Maryland Building Permit Fees (2026)
Actual building permit fee formulas from official Maryland county fee schedules. Each Maryland jurisdiction sets its own rates, and unlike Virginia, Maryland has no statewide percentage levy on permits. Coverage starts with the two largest Washington suburbs and expands as each county's official schedule is verified.
- Maryland has no statewide building-permit levy. There is no equivalent of Virginia's mandatory 2% USBC levy at the state level.
- Each Maryland county sets its own fee schedule and structure. Montgomery County prices most construction per square foot; Prince George's County stacks flat components plus a 10% technology fee.
- In Montgomery County, a deck of 500 sq ft or less is a flat $194.67 and an in-ground pool is $313.64 (fence included). A fence permit is $77.87 and rooftop solar is $227.12.
- In Prince George's County, a residential retaining wall over 2 feet totals about $268.40 all-in with the 10% technology fee.
- New residential construction in both counties carries large separate charges - impact taxes and school facility payments in Montgomery, and School Facility plus Public Safety surcharges in Prince George's.
How Maryland Permit Fees Work
There is no single statewide Maryland building permit fee. Authority sits with each county or municipal permitting department, so the structure and the bottom-line number vary widely across the state.
| Jurisdiction | Permitting Authority | Fee Structure | Headline Figure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery County | Department of Permitting Services (DPS) | Per square foot for construction; flat fees for decks, pools, fences, solar | Deck (≤500 sq ft) = $194.67 |
| Prince George's County | Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement (DPIE) | Stacked flat components + 10% technology fee | Retaining wall = $268.40 |
| Howard County | Inspections, Licenses and Permits (DILP) | Per square foot (new/addition) + flat alterations + 10% technology fee | Small remodel = $80 |
| Anne Arundel County | Inspections and Permits | Value-based tiered table + $43 application fee | $15k deck = $207 |
| Baltimore County | Permits, Approvals and Inspections (PAI) | Flat fees by structure type (2018 schedule) | Deck = $85 |
Because Maryland sets no statewide percentage levy, the county's own fees (and, in Prince George's County, the 10% technology fee) determine the building permit cost. For new construction, separate impact and school surcharges usually exceed the permit fee itself.
Maryland Jurisdictions
Actual fee structures from official county documents. Each page includes the complete fee components, worked examples, and a calculator link.
Pages are added as fee data is verified against official county documents. Each page requires a minimum of one official adopted fee schedule source before publishing.
Compare Maryland Counties Head-to-Head
The two largest Maryland suburbs of Washington price permits very differently. See a full side-by-side with shared-assumption worked examples.
Montgomery County's per-square-foot model vs Prince George's County's stacked components and 10% technology fee.
Maryland Permit Fees: What Most Homeowners Miss
"The instinct in the DMV is to assume Maryland works like Virginia, but the mechanics are different. Maryland has no statewide levy, so there is no automatic 2% on top of every permit. Where Maryland gets expensive is new construction: Montgomery County's impact taxes and school facility payments, and Prince George's County's School Facility and Public Safety surcharges, are the real cost drivers on a new home - and they are set entirely apart from the building permit fee. For a deck, a pool, or a small alteration, the county fee schedule is the whole story; for a new house, it is barely the beginning."
Sources
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Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services (DPS) Montgomery County, MD - Residential construction fee schedule (AllFees.pdf), printed effective FY2022 - verify current rates
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Prince George's County Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement (DPIE) Prince George's County, MD - DPIE Fee Schedule effective March 2, 2025 (read from Internet Archive snapshot; verify live)