Wells, Maine Building Permit Guide

Building, plumbing, septic and flood permits in Wells are issued by the Town’s Code Enforcement Office at 208 Sanford Road, on its own application forms; the Town issues no electrical permits. Under the fee schedule the Select Board adopted on July 21, 2026, a new home costs $250 plus $0.60 per square foot, and review is currently taking up to about 14 business days.

What needs a permit in Wells?

Section 145-61 of the Wells Land Use Code bars erecting, moving or enlarging any building or structure without a permit from the Code Enforcement Officer, while normal maintenance and alterations that need no structural change are exempt. In practice the Code Office treats a wide range of work as permit work, and posting the permit before starting is required:

Who issues building permits in Wells?

The Code Enforcement Office administers the Town’s zoning ordinances, building codes, licensing ordinances and impact fee ordinance, and enforces shoreland zoning, the state plumbing and subsurface wastewater rules and the floodplain ordinance. It also staffs the Zoning Board of Appeals. Jodine Adams is the Code Enforcement Officer.

Because of the volume of permits, the Code and Planning offices are open to customers and phone calls from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on weekdays, and until 6:00 p.m. on the first and third Tuesday of each month, when the Select Board meets. Property research requests can take up to 10 business days, and not every archived file has been scanned yet.

Electrical, plumbing and septic permits in Wells

Electrical: the Town of Wells does not issue electrical permits. For commercial buildings, including lodging, and for any structure with more than one dwelling unit, including accessory dwellings, a Maine Master Electrician pulls the permit from the State, the State inspects, and the results or a copy of the State permit go to the Code Office. In a new single-family home or detached garage, work by a Master Electrician needs no permit, while a homeowner doing the wiring needs a State permit and State inspection. Renovations, additions and remodels of a detached single-family home need no State electrical permit unless the whole house is rewired. The certificate of occupancy is not issued without any State inspection that is required. Generators and solar panels still need a Town accessory structure permit.

Plumbing and septic: internal and external plumbing need separate permits from the building permit. Under the July 2026 schedule a plumbing permit is a $20 processing fee plus $10 per fixture, with a $40 minimum. A septic (subsurface wastewater) permit is $250 for a non-engineered system or $200 for an engineered one, plus a $15 state surcharge and a $20 processing fee. A septic design more than 2 years old must be updated before it is used for a new home.

Wells permit fees

The Select Board approved the current Code Enforcement fee schedule on July 21, 2026, after a public hearing on amending the building permit fees. The Code Enforcement page still introduces it as the schedule in effect from February 5, 2025, but the linked document is the one marked “Adopted 07-21-2026”. Base fees are non-refundable.

The application worksheet counts square footage from the outside faces of the exterior walls and adds up each level: foundation, every floor, breezeway, attached or under garage, and decks and porches. For example, a new three-bedroom home with a 1,200 sq ft foundation, a 1,200 sq ft first floor and a 900 sq ft second floor totals 3,300 sq ft: $250 + 3,300 × $0.60 = $2,230. A fourth bedroom would add $200.

Work started without a permit, or beyond its scope, pays double the permit fee plus a tier charge: none for projects of $1,000 or less and items such as windows, doors and small sheds, $250 for $1,001 to $5,000, $500 for $5,001 to $25,000 (and unpermitted generators), and $1,000 above $25,000. Chapter 174 of the Town Code allows impact fees set by the Select Board to be charged before a building permit is issued; the July 2026 Code Enforcement schedule lists none.

What to submit for a new home in Wells

The Town’s New Single Family Homes handout lists what makes an application complete:

• The deed or purchase and sale agreement, if the property has been owned less than a year
• A site or plot plan to scale prepared by a surveyor, showing the lot, the footprint with decks, porches, overhangs and accessory structures, distances to the property lines, the zoning district and setbacks, the first floor sill elevation, parking and driveways, utilities, drainage, grade contours and erosion controls; a septic design cannot double as the plot plan
• The building plans, plus reduced copies of the plot plan and plans on 11 by 17 inch paper
• Three copies of the septic design signed by the applicant, or a letter from the water and sanitary district confirming a hookup is available
• A driveway permit and the Central Maine Power form
• Construction drawings with structural details, cross sections, floor plans and elevations with building height, window and door schedules with net clear openings, foundation drainage and rebar, and stair details
• Manufacturer specifications for engineered trusses and LVLs, without which the permit cannot be issued

Some subdivision lots also need a water test or sprinkler plans, and commercial projects follow a separate checklist. Under §145-61 the Code Enforcement Officer has 10 business days to act on a properly prepared application, but the Code Office says reviews are currently taking up to about 14 business days with two Code Officers reviewing full time. Permits are not issued the same day, applications are taken in the order received, and the office emails the applicant when the permit is ready. A decision can be appealed to the Zoning Board of Appeals within 31 days.

How to get a Wells building permit: 6 steps

Inspections and occupancy in Wells

Call the Code Office at 207-646-5187 to schedule an inspection, ideally before 2:30 p.m.; calling early in the day gives a better chance of a next-day visit. The building permit card must stay posted where it can be seen from the street until the work is finished, or the permit is automatically revoked.

A certificate of occupancy must be issued and picked up before a new home is occupied. The Town’s checklist covers house numbers, working smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors on each floor and outside bedrooms, egress windows in every bedroom, continuous handrails and guards, a plumbing fixture count that matches the plumbing permit, a future vent in the basement, insulated attic and basement, fire-rated self-closing doors to the garage, a radon mitigation pipe through the roof, kitchen cabinets and countertops, finished grading, and all required paperwork and inspections. The first certificate of occupancy inspection is free; the first re-inspection costs $100 for a home or $200 for a commercial building, and any later one $200.

A building permit lapses if work is not substantially started within 24 months or substantially completed within 36 months; the Code Enforcement Officer can extend it by up to 12 months on a written request made before it expires.

Shoreland, flood and growth rules in Wells

Shoreland Overlay District: buildings, roads and driveways must be set back 75 ft from the upland edge of a wetland (reducible to the average setback of structures within 200 ft, but never below 25 ft), 100 ft from Ell Pond and 75 ft from other water bodies. On the ocean side of Wells Beach, Drakes Island and Moody Beach the setback is 20 ft from the sea wall, or from a line extended between existing sea walls where there is none. Lots on fresh water need at least 200 ft of shore frontage, and lots on tidal water 150 ft.

Flood zones: the Code Enforcement Officer is the floodplain administrator under Chapter 116, which adopts the FEMA maps dated July 17, 2024 and a July 2024 map revision. New or substantially improved homes in Zone AE must have the lowest floor, basement included, at least 1 ft above base flood elevation; in Zone AO, at least 1 ft above the depth number on the map, or 3 ft above the highest adjacent grade where no depth is given. Homes in Zone VE and Coastal AE must instead be elevated on posts or columns with the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member at least 1 ft above base flood elevation (§116-6R). Flood work needs a separate flood permit, and the Town posts an elevation certification form and a handout on the 50% substantial improvement rule.

No growth cap: Wells no longer limits residential building permits by number. Chapter 175 (Residential Growth Management) of the Town Code is reserved, and the provision tying residential building permits to it was repealed on November 6, 2012.

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 Wells 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 state building and energy codes
• Maine Office of Community Affairs code enforcement
• Wells official online code-enforcement resources
• Wells town building permits ordinance
• Wells official Code Enforcement and fee notice
• Wells Code Enforcement fee schedule (adopted July 21, 2026)
• Wells Standard Building Permit application
• Wells new single-family home submittal handout
• Wells: When is a building permit required?
• Wells electrical permit requirements memo
• Wells certificate of occupancy checklist
• Wells Land Use Code (Chapter 145)
• Wells Floodplain Management (Chapter 116)

Wells permit FAQs

Who issues building permits in Wells, Maine?

The Code Enforcement Office at Town Hall, 208 Sanford Road (207-646-5187). It also issues plumbing, septic and flood permits; electrical permits come from the State.

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

$250 plus $0.60 per sq ft of all levels, plus $200 for each bedroom over three, under the schedule adopted July 21, 2026. A 3,300 sq ft three-bedroom house comes to $2,230.

Do I need a permit to replace windows or a kitchen?

Yes. Wells requires a permit for any replacement window or exterior door in a home, kitchen renovations, and adding or replacing insulation or sheetrock.

How long does a Wells building permit take?

The ordinance allows 10 business days for a decision, but the Code Office currently quotes up to about 14 business days. Permits are never issued the same day.

Does the Town issue electrical permits?

No. Commercial and multi-unit work is permitted and inspected by the State. In a new single-family home a Master Electrician needs no permit, while a homeowner doing the wiring gets a State permit.

What happens if I start without a permit?

The permit fee doubles, and cost-based projects add $250 above $1,000, $500 above $5,000 or $1,000 above $25,000.

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