Allegany County, MD Building Safety: Building Inspections (2026)

Allegany County Code § 360-59 defines a BUILDING PERMIT as "a certificate that authorizes construction of a building or structure that is subject to the permitting requirements set forth by the Building Code of Allegany County," and spells out the process: application, plan review, approval, inspection, and the issuance of a certificate of occupancy. In unincorporated Allegany County that Building Code is Chapter 255, adopted by the Board of County Commissioners on November 8, 2007 by Bill No. 11-07, effective January 1, 2008, which incorporates the 2006 International Building Code, the 2006 International Residential Code, the International Mechanical Code, NFPA 70 and NFPA 13D by reference.

Because the inspection stage is built into the definition of the permit itself, a project is not finished when the last wall goes up: county staff still have to sign off before an owner can legally occupy the structure. Property owners in the unincorporated area apply for the permit, submit plans for review, correct any deficiencies the reviewer flags, schedule the field inspections tied to the adopted IBC and IRC editions, and only then receive the certificate of occupancy referenced in § 360-59. Skipping straight to occupancy without that final sign-off is treated the same as building without a permit at all under § 255-2, which sets the penalty for violating "the Allegany County Building Code" at a fine of $1 to $1,000, with each day of continued violation charged as a separate offense.

The chapter also cross-references the county's separate Plumbing chapter, Floodplain Management chapter and the Maryland Accessibility Code, so a single inspection sequence can touch more than one adopted code depending on the scope of work.