No county permits retaining walls. Under the state building code, 780 CMR, a retaining wall up to four feet high, measured from the footing, needs no building permit unless it supports a surcharge. Taller or loaded walls require a town permit.
Retaining walls follow the statewide building code, 780 CMR, applied by each town's building department, never a county government. The code exempts a retaining wall not over four feet high, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, from a building permit, unless the wall supports a surcharge such as a driveway or slope above it. A wall over four feet, or any loaded wall, needs a town building permit and usually an engineer's design. In the Connecticut River valley, walls in a riverfront or wetland buffer also draw conservation-commission review.
Building a regulated retaining wall over four feet without a town permit violates the building code and can be ordered corrected. Walls that redirect drainage onto a neighbor invite a civil claim.
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