Charles County vs Prince George's County, MD Building Permit Fees (2026)

Charles vs Prince George's: Fee Structure Side by Side

Scope note: Both totals on this page are build-ups of verified components, not single flat fees. The Charles figures exclude the 5% Development Technology Fee (ambiguous base) and, for projects other than new dwellings, are floors because the schedule does not fully enumerate inspection line items. The Prince George's figures include the 10% technology fee but EXCLUDE the School Facility and Public Safety surcharges on new dwellings, which are large, location-dependent, and set separately. Trade permits, impact/excise fees, and grading line items beyond those shown are excluded on both sides.

Shared-Assumption Worked Examples

Each example assumes the same project for both counties. Both totals are building-permit-side build-ups from verified components. Where a county adds large separate surcharges, those are flagged but not folded into the figure.

Example 1: New Detached House, 2,400 sq ft

Note: Both are build-up estimates for the same 2,400 sq ft home. The permit-side totals are close ($3,575 vs about $3,348), but they are NOT the all-in cost. Prince George's then adds a School Facility Surcharge and a Public Safety & Behavioral Health Surcharge on the new dwelling - each location-dependent and commonly several thousand dollars - which makes Prince George's all-in far higher for new construction. Prince George's own schedule also cites a representative new-SFD example around $4,095 (size unspecified). Charles excludes its 5% technology fee (ambiguous base) and any impact/school/excise charges, which are not on its permit schedule.

Example 2: Interior Alteration / Remodel, $30,000 value

Note: For a $30,000 interior remodel the two are close. Charles is a floor ($375 = application + minimum plan review + engineering/zoning), with inspection line items added on top and not fully enumerated. Prince George's is its $220-minimum-or-1%-of-value alteration line ($300 at $30,000) plus the $66 administrative fee, $5 M-NCPPC, and 10% technology fee, totaling about $408. Both exclude trade permits.

Which County Is Cheaper for Your Project?

Practitioner Insight

On the permit line alone, these two Southern Maryland counties land surprisingly close - about $3,575 in Charles and about $3,348 in Prince George's for a new 2,400 sq ft home. But that near-tie is misleading, and the reason matters. Charles's total is dominated by a single big number: a $2,833 minimum new-dwelling inspection fee that nearly every new home pays. Prince George's permit side is a stack of smaller components - a $1.17/sq ft building permit fee, a $66 administrative fee, grading, use and occupancy, and a 10% technology fee on top. Where Prince George's pulls decisively ahead in cost is OFF the permit schedule: every new dwelling carries a School Facility Surcharge and a Public Safety and Behavioral Health Surcharge, each location-dependent and commonly several thousand dollars, that have no Charles County equivalent on the permit schedule. So for a new home, do not read the close permit-side figures as "about the same" - the all-in cost in Prince George's is materially higher once those surcharges land. Two cautions before relying on either: Charles's smaller-project totals are floors because its inspection line items are not fully enumerated, and the Prince George's figures come from an Internet Archive capture of the DPIE schedule because the live PDF is WAF-blocked, so confirm both with the departments before budgeting.

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