What do these permits involve in Burlington?

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General Business License — Burlington Position (24 V.S.A. § 2291)

No fee applies: under 24 V.S.A. § 2291, Burlington has no power to require a general business license. This is a statutory ceiling rather than a policy choice: 24 V.S.A. § 2291 enumerates municipal powers and grants only two that touch business licensing, subsection (9) for itinerant vendors, peddlers and those selling from a vehicle, and subsection (11) for circuses, carnivals and paid entertainments. Anything broader needs special charter authority, which Burlington does not have for general licensing. The Clerk's own Business Licenses index accordingly lists four things and no more — cannabis, liquor, peddler and taxi. Chapter 19 of the Code, headed LICENSES, is purely procedural: §19-2 provides that 'The provisions of this chapter shall apply to and govern the issuance of any license required by this Code,' creating nothing itself. The City's own forty-three page Doing Business in Burlington guide never uses the phrase 'business license.' Of the ten industries this site tracks, only a food truck needs a Burlington license, and it needs a peddler license rather than a business license. What reaches everyone else is zoning, building and fire, listed separately for this jurisdiction.

Conditional Use Permit / Variance / Development Review Board Application

The $195.00 is additive, not substitutional — the schedule states it applies 'In addition to any applicable COA fees,' so a business needing conditional use approval for a change of use pays the $122.00 Level I certificate of appropriateness and the $195.00 conditional use fee together. Whether a given use is permitted outright or conditional in a given district is set by the CDO's Appendix A use table, which is not reproduced here; check the table for the district concerned before assuming this fee applies. The $35.00 zoning compliance report is the cheapest way for a prospective tenant to establish an address's zoning status in writing before committing to a lease.

Zoning Permit (required for change of use, not only construction)

The reach of this permit is what matters for a new business, and the ordinance is explicit that it is not limited to construction: §3.1.1 requires a zoning permit for 'the following types of exterior and interior work: … 3. Change of use or expansion of use.' Taking over a former retail space as a café triggers it even with no building work at all. The Department's own Permit Fees page confirms the arithmetic with a worked example of a '$122 Zoning Permit Application Fee,' which is the $15.00 filing fee plus the $107.00 base. The $15.00 component is not a City charge in substance — the schedule's own note explains that 'Permit fees include a $15 filing fee assessed by the Burlington Clerk/Treasurer's office as required by state statute.' Card payments carry a further $3.00 processing fee plus 2.65 percent for transactions over $123.00. The CDO's per-district use table determines whether a given use is permitted outright or needs conditional use approval; it is not reproduced here, so check the table for the district concerned.

Zoning Certificate of Occupancy

This is the step that legally permits occupancy, and like the zoning permit it is triggered by a change of use rather than only by construction. CDO §3.2.11 provides that 'It shall be unlawful to use or occupy… any land or structure… wholly or partly altered or enlarged in its use or structure… without a zoning certificate of occupancy issued by the administrative officer.' The fee is structured unusually: rather than a flat charge it is $30.00 plus ten percent of whatever the application fees came to, collected up front within those fees and refundable if the permit is never enacted. A business needing to open before final sign-off pays $150.00 for a temporary certificate, which is a materially larger charge than the final one for most small projects.

Building Permit

A genuine conflict between the City's own documents is recorded here rather than averaged away. The rate of $8.50 per $1,000 is agreed everywhere. The minimum is not: the codified ordinance says $20.00 and the City's current web page says $30.00. Both figures are given here because the ordinance is the adopted instrument while the web page is the more recently maintained one; confirm the minimum with the Department of Permitting and Inspections. The $1,000 exemption at §8-28(d) is worth noting for small fit-outs — 'No permit or fee shall be required for any alterations or repairs, the cost of which is not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00)' — and the three-year expiry at §8-27 for long projects. Trade permits are separate and each carries its own higher or lower minimum, so a restaurant fit-out involving building, electrical and plumbing work pays three minimums rather than one.

Fire and Life Safety Inspection

Burlington's structure is unusually forgiving at the front end: §13-22(c) states that 'There is no charge for the initial inspection or the first reinspection… the owner shall be responsible for a reinspection fee of seventy-five dollars ($75.00) for the second and any subsequent reinspections.' The cost only begins after two chances to comply. The Fire Marshal issues specialty suppression, water-based suppression, fire pump, kitchen hood suppression, tent and fire alarm permits through the City's OpenGov portal; their fee amounts are not published in the FY2027 fee schedule, Code Chapter 13 or the Fire Marshal's own pages. The only published figure attaching to those permits is a recording fee, described as an 'increase in the assessed recording fee from $10 to $15 under the provisions of 32 VSA § 1671.' A restaurant installing a kitchen hood suppression system should contact the Fire Marshal's office for that permit fee.

Permit	Issuing agency	Fee	Renews	Last checked
General Business License — Burlington Position (24 V.S.A. § 2291)only if it applies to you	City of Burlington Clerk/Treasurer's Office	No fee	not applicable	2026-09-14
Conditional Use Permit / Variance / Development Review Board Applicationonly if it applies to you	City of Burlington Department of Permitting and Inspections	A conditional use permit or a variance is $195.00, charged in addition to any applicable Certificate of Appropriateness fee rather than instead of it. Other Development Review Board matters, including time extensions and Master Sign Plans, are $155.00, and an appeal to the Board is $250.00. A sketch plan review is $300.00 per board per visit initially and $250.00 per board per visit thereafter. A major impact review is $250.00 plus $1.21 per $1,000 of estimated construction cost. A zoning compliance report is $35.00 standard, $70.00 expedited or $17.00 to renew.	one-time per application	2026-09-14
Zoning Permit (required for change of use, not only construction)	City of Burlington Department of Permitting and Inspections	A basic zoning permit, an awning permit without signage, a fence permit or a Certificate of Appropriateness Level I — the level covering a change of use or a project with an estimated construction cost below $29,000 — is a $15.00 filing fee plus $107.00, so $122.00 in total. A Certificate of Appropriateness Level II, for an estimated construction cost of $29,000 or more, is $15.00 plus $140.00 plus $2.20 per $1,000 of estimated construction cost, with a development review fee of $4.50 per $1,000 charged on top. An administrative determination is $15.00 plus $140.00. All fees are capped at $165,000 in 2026 dollars and adjusted by CPI.	not stated in the published fee schedule	2026-09-14
Zoning Certificate of Occupancy	City of Burlington Department of Permitting and Inspections	A final zoning certificate of occupancy is $30.00 plus ten percent of the total application fees, charged within the application fees themselves and refundable if the permit is not enacted. A temporary certificate of occupancy is $150.00 each. An after-the-fact certificate is charged on a separate schedule. A building certificate of occupancy, where the project requires one, adds a further $10.00.	one-time; a temporary certificate is time-limited by its own terms	2026-09-14
Building Permit	City of Burlington Department of Permitting and Inspections	Charged at $8.50 for every $1,000 of the estimated cost of the work. The minimum is stated inconsistently across City documents and both readings are recorded: Code §8-28(a) sets 'a minimum charge of twenty dollars ($20.00) per permit' while the City's own Permit Applications and Forms page states 'a minimum permit fee of thirty ($30.00) dollars.' No permit and no fee is required for alterations or repairs costing $1,000 or less. Electrical work is charged at the same $8.50 per $1,000 but with a $50.00 minimum, and plumbing at $8.50 per $1,000 with a $30.00 minimum that includes the land records recording fee. An enforcement processing fee applies where work proceeds without a permit: $30.00 where the estimated cost is $3,000 or less, otherwise one percent of the estimated cost. Electrical work started without a permit carries $75.00 up to $6,000 or one percent above that, and each re-inspection for code violations is $100.00.	a building permit becomes invalid after three years under Code §8-27	2026-09-14
Fire and Life Safety Inspection	City of Burlington Office of the City Fire Marshal	There is no charge for the initial inspection or for the first re-inspection. A second and any subsequent re-inspection is $75.00 each. A residential time-of-sale inspection, which the City performs under a municipal agreement with the State, is $125.00 for one or two units, plus $50.00 for each unit above two, with each additional re-inspection at $75.00.	per inspection cycle	2026-09-14

Business licenses and permits in Burlington, Vermont

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Permits that apply to every type of business in Burlington