Building Safety in Maryland (2026)

In unincorporated Wicomico County, the Housing Code bans applying lead-based paint with more than five-tenths of one…

Annapolis's Residential Property Maintenance Code bars toxic paint and materials anywhere a child can reach them, and…

Baltimore County ties lead paint to two remedies: under Code § 35-4-301, a tenant whose landlord fails Maryland's lead…

Harford County Code § 162-10D(9) requires the property owner to perform Department of Health-approved lead-paint…

Under Howard County Code § 3.700(b)(43), owners of rental dwelling units must meet Maryland Department of the…

Prince George's County's Housing Code requires interior walls, windows, and doors to stay clean and sound, with…

Washington County's Livability Code requires any painted surface in a rental or residential structure that presents a…

Carroll County's Livability Code folds Maryland's lead-paint law into local rental standards: § 171.035(G) requires…

Montgomery County's building code requires elevators and other service equipment in every building to be kept in good…

Prince George's County Code § 4-203 sends elevator regulation to the state rather than duplicating it locally: every…

Howard County's Building Code carves elevators out of its own inspection scheme: County Code Section 3.101(b)(74)…

Anne Arundel County's amended IRC section R313.2 requires an automatic residential fire sprinkler system, installed to…

Carroll County requires an automatic fire sprinkler system in every new or rebuilt one- and two-family dwelling under…

Cecil County requires an automatic fire sprinkler system in every new one- and two-family dwelling. Section R313.2 of…

Montgomery County requires a fire sprinkler system in every dwelling unit and attached accessory structure before the…

Prince George's County Code § 4-245 requires an automatic fire sprinkler system throughout every new one- and…

Rockville requires automatic fire sprinklers in every new one- and two-family home, townhouse, and substantial…

New residential construction and major renovations in Annapolis exceeding 50% of gross floor area must install an…

Charles County requires automatic residential fire sprinklers in new townhouses and one- and two-family dwellings to be…

Howard County enforces the 2024 International Residential Code's automatic fire sprinkler mandate for new one- and…

Harford County does not force sprinklers into existing rentals: § 162-14B(7) of the Minimum Livability Code lets an…

A day-care center in unincorporated Harford County is a special exception, not a by-right use, and needs Board of…

Unincorporated Wicomico County classifies child care by headcount: a 'center' serves nine or more unrelated children…

Child care centers in Annapolis must meet Maryland's Education Article § 9.5 and COMAR licensing standards, plus a…

Family day-care homes in Anne Arundel County must meet Life Safety Code exit standards: a required sliding-door exit…

Baltimore County's Fire Department must inspect every family child care home and group child care center annually under…

Charles County lets a childcare facility be classified Occupancy Group I-4 whenever the operation already qualifies as…

Montgomery County's Fire Safety Code exempts a day care center from automatic sprinklers only if it serves 30 or fewer…

Prince George's County regulates child care facilities under County Code Sec. 5-119 and Sec. 5-126, enforced by the…

Rockville zoning requires child care centers to fence outdoor play areas and keep them reachable without crossing a…

Washington County, Maryland zoning treats a registered nursery school or child care center as only an incidental…

Baltimore County's Livability Code bans locking hardware that traps occupants: § 35-5-213(a)(3)(iii) requires every…

Carroll County requires working locks on every door into a rental dwelling unit: § 171.036(J)(5) of the Livability Code…

Harford County Code § 162-10C(15) requires every exterior door and its hardware on a rental unit to be maintained in…

Every entrance and exit door on a rental dwelling unit or personal living quarters building in Montgomery County must…

Prince George's County's amended Housing Code requires every swinging entrance door on an apartment or multifamily…

Every exterior door on a Washington County rental unit must carry a single-cylinder deadbolt for keyed entry from…

In unincorporated Wicomico County, the Housing Code requires every dwelling door to have proper, securely attached…

New construction and major modifications to commercial buildings over 7,500 square feet, all public buildings, and…

Anne Arundel County requires all new construction and major renovations to meet the 2021 International Energy…

Harford County has adopted the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code as its energy-efficiency building code under…

Howard County's Green Buildings Law, Code §§ 3.1000-3.1004, requires LEED certification for large new construction…

Montgomery County requires new construction and major renovations to meet the 2021 International Green Construction…

Prince George's County tightens the International Energy Conservation Code's commercial provisions in Code §§ 4-257…

Baltimore County has no mandatory green building code, but it rewards certified LEED or NGBS construction with a real…

Charles County lets a builder satisfy the energy code's above-code compliance section by meeting the silver rating of…

Annapolis rental units with fuel-fired appliances must have a combination smoke and carbon monoxide detector, not just…

New residential construction permitted on or after January 1, 2008 in unincorporated Cecil County must have a carbon…

Frederick's rental housing maintenance code requires every licensed rental unit to have working carbon monoxide alarms…

Gaithersburg's code does not set a citywide carbon monoxide alarm mandate for all homes, but it does require one for…

Owners of pre-2008 single-unit, two-unit, and townhouse dwellings with a fuel-burning appliance or attached garage must…

Prince George's County requires carbon monoxide detectors in nearly every home with a gas heating system, fuel-burning…

Rockville requires carbon monoxide alarms in all dwellings under NFPA 72, or under IRC Section R315 for homes covered…

Building a deck or patio in Annapolis requires a permit under City Code § 17.05.010 because a 'platform deck' is…

Anne Arundel County exempts decks of 200 square feet or less, under 30 inches high, and detached from the house from a…

Baltimore County bars erecting, constructing, repairing, altering, remodeling, removing, or demolishing any building or…

Carroll County Code § 3-107 requires a building permit from the Supervisor of Assessments before any erection…

Cecil County requires a building permit before a large temporary structure goes up. Section 157-2A(23) amends the IBC's…

Charles County adopted the 2021 International Building Code as "The Building Code of Charles County," effective for all…

Frederick requires a permit before construction, additions, alterations, demolition, or occupancy changes to any…

Gaithersburg requires a separate building permit for every legal address and every separate building at that address…

Harford County adopted the 2021 International Building Code by reference under § 82-1, making its permit-and-inspection…

Howard County requires a permit under its adopted 2024 International Building Code before starting most construction…

Montgomery County requires a Department of Permitting Services permit before you enlarge, alter, remove, or demolish a…

Prince George's County requires a building permit for nearly all construction; Section 4-244 lists the only exemptions…

Rockville doesn't require paperwork for cosmetic touch-ups, but any interior work cutting into walls, structural…

Washington County, Maryland requires a building-intentions report before anyone erects a new building or an addition…

Anyone who wants to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy of a building or…

Carroll County bars anyone from installing, repairing, or erecting electrical wiring or equipment on any premises…

Annapolis requires a permit from the Department of Planning and Zoning before any electrical installation or work…

Anne Arundel County adopts the 2020 National Electrical Code (NFPA 70) as its Electrical Code and requires a permit…

A master general or restricted electrician must pull a permit from the Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections…

Unincorporated Cecil County adopts the 2023 NFPA 70 National Electrical Code as its Electrical Code and requires a…

Charles County adopted the 2020 National Electrical Code as its Electrical Code. A homeowner who wants to wire their…

Anyone installing electrical equipment in Frederick must get a permit from the Department before starting work, under…

Gaithersburg requires a city permit and a licensed master electrician for all electrical work inside city limits under…

Harford County adopted the 2023 National Electrical Code by reference under § 105-2 as the Harford County Electrical…

Howard County requires a permit for virtually all electrical work under Section 3.217 of the County Code. The only…

Montgomery County requires a permit from the Department of Permitting Services before any covered electrical equipment…

Prince George's County adopts the 2020 National Electrical Code by reference and requires a permit before any…

Rockville requires an electrical permit issued to a licensed master electrician before any electrical work starts…

Washington County, Maryland requires anyone doing electrical work to be a licensed Master or Restricted Electrician…

Unincorporated Wicomico County requires a permit from the Department of Planning, Zoning and Community Development…

Carroll County requires anyone providing plumbing services to hold a Maryland plumbing license, but lets a resident…

Annapolis requires a permit for any plumbing or drainage work, signed by a licensed master plumber, before installing…

Anne Arundel County adopts the 2021 International Plumbing Code and requires a permit before any plumbing work; only a…

Baltimore County requires all water and sewer connections and plumbing work to follow the county's own formulated…

No plumbing work may begin in unincorporated Cecil County until the Division of Permits and Inspections issues a permit…

Charles County adopted the 2021 International Plumbing Code as part of its Building Code, administered by the Building…

Frederick requires a registered master plumber or gas fitter to apply for and hold plumbing and gas permits, with…

Gaithersburg adopts the 2021 International Plumbing Code as its plumbing code under City Code § 5-14, but § 5-15(1)…

Harford County adopted the 2021 International Plumbing Code and International Fuel Gas Code by reference under § 202-1…

Howard County requires a permit for plumbing, gasfitting, or on-site utility work under Section 3.305 of the County…

Montgomery County bars anyone from installing, repairing, or maintaining plumbing or gas fitting equipment without a…

Prince George's County does not issue its own plumbing permits; Section 4-202 of the County Code adopts the WSSC…

Rockville requires a permit before any plumbing work begins, issued to a licensed master plumber except for a narrow…

Plumbing work in unincorporated Wicomico County cannot begin until the Plumbing Official issues a permit, with minor…

Before Annapolis issues a use and occupancy permit, Public Works, Planning and Zoning, the Fire Department, and the…

Anne Arundel County requires footing, framing, and final inspections at each construction stage under the Building Code…

Construction in Baltimore County's Special Flood Hazard Areas goes through five distinct county inspections: stake-out…

Carroll County requires contractors to request each building inspection at least one business day ahead through the…

Plumbers working in unincorporated Cecil County must call for a rough inspection before covering any underground or…

Charles County requires a separate footing inspection before pouring deck concrete and a separate framing inspection…

After issuing a building permit, Howard County's Building Official inspects work under Code Section 3.101(b)(35), which…

Montgomery County requires 24 hours' notice before starting permitted work and before covering up footings…

Prince George's County Code § 4-118 requires an inspection of every new one-family dwelling and first-sale condominium…

Rockville withholds close-in inspections on Group R-3 homes until a Maryland-licensed surveyor or engineer certifies…