Baltimore County
Baltimore County Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections
In short
Baltimore County Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections issues 5 permits we publish for Baltimore County, last verified 2026-10-02. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.
What this agency issues
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food Truck (Mobile) License | Baltimore County Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections | $100 annual, plus a 50% late-filing penalty on a renewal filed after April 30 | annual, expires April 30 | 2026-10-02 |
| Building Permit Fee Schedule | Baltimore County Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections | Category A (assembly, business, institutional) $0.17 per square foot, minimum $366; Category B (hotel/motel) $0.14 per square foot, minimum $293; Category C (mercantile, storage, industrial) $0.11 per square foot, minimum $208; Category D residential $231 for a 1-2 family dwelling or $119 per unit for multifamily; plus roughly 15 itemized fees for decks, additions, accessory structures and similar smaller-scope work. | per permit (1-2 year validity) | 2026-10-02 |
| Zoning, Development & Appeals Fee Scheduleonly if it applies to you | Baltimore County Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections | Variance, special-hearing and special-exception petitions are $75 per lot for an individual residential petition or $500 for all other petitions, with a $1,200 combined maximum. A Zoning Use Permit for a Class A Child Care Center is $100. A Zoning Counter Form Approval — verifying zoning, building, right-of-way and certain state certifications, including a beauty/barber shop certification, a liquor board application or a trader's license application — is $100. | per filing | 2026-10-02 |
| Electrical Permit Fee Schedule | Baltimore County Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections | Itemized per-device and per-fixture inspection fees covering wiring, fixtures, service equipment and related electrical work tied to a permit, under the county's own current schedule. | per permit | 2026-10-02 |
| Plumbing Inspection Fee Schedule | Baltimore County Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections | Itemized per-fixture inspection fees covering plumbing work tied to a permit, under the county's own current schedule. | per permit | 2026-10-02 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
About each permit
Food Truck (Mobile) License
This county license from the Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections, County Office Building, 111 W. Chesapeake Ave., Room 114, Towson, sits on top of, rather than replacing, the Health Department's Food Service Facility Permit recorded above. The annual fee, stated on the application form itself (Rev. 2/2024), is $100.00, and a renewal filed after the April 30 expiration date carries a 50% late-filing penalty. The form quotes Baltimore County Code §21-8-101, defining a food truck, and §21-8-109, which among other things prohibits parking a food truck within 200 feet of an open restaurant's front entrance.
Building Permit Fee Schedule
Any of the ten storefront industries on this site undertaking a buildout or renovation in Baltimore County needs a building permit from the Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections at this fee schedule, by building-use category and square footage. This schedule carries a printed effective date of November 26, 2018, and is still the department's current one: Wayback Machine captures of this exact document from 2023 through the most recent available capture in March 2025 carry the same figures, across a 2024 reorganization of the PDF's own URL path that did not change its content. Category A covers assembly, business and institutional space; Category B, hotel/motel; Category C, mercantile, storage and industrial; and Category D, residential.
Zoning, Development & Appeals Fee Schedule
The Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections charges these fees for zoning filings county-wide: $75 to $500 for a variance, special-hearing or special-exception petition depending on the type of lot, up to a $1,200 combined maximum; $100 for the Zoning Use Permit a Class A Child Care Center needs; and $100 for a Zoning Counter Form Approval, the verification service a salon or barbershop uses to confirm zoning status rather than obtaining a separate county cosmetology license, which remains a state board function. This schedule carries the same November 26, 2018 printed effective date as the building permit schedule above and is confirmed current on the same basis.
Electrical Permit Fee Schedule
Any business performing electrical work tied to a permit in Baltimore County pays these itemized per-device and per-fixture inspection fees to the Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections. This schedule carries the same November 26, 2018 printed effective date as the building and zoning schedules above and is confirmed current on the same basis. These are inspection fees tied to a permit, not a contractor license: the Department's own contact page states that contractor licensing itself is handled by the Maryland Home Improvement Commission, the state agency, rather than by the county.
Plumbing Inspection Fee Schedule
Any business performing plumbing work tied to a permit in Baltimore County pays these itemized per-fixture inspection fees to the Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections. This schedule carries the same November 26, 2018 printed effective date as the building, zoning and electrical schedules above and is confirmed current on the same basis. These are inspection fees tied to a permit, not a contractor license: the Department's own contact page states that contractor licensing itself is handled by the Maryland Home Improvement Commission, the state agency, rather than by the county.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Baltimore County
- Phone
- 410-887-3616
Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.
Sources
Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- Baltimore County Building Permit Fee Schedule (effective November 26, 2018)Baltimore County Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
- Baltimore County Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections — department pageBaltimore County Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
- Baltimore County Electrical Permit Fee Schedule (effective November 26, 2018)Baltimore County Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
- Baltimore County Food Truck (Mobile) License Application (Rev. 2/2024)Baltimore County Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
- Baltimore County Plumbing Inspection Fee Schedule (effective November 26, 2018)Baltimore County Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
- Baltimore County Zoning, Development & Appeals Fee Schedule (effective November 26, 2018)Baltimore County Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
Other offices serving Baltimore County
The full permit list for this jurisdiction
Industry permit lists that include this agency
- Restaurants in Baltimore County
- Coffee shops in Baltimore County
- Retail stores in Baltimore County
- Salons and barbers in Baltimore County
- Food trucks in Baltimore County
- Fitness studios in Baltimore County
- Childcare centres in Baltimore County
- Contractors and trades in Baltimore County
- Auto repair shops in Baltimore County
- Veterinary clinics in Baltimore County
Maryland jurisdictions
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.