Permit Glossary
Permit Valuation
Also known as: declared value, construction valuation, project value
The estimated total cost of construction declared on a permit application, used to calculate permit fees and as a proxy for project size.
Permit valuation is the dollar amount representing the estimated fair market cost of all labor and materials for the permitted work, as declared by the applicant or calculated by the building department using standard multipliers. Many jurisdictions use International Code Council (ICC) valuation tables or their own fee schedules based on construction type and occupancy. Declared valuations can be understated; some AHJs audit and adjust them upward. Permit valuation is imperfect but widely used as a proxy for project size and budget when detailed contract data is unavailable.
Why it matters for contractors
Sorting permits by valuation lets contractors quickly identify the largest projects in a market — useful for filtering out sub-threshold jobs and prioritizing outreach on high-budget opportunities.