Coquitlam bills building permits on construction value under Fees and Charges Bylaw Schedule D — and Burke Mountain’s slopes add a development-permit wrinkle. Here is the 2026 table, worked examples, and how not to file in the wrong Tri-City.
Who this is for. Work inside the City of Coquitlam only. Port Coquitlam and Port Moody are separate cities with separate counters. A “Tri-Cities” mailing address is not automatically Coquitlam — confirm with the Permit Finder before you draw a cover sheet.
The City’s own line is blunt: building permits are based on “value of construction—the bigger the job, the higher the fee.” You pay an application fee up front; the balance is due when you pick up the issued permit. The detailed math lives in Schedule D of the Fees and Charges Bylaw.
Is my project allowed? Zoning decides setbacks, height, lot coverage and whether a suite is allowed on your lot. Check it before you draw or apply for the permit: look up your address on the map, then read your zone in the bylaw.
Checked October 26, 2026 (City of Coquitlam): QtheMap (zoning layer) · Zoning Bylaw
New buildings, additions, structural changes, secondary suites, decks above grade thresholds, demolition, retaining walls, pools, and plumbing/sprinkler work. Electrical and gas are provincial through Technical Safety BC. Job-by-job elsewhere in BC: do I need a building permit for this?
Coquitlam has significant steep-slope and watercourse development-permit areas — Burke Mountain, the Coquitlam River corridor, and other mapped DP areas. A building permit is not a substitute for a development permit. Ask Planning early if the lot is on a slope, near a creek, or in a DP area; that review adds time before Building can finish.
Figures below are from Schedule D to Bylaw No. 5484, 2025 (building bylaw fees). Building-permit rates in that schedule are the 2026 rates effective 1 April 2026. If your application is before that date, confirm whether 2025 rates still apply on your file.
| Fixed / process fee (Schedule D) | 2026 amount |
|---|---|
| Building-permit application fee (Schedule D lists “Building Permit or 50% of the issuance fee for the building permit for which the application is made” at $106.70 and doesn’t say which applies; confirm with the City) | $106.70 |
| New residential (single/two-family) related line in Schedule D | $679.70 |
| Demolition / temporary / pool / retaining-wall permit (listed flat lines) | $106.70 each where that line applies |
| Building-permit extension (6 months) | $306.60 |
| Alternative-solution review (new) | $511.00 |
| Alternative-solution recheck | $357.70 |
| Plan recheck (changes/additions) | $245.00 |
| Re-inspection / special inspection minimum | $108.40 (+ $128.90 / extra hour) |
Table 1 — Building permit fee without a Registered Professional (as published: for each value row, a base fee and a “fee per $1,000 of estimated construction”):
| Value of construction | Base | Per $1,000 (or part) |
|---|---|---|
| $0 – $5,000 | – (none listed) | $35.60 |
| $5,001 – $20,000 | $46.40 | $26.70 |
| $20,001 – $50,000 | $178.00 | $20.40 |
| $50,001 – $500,000 | $510.70 | $13.70 |
| $500,001 and greater | $1,150.00 | $12.40 |
Table 2 (with Registered Professional) runs slightly lower per-$1,000 rates. Table 3 is a separate retaining-wall schedule with its own bases. Read the row that matches your job; do not borrow Vancouver’s formula.
Confirm with the City: Table 1 can be read two ways. Schedule D gives each value row a base fee and a fee per $1,000 of estimated construction, but the City publishes no worked example. Reading A applies the row’s rate to the whole construction value; it’s what our fee estimator uses, because by our arithmetic neighbouring rows then give almost the same fee at each band edge. Reading B applies the rate only to the value above the row’s start, so the fee drops sharply just above each band edge.
Worked examples (Table 1, without RP; our arithmetic, both readings). A $25,000 renovation sits in the $20,001–$50,000 row: reading A is $178.00 + (25 × $20.40) = $688.00; reading B is $178.00 + (5 × $20.40) = $280.00. A $60,000 job sits in the $50,001–$500,000 row: reading A is $510.70 + (60 × $13.70) = $1,332.70; reading B is $510.70 + (10 × $13.70) = $647.70. On either reading, the $106.70 application fee is paid at intake and the balance at permit pickup; Schedule D words that line as $106.70 “or 50% of the issuance fee” without saying which applies, so ask which figure your file will be charged. Demolition of an accessory building is listed at $119.60; other demolition lines are higher. Plumbing is separate (minimum plumbing-system issuance fee published at $79.00 including two fixtures, then $36.40 per additional fixture). Confirm the arithmetic on your invoice — Schedule D wins over this summary.
Damage deposits apply on many new single- and multi-family permits before issuance — amounts are not a single published flat on the fees webpage; ask Building Permits at intake. DCCs and amenity charges apply to growth projects; they are not the building-permit fee.
Coquitlam publishes one service standard: pre-screening of a submitted application within 3 to 5 business days (City of Coquitlam: permit application review). Total processing time is not published, so check with the City; development-permit areas add a separate step upstream. See BC building permit wait times. Incomplete drawings restart the clock.
Apply through the City’s published building-permit channels; pay the application fee at submission and the balance at pickup. Book inspections only when the work is actually ready — re-inspection starts at $108.40.
Schedule D is only the building-permit ladder. New houses and many multi-family projects also pay a damage deposit before the permit is released — the City does not print one flat deposit on the fees webpage, so ask Building Permits for the number that applies to your scope. Development Cost Charges and amenity contributions hit growth projects; they dwarf the permit fee on a new house. Plumbing and sprinkler permits are separate line items (Schedule D publishes a plumbing minimum that includes two fixtures, then a per-fixture add-on).
If you change drawings after review, budget the plan-recheck fee ($245.00 in the 2026 Schedule D lines we verified). Alternative solutions are $511.00 new / $357.70 to recheck — not a free conversation at the counter.
Coquitlam allows secondary suites where zoning permits. Treat suite work as a building permit with the same Table 1/2 value rules, plus plumbing. On Burke Mountain and other steep sites, geotechnical letters and development-permit conditions routinely gate the building permit. Do not order framing packages until Planning confirms whether a DP is required — that is the expensive sequencing mistake in this city.
Demolition has its own Schedule D flats (accessory vs. other). Temporary buildings use the temporary-permit line. None of those are “about 1% of value.”
Removing a tree for your project? Our BC tree-cutting permit checker shows when Coquitlam's Tree Management Bylaw needs a permit, with fees and official links.
| Purpose | Contact |
|---|---|
| Building Permits Division | 604-927-3441 |
| Planning & Development | DevInfo@coquitlam.ca · 604-927-3430 |
| City Hall | 3000 Guildford Way, Coquitlam, BC V3B 7N2 (Mon–Fri 8 am–5 pm) |
| Schedule D (PDF) | Linked from Planning and Development — Fees and Charges |
It depends on construction value under Schedule D Table 1 or 2, and Table 1 can be read two ways (see the worked examples above). By our arithmetic, a $25,000 alteration without a registered professional is $688 if the row’s rate applies to the whole value (the reading our estimator uses) or $280 if it applies only to the value above $20,000. The City publishes no worked example, so confirm with the City. The $106.70 application fee is paid at intake (Schedule D lists it as $106.70 “or 50% of the issuance fee”). Larger jobs step through higher brackets at lower per-$1,000 rates.
No. It uses stepped bases and per-$1,000 rates in Schedule D. “About 1–1.3%” is a planning guess, not the bylaw.
Often yes if you are in a steep-slope or watercourse DP area. Confirm with Planning before you pay for building drawings that ignore the DP.
No. Separate city, separate fees, separate inspections.
Technical Safety BC. Coquitlam handles building, plumbing and related municipal permits.
This guide relies on the official pages below. Rules, fees and processes change, so check the authority before you apply or spend money.
Links checked September 28, 2026. Found an error or a broken link? Report it.