Biddeford building department

Biddeford’s Code Enforcement Office, at 205 Main Street (the entrance near City Theater), issues building, demolition, plumbing, electrical, fire alarm, sprinkler, sign and occupancy permits for the city, and also handles property-maintenance complaints and apartment life-safety inspections. The office keeps a four-day week: Monday and Tuesday 7 a.m.–5 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday 8 a.m.–4 p.m., closed Fridays.

Applying for a building or demolition permit

Biddeford still runs building permits mainly by email rather than through a public portal:

1. Download the fillable Building/Demolition Permit Application PDF, complete it in Adobe Reader, and use the “Press To Email” button, or send it to [email protected].
2. Attach the drawings as PDFs to the same email. If you only have paper plans, drop them off at the Code office, Suite 104, next to the City Clerk’s office.
3. Pay the $60 application fee before review begins. You can pay by check to “City of Biddeford” (mail, courier, or the drop box outside the office door) or by card, which carries a 2.5% surcharge. You can also fax the application to (207) 286-9382.

Starting July 1, 2026, the city opened online applications and payment through its CivicGov portal, but only for solar companies and permitting companies. Homeowners and general contractors still use the email process.

What to submit

The application checklist asks for:

• an insulation plan (REScheck is accepted)
• floor plans and elevations, showing existing and new work for additions, plus any partitions you are removing and the sizes of new beams
• cross sections and stair details
• a window and door schedule that marks the egress windows (5.7 sq ft clear opening, 20 in. wide, 24 in. high)
• a foundation plan and deck framing details
• an accurate plot plan

The applicant is responsible for property-line locations and setbacks. If they apply, also include a sewer impact fee receipt or a new septic design, and a street-opening permit from Public Works. Drawings must be to scale or fully dimensioned. Erosion control must be in place before any ground is disturbed. Electrical and plumbing work need their own separate permits.

Fees and review time

Item	Fee
Building permit application (due at submittal, nonrefundable)	$60
Building permit, project valued $5,000 or more	$60 + $15 per $1,000 of value
Building permit, project valued under $5,000	$60 only
Residential electrical permit minimum (form revised 3-23-2026)	$75
After-the-fact electrical permit	$100

Biddeford does not issue building permits the same day. Residential permits typically take 10 to 14 days and commercial permits up to 14 days, because the plans must be reviewed and entered into the system before you pay and the permit is issued. A permit expires if work does not start within 180 days, or if work stops for 180 days.

The residential electrical form charges $150 per unit for new one- and two-family homes under 2,000 sq ft, plus $0.075 per sq ft for larger homes. Heat pumps are $1 per KBTU, and solar and generators are $1 per kW. A licensed electrician must be on site for inspections of service changes, generators and solar installations.

Inspections

You can’t walk in for an inspection or get one the same day; Biddeford stopped offering both in 2013. Call the office manager at (207) 284-9236 at least 48 hours ahead. The same number books phone meetings with staff, and a meeting with the Director of Code Enforcement requires an appointment. The permit card lists these inspection stages:

• footings and basement walls (do not backfill until signed off)
• rough plumbing and rough electrical
• framing
• insulation
• final plumbing, electrical and building

Erosion-control inspections are tracked separately. Don’t occupy the building until the final building inspection is signed and the Building Inspector issues a Certificate of Occupancy. A new business also needs an occupancy permit before it opens.

Codes Biddeford enforces

Maine requires every municipality with more than 4,000 residents to enforce the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code (MUBEC). The current MUBEC is based on the 2021 IBC, IRC, IEBC, IECC and IMC, with state amendments. Biddeford also lists the 2009 International Property Maintenance Code, the Maine Internal Plumbing Code, the 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code, the Maine Subsurface Wastewater Disposal Rules, and NFPA 1, 70 (NEC), 72, 101 and 211. On the local side, it applies the Land Development articles on performance standards, site plan review, floodplain management and shoreland zoning, plus the subdivision ordinance in Chapter 66.

Related city offices

• Planning Department, 205 Main Street, Rooms 208–209, (207) 284-9115: Planning Board applications, site plan and subdivision checklists, preconstruction meetings, and blasting permits.
• Zoning Board of Appeals: applications are available through Code Enforcement. Zoning maps and the MSRD zone map are posted on the city’s Permits & Zoning page.
• Fire Department: issues open-burning and beach campfire permits. Fire alarm and sprinkler plan review applications go through Code Enforcement.
• Life Safety Inspectors: handle apartment inspections and landlord registration. Ask for Jim Penney at the main Code Enforcement number.