Ballpark Permit Estimates are Not Always Straightforward – Here’s Why

Kate Taylor

November 12, 2025

One of the most common requests we receive from clients is for us to provide a quick estimate on permit costs for their activation. And of course this makes total sense.

Usually, these types of requests come in to us when the event is in the initial or early stages of planning or even when the client has not yet won the business. We get it – the client comes to you and wants to know what is feasible, and you need to provide them with a realistic budget.

While we can typically offer valuable insight into whether a project is viable or not, we can’t responsibly provide definite hard costs or guarantees until we dive in and do the work – and here’s why.

Factors That Affect Permits Costs

Event Scope

Every detail matters when it comes to permits. Are you serving food? Will you need a generator? How large is your footprint size? What is your social media plan? Will celebrities be attending? These are all important factors that contribute to permit costs. Since no two events are alike, your EventPermits team starts from scratch each time to ensure accuracy.

City Variations

Permit fees are not universal across markets. What may cost you $500 in one city could run you $15,000 or more in another market. So you can see, details matter because with so many variables, this can make pinpointing a “ballpark” estimate difficult.

Multi-department Involvement

It’s no secret that events have many moving parts. This is no different for permits. Most asks require not one, but multiple phone calls, multiple city agencies, in order to arrive at a responsible, clear and accurate “guesstimate” on project fees and feasibility.

While we would love to provide every client with an immediate estimate on budget, it would be irresponsible of us to throw a random number out there without actually doing the proper legwork. The world of experiential moves quickly and permits are so much more complicated than simply pulling a piece of paper.

With so many pieces needing to come together at once, it’s important – and worth it in the long run – to take the time to properly vet every project that comes in to us. EventPermits offers a full suite of permitting services which allows us to provide you with strategic and responsible feedback for your client. You can count on us to handle the communication across all governmental departments, so we are the only phone call you need to make.