-judicial body drawn from City staff (Law, Public Works, and Real Estate and Housing) meeting on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month; applicants should anticipate four to six weeks from application to hearing.

Certificate of Occupancy

Historically also referred to as a 'Limitation of Occupancy Notification' (LON) in the City's own older billing terminology, per its current bill-search portal. A separate $50.00 Certificate of Compliance fee and a $50.00 re-inspection fee for a final Certificate of Occupancy also appear on the same current fee schedule. Every one of the ten industries this site tracks falls in the $100.00 commercial band, not the $75.00 residential rate.

Fire Protection Plan Review

Required for any project involving fire alarm, sprinkler, fixed fire extinguisher, or hood suppression systems, or other construction affecting fire/life safety. The Fire Marshal's Office's own current departmental page confirms this is a real, recent increase, stating in its own banner 'EFFECTIVE 1/1/2024 – FIRE MARSHAL'S OFFICE FEES HAVE INCREASED.' The City's own 2016 Development Review guide had previously priced the identical review at a $150.00 minimum fee, $7.00 per $1,000 up to $1 million, and $3.00 per $1,000 above that — now superseded by the current $200.00 minimum, $9.00, and $5.00 figures recorded above. A current copy of the City's own Business License is required as part of the plan review submission.

Fire Annual Permit (activity-based schedule)

City Code §12-99(d) sets no flat annual fire permit rate. The City's bill-search portal names 'Fire Annual Permits Bills' as a distinct billing category, but that category is the billing wrapper for the per-activity schedule in §12-99(d), not a charge every business pays. The adopting ordinance presents that schedule in strike-through/underline form, so both the prior and current columns are visible. Two independent cross-checks support the reading: the Fire Marshal's Office's own current Miscellaneous Permits application (form FM-27, dated 1/22/2024) prints Bulk Storage $100.00, Fumigation $25.00, Hazardous Chemicals $200.00, Junkyard/Salvage $150.00, Lumber Storage $100.00, Refineries $100.00, Spray Booth Installation $100.00 and Spray Booth $100.00 — every one matching this ordinance's post-amendment column exactly; and the same ordinance's Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 amendments independently reproduce the zoning board of adjustment and business license figures listed elsewhere for this jurisdiction. Of the ten industries this site tracks, the schedule reaches an auto-repair shop most directly (vehicle-repair garage $50.00, fuel dispensing $75.00, spray booth $100.00 annually). Separately and in addition, §12-64(c)(7) prices a mobile food service fire inspection at $75.00 annually with a $25.00 re-inspection, and §12-64(c)(1) prices annual license-renewal inspections for child care at $75.00 for a home daycare of one to six children, $100.00 for a large home daycare of seven to twelve, and $200.00 for a children care centre of twelve or more, with no waivers permitted. All of this is separate from the one-time Fire Protection Plan Review fee listed elsewhere for this jurisdiction, which applies to new construction or renovation.

Permit	Issuing agency	Fee	Renews	Last checked
Building Permit	City of Wilmington Department of Land Use and Planning	$12.00 per $1,000 of construction cost, plus $20.00 per trade utilized (electric, air conditioning, heating, mechanical ventilation, plumbing). A penalty for working without a permit adds the regular permit fee plus 2% of the job valuation.	one-time, per project; expiration not separately stated in the published schedule	2026-09-12
Zoning Certificate (Written Zoning Verification)only if it applies to you	City of Wilmington Department of Land Use and Planning	$25 one-time, per written zoning certification request	one-time, per application; not further specified in the source guide	2026-09-12
Zoning Board of Adjustment Variance Applicationonly if it applies to you	City of Wilmington Department of Land Use and Planning	Set by use type on the City's own current application: a Commercial Use Request is $300.00, and a Residential Use Request is $150.00 per specific variance — so a residential applicant seeking relief from two separate provisions pays the $150.00 rate for each. All fees are payable to the 'City of Wilmington.'	one-time per application; a variance once granted gives the applicant six months to apply for a building permit	2026-09-12
Certificate of Occupancy	City of Wilmington Department of Land Use and Planning	$100 one-time (the commercial rate; a lower $75.00 rate applies only to a residential dwelling); a $250.00 Temporary Commercial Certificate of Occupancy, maximum 30 days, is available separately	one-time — issued after final inspections confirm code compliance	2026-09-12
Fire Protection Plan Review	Wilmington Fire Department, Fire Marshal's Office (Fire Prevention Division)	$9.00 per $1,000 of construction cost up to $1,000,000, plus $5.00 per $1,000 of construction cost above $1,000,000, with a $200.00 minimum fee for estimated construction costs under $20,000.00.	one-time, per project; required at least prior to beginning work	2026-09-12
Fire Annual Permit (activity-based schedule)only if it applies to you	Wilmington Fire Department, Fire Marshal's Office (Fire Prevention Division)	There is no single flat annual rate. City Code §12-99(d) sets a per-activity FIRE PERMIT FEES schedule (effective July 1, 2023), and a business owes an annual fire permit only where it conducts a listed activity. The lines carrying an express annual fee are: liquid propane gas, $100.00 for a dealer/distributor or permanent installation, $75.00 where total tank capacity is under 299 water gallons and $150.00 where it exceeds 300 water gallons; compressed natural gas dealer/distributor, $100.00; flammable and combustible liquid tanks, $50.00 per site; spray booth, $100.00; tire storage, $150.00; and welding, cutting or burning, $50.00 annually or $25.00 per site. Single-charge permits in the same schedule include bulk oil storage $100.00, public filling station $100.00, vehicle-repair garage $50.00 (plus $75.00 for fuel dispensing), hazardous chemicals at or above 500 pounds or 55 gallons $200.00, junkyard/salvage yard $150.00, lumber storage $100.00, refineries $100.00, fumigation $25.00 per application, tents $50.00, fireworks display $50.00, and sale of small arms ammunition $50.00. Installation charges are separate from the annual fee on the tank and spray-booth lines. Section 12-99(d) closes with a catch-all: a permit required but not classified in the schedule is priced by the chief of fire or the fire marshal.	annual for the activities carrying an express annual fee; the City bills these through its own 'Fire Annual Permits Bills' category	2026-09-12

Business licenses and permits in Wilmington, Delaware

What are you opening in Wilmington?

Permits that apply to every type of business in Wilmington