The City of Auburn's Planning, Permitting and Code Department, at Auburn Hall, 60 Court Street, administers land use, building, housing, plumbing and electrical codes for the twin city to Lewiston across the Androscoggin, a municipality of around 25,000 with an unusually large agricultural and resource protection district for its size. Permit applications go through the city's SmartGov customer portal; building, electrical, home occupation, residential energy code, plumbing and sign applications and planning board development review all run through the permitting and code counter.
The department states the code transition plainly: applications submitted on or after the seventh of April 2025 are held to the 2021 standards, while applications already submitted and in review on that date may reference the older standards unless the code office directs otherwise. Its plumbing inspectors enforce the state’s internal and external plumbing rules including septic design, and the division works with the Lake Auburn Watershed Protection Commission on septic and sewer design inside the watershed.
This guide covers the City of Auburn in Androscoggin County. Lewiston across the river, Minot, Poland, New Gloucester and Turner are separate municipalities with their own code enforcement officers, and no Maine county issues building permits.
The watershed inspects your septic on a cycle and on sale. Under the updated subsurface wastewater ordinance (in effect since 15 July 2024), the city and the watershed commission began a septic inspection programme in spring 2025 that cycles through the watershed over five years, with designated areas inspected each year. An inspection is also required at the time of sale. A state-licensed septic inspector does the inspection and files the HHE-240 report with the Planning, Permitting & Code Department.
What requires a building permit in Auburn?
Maine draws its line in an unusual place: the code applies everywhere, but enforcement depends on how many people live in the municipality. The Technical Building Codes and Standards Board adopts the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code — the MUBEC — under Title 10 of the revised statutes, and all building construction in the State is governed by it whatever the town does. What Title 25 adds is the enforcement duty: a municipality with a population over 4,000 must enforce the MUBEC, while a smaller one may choose to and many do not. The design obligation does not move with that choice — a house in a town of 800 is still meant to be built to the MUBEC; there may simply be no local officer checking. The current edition rests on the 2021 international building, residential, existing building, mechanical and energy codes, in force since the seventh of April 2025. So in Auburn the questions are whether the municipality enforces, which officer holds which certification, and the SmartGov portal and the Lake Auburn watershed septic requirements.
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- Building, electrical, plumbing, sign and home occupation work, through the SmartGov portal
- A residential energy code application on new residential construction, filed alongside the building permit
- Septic inspection on an unsewered property in the Lake Auburn watershed, on the cycle and on sale
- New buildings, additions and structural work, under the MUBEC as the municipality enforces it
- Alterations, renovations and repairs beyond ordinary repair, and any change of use or occupancy
- Work inside the shoreland zone, which needs its own permit under the municipal shoreland ordinance
Often exempt
- Ordinary repairs that do not alter structure, egress, fire protection or building systems
- Painting, papering, flooring, cabinets and similar finish work
- Ordinary repairs that do not alter structure, egress, fire protection or building systems
- Painting, papering, flooring, cabinets and similar finish work
- Building permits in a municipality under 4,000 people that has not chosen to enforce the code — though the code still governs the work and other requirements still apply
Who enforces, and what the state certifies
Locally, what stands out is the SmartGov portal, the Lake Auburn watershed septic programme and its sale-triggered inspection, and the agricultural and resource protection district that shapes the rural half of the city.
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
Who handles permitting in Auburn?
The Planning, Permitting and Code Department is the permitting authority inside the city, enforcing the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code through state-certified building inspectors and administering land use, housing, plumbing and electrical codes. Plumbing inspectors enforce the state's internal and external plumbing rules including septic design, the city's own electrical department administers the electrical code, the Lake Auburn Watershed Protection Commission reviews septic and sewer design in the overlay, and Public Works issues drive entrance, fill and excavation permits. Electrical inspections are scheduled through the Planning & Permitting Office.
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Get a free quote →| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Department | Auburn Planning, Permitting and Code Department |
| Office | Auburn Hall, 60 Court Street, Auburn, ME 04210 · Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:00 pm |
| Phone | (207) 333-6600 |
| Portal | SmartGov, for building, electrical, plumbing, sign and energy applications |
| Public Works | Drive entrance, fill, excavation, drainage connection and utility location permits |
| Trade licences | Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, statewide |
In 2025, building permits issued in Auburn authorized 59 new privately owned housing units, 31 of them single-family homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey.
Permit types
Residential permits
An Auburn house project files through SmartGov with the residential energy code application alongside the building permit, and puts the trades on their own applications; a drive entrance or fill goes to Public Works rather than to code. On an unsewered lot in the Lake Auburn watershed the septic question arrives twice — once at design through the commission, and again on the inspection cycle or at sale — and a purchase timed without it can stall at closing.
Commercial permits
Commercial work in Auburn — the industrial park and rail-served sites, the Center Street retail corridor, the mill blocks along the river and the airport — runs through the same portal with planning board development review where the project reaches site plan. The city's form-based code applies in parts of the centre and reads differently from a conventional district ordinance, and a great pond watershed permit requires a copy on site while the authorised work is carried out.
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Call 1-855-478-4290 →Shoreland zoning, wastewater and the unorganized territory
In Auburn the Lake Auburn watershed overlay governs septic and sewer design across the drinking water catchment for two cities, the Androscoggin floodplain reaches the mill blocks and the low ground, and the agricultural and resource protection district covers a large share of the city's land area.
Maine has no general contractor licence: home construction contracts above the statutory threshold must be in writing, and electricians, plumbers and oil and solid fuel technicians are licensed by the state. Maine rules
Auburn permit costs and fees
Auburn charges building and trade permit fees through the SmartGov portal under the city's schedule, with Public Works fees for drive entrances and excavation and separate planning board review fees.
| Item | Fee or rule |
|---|---|
| Building permit | By floor area for new work: $25 plus 15 cents a square foot for a one- or two-family home or addition; $30 plus 35 cents a square foot per floor for commercial and multifamily; commercial renovation $30 plus $7 per $1,000 of value |
| Residential energy code | Its own application alongside the building permit on new residential work |
| Trade permits | Separate electrical, plumbing and sign fees |
| Public Works permits | Drive entrance, fill, excavation, drainage and utility location |
| Septic inspection | By a state-licensed septic inspector, in the watershed |
| Planning board review | Development review fees where the project reaches site plan |
The application date decides the code edition. Auburn spells out what most Maine municipalities leave unsaid: permit applications submitted on or after the seventh of April 2025 are held to the 2021 standards, and files already in review on that date may reference the older ones unless the code office says otherwise. On a long-running project the filing date is worth knowing precisely.
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Get a free quote →Trade permits and who may pull them
Permit required
- Internal plumbing — the state's own permit form, issued by the certified local plumbing inspector
- Subsurface wastewater — a licensed site evaluator's design, filed with the local plumbing inspector
- Electrical — a permit from the state Electricians' Examining Board (or the town, where it runs its own electrical inspection), except a licensed electrician's work in a single-family home
- Heating, oil and solid fuel appliances — installed by a technician licensed by the Maine Fuel Board; a permit where the town requires one
Typically exempt
- Replacing a plumbing fixture with a similar one in the same place, with no change to the pipes, and sealing leaks in an existing line
- Minor electrical repairs such as replacing lamps, fuses, light fixtures, switches and sockets, and installing or repairing outlets
Trade work is permitted separately and done by state-licensed tradespeople, though owners may do their own trade work in a single-family home they live in; internal plumbing is permitted by the local plumbing inspector on the state’s own form. Maine rules
How to apply for an Auburn building permit
Enforcement is mandatory above 4,000 people and optional below; the code governs the work either way.
Within 250 feet of most water bodies the shoreland ordinance governs setbacks, clearing and expansion.
A licensed site evaluator's subsurface design on the state form, filed with the municipality.
Electricians and plumbers hold state licences; there is no general contractor licence, so the written contract carries the terms.
Reviewed against the MUBEC as the municipality enforces it, with the local zoning ordinance alongside.
Footing to final, plumbing on its own permit through the local plumbing inspector, then the certificate of occupancy.
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Get a free quote →Review, corrections and what actually causes delay
The Planning, Permitting and Code Department reviews for the MUBEC and the city's land use ordinance, with the watershed commission reviewing septic and sewer design in the overlay and the planning board taking site plan review. What delays an Auburn project is a drive entrance filed to code instead of Public Works, a watershed septic design brought late, and an assumption about which code edition applies.
Inspections in Auburn
Where the municipality enforces, inspections follow the code's sequence — footing, foundation, framing, rough trades, insulation and final — requested from the code enforcement officer by permit number, with plumbing inspected by the local plumbing inspector on its own permit. Work that passes final receives a certificate of occupancy where the municipality issues one, and a shoreland or wastewater condition closes with the officer certified in that area rather than with the building inspector. Auburn inspections are arranged with the Planning, Permitting & Code Department against the permit number, with electrical inspections scheduled through the Planning & Permitting Office, the plumbing inspectors covering internal and external plumbing including septic, the city's electrical department inspecting electrical work, and the certificate of occupancy following the final.
Auburn permit search and official resources
- Auburn Planning, Permitting and Code — the department, the code in force and the transition date
- Auburn permits and SmartGov — the portal and which department takes which application
- Auburn floodplain and watershed — the Lake Auburn overlay and the septic inspection programme
- Maine Office of the State Fire Marshal, building codes — the MUBEC, its chapters and the enforcement threshold
- Maine Office of Community Affairs, code enforcement — code enforcement officer certification and the specialty areas
- Maine Land Use Planning Commission — permitting in the unorganized and deorganized territories
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →Frequently asked questions
Who issues building permits in Auburn?
The city's Planning, Permitting and Code Department at Auburn Hall, 60 Court Street, through the SmartGov portal. No Maine county issues building permits.
Which code edition applies to my project?
Applications submitted on or after the seventh of April 2025 are held to the 2021 standards; files already in review on that date may reference the older ones unless the code office directs otherwise.
What is the Lake Auburn watershed programme?
A septic inspection programme covering unsewered properties in the watershed overlay on a five-year cycle, with an inspection also required at the time of sale.
Who does the septic inspection?
A state-licensed septic inspector, who submits the inspection report (form HHE-240) to the Planning, Permitting & Code Department on paper, by email or through SmartGov.
Where do I file a drive entrance permit?
With Public Works rather than code enforcement, along with fill, excavation, drainage connection and utility location permits.
Does Auburn have to enforce the code?
Yes. Enforcement is a statutory duty for any Maine municipality above 4,000 people.
Simplify Auburn permitting with Alliance Permitting
Auburn is a portal with a watershed underneath it. We file through SmartGov with the energy application attached and get the septic question answered at design rather than at closing.
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Send us the scope and the parcel. We confirm the review path with the Auburn Planning, Permitting and Code Department, assemble the submittal, file it, and track it through issuance — corrections included.
More Maine permitting guides
More Maine permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Auburn permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.