Falmouth, Maine Building Permit Guide

In Falmouth, the Town’s Code Enforcement Division at Town Hall, 271 Falmouth Road, issues every construction permit, from building and electrical to plumbing and heating, and accepts applications in person, by email or by mail. Under the fee schedule the Town Council passed on September 14, 2026, finished living space costs $0.60 per square foot, and the office says it can generally issue a permit within 2 weeks.

What needs a permit in Falmouth?

Falmouth applies the building code’s own test: anyone who will build, enlarge, alter, repair, move or demolish a building or structure, change its occupancy, or install or change an electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system must apply first. The Town also requires a permit to replace windows, so the office can check bedroom egress.

Exempt work must still meet the code and the zoning ordinance. Fill above 1,000 yards goes to the Planning Board, and projects in the shoreland zone, the Highland Lake district or a flood zone can need permits of their own, described below.

Who issues building permits in Falmouth?

The Code Enforcement Division administers Falmouth’s Zoning and Site Plan Review Ordinance and its Floodplain Management Ordinance, reviews plans before construction, inspects the work as it goes and issues all permits tied to a construction project. It also staffs the Board of Zoning Appeals. Justin Brown is the Code Enforcement Officer.

A project can also need sign-off from the Planning Board, Public Works or the Zoning Board of Appeals, or from Maine DEP, MaineDOT or the State Fire Marshal, before, during or after the Town permit is issued.

Electrical, plumbing and heating permits in Falmouth

The same division issues trade permits, each on its own application. Electricians and plumbers have to show a current licence and give the property’s map, lot and address, and an electrical permit for a new or upgraded service needs the Central Maine Power account or work order number.

Plumbing is filed on the State’s HHE-211 form, and replacing only a septic tank has a separate Town application. Beyond the building codes, the office enforces the Maine plumbing and subsurface wastewater rules, NFPA 70 (the National Electrical Code), NFPA 211 for chimneys and NFPA 31 for oil-burning equipment.

A homeowner who wires or plumbs their own house still needs the permit and the inspections; the division recommends having a licensed professional pull the permit and do the work.

Falmouth building permit fees

Building fees come from the schedule the Falmouth Town Council passed on September 14, 2026, in effect from September 22, 2026, as attested by the Town Clerk on the Code Enforcement fee page. Shoreland, fill, phosphorus and growth permits follow the separate Land Use Permit Fee Schedule, last amended July 25, 2022.

For example, a new house with 2,000 sq ft of finished space, a 1,000 sq ft unfinished basement and a 200 sq ft deck pays $1,200 + $250 + $60 = $1,510 in building fees, plus $200 for its residential growth permit, before the electrical, plumbing and heating permits.

What to submit with a Falmouth application

Falmouth publishes separate residential and commercial building applications. Page 2 of the residential form is the plan submittal checklist; if it is incomplete, or a checked item is missing, the application is not reviewed, and items that do not apply are marked “N/A”.

The residential form ends with a 2021 IECC prescriptive worksheet for the builder to sign, and the permit counts as issued only once the applicant has signed and dated it.

Work must start within 1 year of issue, and the permit expires if the work is not substantially complete within 2 years. The Building Inspector can grant a conditional certificate of occupancy or one extra year when reasonable progress is being made; longer extensions need the Zoning Board of Appeals.

How to get a Falmouth building permit: 6 steps

Inspections in Falmouth

Call the Code Office at 207-699-5310 to book an inspection, with the map, lot and address ready. The inspection schedule asks for 2 business days (48 hours) of notice, the electrical form asks for at least 24 hours, same-day requests are not taken, and nothing is scheduled on Fridays, when Town offices are closed. Skipping a required inspection can bring a stop work order and fines.

Falmouth’s stages are erosion control, footings (before the pour), foundation (before backfill), septic scarification and leach bed, subsurface plumbing, framing (after rough plumbing and electrical), insulation, temporary and permanent electrical service, and the final. In the Highland Lake district the phosphorus controls are inspected once installed. No foundation inspection takes place until the site is stabilized.

The final inspection must pass, and a certificate of occupancy or completion must be issued, before anyone moves in. Falmouth’s final checklist includes a house number visible from the street, working smoke detectors, one working bathroom and kitchen, a side-hinged exit door of at least 3 ft by 6 ft 8 in that does not open through the garage, finished septic and heating, and any Planning Board or Zoning Board conditions met.

Growth permits, shoreland and flood rules in Falmouth

Growth permits: Section 19-69 of the zoning ordinance, last amended March 9, 2026, requires a development (growth) permit for each new dwelling unit, issued together with the building permit and reviewed in the order received. In each calendar year the Town may issue no more than 56 permits for new single-family, two-family and manufactured homes combined and no more than 24 for new multi-family units. The Farm and Forest and Highland Lake districts have a cap of 20 new single-family, two-family or manufactured homes, and areas outside the Growth Area a cap of 50 new single-family, two-family, multi-family or manufactured units combined. Work on existing buildings, nonresidential buildings, congregate housing, elderly boarding homes, units in a Retirement Community Overlay District, affordable housing, housing for older persons, and units in the VC districts or in the parts of the R1N and Tidewater districts inside the Growth Area are exempt. A growth permit stays with the unit and passes to a new owner.

Shoreland zone: the zone covers land within 250 ft of a great pond, river, salt water, the upland edge of a coastal wetland or a non-forested freshwater wetland of 10 acres or more, and within 100 ft of a designated stream. Cutting or limbing trees, clearing, fill and other soil disturbance there need a shoreland permit and may need Planning Board approval. Structures other than piers, docks and similar water-dependent uses must sit at least 100 ft from the normal high-water line or wetland edge (250 ft in the Resource Protection District), and the plot plan must show the setback from the High Annual Tide line.

Highland Lake: projects in the Highland Lake overlay district that fall under Section 19-22.5 need a phosphorus control permit, filed with a phosphorus, sedimentation and erosion control plan.

Flood zones: the Code Enforcement Officer is Falmouth’s floodplain administrator, and any development in a special flood hazard area on the June 20, 2024 flood maps needs a flood hazard development permit as well as the building permit. New or substantially improved homes in Zone AE must have the lowest floor, including the basement, at least 1 ft above base flood elevation; in Zone A without flood data the minimum is 2 ft above the highest adjacent grade. In Zone VE and Coastal AE the building must stand on posts or columns with the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member at least 1 ft above base flood elevation, designed or reviewed and certified by a registered engineer or architect, and fill may not be used for structural support.

Driveways: a new driveway or curb cut onto a street needs a street entrance permit from the Code Enforcement Officer, reviewed with Public Works; the form lists a $25 fee, a 12 ft minimum driveway width and an inspection when the culvert is installed.

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 Falmouth permitting resources

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

• Maine subsurface wastewater rules
• Maine DEP shoreland zoning
• Maine current MUBEC rules
• Maine Office of Community Affairs code enforcement
• Falmouth current adopted building codes
• Falmouth residential/commercial building forms
• Falmouth Code Enforcement and filing instructions
• Falmouth building permit fee schedule (passed September 14, 2026)
• Falmouth downloadable permit applications
• Falmouth residential building permit application and checklist
• Falmouth inspection schedule and permit requirements
• Falmouth final inspection requirements
• Falmouth permit process FAQs
• Falmouth land use permit fee schedule (amended July 25, 2022)
• Falmouth shoreland zoning information
• Falmouth Zoning and Site Plan Review Ordinance (Sec. 19-69 growth permits)
• Falmouth Floodplain Management Ordinance 137-2024

Falmouth permit FAQs

Who issues building permits in Falmouth, Maine?

The Town’s Code Enforcement Division at Town Hall, 271 Falmouth Road (207-699-5310). It also issues the electrical, plumbing, heating, shoreland and flood permits.

How much is a building permit for a new house in Falmouth?

Under the schedule passed on September 14, 2026: $0.60 per sq ft of finished space, $0.25 per sq ft unfinished and $0.30 per sq ft of decks and porches. A 2,000 sq ft house with a 1,000 sq ft unfinished basement and a 200 sq ft deck comes to $1,510, plus a $200 growth permit.

Is there a limit on new homes in Falmouth?

Yes. Each calendar year the Town issues at most 56 growth permits for new single-family, two-family and manufactured homes and 24 for new multi-family units, with separate caps for the Farm and Forest and Highland Lake districts and for land outside the Growth Area. Exempt housing types, such as affordable housing, are not counted.

Do I need a permit for a shed or a fence?

Not for a one-story shed up to 100 sq ft and 10 ft high, or a fence up to 7 ft. Larger sheds need a building permit.

How long does a Falmouth building permit take?

The division can generally issue one within 2 weeks of a complete application, depending on workload.

How do I book an inspection?

Call 207-699-5310 at least 2 business days ahead with the map, lot and address. There are no same-day inspections and none on Fridays.

Simplify Falmouth 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 Falmouth permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.