Sticker shock isn’t always lumber and labor. Southwest Florida permit fees can add up fast, and they rarely show up as one simple number. They’re more like a dinner bill with multiple line items, building permit, plan review, trades, right-of-way, impact fees, and the occasional “why is this here?” surcharge.

This guide breaks down how permit costs are built in Cape Coral, Fort Myers, and unincorporated Lee County, where to find the official 2026 schedules, and how to estimate your total without guessing.

Prominent disclaimer (read this first): All fees and examples below are as of 2026 (accessed February 9, 2026) . Fee schedules change, and your final total depends on your home’s valuation, square footage, site work, flood zone, utilities, and how many separate permits and inspections your project needs. Always confirm line items with the jurisdiction issuing your permit.

Most new-home permitting totals come from a stack of smaller charges that hit at different times. Some are based on construction value (valuation), some are flat fees, and some depend on what your lot needs.

Here are the buckets that usually drive the total:

Building permit and plan review: This is the core permit for the structure. Many jurisdictions tie the fee to declared valuation , plus a plan review percentage or separate plan review charge.

Trade permits: Electrical, plumbing, mechanical (HVAC), gas, roofing (if separate), irrigation, and sometimes low-voltage. These can be pulled by subcontractors or your GC, and they can be separate permits with separate inspection sequences.

Site and right-of-way items: Driveway/sidewalk work, right-of-way (ROW) use, swales, culverts, grading, and sometimes site drainage reviews. If your lot needs fill or special drainage work, the “site” side can rival the building side.

Impact fees and utility connection charges: Often the biggest single line item outside the structure permit. Impact fees are meant to offset growth costs (roads, parks, schools, fire, etc). Utility agencies may also charge taps, meters, capacity, or connection fees.

The wild cards: Re-inspection fees, after-hours inspections, revision reviews, address assignment, zoning sign-offs, and document recording costs. One revision can be cheap. Three rounds of revisions across four trades gets expensive.

The quickest way to stay sane is to build your estimate the same way the city will invoice it: start with the main building permit, then add trades, then add site/ROW, then add utilities and impact fees (if applicable).

Cape Coral publishes its fee schedules on its permitting fees page, including a new construction schedule you can match to your valuation. Start here: Cape Coral permitting fee schedules.

Cape Coral also provides a tool that can help you sanity-check your estimate before you apply. Use it as a planning tool, not a promise: Cape Coral residential building permit estimator.

How to estimate (method, not guesses):

1. Determine your likely permit valuation (often aligned with the jurisdiction’s valuation method and your plan set).
2. In the new construction fee schedule, find the line item that matches your valuation bracket or formula.
3. Add plan review if listed separately.
4. Add trade permits your project needs (electric, HVAC, plumbing, gas, irrigation, pool).
5. Add any ROW/driveway/site permits if your scope triggers them.
6. Confirm whether any local surcharges, tech fees, or record retention fees apply, then include them as separate lines.

If you’re building a pool, a detached structure, or doing major site improvements, don’t roll those costs into “house permit” in your mind. They often show up as separate permits and separate inspection sequences.

Fort Myers has an official permit fee resource page and payment instructions. Start with: Fort Myers permit fees page.

If your build includes site work beyond the structure (grading, driveway, ROW, drainage, etc.), it’s also smart to review how the city handles engineering and site permitting: Fort Myers site permitting and inspections.

How to estimate (method, not guesses):

• Pull the city’s current fee schedule(s) from the permit fees page.
• Identify the primary “building permit” calculation basis (valuation table, per $1,000 valuation, or another method).
• List every planned system that requires a trade permit (HVAC, electric, plumbing, gas, irrigation, solar, pool).
• Add site-related permits if your lot work extends into city ROW or triggers engineering review.
• Budget for revisions and re-inspections if you expect design changes after submittal.

If your home is in unincorporated Lee County , the county is the permitting authority, and the fee stack often includes county impact fees and utility-related charges depending on service area.

Start with the county’s portal page: Lee County Building and Permitting Services (as of 2026, accessed Feb. 9, 2026).

For impact fees, use the county’s impact fee hub: Lee County impact fees (as of 2026, accessed Feb. 9, 2026). That page also explains timing and the “impact letter” requirement.

Lee County publishes an impact fee table PDF that shows category rates. In the PDF, the ROADS Base Fee line for a Single-Family Residence (Detached) shows $9,996 per dwelling unit (the table also lists a second “collection” figure, shown as $5,248 ) as displayed in the county’s PDF (accessed Feb. 9, 2026) : Lee County impact fee table PDF.

How to use that table without guessing totals:

• Find your land use type (for most new builds, “Single-Family Residence (Detached)”).
• Pull each category that applies (roads, parks, schools, fire/EMS, etc). The county impact fee page points you to the full schedule.
• Calculate:
  Total impact fees = Roads + Parks + Schools + Fire/EMS + (any other listed categories)
  Then confirm when each fee is collected (permit issuance vs development order, if applicable).

Some projects also trigger utility review fees or connection capacity fees, depending on who will own and maintain parts of the system. Lee County Utilities explains developer project fees and review concepts here (as of 2026, accessed Feb. 9, 2026): Lee County Utilities developer project fees.

• Trade permits : Electrical, plumbing, mechanical (HVAC), gas, irrigation, solar, pool, and any specialty systems.
• Driveway/ROW permits : Any work that touches the right-of-way, sidewalk, culvert, or swale.
• Zoning review and address assignment : Sometimes bundled, sometimes not, and often required before other steps.
• Water and sewer taps, meters, and capacity fees : Separate from the building permit in many cases.
• Impact fees : Sometimes due at permit issuance, and they can be large.
• Re-inspection and after-hours fees : One missed inspection window can create a chain reaction.

If you want fewer surprises, treat permitting like a mini-budget inside your build budget. Ask for transparent pricing that shows each permit line item separately instead of one blended “permits and fees” number.

That’s one reason many homeowners prefer working with a cost-plus home builder . When every invoice and fee is itemized, it’s easier to confirm what’s been paid, what’s pending, and what changed.

If you’re comparing builders, it helps to ask how they handle permitting and owner visibility. For background on local new construction services, see Cape Coral new home builder. If you’re lining up funds for the build, review construction financing options so permit and impact fee timing doesn’t catch you off guard.

Permitting in Southwest Florida isn’t “one fee.” It’s a set of charges tied to valuation, trades, site work, utilities, and impact fees, and the mix changes by jurisdiction. Start with the official schedules, build an itemized estimate, and keep each line item visible as your plans evolve. That’s how Southwest Florida permit fees stay predictable, even when the project isn’t.