8 published records
Business licenses and permits in Baltimore County, Maryland
Baltimore County is a charter county, legally separate from Baltimore City, which became an independent city outside any county in 1851; this page cites only Baltimore County's own agencies, statutes and fee schedules. The Maryland Manual On-Line states directly that Baltimore County has no incorporated towns or cities, so Towson, the county seat, and every other community, including Dundalk, Essex, Catonsville and Parkville, is governed directly by the county, with every requirement on this page applying countywide and nothing stacked on top of it by a separate municipal government. General business licensing runs across three layers: a trader's license issued by the Clerk of the Circuit Court, a state judicial officer, under a Baltimore-County-specific fee tier; county-issued permits for food service, building, electrical, plumbing and zoning under the Baltimore County Code; and alcohol, licensed by the county's own Board of License Commissioners under Title 13 of the Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis Article, which by its own definition at §13-101(c) applies only to Baltimore County. The county's Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections directs contractor-licensing questions to the Maryland Home Improvement Commission, the state agency that licenses contractors, on its own published contact page, rather than handling contractor licensing itself.
What are you opening in Baltimore County?
- RestaurantsFull-service restaurants carry the densest permit load of any small business: food, fire, occupancy, waste, and usually alcohol.See the full permit list
- Coffee shopsCafés are permitted as food service establishments even where no cooking happens, and the plan review step catches most operators by surprise.See the full permit list
- Retail storesRetail is the lightest common permit load, but the sales tax permit and the certificate of occupancy are non-negotiable in every jurisdiction.See the full permit list
- Salons and barbersPersonal care is licensed at state board level as well as locally, so the shop license and the practitioner licenses are separate obligations.See the full permit list
- Food trucksMobile food is the one category with no certificate of occupancy — but it gains a commissary agreement, and the unit itself is inspected rather than the premises.See the full permit list
- Fitness studiosPrepaid memberships trigger state registration and often a surety bond, which catches operators who budgeted only for the fit-out.See the full permit list
- Childcare centresThe heaviest permit load of any small business: state agency licensing, per-person background checks, and a stricter fire standard than ordinary commercial use.See the full permit list
- Contractors and tradesLicensed at state board level rather than locally, and the only common category with no premises permits at all — the bond is usually the long pole.See the full permit list
- Auto repair shopsOrdinary commercial permitting plus an environmental layer: waste oil, solvents and stormwater are each registered separately.See the full permit list
- Veterinary clinicsA state facility permit, controlled substances registration at both state and federal level, and a medical waste manifest — none of which a general business license covers.See the full permit list
Permits that apply to every type of business in Baltimore County
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
What do these permits involve in Baltimore County?
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.
Sources
Every figure in the table 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 Zoning, Development & Appeals Fee Schedule (effective November 26, 2018)Baltimore 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 Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections — department pageBaltimore 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
Who issues business permits in Baltimore County?
Permitting in Baltimore County is split across 4 agencies we hold records for, with tax registration handled at state level. No single office issues everything, which is why an opening usually means filing in several places rather than one.
Baltimore County issuing agencies
- Baltimore County Department of Permits, Approvals and InspectionsIssues the separate Food Truck (Mobile) License, building permits, electrical and plumbing permit inspections, and zoning review and zoning use permits county-wide · Directs contractor-licensing questions to the Maryland Home Improvement Commission (state agency) rather than issuing a county contractor license itself5 permits
- Baltimore County Board of License CommissionersLicenses alcoholic beverage sales county-wide under Title 13 of the Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis Article and the Board's own current Rules and Regulations Handbook1 permit
- Baltimore County Department of Health, Environmental Health ServicesIssues food service facility permits and related environmental health permits county-wide1 permit
- Clerk of the Circuit Court for Baltimore CountyIssues the trader's license required of any person doing business as a trader (selling goods at retail from a fixed location) in Baltimore County, under Md. Code Ann., Bus. Reg. §17-1807(c)(4)1 permit
Other Maryland jurisdictions we cover
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.