Barndominium Permits and Approvals in Maryland

A barndominium in Maryland needs the same approvals as any new house: a building permit under the Maryland Building Performance Standards from your county or town, the septic and well permits from the health department, and whatever zoning, shoreline or forest review the parcel carries. We coordinate the plan set and the approvals in the right order and answer review comments until the permit is issued, with sealed drawings coming from the licensed professionals who prepare them.

Building, septic and well approvals in order

Plan set coordinated for your jurisdiction

Review comments answered until approval

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Who Issues a Barndominium Permit in Maryland

Maryland has one statewide building code, the Maryland Building Performance Standards, administered by the Maryland Department of Labor. They adopt the 2021 editions of the International Building Code, the International Residential Code and the International Energy Conservation Code. The state writes the code; local jurisdictions enforce it, which means reviewing plans, issuing building permits, inspecting the work and issuing occupancy approval. In most of Maryland that is the county's building department, and some towns run their own.

A local jurisdiction may amend the code, but it may not weaken the energy provisions, the automatic sprinkler requirement for one- and two-family homes, or the wind design provisions, and when the state adopts a new edition, local jurisdictions have 12 months to put it in force. So the question is never whether a barndominium is allowed under the state code. It is which office reviews your parcel, and what it has added.

What the Permit Set Contains

A barndominium permit set usually carries the floor plans, elevations and sections, a site plan, the foundation plan, the energy compliance details and the structural design of the frame. A steel frame or a post frame usually falls outside the residential code's standard framing tables, so the code calls for an engineered design of those parts, prepared by the frame supplier's licensed engineer; your building department says whether it must be sealed. The automatic fire sprinkler system is designed and installed by a licensed contractor.

Maryland lets a builder draw the plans for a single-family home it is building, and lets you draw plans for your own home, without an architect's seal. We put the pieces into one coordinated set, because a set that answers the reviewer's questions before they are asked is the fastest way through.

The Approvals Around the Building Permit

On land without public sewer and water, the health department comes first: a building permit cannot be issued until the septic permit and the well construction permit have both been issued. Where the water table rises seasonally, the health department runs the perc test in the wet season, which is why we start it early.

Other approvals depend on the land. In the Critical Area, which usually takes in land within 1,000 feet of tidal waters or tidal wetlands, the rules set a buffer of at least 100 feet, limit lot coverage and require nitrogen-removing septic technology for new homes. The Forest Conservation Act reaches grading on 40,000 square feet or more, with an exemption for a home for the owner or the owner's child that clears no more than 20,000 square feet of forest. If building disturbs more than 5,000 square feet of ground, the county must approve a stormwater plan before it issues the permit. And zoning, set by the county or town, decides what can be built on the parcel in the first place.

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Permitting & Approvals: how the work runs

Four stages, in this order. The sequence matters more than it looks: settling what your building department and health department will ask for, and what the land needs, before anything is fabricated is what keeps a Maryland build from stalling.

Find the right office

We confirm which building department reviews your parcel, the county's or a town's, what local amendments it has made to the state code, and what zoning applies to the land.

Health department approvals

Perc testing, the septic permit and the well permit go first, because in Maryland the building permit waits for them. On waterfront land, Critical Area review starts here too.

Assemble and submit the set

Floor plans, the site plan, the engineered frame design, the foundation and the energy details go in as one coordinated set, so the reviewer sees a complete application the first time.

Review, inspections and occupancy

We answer review comments until the permit is issued, then keep the inspections moving through construction, up to the occupancy approval that lets you move in.

Set by your county

One state code, enforced county by county

Every Maryland home is built to the Maryland Building Performance Standards, but your county or town building department enforces them, may add local amendments, and sets the snow, wind and frost values for your site. The septic system and any well are permitted through the health department. So what a build needs depends on where the land is, and we find that out before anything is drawn or ordered.

Where we deliver permitting & approvals

In Maryland the line that matters is usually a county line. The state writes one building code, and local jurisdictions enforce it: in most of the state that is the county, and some towns run their own building departments. Cross that line and what changes is who reviews the drawings, how the land is zoned, what the fees are and which local amendments apply on top of the state code. On land without public sewer and water, the septic and well permits come through the health department, and the building permit waits for both.

Barndominium builders across Maryland.

From Garrett County's mountains to the Lower Eastern Shore, every county has its own answer on permits, septic, wells and land. The service area pages set out what each one publishes.

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Before you commit

What actually decides the price

Square footage is the number everyone leads with, and it is rarely the one that moves a barndominium budget. These four do.

Local fees and taxes

Building permit fees are set by the county to cover plan review and inspections, and they vary widely. Buying the land also carries Maryland's 0.5% state transfer tax and a recordation tax at a rate each county sets, and Maryland's sales and use tax rate is 6%.
Engineered drawings

A steel or post frame needs an engineered design, and the building department may require it sealed. Depending on the frame supplier, it comes with the package or as a separate fee.
Shoreline and environmental review

In the Critical Area, usually land within 1,000 feet of tidal water or tidal wetlands, review adds time and conditions, and a septic system there must remove nitrogen. Forest and stormwater rules can add plans on larger sites.
Rounds of review

Every round of review comments adds time and drawing changes. A complete, coordinated set on the first submission is the least costly way through.

Permitting & Approvals in Maryland: common questions

8 questions we get asked most often about building in Maryland. If yours is not on the list, ask it directly.

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Do I need a building permit for a barndominium in Maryland?

Yes. A barndominium used as a home is a new house under the Maryland Building Performance Standards, and your county or town building department reviews the plans, issues the permit and inspects the work.

Who issues building permits in Maryland?

Local jurisdictions enforce the state code. In most of Maryland that is the county's building department; some towns run their own. The state's role, through the Maryland Department of Labor, is writing and adopting the code.

Which building code applies to a barndominium in Maryland?

The Maryland Building Performance Standards, which adopt the 2021 International Residential Code and the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code for houses, with any local amendments that do not weaken the energy, sprinkler or wind provisions.

Are fire sprinklers required in a new barndominium?

Yes. Maryland adopts the 2021 International Residential Code requirement for an automatic sprinkler system in one- and two-family dwellings, and local jurisdictions may not weaken it, except for a property not connected to an electrical utility.

Does a barndominium need an architect in Maryland?

Not necessarily. Maryland's architecture law does not limit a builder's right to design its own construction of single-family or two-family homes. A steel or post frame still needs an engineered design from a licensed engineer.

Which comes first, the septic permit or the building permit?

The septic permit. On land served by a septic system and a well, the building permit cannot be issued until the health department has issued both the septic permit and the well construction permit. The site preparation page covers perc testing.

Can I pull the building permit myself?

Yes, for construction you perform directly on your own land, solely for your own use. You sign a landowner affirmation with the application. If you hire a builder to build the home, the builder's details go on the permit instead.

Can you get a permit for a shop next to my existing house?

No. Under Maryland law a garage or other building added beside an existing home is home improvement work, which is a different business from ours. We handle permits for new homes, including shouses built as one new building.

Sources

Keep reading

The pages that answer the next question this one raises.

Can You Build a Barndominium in Maryland?

The statewide rules behind every county permit.

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Site Preparation

The septic, well and grading work the permit depends on.

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Custom Barndominium Plans

Drawings prepared with the permit set in mind from the first sketch.

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Ready to put permitting & approvals against a real plan? Start there and the rest follows.

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Tell us about the land

Tell us where the parcel is and what you want on it, and we will come back with who reviews the plans, what the land needs before it can be built on, and a realistic budget range. Starting the survey costs nothing.

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