What do these permits involve in Montgomery County?

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County Vendor's License

Any business selling taxable goods or taxable services from a fixed location in Montgomery County registers for this license with the County Auditor at 451 W. Third Street in Dayton before making sales. The amount is set by statute, not by the county: ORC 5739.17(A) requires the applicant to pay into the county treasury 'a license fee in the sum of fifty dollars for each fixed place of business in the county that will be the situs of retail sales,' and directs the auditor to transmit twenty-five dollars of it to the Treasurer of State for the Organized Crime Commission Fund and credit the remaining twenty-five dollars to the county general fund. It is therefore a combined state and county amount of $50, and a widely repeated $25 figure is the county's share rather than the price: the Auditor's own page records that 'Effective April 9, 2025, in accordance with the passage of House Bill 366, the fee for new vendor's license applications will increase from $25 to $50.' The Auditor's page also states that 'There are only two types of vendor's licenses: County and Transient' and that 'The Auditor's Office issues only the County Vendor's License for businesses located at a fixed location within Montgomery County'; a transient vendor selling at shows and markets around the state pays $50 to the Ohio Department of Taxation under ORC 5739.17(D) instead, which is a state registration rather than a county one. Paperwork brought to the Auditor's counter after 4pm is processed the next business day.

Commercial Plumbing Plan Review

Public Health's plumbing programme page states that 'There is no fee required for a plumbing plan review,' so this step costs a commercial applicant nothing — but it is not optional, and skipping it stalls the permit. The same page states that 'A plan review is not required for residential plumbing. A plan review is required before permits may be obtained on all commercial installations,' which puts every commercial fit-out in Montgomery County outside Centerville, Dayton, Oakwood and Kettering through this gate before a plumbing permit can be issued. There is a sequencing rule that catches restaurant and cafe projects in particular: the page states that 'If the commercial operation involves food service, a plan review must be submitted to the Food Service Plans Examiner prior to plumbing approval,' so the food service plan review listed separately for this jurisdiction, which does carry a fee banded by floor area, has to be filed and cleared first. Budget the time rather than the money here: the free review is a scheduling dependency between three separate steps — food plans, plumbing plans, then the plumbing permit and its per-fixture charges.

Commercial Building Permit (Schedule 1, by floor area)

This is the largest single county cost in a Montgomery County build-out, and it is calculated from floor area rather than from construction value — a point worth fixing before any budget is drawn, since a valuation-based estimate will not resemble the real figure. The band table above is the 'New Fee' column of the schedule the Board of County Commissioners adopted at its public meeting of 28 October 2025, after public hearings on 21 and 28 October, effective 1 January 2026; the county's news release of 17 November 2025 prints the first five bands ($500, $1,200, $2,200, $3,200, $4,800) in the same terms, and the release of 31 December 2025 calls it 'the first adjustment since 2017.' The PDF's page header still reads PROPOSED, which is a leftover from drafting rather than a description of the document's status. Zoning comes first and comes from somewhere else: the FAQ states that 'Zoning permits must be obtained for all new work and most changes of use of buildings. They are obtained from the township, city, or village in which the building is located. They should be obtained before applying for the building permit, but in specific instances, exceptions may be made.' Submissions go through the county's Accela portal. The fee applies only in the jurisdictions on Building Regulations' jurisdictional chart — all nine townships, the cities of Brookville, Huber Heights, Riverside, Trotwood and Union (Union for commercial work only), the villages of Farmersville, New Lebanon and Phillipsburg, and WPAFB-PageManor; the FAQ records that 'Effective January 10, 2023, Montgomery County will no longer perform building services for the City of Clayton.'

Sign Permit (freestanding or wall)

Putting up a freestanding or wall sign is a $300 county permit covering one sign and two inspections, with each additional sign at the same address charged at $25 — so a shop with a fascia sign, a pylon sign and a door sign pays $350 rather than three full permits. The schedule states that the 'Inspection includes electric,' so an illuminated sign does not need a separate electrical permit for the sign itself. Two other approvals sit alongside this one and neither is replaced by it: the township, city or village issues the zoning permit, and its sign ordinance governs size, height, placement and illumination — the county's FAQ states that 'Zoning permits must be obtained for all new work and most changes of use of buildings. They are obtained from the township, city, or village in which the building is located.' The fee is from the building schedule adopted at the county's public meeting of 28 October 2025, after hearings on 21 and 28 October 2025, effective 1 January 2026; the published PDF's header still reads PROPOSED from the drafting stage. It applies only in the jurisdictions the county serves: all nine townships, the cities of Brookville, Huber Heights, Riverside, Trotwood and Union (commercial work only), the villages of Farmersville, New Lebanon and Phillipsburg, and WPAFB-PageManor. A sign in Dayton, Kettering, Centerville or another self-administering city is permitted by that city instead.

Commercial Temporary Certificate of Occupancy

A business that has to open before its build-out is finished asks for a temporary certificate of occupancy, which the county's fee schedule prices at $400 and describes as being for use 'When work is not complete, but following final inspection, CBO deems building safe to occupy.' It is discretionary and it is not cheap relative to the $325 standard certificate, so it is worth treating as a contingency line in a fit-out budget rather than a plan. The permanent certificate still has to follow: the FAQ states that 'Each finished building, tenant space, or dwelling unit requires a Certificate of Occupancy,' and that certificates are 'issued for a specific use of a building or space, not a specific tenant, and do not expire if the use does not change.' The schedule also prices an additional certificate of occupancy at $100, limited to multi-family buildings. The fee comes from the schedule adopted at the county's public meeting of 28 October 2025 after public hearings on 21 and 28 October 2025, effective 1 January 2026; the published PDF's header still reads PROPOSED from drafting. It applies in the jurisdictions on the county's chart: all nine townships, the cities of Brookville, Huber Heights, Riverside, Trotwood and Union (commercial only), the villages of Farmersville, New Lebanon and Phillipsburg, and WPAFB-PageManor.

Plumbing Permit and Inspection

Almost any fit-out in Montgomery County touches this permit, because the trigger is far wider than new construction: Public Health's plumbing page states that 'Permits are required for the installation, construction, alteration or repair of the plumbing, drainage or water supply system in any building or structure including replacement fixtures,' so swapping a sink in a salon or a hand-wash station in a cafe is enough. The per-fixture charge is what makes the arithmetic: a restaurant fit-out with a three-compartment sink, two hand sinks, a mop sink, a dishwasher and two lavatories is a $45.00 permit plus $14.00 for each of those devices. The jurisdiction here is narrower than the rest of Public Health's programmes, and the page says so twice: 'The plumbing program provides oversight of the installation of plumbing systems in all areas of Montgomery County except for the cities of Centerville, Dayton, Oakwood, and Kettering,' and 'We provide inspection services for all areas of the county (excluding the cities of Centerville, Dayton, Oakwood and Kettering). However, Public Health will continue to issue permits and provide oversight (for Centerville) of on-premise sewer, water and irrigation/deduct meter installations.' A business in Dayton, Kettering or Oakwood therefore permits its plumbing through that city, while a Centerville business still comes to Public Health for sewer, water and irrigation or deduct-meter work. Payment is by cash, check, money order, credit or debit card, and card transactions carry an added processing fee. The amounts above are the ones printed on Public Health's own plumbing programme page at the address cited here, read from the Internet Archive's capture of that page.

Commercial Certificate of Occupancy

Montgomery County Building Regulations states in its FAQ that 'Each finished building, tenant space, or dwelling unit requires a Certificate of Occupancy,' and its $325 line covers the stand-alone case: taking over an existing space whose approved use is not changing. The FAQ explains when a new certificate is unnecessary — 'To use a building in the same manner as previously approved, such as a dress shop occupying a former men's clothing store, and the former use had been legally approved, no new Certificate of Occupancy is needed. C.O.'s are issued for a specific use of a building or space, not a specific tenant, and do not expire if the use does not change' — so a tenant replacing a like-for-like tenant may inherit the existing certificate, while a cafe moving into a former retail unit is a change of use and takes the full permit route. A zoning certificate from the township, city or village is a different document and does not substitute: the FAQ states that 'A zoning Certificate of Occupancy only signifies compliance with zoning ordinances for land use approval. It does not take the place of Montgomery County's Certificate of Occupancy for building use approval.' The amount comes from the fee schedule the county adopted at its public meeting of 28 October 2025, after hearings on 21 and 28 October 2025, effective 1 January 2026, as the county's own news releases of 17 November and 31 December 2025 state; the PDF's page header still carries the word PROPOSED from the drafting stage. This fee applies only where the county does the building enforcement — all nine townships, the cities of Brookville, Huber Heights, Riverside, Trotwood and Union (Union commercial work only), the villages of Farmersville, New Lebanon and Phillipsburg, and WPAFB-PageManor; Clayton left the county's building services on 10 January 2023 per the same FAQ.

Commercial Sprinkler, Alarm, Mechanical and Electrical Permit (Schedule 1)

Sprinkler, fire alarm, mechanical and electrical work on a commercial project is priced on its own set of area bands, separate from and in addition to the general construction permit, so a 5,000 square foot restaurant build-out is a $2,200 construction permit plus $600 on this line before any of the flat-fee items. The bands come from the same schedule the county adopted on 28 October 2025 after public hearings on 21 and 28 October, effective 1 January 2026, whose page header still reads PROPOSED from the drafting stage. These bands cover the systems work embedded in a build-out; discrete equipment jobs are priced as flat fees elsewhere on the schedule — a commercial furnace, air-conditioning or water heater replacement of the same size in the same location is $225 per unit including mechanical, electrical and up to ten feet of gas piping, commercial building service piping is $250, a commercial gas piping system with plan review is $250, a commercial reconnect or temporary pole is $175 per address including the release to the utility, and adding a meter is $50. The work must be in a jurisdiction the county serves: all nine townships, the cities of Brookville, Huber Heights, Riverside, Trotwood and Union (Union for commercial work only), the villages of Farmersville, New Lebanon and Phillipsburg, and WPAFB-PageManor. Elsewhere in the county the city or village runs its own building department and its own fees.

Floodplain Compliance Review

Montgomery County Building Regulations administers floodplain compliance for the jurisdictions it serves, and charges $150 when that review is the only thing being asked for — the schedule states there is 'No charge if part of a building permit application,' so a project already taking out a county building permit gets the floodplain review folded into it at no extra cost. The stand-alone fee is the one a business meets when it needs a floodplain determination for a lender, an insurer or a property purchase without any construction attached, or when a use changes without building work. The Great Miami and Stillwater river corridors put substantial commercial frontage in Butler, Harrison, Miami, Jefferson and Washington townships within mapped flood hazard areas, which is why this line matters more here than the small amount suggests. The fee is from the schedule adopted at the county's public meeting of 28 October 2025 following public hearings on 21 and 28 October 2025, effective 1 January 2026, as the county's news releases of 17 November and 31 December 2025 state; the published PDF's header still reads PROPOSED from drafting. The review covers the jurisdictions on the county's chart: all nine townships, the cities of Brookville, Huber Heights, Riverside, Trotwood and Union (commercial only), the villages of Farmersville, New Lebanon and Phillipsburg, and WPAFB-PageManor.

Additional, Re-inspection, Missed and After-Hours Inspection Fees

Every county permit line includes a stated number of inspections — three for a small commercial project, eleven for a large one, one for a hood — and anything beyond that count is charged. The rates are flat: $125 for an additional general construction, mechanical or electrical inspection, each covering roughly thirty minutes; $125 for a re-inspection after a failure or a lock-out; $300 where work has been completed without a required inspection, which the schedule describes as being 'Invoked when work is completed without required inspection'; and $500 for an after-hours visit covering up to two hours including drive time, with more time at $125 per half hour. For a fit-out running to a deadline these add up quickly, and the missed-inspection charge in particular is the expensive way to discover that a stage was covered up too early. The rates are from the fee schedule adopted at the county's public meeting of 28 October 2025, following public hearings on 21 and 28 October 2025 and effective 1 January 2026, as the county's news releases of 17 November and 31 December 2025 state; the published PDF's page header still reads PROPOSED from the drafting stage. They apply in the jurisdictions on the county's chart: all nine townships, the cities of Brookville, Huber Heights, Riverside, Trotwood and Union (commercial only), the villages of Farmersville, New Lebanon and Phillipsburg, and WPAFB-PageManor.

Inspection Cancellation Fee

Since 1 July 2026 the county charges $125 for an inspection that is not cancelled in time. The Building Regulations landing page states the rule precisely: 'Effective July 1, 2026, a $125 fee will apply to all inspections canceled after 2:00 p.m. on the day prior to the scheduled inspection date,' and the fee schedule's line A.15 repeats it as a fee assessed 'for any inspection not cancelled by 2pm the business day before the scheduled inspection.' For a contractor juggling trades across several sites this is a real operating cost, and the cut-off is early enough that a job slipping on the morning of the inspection is already too late to cancel free of charge. It sits alongside the $125 re-inspection and lock-out charge and the $300 missed-inspection charge on the same schedule, all three of which are triggered by scheduling rather than by the quality of the work. The cancellation line is part of the fee schedule adopted at the county's public meeting of 28 October 2025, whose other lines took effect on 1 January 2026. It applies in the jurisdictions on the county's jurisdictional chart: all nine townships, the cities of Brookville, Huber Heights, Riverside, Trotwood and Union (commercial only), the villages of Farmersville, New Lebanon and Phillipsburg, and WPAFB-PageManor.

Work Without a Permit Penalty

Starting work before the permit is issued doubles the permit fee, with a floor of $600 and a ceiling of $6,000: the schedule's line A.14 states 'Double fee penalty, minimum $600, up to a max $6,000.' On a small tenant fit-out the floor is what bites, since a $500 permit becomes $1,100 in total, and on a large build the doubling runs to the cap. Two related charges make the same point from a different direction: a missed inspection, 'Invoked when work is completed without required inspection,' is $300, and renewing a permit that expired less than a year ago is $100 plus $125 per inspection. The county also charges $125 for a damage assessment or violation visit in business hours and $300 after hours. The schedule these come from was adopted at the county's public meeting of 28 October 2025, after public hearings on 21 and 28 October 2025, and took effect on 1 January 2026, as the county's own news releases of 17 November and 31 December 2025 state; the published PDF's page header still carries the word PROPOSED from drafting. The penalty applies in the jurisdictions the county serves: all nine townships, the cities of Brookville, Huber Heights, Riverside, Trotwood and Union (commercial work only), the villages of Farmersville, New Lebanon and Phillipsburg, and WPAFB-PageManor.

Commercial Deficient Submittal and Major Revision Review

Plan review in Montgomery County is not a single flat cost: an incomplete submittal or a minor change is $200 including the re-reviews that follow a hold response, and a major revision is charged at half the cost of the original permit. On a 20,000 square foot project whose Schedule 1 permit is $6,600, a major redesign therefore adds $3,300 — enough that a design change late in review is worth pricing before it is submitted. The $200 minor-change line is the one most fit-outs meet, typically after a first submission missing equipment schedules or a sealed drawing. The half-cost major-revision line is carried over unchanged from the county's previous schedule, so it is not a new charge in the 2026 adjustment. Both lines come from the fee schedule adopted at the Board of County Commissioners' public meeting of 28 October 2025, after public hearings on 21 and 28 October 2025, effective 1 January 2026, as the county's news releases of 17 November and 31 December 2025 state; the published PDF's page header still reads PROPOSED from the drafting stage. The charges apply in the jurisdictions on the county's chart: all nine townships, the cities of Brookville, Huber Heights, Riverside, Trotwood and Union (commercial only), the villages of Farmersville, New Lebanon and Phillipsburg, and WPAFB-PageManor.

Permit	Issuing agency	Fee	Renews	Last checked
County Vendor's License	Montgomery County Auditor, Licensing Division	$50 one-time, for each fixed place of business in the county — a combined state and county amount, of which the Auditor transmits $25 to the state Organized Crime Commission Fund and credits $25 to the Montgomery County general fund	one-time registration; the Auditor's vendor page describes the $50 as a one-time fee as long as the business stays within the county, and under ORC 5739.17(B) a move within the county needs a new license or a transfer authorised by the Tax Commissioner, while a move to another county needs a license from that county's auditor	2026-09-30
Commercial Plumbing Plan Reviewonly if it applies to you	Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County, Office of Environmental Health	No fee	one review per commercial project, completed before the plumbing permit is issued	2026-09-30
Commercial Building Permit (Schedule 1, by floor area)only if it applies to you	Montgomery County Building Regulations	Schedule 1, Commercial — New Construction, Additions and Alterations is banded by area in square feet, not by valuation: 0-1,000 sq ft $500 (3 inspections); 1,001-4,000 $1,200 (4); 4,001-7,000 $2,200 (5); 7,001-10,000 $3,200 (6); 10,001-15,000 $4,800 (7); 15,001-25,000 $6,600 (9); 25,001-50,000 $8,800 (11); over 50,000 sq ft $10,000 for the first 50,000 plus $160 for each additional 1,000 sq ft, with 11 inspections plus one more for each additional 2,000 sq ft over 50,000.	per project; the schedule charges $100 plus $125 per inspection to renew a permit expired less than a year, and a zoning permit from the township, city or village should be obtained before the county building permit	2026-09-30
Sign Permit (freestanding or wall)only if it applies to you	Montgomery County Building Regulations	$300 per permit for one sign, including two inspections (line B.8); each additional sign at the same address is $25, and the schedule states that the 'Inspection includes electric'	per permit, per project	2026-09-30
Commercial Temporary Certificate of Occupancyonly if it applies to you	Montgomery County Building Regulations	$400 per issuance (line A.2), for use 'When work is not complete, but following final inspection, CBO deems building safe to occupy'	temporary, until the outstanding work is completed and the full certificate of occupancy is issued	2026-09-30
Plumbing Permit and Inspectiononly if it applies to you	Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County, Office of Environmental Health	As printed on Public Health's plumbing programme page: a new installation permit is $45.00 and a replacement installation permit $30.00; each fixture or device installed is $14.00; a sewer and water permit is $50.00; and a deduct or irrigation meter permit is $40.00. Card payments carry an additional processing fee.	per permit, per project; inspections are booked through the plumbing office, open Monday to Friday 8:00-11:30am and 12:30-4:00pm	2026-09-30
Commercial Certificate of Occupancyonly if it applies to you	Montgomery County Building Regulations	$325 per certificate, including one inspection (line B.4 of the Montgomery County Building Regulations fee schedule adopted 28 October 2025, effective 1 January 2026); the schedule limits this line to certificates 'for valid continuing use of an existing space with no changes in use or occupancy'	the FAQ states that certificates of occupancy 'are issued for a specific use of a building or space, not a specific tenant, and do not expire if the use does not change'	2026-09-30
Commercial Sprinkler, Alarm, Mechanical and Electrical Permit (Schedule 1)only if it applies to you	Montgomery County Building Regulations	The second block of Schedule 1 prices sprinkler, alarm, mechanical and electrical work on the same area bands: 0-1,000 sq ft $300 (3 inspections); 1,001-4,000 $400 (4); 4,001-7,000 $600 (5); 7,001-10,000 $700 (6); 10,001-15,000 $850 (7); 15,001-25,000 $950 (9); 25,001-50,000 $1,200 (11); over 50,000 sq ft $1,350 for the first 50,000 plus $30 for each additional 1,000 sq ft.	per project, alongside the general construction permit for the same build-out	2026-09-30
Floodplain Compliance Reviewonly if it applies to you	Montgomery County Building Regulations	$150 per review where floodplain compliance is the only item (line B.14); the schedule states 'No charge if part of a building permit application'	per review, per project	2026-09-30
Additional, Re-inspection, Missed and After-Hours Inspection Feesonly if it applies to you	Montgomery County Building Regulations	Each additional general construction inspection is $125 and covers approximately 30 minutes of inspection time (B.15); each additional mechanical inspection is $125 (M.9); each additional electrical inspection is $125, including one inspection for swimming pools, EV chargers and generators (E.6); a re-inspection or lock-out is $125 (A.12); a missed inspection, invoked when work is completed without a required inspection, is $300 (A.13); and an after-hours inspection is $500 covering up to two hours including drive time, with additional time billed at $125 per half hour (A.5).	charged per occurrence during the life of a permit	2026-09-30
Inspection Cancellation Feeonly if it applies to you	Montgomery County Building Regulations	$125 per occurrence (line A.15), for any inspection not cancelled by 2:00pm on the business day before the scheduled inspection date	charged per occurrence, in force since 1 July 2026	2026-09-30
Work Without a Permit Penaltyonly if it applies to you	Montgomery County Building Regulations	$600–$6,000 per occurrence (line A.14) — the schedule states 'Double fee penalty, minimum $600, up to a max $6,000', charged on top of the permit fee that should have been paid	charged per occurrence, when work has been carried out before the permit was obtained	2026-09-30
Commercial Deficient Submittal and Major Revision Reviewonly if it applies to you	Montgomery County Building Regulations	A commercial deficient submittal or minor change is $200 and includes the hold-response re-reviews (line A.7). A commercial review of major revisions is charged at half the cost of the original permit (line A.9), which the schedule carries over unchanged from the previous schedule.	charged per resubmittal during plan review	2026-09-30

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