Construction Valuation

The number a building department cares about is not the number on your contract. Construction valuation is the dollar value a jurisdiction assigns to the work described on a permit application, and it exists to size the permit fee. It is not the contract price, not the lender's as-completed appraisal, and not the county assessor's figure for property tax.

Most departments calculate it themselves from a published table. The International Code Council issues Building Valuation Data twice a year, listing average construction costs per square foot by occupancy group and construction type. A wood-framed house is Group R-3, Type VB. On the February 2024 table that cell reads $165.67 per square foot. The department multiplies the rate by gross floor area, then applies its own fee schedule or permit fee multiplier.

For example, a 3,500-square-foot Type VB home prices out at roughly $580,000 of valuation under that table, whatever the contract says. Maricopa County adds a wrinkle. Its written directive DD-5017-01 still uses the ICC 2003 valuation chart, and staff take the higher of its calculated minimum or the applicant's figure. Understating it on the form does not lower the fee.

Two results surprise buyers. Finish quality barely moves valuation, so the same plan with a $90,000 kitchen and one with builder-grade cabinets carry nearly the same permit fee. And one house draws different fees in different Arizona cities, because each jurisdiction picks its own table edition and multiplier. Scottsdale's published permit fee calculator does not ask for a valuation at all, only permit type and square footage.

Valuation is separate from impact fees, which Arizona calls development fees and charges off an adopted schedule rather than project value. It is also separate from plan review fees, which bill on their own line. Ask the AHJ which valuation table it uses before you budget, because that one choice can move the permit fee by thousands.