The City of Saco's Code Enforcement Office at 300 Main Street issues building permits for a York County city of around 21,000 at the mouth of the Saco River, across the falls from Biddeford. The office checks a project against the zoning, building, plumbing, electrical and fire code ordinances the city and the state have adopted, asks for a completed application and two sets of plans, and returns one approved set that must stay on the job site until the final inspection and the certificate of occupancy. Separate permits are required for signs, electrical and plumbing work.
Two Saco rules are worth knowing before filing. The first is the abutter notification: where a building permit will lead to a new dwelling unit, to the creation or expansion of a commercial use, or to the expansion of an accessory use with commercial aspects — and in the shoreland overlay districts, for any exterior change requiring a permit — the code officer posts notice to abutting landowners within one week of issue, describing what the permit is for. The notice is not required where the approval has already been through a public hearing. The second is blunt: since August 2024 no refunds are issued for any electrical or building permit once approved and paid.
This guide covers the City of Saco in York County. Biddeford across the river, Old Orchard Beach, Scarborough, Buxton and Dayton are separate municipalities with their own code enforcement officers, and no Maine county issues building permits.
Your neighbours get a letter, and your fee does not come back. Saco writes to abutting landowners within a week of issuing a permit for a new dwelling, a new or expanded commercial use, or any exterior change in the shoreland districts. And no refund is issued for any building or electrical permit once it has been approved and paid for — so a permit pulled on a scheme that may still change is a sunk cost.
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Get a free quote →What requires a building permit in Saco?
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 Saco the questions are whether the municipality enforces, which officer holds which certification, and the abutter notification posted after issue and the no-refund rule.
Typically permit required
- Any construction project, before it starts, on application with two sets of plans
- Separate permits for signs, electrical and plumbing work
- A person certified in erosion control by the state, on site each day earthmoving occurs where more than 1 cubic yard of soil is disturbed
- 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 abutter notification the code officer posts after issue, the no-refund rule, and the erosion control certification the city requires on any real earthmoving.
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
Not sure this scope needs a permit?
Get a free quote →Who handles permitting in Saco?
The Code Enforcement Office is the permitting authority inside the city, enforcing the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code and the city's zoning, plumbing, electrical and fire ordinances through state-certified code officials, and the city's inspections staff work alongside federal and state agencies on flood, environmental and river questions. The shoreland overlay districts are administered by the same office, and the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation licenses electricians and plumbers statewide.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Department | Saco Code Enforcement Office |
| Office | 300 Main Street, Saco, ME 04072 · Monday to Thursday 7:30 am to 4:00 pm, Friday 7:30 am to 1:00 pm |
| Phone | (207) 284-6983 |
| Application | Completed form (many on the city’s iWorQ portal or as PDFs) with two sets of plans; one approved set stays on site |
| Separate permits | Signs, electrical and plumbing |
| Trade licences | Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, statewide |
Permit types
Residential permits
A Saco house project files with two sets of plans, takes the approved set to the site and keeps it there to the final, and expects the abutters to be told once the permit issues where a new dwelling is involved. The city publishes a shed guide answering the permit and placement questions before an application is made. On the river, the marsh and the beach frontage the shoreland overlay adds the abutter notice to any exterior change, and the state's attorney general warning must appear in home construction and repair contracts.
Commercial permits
Commercial work in Saco — the mill blocks at the falls, the Main Street centre, the Route One corridor and the industrial park — brings the abutter notification into play for any new or expanded commercial use, which makes early engagement with neighbours worth more than it costs. Earthmoving above a cubic yard requires a state-certified erosion control person on site each day work occurs, a requirement that sits on the contractor rather than the designer.
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Call 1-855-478-4290 →Shoreland zoning, wastewater and the unorganized territory
In Saco the river and the falls, the tidal marsh and the beach frontage put the shoreland overlay and flood mapping across much of the city's developable edge, and the city holds the preliminary flood insurance study and rate maps at the code office for inspection.
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
Saco permit costs and fees
Saco charges building permit fees by the size and type of project under the city's schedule, with separate sign, electrical and plumbing fees and a standing rule that none of it is refundable once approved and paid.
| Item | Fee or rule |
|---|---|
| Building permit | By the size and type of project, per the city's schedule |
| Sign, electrical and plumbing | Separate permits and separate fees |
| Refunds | None issued for any building or electrical permit once approved and paid |
| Shoreland permit | Where the parcel falls in the shoreland overlay districts |
| Erosion control | A state-certified person on site, at the contractor's cost |
| Permit records | Permits issued published by month and by year and type |
1 cubic yard is the erosion control trigger. Saco's ordinance requires that where an excavation contractor's activity results in more than 1 cubic yard of soil disturbance, the person managing erosion and sedimentation control must be certified by the state environmental department and present on site each day earthmoving occurs. That is a low threshold and a daily staffing cost, and it belongs in the contractor's price rather than as a surprise on the first inspection.
Rather not deal with the building department?
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 a Saco 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 Code Enforcement Office reviews the application against the zoning, building, plumbing, electrical and fire ordinances together. The city says that, because of volume and workload, any building permit takes approximately 30 business days to process. What delays a Saco project is a single plan set where two are required, an erosion control plan without a certified person behind it, and a permit pulled early on a scheme still in flux given the no-refund rule.
Inspections in Saco
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. Saco inspections are requested from the Code Enforcement Office against the permit number, with the approved plan set kept on site until the final inspection, and the certificate of occupancy issued at close; the city publishes the permits it has issued by month.
Saco permit search and official resources
- Saco Code Enforcement Office — the department, the shed guide and the contractor warning
- Saco building permits — the application, two plan sets and the no-refund rule
- Saco permits issued — permits published by month and by year and type
- 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 Saco?
The city's Code Enforcement Office at 300 Main Street. No Maine county issues building permits.
How many sets of plans do I need?
Two. One approved set is returned and must stay on the job site until the final inspection and the certificate of occupancy.
Will my neighbours be told?
In the residential and shoreland districts, yes. The code officer posts notice to abutting landowners within a week of issuing a permit for a new dwelling, a new or expanded commercial use, or any exterior change in the shoreland districts.
Can I get my fee back?
No. Since August 2024 no refunds are issued for any electrical or building permit once approved and paid for.
What triggers the erosion control requirement?
More than 1 cubic yard of soil disturbance. A person certified in erosion control by the state must then be on site each day earthmoving occurs.
Which code applies?
The Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code, on the 2021 model codes in force since the seventh of April 2025.
Simplify Saco permitting with Alliance Permitting
Saco tells the neighbours and keeps the fee. We settle the scheme before the permit is pulled and put the certified erosion control person in the contractor's price from the start.
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Send us the scope and the parcel. We confirm the review path with the Saco Code Enforcement Office, 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 Saco permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.