Permits

Description

Permits are special materials used in the creation of ships on the Limited Build Menu. They are typically available exclusively at the Mega Base, and are quite expensive compared to other purchasable components.

Currently, there are six types of permits:

Super Capital Permit — required for construction of Super Capital-class ships (excluding limited Super Capitals, the Hyperion, and the Prototypes). Costs about 6 million credits.
A Class Permit — required build material for Prototypes, and powerful limited ships like the Lucifer or Freedom Galaxy. Costs about 10 million credits.
B Class Permit ― required for construction of more powerful limited ships like Carriers and Dreadnoughts. Costs about 3 million credits.
C Class Permit ― required for mid-tier limited ships. Costs about 3 million credits.
D Class Permit ― required for construction of slightly more powerful limited ships. Costs about 600 thousand credits.
E Class Permit ― required for construction of the cheapest limited ships. Costs about 400 thousand credits.

Advantages

Many ships requiring permits are far more powerful than normal ships, and if you are patient, investing in them may be worth your time.

Disadvantages

Extremely expensive. Prices vary by permit class, but all are insanely expensive compared to the ships they let you build.
Buying limited ships via permits is often considered not worth it, because they are usually targeted and permits are incredibly expensive, along with the fact that many limited ships aren't that much more effective overall compared to regular ones. This means simply using normal ships repeatedly can be a better option.
Contrary to the meaning of their names, permits are consumed upon building a single ship, rather than generally permitting you to build ships of their respective class. People who buy them may not know this and will often be disappointed after finding out and buying a limited ship.
Only obtainable through purchasing with credits, not dropped by any NPC ships or rewarded by quests
Super Capital ships were temporarily removed to try to lower the price of SC Permits, but the result only made the permits more expensive, rising from about 4.5 million credits to over 6 million.
Some classes of permits may be out of stock for long periods of time.

Current prices are as of April 2022.