Digital permit application gateway
Start with the issuing authority’s own submission lane. A complete application package, accurate valuation, and accessible inspection path are the fastest route through statutory plan review.
Recommended first click
Use the official digital gateway to submit plans, monitor review comments, pay required charges, and request inspections when the permit is issued. If the link is unavailable, use the agency website or phone number on the administrative profile to confirm the current lane.
Typical review lane
Eligible residential fast-track applications may be issued in a few hours; other adequately prepared applications, such as regular deck reviews, may take up to 17 days. Actual timing varies by application type, corrections, and outside approvals.
Treat this as a planning signal, not a guaranteed approval date. Completeness, corrections, resubmittals, and agency workload control the actual clock.
Verify the parcel is inside this agency’s service area and note whether a city, state, fire marshal, septic authority, or utility district also has approval authority.
Prepare legible plans, site information, project valuation, ownership authorization, contractor information, and any energy, floodplain, zoning, or utility documentation the issuing office requires.
Keep the permit number, approved plan set, correction comments, fee receipts, and inspection results together. Those records establish the compliance trail for the next trade.
Application documents
Before submission, call 240-777-0311 (DPS/MC 311); 240-777-6370 (permit status/application support) if the project involves a change of occupancy, structural alteration, accessory structure, demolition, or work near a regulated environmental feature.
Source trail
Use these direct agency or licensing links to confirm current instructions before you file, pay, or schedule work. External pages control if their information differs from this directory.
Project questions
Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services is the identified county-level authority for this profile. Confirm that the property is in its service area before filing.
Begin with the online permit gateway listed in the application guide. If the portal does not recognize the address or project type, contact 240-777-0311 (DPS/MC 311); 240-777-6370 (permit status/application support).
Eligible residential fast-track applications may be issued in a few hours; other adequately prepared applications, such as regular deck reviews, may take up to 17 days. Actual timing varies by application type, corrections, and outside approvals.
Use the DPS online inspection request portal after plan reviews are complete and the permit is issued; enter the permit's Contact ID and select a date within the next seven business days. For next-day commercial inspection problems before noon call 240-777-0311. Framing/close-in inspections require associated electrical rough-in and mechanical close-in inspections; final building inspection requires associated electrical and mechanical finals. No inspection can be scheduled for inactive, stop-work, unpaid, denied, or otherwise unresolved applications.
Current Montgomery County adoptions include the 2021 International Building, Residential, Existing Building, Energy Conservation, Green Construction, Mechanical, Fuel Gas, and Swimming Pool and Spa Codes with county amendments; 2021 NFPA 1 Fire Code and NFPA 101 Life Safety Code with local fire-safety amendments; NFPA 70/National Electrical Code as adopted by Maryland and Montgomery County; Maryland Accessibility Code; and the 2025 Maryland State Fire Prevention Code. The county lists the 2026 NEC as pending rather than adopted. The county says permits are usually not required for bathroom caulking; cabinets; driveway work on private property; same-location/same-height replacement of a fence originally installed with a permit; floor coverings; gutters/downspouts; patios; prefabricated pools less than 18 inches deep; private walkways; retaining walls not over 48 inches measured from footing bottom to top unless supporting a surcharge; retractable awnings/canopies; roof covering only; siding; in-kind storm windows; swings/playground equipment/playhouses/treehouses; wall repair/painting; windows/doors without changing opening or net clear opening; and window screens. Permits are still required for most structural/accessory work, including all sheds and decks, and municipal/HOA rules may also apply.
What makes an application complete
Before you click submit, make sure the drawings agree with the site plan, project description, valuation, ownership authorization, and contractor information. If the work changes structure, occupancy, drainage, fire protection, energy performance, or utility demand, describe that scope plainly. Ambiguous narratives create correction cycles and delay the field schedule.
Save the confirmation number, payment receipt, uploaded plan set, and every correction comment. Those records are the backbone of a defensible compliance file when multiple trades or agencies share responsibility.
Submission quality check
Site: address, parcel, access, setbacks, and existing conditions are consistent.
Scope: structural, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, fire, and energy work is identified.
Closeout: inspection contacts and the final approval path are understood before work begins.