Skip to content
English
Sign In
  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

Why isn't a permit fee, minimum fee or DCA fee calculating?

You add work to a construction permit and the fee stays at zero, the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) fee does not appear, or the total looks too low. On a construction permit, every fee is calculated automatically from what is entered on the Subcodes tab. When a fee is missing, the cause is almost always one of the inputs. Any user who can edit the permit can run the checks below. This article explains what the fee calculation needs and what to send us if the numbers are still wrong afterward.

Where fees come from

Fees on a construction permit are not typed in. They are calculated from the fee schedule configured for your municipality, using two things you enter on each subcode section:

  • Estimated Cost of Work: the New Building, Rehabilitation and Demolition costs on the subcode. This drives the cost-based fees.
  • Items: the specific fixtures, devices or services added with the Add [Subcode] Item button, each with a quantity and, where it applies, a size such as amps or kilowatts.

The DCA fee is calculated from these same inputs and from the Work Type selected on the Identification tab. Not all work types apply DCA fees, so check that field as well.

PLACEHOLDER: Confirm how the minimum fee is applied (per subcode or per permit, and whether it depends on estimated cost, items, or a fee schedule setting). The source material does not describe minimum fee behavior.

Checklist: why a fee is zero or missing

  1. Open the permit and click the Subcodes tab.
  2. Confirm a section exists for the trade. Click the pencil icon to open it. If there is no section for that trade, click Add [Subcode] and create one. Filling in a contractor elsewhere on the permit does not create a subcode section.
  3. Check Estimated Cost of Work. If the cost fields are blank, the cost-based fee has nothing to calculate from. Enter the cost and save.
  4. Check the items. Each item should have been added with Add [Subcode] Item (or Add Electrical Item for KW, amp and HP items) and selected from the lookup list, with a quantity and size filled in. Add one item per line. To add several, use Add Another rather than typing several items into one entry.
  5. Save the item, save the subcode section, and then save the permit. Fees update when the entries are saved, so a total checked before saving can be out of date.
  6. Look at the Totals area on the subcode section: Admin Fee, Subcode Fee, DCA Fee and Total Fee. For the full breakdown across all subcodes, open the Payment tab.
  7. On the Payment tab, check whether a waiver was applied. Waive All Fees, Waive DCA Fees and Waive Municipal Fees each change the Amount Due. A fee that was waived earlier will look like it never calculated.

PLACEHOLDER: Several customers report that an item typed into the item field by hand, rather than selected from the lookup, shows no fee. Our documentation says a missing item can be typed manually but does not say whether a typed item carries a fee or DCA amount. Please confirm. If confirmed, the guidance is: always select from the lookup, and if the item is not listed, reach out to our support team to have it added.

What you can change yourself, and what we change

You can correct anything on the Subcodes tab: costs, items, quantities and sizes. You can also add fees that are not calculated automatically with Add Other Fee on the Payment tab, such as dumpster or zoning fees.

The fee schedule itself, including the price of each item, the DCA rates, and any minimum fee, is configured by our team. If an item is priced wrong, an item is missing from the lookup, or a fee should apply and does not after the checks above, that is a request for our support team rather than something to work around on the record.

What to send our support team

  • The permit's control number.
  • Which subcode and which fee is missing (for example, Mechanical subcode fee, or the DCA fee on Building).
  • A screenshot of the open subcode section showing the Estimated Cost of Work and the item list with quantities and sizes.
  • The fee you expected and the fee shown in the Totals area or on the Payment tab.
  • If the fee schedule was recently updated, the date and what changed.

✅ Pro Tip: Print the tech sheet for the subcode (Print Menu, then TECH - [SUBCODE]). It lists every item with its quantity, size and calculated fee on one page, which makes it easy to spot the line that is missing a fee.

Related search terms: construction module will not populate DCA fees, minimum fee not calculating, DCA fee not calculating, subcode fee zero, permit fee not showing, unable to enter or add trade fees, cannot add multiple KW items, electrical item fee missing, mechanical fee not populating, estimated cost of work fee, fee schedule update, item not in lookup list, fees not updating after tech sheet update, permit total too low