Baltimore County Building Department | Permits, Inspections & Contact

Baltimore County’s Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections (PAI) is the county authority for county-controlled property. It is separate from Baltimore City DHCD: Baltimore City is an independent city with its own building department. Projects inside a Baltimore County municipality should still be checked for municipal zoning or other local approvals before relying on the county permit workflow.

Baltimore County permits and Accela

The county’s official Accela Citizen Access portal supports permit and license services, applications, document workflows, and permit searching. Start with PAI’s building and permit guidance, identify the correct permit type, and confirm whether zoning, site-plan, grading, environmental, or trade approvals are needed before submitting.

Inspections, use, and occupancy

Baltimore County’s zoning use-and-occupancy application states that new construction or alterations require a building permit and that a change in use may require a Change of Occupancy permit. Building-code and occupancy approval information is handled through Building Inspections, while code-violation information is handled through Code Enforcement. Confirm required final inspections before occupying or changing the use of a space.

Zoning and plan review

The county’s zoning verification guidance distinguishes written zoning verification from building-code or occupancy approval. Zoning Review handles zoning compliance and verification requests, while Building Inspections handles building-code and occupancy approvals. Site plans may require separate approvals from PAI and other county departments, so a zoning letter should not be treated as a building permit.

Official Baltimore County contact information

Maryland’s Building Codes Administration lists the Building Engineer at 111 West Chesapeake Avenue, Room 105, Towson, Maryland 21204, with a phone of (410) 887-3353. The county’s zoning materials also list Room 124 for zoning submissions and provide separate zoning and inspection contact numbers. Use the official PAI site and Accela links above for current routing.