York, Maine Building Permit Guide

In the Town of York, building, plumbing, septic, shoreland and flood permits are issued by the Code Enforcement Office at Town Hall, 186 York Street, and since October 27, 2025 building and plumbing applications, payments and inspection requests have gone through the Town’s OpenGov portal. A building permit costs $10 per $1,000 of project value with a $50 minimum, and the office asks applicants to allow 7 to 10 business days for processing.

What needs a permit in York?

York’s Supplemental Building Ordinance requires building permits wherever the International Residential Code (Section R105) or the International Building Code (Section 105) does. The Code Enforcement FAQs add York’s own rules for common jobs:

Who issues building permits in York?

The Code Enforcement Office administers the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code in York, currently the 2021 ICC codes, through the Town’s appointed Code Enforcement Officers. The office also issues Use Permits other than those reserved to the Planning Board, plumbing and septic permits, shoreland, wetland, watershed and flood permits, and well permits, and the Code Enforcement Officer serves as York’s floodplain administrator.

The office is open by appointment only: because of the volume of permits and inspections there are no walk-in hours. Counter appointments are available on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings from 9 to 11 a.m., booked by phone or email.

York’s OpenGov portal and forms

Since October 27, 2025, building and plumbing applications, payments, inspection scheduling, complaints, business licences and Historic District Commission applications have all moved to OpenGov. Applicants sign up for an account first, and OpenGov sends a notice when the permit is approved and ready for payment. Water and sewer sign-offs are now given inside OpenGov as well. An issued permit can be amended when the scope changes but the work is still part of the original project, such as enlarging a planned 10 by 10 ft deck to 15 by 10 ft.

Forms the Town still posts include the HHE-200 septic application (and HHE-200A for a tank replacement only), the well permit, the driveway installation permit, the swimming pool, spa and hot tub form, Central Maine Power’s 1190 and 1360 forms for new electric service, ADU deed restrictions, and two third-party inspector forms.

Third-party inspectors: with the Code Office’s prior approval, a state-licensed third-party inspector can carry out the footing, foundation, sonotube, waterproofing, perimeter drain, framing, insulation and fire-blocking inspections. The request form must be filed and approved before the inspector is used, and a valid building permit must already be in place.

Electrical, plumbing and septic permits in York

Electrical: since May 2023 the Code Office no longer carries out electrical inspections on residential projects. Instead, the licensed electrician signs the Town’s residential Electrician Affidavit, which is needed before the permit can be closed or final occupancy granted. Commercial and multi-family projects still need State electrical inspections.

Plumbing: plumbing permits, applied for in OpenGov, are issued only to Maine-licensed Master Plumbers, and to homeowners doing the plumbing in their own primary, year-round single-family home. A homeowner permit is not available if the house is rented or for sale, and the homeowner must buy all the materials and install and test the plumbing personally.

Septic: a permit is needed before installing a new or replacement septic system or repairing one, on the state HHE-200 design form. Existing septic designs can be searched on the State of Maine’s site, which the Code Enforcement page links to.

Sewer: where public sewer is available, every building permit application needs York Sewer District sign-off. New homes, teardowns and rebuilds, and remodels or additions also need a District permit, new connections are inspected, and a new home pays the District’s impact fee under its approved rate schedule.

York permit fees

Building fees are set by York’s Supplemental Building Ordinance (amended July 14, 2020) and the Town’s permit fee list dated July 2024; the Selectboard packets from June to September 2026 contain no change to them.

The Town’s own example: a $9,125 project pays $91.25. Under the ordinance, the Tax Assessor also keeps minimum square-footage rates based on fair market value, and the Code Enforcement Officer charges whichever of the two amounts is larger. The $100 after-the-fact charge can be waived for good cause, the $50 re-inspection fee applies when the work is not ready when the officer arrives, and any outside technical review the Town pays for is billed to the applicant before the occupancy permit is issued.

School impact fee: under Section 18.12 of the zoning ordinance and the Selectmen’s school impact fee regulations (current version June 13, 2011), every new dwelling unit, every addition that creates a new bedroom and every conversion of a seasonal home to year-round use pays a school impact fee to the Town Treasurer before the certificate of occupancy is issued. Units with 1 or 2 bedrooms pay nothing; with 3 bedrooms a single-family home pays $1,700, an apartment $1,900 and a mobile home $2,700; with 4 or more bedrooms each pays $3,400. An addition pays the difference between the two rates, so adding a fourth bedroom to a three-bedroom house costs $1,700, and a seasonal conversion pays as new construction. Units in elderly housing or congregate care facilities, and seasonal units not habitable in winter, are exempt. For a home on a septic system, the bedroom count is the one on the HHE-200 septic application.

Applying and permit life in York

Applications are completed and documents uploaded in OpenGov, and York posts the week’s building permit applications on its website. The office is digitizing its property files, and an electronic copy of a property file takes 7 to 10 days. During busy times of year, processing takes 7 to 10 business days.

Under the Supplemental Building Ordinance, every building permit expires 3 years after it is issued, whatever stage the work has reached, and earlier if the work is not started or is suspended as the IRC and IBC set out. No new or renovated space may be used in any way before the occupancy permit, not even for storage or furniture, unless the Code Enforcement Officer gives prior written approval for a room that has passed inspection; occupying early can stop an inspection and bring escalating fines.

How to get a York building permit: 6 steps

Inspections in York

For permits whose number begins with a letter, inspections are scheduled in OpenGov, the same system that issued the permit. Permits issued before the switch, which begin with a number, are inspected by calling the Code Office at 207-363-1002, Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The wait for an inspection runs from a few days to two weeks, depending on the time of year.

Where the Code Office has approved a third-party inspector, that inspector’s report covers the approved stages; the officer still issues the occupancy permit. A $50 re-inspection fee can be charged if the work is not ready, and it must be paid before the repeat inspection is scheduled.

Shoreland, watershed and flood rules in York

Shoreland zone: the zone covers the 250 ft around water bodies and wetlands and the 75 ft along protected streams. Within it, cutting and clearing, timber harvesting, filling, any earth moving however small, and any change to a building need a shoreland permit. Setbacks vary by sub-district and wetland size: generally 100 ft from the ocean, rivers and wetlands over 10 acres, and 75 ft from protected streams and wetlands of 4 to 10 acres. Wetlands under 4 acres have no setback, but no disturbance or fill is allowed without a permit, and York allows wetland fill only to reach an upland site when there is no reasonable alternative, which is stricter than state rules.

Watershed Protection Overlay: new lots in this district must be at least 10 acres with 200 ft of road frontage, and all buildings and wastewater disposal systems must be set back at least 500 ft from the normal high water mark of a public water supply and 250 ft from all streams, including tributary streams.

Flood zones: any development in a 100-year flood zone needs a flood permit. York’s Floodplain Management Ordinance, certified in May 2025, adopts the FEMA maps dated July 17, 2024 and requires new or substantially improved homes in Zones AE and AO to have the lowest floor, basement included, at least 2 ft above base flood elevation. In Zone AO the lowest floor must also sit above the highest adjacent grade by at least 2 ft more than the depth shown on the flood map, or by at least 3 ft where no depth is given, and homes on slopes need drainage paths that guide floodwater away. In Zone VE and Coastal AE homes must be elevated on posts or columns with the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member at least 2 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.

Water and wells: a building permit needs sign-off from the water and sewer utilities serving the lot. York issues its own $25 well permit, and its Well Ordinance bars drilling or digging new wells in the York Beach Village Center zone (treated as the former BUS-3 zone) and the RES-5, RES-6 and RES-7 zones except in the cases the ordinance lists, because those areas are largely served by public water.

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 York 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
• York zoning and floodplain ordinances
• York Code Enforcement / OpenGov instructions
• York OpenGov permit portal
• York Code Enforcement FAQs
• York applications, forms and handouts
• York permit fees (July 2024)
• York Supplemental Building Ordinance
• York request for use of a third-party inspector
• York Sewer District permitting process
• York Floodplain Management Ordinance (certified May 2025)
• York school impact fee regulations (June 13, 2011)

York permit FAQs

Who issues building permits in York, Maine?

The Town’s Code Enforcement Office at Town Hall, 186 York Street (207-363-1002, yorkcode@yorkmaine.org). Applications are filed in OpenGov, and the office sees visitors by appointment only.

How much is a building permit in York?

$10 per $1,000 of project value with a $50 minimum, so a $9,125 project pays $91.25. Permits in the shoreland or flood zones carry an extra fee, and the officer can charge more where the Assessor’s square-footage rates give a higher figure. A new home with 3 or more bedrooms also pays a school impact fee ($1,700 or $3,400 for a single-family house) before the occupancy permit.

How long does it take to get a permit?

Allow 7 to 10 business days for processing. Inspections can take from a few days to two weeks to schedule, depending on the season.

Does York inspect residential electrical work?

No, not since May 2023. The electrician files the Town’s Electrician Affidavit instead; commercial and multi-family work still needs State electrical inspections.

Can I do my own plumbing in York?

Only in your own primary, year-round single-family home that is not rented or for sale, buying the materials and installing and testing the plumbing yourself. Otherwise a Maine Master Plumber must pull the permit.

Do I need a permit for a fence?

Only if it is over 8 ft high, or the property is in the shoreland zone or a 100-year floodplain.

How long is a York building permit valid?

No longer than 3 years from the date it is issued.

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