Aroostook County, Maine Building Permit Guide

In Aroostook County a building permit comes either from the town or city where the land lies or, in the unorganized townships and plantations, from the state Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC). Presque Isle, Caribou, Houlton and Fort Kent each have more than 4,000 residents, so they must enforce the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code (MUBEC). An LUPC permit for a new house costs $200 per dwelling unit, or $300 when the footprint is 1,000 sq ft or more.

What needs a permit in Aroostook County?

There is no county building code. What needs a permit depends on who governs the land, and the two systems publish different lists.

For a garage, shed or other accessory building next to an existing house in LUPC territory, the commission’s online notice and self-verification form can take the place of a permit when the structure meets its standards. Caribou publishes the code sections that list work exempt from a permit, and Madawaska, which does not enforce MUBEC, still requires its own permit for renovations, additions, plumbing, septic systems and other land use activity.

Who issues building permits in Aroostook County?

The county’s own Permits & Zoning page says permits and zoning are the job of local government and that permits in the Unorganized Territory fall under the LUPC.

Unorganized townships and plantations: the LUPC is the planning and zoning authority where there is no local government or where a plantation or town has chosen not to run land use controls. Its Northern Regional Office (45 Radar Road, Ashland) serves most of the county, and its Eastern Regional Office (191 Main Street, East Millinocket; residential projects (207) 399-2176) serves the southern part. Both are open by appointment only. Residential questions in the Northern Region go through the commission’s online General Inquiry form, and non-residential projects in both regions go to (207) 485-8354. Completed applications are sent to the Augusta office, not to the regional offices.

Cities and towns: each one appoints its own code enforcement officer (CEO) and local plumbing inspector. These are the offices of the largest places:

Every Aroostook County town, plantation and township

Must enforce MUBEC (4,000 or more residents in the 2020 Census, the count the state’s MUBEC rule uses): Presque Isle, Caribou, Houlton and Fort Kent.

Town code office and plumbing inspector; building code enforcement only if the town adopted it: Allagash, Amity, Ashland, Blaine, Bridgewater, Castle Hill, Caswell, Chapman, Crystal, Dyer Brook, Eagle Lake, Easton, Fort Fairfield, Frenchville, Grand Isle, Haynesville, Hersey, Hodgdon, Island Falls, Limestone, Linneus, Littleton, Ludlow, Madawaska, Mapleton, Mars Hill, Masardis, Merrill, Monticello, New Canada, New Limerick, New Sweden, Oakfield, Orient, Perham, Portage Lake, St. Agatha, St. Francis, Sherman, Smyrna, Stockholm, Van Buren, Wade, Wallagrass, Washburn, Westfield, Westmanland, Weston and Woodland. Madawaska says on its own page that it does not enforce MUBEC.

LUPC issues the permit: the plantations of Cyr, Garfield, Glenwood, Macwahoc, Moro, Nashville, Reed, St. John and Winterville; the towns of Hamlin and Hammond, which LUPC lists inside its service area; and the townships the Census groups as Bancroft, Central Aroostook, Connor, Northwest Aroostook, South Aroostook and Square Lake unorganized territories.

Tribal land: the Census also lists a Penobscot Indian Island Reservation unit in the county, with no residents in the 2025 estimate. Questions about land held for the Penobscot Nation go to the Nation.

Electrical, plumbing and septic permits

Electrical: the state Electricians’ Examining Board issues electrical permits except in towns that have their own electrical inspector. The board lists single-family dwellings as an exception to the state requirement: it needs certification on a single-family home, or a licensed master electrician may verify the work, but a temporary service to build a one-family dwelling still needs a permit. Presque Isle takes electrical permit applications through its own permit portal. Caribou repealed its electrical code after a public hearing on June 9, 2014, so where a permit is needed there it comes from the state, issued to a master electrician.

Plumbing and septic in towns: the town’s local plumbing inspector issues internal plumbing and subsurface wastewater permits on the state forms. Caribou does not take plumbing applications online: the owner or master plumber applies in person, and the city charges the state minimum fees of $10 per fixture with a $40 minimum for internal plumbing and $250 for a complete septic system, plus a $15 shellfish surcharge on a full system.

Plumbing and septic in LUPC areas: the Maine CDC subsurface wastewater program keeps the list of plumbing inspectors appointed for the unorganized townships. If a project adds or expands a septic system, a licensed site evaluator’s signed HHE-200 design must go in with the LUPC application.

Permit fees in Aroostook County

Each town sets its own fees, and LUPC charges the fees in Chapter 1 of its rules (amended effective June 3, 2026).

For example, a house valued at $240,000 in Presque Isle pays 240 × $7.50 = $1,800 for the building permit, and the same house in LUPC territory with a 1,200 sq ft footprint pays $300. Presque Isle also charges $50 to demolish a home and $200 for a commercial building, and doubles the fee when work began without a permit.

Houlton’s posted fee schedule (Sec. 46) charges a $30 minimum for projects valued up to $7,000 and, above that, $4 per $1,000 for residential and $5 per $1,000 for commercial work.

Smaller towns set their own fees. Ashland’s schedule, effective September 13, 2022, charges $10 for residential work valued up to $500, $15 from $501 to $10,000, and 0.002 times the value above that up to $200 ($400 for commercial work), plus $25 for a certificate of occupancy. Haynesville requires a town permit for new buildings and additions over 100 sq ft, approved by the Selectboard outside the shoreland zone, and adds a $150 travel fee for its plumbing inspector to the state plumbing and septic fees.

LUPC fees are paid by check to “Treasurer, State of Maine” or online; online payments carry a $0.25 debit card charge or a 3% credit card charge.

What to submit

LUPC building permit application (version 04/2026): the five-page form with every landowner’s signature, plus these exhibits:

• A location map with the property marked (A) and the deed, lease or sales contract (B)
• Photographs of the site taken within the past two years (C)
• A site plan showing every existing and proposed structure, driveway and parking area with distances to lot lines, roads, water and wetlands (D)
• A signed HHE-200 septic design for new or expanded wastewater (E) and erosion control details when soil is disturbed (G)
• A driveway or entrance permit for a new entrance onto a state or state-aid road, or where the county, town or plantation requires one (H)
• The flood-prone area supplement when the site is in a flood zone

The form also asks for lot coverage and a 20-year land division history traced from your deed, two items the commission lists among those most often missed.

Caribou: the building permit application asks for the estimated cost, setbacks, stories, bedrooms and bathrooms, and whether the lot is in the shoreland, flood, wetland or wellhead protection zones. Commercial, institutional and industrial projects need full structural plans signed and sealed by a professional engineer or architect, and the application notes that all public buildings also need State Fire Marshal approval.

How to get a permit in Aroostook County

Inspections and building code compliance

Caribou asks for inspections to be scheduled at least two business days ahead: call (207) 493-5966 for building inspections and (207) 493-4231 for plumbing. Houlton reviews permits issued on or after April 7, 2025 against the 2021 International Codes and 2019 ASHRAE standards adopted in MUBEC.

The LUPC does not administer MUBEC. Its staff may visit a site before deciding an application and to check permit conditions, but they do not carry out building code inspections. The state still treats MUBEC compliance as mandatory for the owner wherever the building is, and owners in LUPC territory or in a town that does not enforce the code can hire a state-certified third-party inspector to check the work.

Local details in Aroostook County

County services in the unorganized territory: the county’s Unorganized Territory Services program, run by Director John Gibson from 144 Sweden Street, Suite 1, Caribou, handles about 55.8 miles of summer road work and more than 90 miles of winter plowing for the 112 townships it serves. It contracts ambulance, fire, solid waste and law enforcement services and has used DEP Small Community Grants to help families repair or replace failing septic systems. Requests are taken Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at (207) 493-3318 or (207) 493-6306.

Madawaska: every application is reviewed for 14 business days and a permit is good for one year.

Maine building code

Maine’s adopted code applies statewide, but permits are required where the town’s ordinance says so; shoreland zoning applies statewide near water, fees and appeals are local, and code enforcement officers must be certified by the state. Maine rules

Official Aroostook County permitting resources

These are the primary sources behind this guide. Codes, fee schedules and procedures change — confirm the position for your filing date.

• Aroostook County: Permits & Zoning
• Aroostook County Unorganized Territory Services
• LUPC Northern Regional Office, Ashland
• LUPC Eastern Regional Office, East Millinocket
• LUPC regional offices
• LUPC building permit application help
• LUPC Building Permit Application (version 04/2026)
• LUPC Chapter 1 fee rule (effective June 3, 2026)
• LUPC accessory structure notice and self-verification
• LUPC zoning maps by township
• LUPC land use districts and standards, Chapter 10
• LUPC application forms
• Maine Office of Community Affairs: building codes
• MUBEC rules and adopted code editions
• Maine electrical permits (Electricians’ Examining Board)
• Presque Isle permits
• Presque Isle Chapter 25, MUBEC ordinance and fees
• Caribou Code Enforcement
• Caribou permit fee form (April 2026)
• Houlton Code Enforcement
• Houlton permit fee schedule (Sec. 46)
• Ashland Code Enforcement and fees
• Haynesville building permits
• Fort Kent Planning and Economic Development
• Madawaska Code Enforcement

Aroostook County permit FAQs

Does Aroostook County issue building permits?

No. Towns and cities issue their own, and the Land Use Planning Commission issues them in the unorganized townships, the nine plantations and the towns of Hamlin and Hammond.

How much is an LUPC permit for a new camp or house?

$200 per dwelling unit when the footprint is under 1,000 sq ft and $300 at 1,000 sq ft or more. Additions and accessory structures cost $100, and work started without a permit costs three times the fee.

How much is a building permit in Presque Isle?

$7.50 per $1,000 of valuation for residential work and $10 per $1,000 for commercial work, with a $35 minimum.

Which Aroostook towns must enforce the state building code?

Presque Isle, Caribou, Houlton and Fort Kent, the four with more than 4,000 residents. Smaller towns enforce it only if they choose to.

Do I need a permit for a shed in an unorganized township?

Not always. A garage, shed or other accessory structure built with an existing house may need only LUPC’s notice and self-verification form if it meets the standards; a new accessory structure over 750 sq ft goes on the building permit application.

Who issues electrical permits in Caribou?

The state, not the city: Caribou repealed its electrical code in 2014. For work other than a single-family home, a master electrician gets the permit from the Electricians’ Examining Board; a single-family home is exempt from the state permit, except for a temporary service used to build it.

Where do I get an address for a new camp in a township?

From the county. The LUPC application tells owners that the e911 address comes from the County Commissioners’ office once the lot is developed.

Simplify Aroostook County permitting with Alliance Permitting

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in Maine. We prepare your paperwork, file it correctly and coordinate with the permitting authority through issuance. We are not a contractor and we do not perform licensed plan review or inspections; that work stays with your licensed team and the jurisdiction.

This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Aroostook County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.