Permit guides › Washington, D.C. › DC-CR-01

Building Permit (Alteration & Repair): Washington, D.C. restaurant guide

Department of Buildings (DOB)

What it is

DOB's approval of your build-out drawings. Zoning, building, fire, mechanical/plumbing, electrical, energy and DC Health reviewers all check them at the same time.

When a restaurant needs it

Any construction beyond paint and furniture: walls, kitchen, hood, plumbing, electrical, accessibility or egress changes.

How to apply

File the commercial application on the Citizen Access Portal, then upload drawings, the commercial checklist and the DC Health plan-review packet to ProjectDox from the email link you receive.

Documents you’ll need

Fee
Alteration & repair: $30 + 2% of construction value (for $1,001–$1M), plus a 10% enhancement fee; filing fee is 50% of the assessed fee (max $20,000) at application
Processing time
DOB's service-level target for filed projects is 30 business days per review; corrections add cycles
Renewal
Expires if work is not started/continued; keep active until final inspection
Who files
The owner or an authorized agent/expediter files, but the drawings must be prepared and sealed by a DC-licensed architect or engineer.

Good to know

Very small scopes can use the one-day Digital Walk-Through in ProjectDox. A restaurant kitchen almost always goes through standard ProjectDox review.

Official source

DOB: how to get a permit · DOB building permit fee schedule

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Last reviewed 2026-10-06. Guidance only, not legal advice.