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Carroll County vs Montgomery County, MD Building Permit Fees (2026)

Carroll County and Montgomery County are both Maryland counties with no statewide percentage levy, but they price permits very differently. Carroll uses a flat fee by category - a deck is $60, a finished basement $85, a new home $170 plus $0.12 per square foot. Montgomery prices new construction and alterations per square foot at $0.767865 and $0.681345 with large filing-fee floors. Across every comparable project, Carroll County is the lower fee.

Key Takeaways
  • Carroll County prices most projects as a flat fee by category; Montgomery County prices new construction at $0.767865/sq ft and alterations at $0.681345/sq ft, with large filing-fee floors.
  • A deck is a flat $60 in Carroll vs a flat $194.67 in Montgomery (decks 500 sq ft or under) - more than three times higher.
  • A new 2,400 sq ft home (building-permit side) is about $458 in Carroll vs $2,764.32 in Montgomery - roughly six times higher.
  • A 200 sq ft interior remodel is a flat $85 in Carroll vs $422.87 in Montgomery, where the $286.60 filing-fee floor dominates a small job.
  • Neither county adds a statewide Maryland levy. Carroll itemizes no technology fee; Montgomery offers an optional 25% expedited plan review but no standard technology fee.
  • Both schedules carry source-age caveats: Carroll's is dated April 6, 2021 and Montgomery's published DPS schedule carries an FY2022 printed date - confirm current rates with each county.
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Carroll vs Montgomery: Fee Structure Side by Side

Fee Element Carroll County Montgomery County (DPS)
Fee model Flat fee by category Per square foot + filing-fee floor
Deck $60 flat (any size) $194.67 flat (≤500 sq ft)
Finished basement / alteration $85 flat $0.681345/sq ft + $286.60 floor
In-ground pool $120 flat Per DPS schedule (flat fee)
New construction rate $170 + $0.12/sq ft $0.767865/sq ft + 50% filing
Technology fee None None (optional 25% expedited review)
State levy None (Maryland) None (Maryland)
Fee schedule effective April 6, 2021 (verify current) Printed FY2022 (verify current)

Scope note: Both counties' flat or per-square-foot figures are the building-permit side only. Trade permits (electrical, plumbing, mechanical), impact and excise charges on new homes, and zoning approvals are excluded from both. Carroll's category fees include the filing fee; Montgomery's per-square-foot fees add the filing-fee floor shown. Both schedules carry source-age caveats.

Shared-Assumption Worked Examples

Each example assumes the same project for both counties.

Example 1: Deck

Fee Component Carroll County Montgomery County
Building permit fee $60.00 flat (category B) $194.67 flat (≤500 sq ft)
State levy $0.00 $0.00
Total $60.00 $194.67

Note: Carroll's deck is a flat $60 at any size; Montgomery's is a flat $194.67 for decks 500 sq ft or under (above that, $0.767865/sq ft). Deck electrical is a separate trade permit in both counties.

Example 2: New Detached House, 2,400 sq ft

Fee Component Carroll County Montgomery County
Building permit fee $170 + 2,400 × $0.12 = $458.00 2,400 × $0.767865 = $1,842.88
Filing fee (included in base) $921.44 (50% of permit)
Total (building-permit side) $458.00 $2,764.32

Note: Building-permit side only. Montgomery is about 6x Carroll at this size, driven by the higher per-square-foot rate plus the 50% filing fee. Both counties assess large separate impact, excise, and school facility charges on new homes, excluded here.

Example 3: Interior Remodel, 200 sq ft (alteration)

Fee Component Carroll County Montgomery County
Building permit fee $85.00 flat (category C) 200 × $0.681345 = $136.27
Filing fee (included) $286.60 (floor)
Total $85.00 $422.87

Note: Carroll's $85 category C fee covers any interior alteration regardless of area. Montgomery prices alterations per square foot, but its $286.60 filing-fee floor dominates a small remodel. Assumes 200 sq ft of altered area.

Which County Is Cheaper for Your Project?

Scenario Lower Fee Why
Deck Carroll ($60 vs $194.67) Carroll's flat $60 is well below Montgomery's flat $194.67
Small remodel (under 200 sq ft) Carroll ($85 vs $422.87) Montgomery's $286.60 filing-fee floor dominates small jobs
Room addition / new house Carroll ($458 vs $2,764) Carroll's $0.12/sq ft is far below Montgomery's $0.767865
Predictable flat pricing Either - both publish flat fees for many project types Carroll for most categories; Montgomery for decks, pools, fences
Source currency Neither is recent Carroll 2021 and Montgomery FY2022 - confirm current rates with both

Practitioner Insight

The headline is simple - Carroll County is cheaper than Montgomery County on essentially every comparable residential project, often by three to six times. The reason is structural: Carroll's category fees are flat and low, while Montgomery's per-square-foot rate is more than six times Carroll's on new construction and carries a large filing-fee floor that punishes small jobs especially hard. Montgomery's one advantage is that, like Carroll, it publishes flat fees for discrete project types such as decks and pools, which removes square-footage math - but even those flat fees are higher. For both counties, the building permit fee is only the county's slice; the separate impact, excise, and school facility charges on a new home dwarf it. Confirm current rates with both - Carroll at 410-386-2674 (2021 printed schedule) and Montgomery at 240-777-0311 (FY2022 printed schedule).

Frequently Asked Questions

Carroll County is lower on every project we compared. A deck is $60 in Carroll vs $194.67 in Montgomery; a 200 sq ft remodel is $85 vs $422.87; a new 2,400 sq ft house is about $458 vs $2,764.32. Carroll's flat-by-category fees are far below Montgomery's per-square-foot rates and filing-fee floors.
Both use a flat deck fee. Carroll is a flat $60 at any size (category B). Montgomery is a flat $194.67 for decks 500 sq ft or under, switching to $0.767865 per square foot above that. See our Carroll deck guide and Montgomery deck guide.
Neither county adds a statewide Maryland levy - Maryland has no equivalent of Virginia's 2% USBC levy. Carroll itemizes no technology fee. Montgomery has no standard technology fee either, though it offers an optional 25% expedited plan review if you need faster turnaround.
Both Carroll and Montgomery assess large separate charges on new construction - impact and excise taxes and school facility payments - set under their own rules and excluded from the building-permit figures here. They can exceed the permit fee many times over. Carroll's schedule does not even print its impact-fee amount, so confirm it with the county.
Neither is recent. Carroll County's published schedule carries an April 6, 2021 printed date, and Montgomery County's DPS schedule carries an FY2022 printed date. Confirm current rates with both before relying on them. See the Carroll County and Montgomery County pages for full detail.

Sources

Official Sources
Next Step

See each county's full fee page, or compare more Maryland jurisdictions.

Verify current fees with each county before budgeting or filing. Carroll County Bureau of Permits and Inspections: 410-386-2674 (2021 printed schedule). Montgomery County DPS: 240-777-0311 (FY2022 printed schedule). Confirm current rates with both.
Disclaimer: All fee information on PermitPrice is informational only and not an official permit quotation. Actual fees are determined by each county at the time of application. Impact, excise, and school facility charges and trade permits are excluded from the figures on this page. Both schedules carry source-age caveats.

Written by: Munib Ur Rehman

Data verified against official fee schedule documents.