Wicomico County, MD Accessory Structures: Shed & Carport Rules (2026)

Wicomico County's residential building code, adopted as the IRC 2021 Edition and modified at Section 117-5, exempts one category of shed from the permit process: a portable one-level accessory structure not exceeding 250 square feet and that is not in a floodplain. Meet all three conditions, portable, single story, 250 square feet or under, outside any mapped floodplain, and no application to the Chief Building Official is needed. Add a second level, exceed 250 square feet, or place it in the floodplain, and the shed falls back under the general permit-required rule, which calls for an application before construction, enlargement or alteration of any structure.

Even an exempt shed still has to sit where the Zoning Code allows it. Wicomico County Code Section 225-70(F) sets the setback for accessory buildings and structures, requiring them to be contained within the setback requirements established for the front, rear and side yards of the principal building within each district, except as otherwise enumerated. The main carve-out for residential lots tightens that up rather than loosening it: in any residential district, the A-1 Agriculture-Rural District, the V-C Village Conservation District or the TT Town Transition District, no accessory building may be built closer than five feet to a rear or side property line. Corner lots platted before April 1, 1968 follow a separate rule, one front setback plus a 15-foot setback on other street-facing sides for accessory buildings. Homeowners should check both thresholds, the permit exemption and the five-foot setback line, before framing a shed.