Quick answer: Only three Jackson-metro jurisdictions publish a demolition permit fee. Pearl charges $200 flat, Brandon charges currently $200 flat, and Ridgeland prices by project value at $3.50 per $1,000 of estimated construction cost. The other nine publish nothing — which is not the same as charging nothing.
This page compares what each jurisdiction actually publishes. It is regulatory information, not legal advice, and it reports permit fees only — not what a demolition costs to perform.
What does a demolition permit cost in the Jackson metro?
| Jurisdiction | Permit required | Fee | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Jackson | Yes | Not published | — |
| Clinton | Very likely, not directly confirmed | Not published | — |
| Byram | Yes | Not published | Valuation-based; amount not published |
| Pearl | Yes | $200, adopted 2026-02-17[1] | Flat |
| Brandon | Yes | Currently $200[2] | Flat; schedule undated |
| Richland | Not published | Not published | — |
| Ridgeland | Yes | $3.50 per $1,000 of estimated construction cost, approved 2025-08-19[3] | Project value |
| Madison (city) | Yes | Not published | Adopted IBC valuation fee table |
| Flowood | Not a listed work type; path unclear | Not published | — |
| Hinds County (unincorporated) | Yes | Not published | — |
| Rankin County (unincorporated) | Not addressed in published ordinances | Not published | — |
| Madison County (unincorporated) | Cannot confirm from published sources | Not published | — |
“Not published” means exactly that — the jurisdiction does not put the figure online where it can be read. It does not mean the permit is free, and it does not mean no permit is required.
Which cities charge a flat fee?
Pearl and Brandon, and they are the only two.
Pearl prices demolition at a flat $200, on a fee schedule that prints its own adoption date of 2026-02-17 — the one clean, currently-dated demolition fee in the metro.[1]
Brandon prices “demolition of any building or structure” at $200, also flat.[2] Brandon’s schedule carries no printed adoption date on the face of the document, so the figure is best treated as current rather than tied to a year. Brandon’s wider process is covered in our guide to demolition permits in Brandon, MS.
A flat fee is the easiest case to budget: the amount does not move with the size or value of the structure.
Which cities price by project value?
Ridgeland, and it is the clearest contrast on this page.
Ridgeland publishes no separate demolition line item. Building permits are priced at $3.50 per $1,000 based on estimated construction costs, approved 2025-08-19.[3] Ridgeland’s schedule does not define how estimated construction cost is calculated for a demolition, so confirm the basis with Community Development before budgeting. A reader who assumes Ridgeland works like Pearl or Brandon will be wrong: the amount scales with the valuation rather than sitting at a fixed number.
Madison (city) also works from an adopted IBC valuation fee table rather than a flat demolition figure, though Madison does not publish the resulting amount.[4]
Why can’t you find a fee for most jurisdictions?
Because most Jackson-metro jurisdictions do not publish demolition fees online at all.
Several hold their fee text inside Municode chapters or PDFs that do not render as readable text, and several publish no fee schedule for demolition in any form. That is a gap in the public record rather than a finding about price — unpublished is not the same as free, and it is not the same as no permit being required. Jackson, Byram and Hinds County all require a permit while publishing no amount for it.
The way to settle it is to call the department that issues the permit:
- City of Jackson — Building Permit Division, (601) 960-0794[5]
- Clinton — Community Development, 601-924-2256[6]
- Byram — Public Works, 601-372-7746[7]
- Pearl — Community Development, 601-932-3526[8]
- Brandon — Community Development, 601-824-4580[9]
- Richland — Building Official / Zoning Administrator, (601) 932-3000[10]
- Ridgeland — Community Development, 601.856.7113[11]
- Madison (city) — Building & Permits, (601) 856-7116[4]
- Flowood — Building Department, 601-939-4279[12]
- Hinds County — Permit and Zoning, 601-355-5424[13]
- Rankin County — Office of Community Development (county main line), (601) 824-2674[14]
- Madison County — Planning and Zoning, (601) 855-5501[15]
What else drives the cost beyond the permit fee?
The permit fee is one line, and in several jurisdictions it is not the largest one.
Brandon requires the water and sewer lines to be disconnected by a licensed master plumber and inspected before demolition starts, and makes the owner responsible for having the structure tested for asbestos before a permit is issued.[9] Both are costs that arrive before the permit does.
Byram gates the contractor rather than the structure: a $5,000 contractor bond payable to the City of Byram, plus a certificate of general liability insurance and city registration.[7] Which contractors can bid, and at what price, follows from that.
Brandon and Jackson each maintain a historic district where review comes before the permit — Brandon through its Historic Preservation Commission,[16] Jackson through a Certificate of Appropriateness for work in a designated district or on a designated Landmark.[17]
Separately, whether a contractor needs a state licence at all turns on contract value and project type rather than on demolition — see our guide to demolition contractor licensing in Mississippi.
Sources
- City of Pearl — Fee Schedule (adopted 2/17/26) (PDF) — City of Pearl. Accessed 2026-09-18.
- City of Brandon — Building Permits Fee Schedule (PDF, undated on the document face) — City of Brandon Community Development. Accessed 2026-09-18.
- City of Ridgeland — 2025 Fee Schedule Ordinance (approved 2025-08-19) (PDF) — City of Ridgeland. Accessed 2026-09-18.
- City of Madison — Building & Permits — City of Madison Building and Permits. Accessed 2026-09-18.
- City of Jackson — Building Permits — City of Jackson Department of Planning and Development. Accessed 2026-09-18.
- City of Clinton — Community Development — City of Clinton. Accessed 2026-09-18.
- City of Byram — Inspections and Permits — City of Byram Public Works. Accessed 2026-09-18.
- City of Pearl — Community Development — City of Pearl. Accessed 2026-09-18.
- City of Brandon — Building Permit Information (PDF) — City of Brandon Community Development. Accessed 2026-09-18.
- City of Richland — City of Richland. Accessed 2026-09-18.
- City of Ridgeland — Permits and Inspections — City of Ridgeland Community Development. Accessed 2026-09-18.
- City of Flowood — Forms and Applications — City of Flowood Building Department. Accessed 2026-09-18.
- Hinds County — Permit and Zoning — Hinds County Department of Permit and Zoning. Accessed 2026-09-18.
- Rankin County — Community Development — Rankin County (site blocks automated fetching; URL not verified). Accessed 2026-09-18.
- Madison County — Planning and Zoning — Madison County Planning and Zoning. Accessed 2026-09-18.
- City of Brandon — Historic District Guidelines (amended Nov. 19, 2018) (PDF) — City of Brandon Historic Preservation Commission. Accessed 2026-09-18.
- City of Jackson — Historic Preservation, How to Apply — City of Jackson Historic Preservation Commission. Accessed 2026-09-18.