Prince George's County's Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement at 9400 Peppercorn Place in Largo issues residential and commercial building permits, building trade permits, use and occupancy permits, temporary use and occupancy permits, raze permits, sign permits and site and road permits — and it draws a line most jurisdictions blur. A building permit authorises construction; a use and occupancy permit certifies that the business identified meets local zoning and safety requirements and may legally operate at that location. A tenant changing only the owner's or trading name, with no change of use and no construction, may take the administrative use and occupancy permit through the Virtual Permit Center instead of the full process.
The county's other distinguishing feature is peer review. Its third-party plan review programme lets owners and applicants engage county-certified peer reviewers at their own cost in place of county staff, which the department says can reduce plan review and approval time by up to fifty percent, and a Third-Party Inspection Program agreement can now be filed early in the commercial permit process. Applications are completed online in the Momentum portal and printed in three copies before a visit to the permit centre, with plans uploaded through ePlan.
This guide covers Prince George's County. The City of Bowie, the City of College Park, Laurel, Greenbelt and Hyattsville add municipal approvals of their own; confirm both county and municipal requirements before filing.
Two permits, two purposes. The department is explicit that a use and occupancy permit indicates the business may legally operate at the location, while a building permit authorises construction to occur. A tenant moving into existing space with no change of use and no alteration may qualify for the administrative use and occupancy permit through the Virtual Permit Center — the expedited path described in the department's own Techno-Gram.
What requires a building permit in Prince George's County?
Maryland runs on one statewide instrument, the Maryland Building Performance Standards (COMAR 09.12.51), and enforces it locally. The state adopts each new edition of the International Building Code, the International Residential Code and the International Energy Conservation Code, with Maryland modifications, and every jurisdiction must adopt and enforce the same edition within twelve months — counties and the cities that keep their own permit offices may amend the building and residential codes to suit local conditions, but may make the energy code and the Maryland Accessibility Code only more stringent, never less. The 2021 editions, effective statewide on May 29, 2023 with local enforcement required by May 29, 2024, replaced the 2018 editions; the Maryland Building Rehabilitation Code carries the existing building code beside them. What is local in Prince George's County is the enforcing office, its amendments, its fee schedule, and the grading, stormwater, forest conservation and Critical Area approvals that run ahead of the building permit.
The codes draw the exemption line and the local amendments move it. The IRC's work-exempt-from-permit list — small accessory structures, low fences, minor repairs — applies as Prince George's County adopted it, and the jurisdiction's own ordinance may narrow it. Electrical, plumbing and gas work carry their own permits under the state licensing boards' rules, and zoning, grading and sediment control approvals are separate from all of them.
Typically permit required
- Any business occupying a location, which needs a use and occupancy permit whether or not construction is involved
- Any structural change or change of use of a building, which needs a building permit as well
- Site, road and grading work, raze permits and signs, each permitted separately by the department
- New buildings, additions and any structural work on an existing building
- Interior alterations that reconfigure space, add plumbing fixtures or extend circuits, under the building or residential code and the Maryland Building Rehabilitation Code
- Decks, accessory structures above the local exemption threshold, retaining walls and swimming pools, including above-ground pools
Often exempt
- A change of owner's or tenant's name with no change of use and no construction, which may take the expedited administrative use and occupancy permit
- Painting, wallpapering, interior finishes, cabinets, flooring and trim
- Like-for-like replacement of windows and doors in the same opening
- Small detached accessory structures below the jurisdiction's exemption threshold and fences below its height limit — the zoning rules still apply
- Minor repairs that do not remove or alter structural members
What is actually local, and what is not
The code editions are the state's. Prince George's County's layer is the enforcing office and its amendments to the building and residential codes, its fee schedule, its grading and stormwater ordinances under the state's delegation, and the use and occupancy permit and the third-party plan review and inspection programmes the department mandates and certifies.
Who handles permitting in Prince George's County?
The Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement processes permits, collects fees, processes bonds, approves building, site and road and health plans against the building, fire and life safety, grading, road, watershed and floodplain codes, issues the permits and inspects the work. Its health division approves on-site sewage disposal, wells, food service facilities and public pools, the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission reviews planning matters, and the county reports its permit data to the state under House Bill 131.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Department | Prince George's County Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement |
| Office | 9400 Peppercorn Place, Suite 100, Largo, MD 20774 |
| Phone | (301) 636-2000 |
| Building permits | (301) 636-2050; applications in person at the first floor or through ePlan, never by post |
| Inspections | Scheduled online or through the county's interactive voice response system at (301) 755-9000 |
| Peer review | County-certified third-party plan reviewers at the applicant's cost |
Permit types
Residential permits
A Prince George's house project completes the application in Momentum, prints three copies, and files at Largo or uploads through ePlan; the department publishes a homeowner residential permitting guide and a Virtual Permit Center walk-through path for homeowner permits. Grading fees ride alongside the building permit fee where grading applies, a small planning commission charge is added, and a technology fee of ten percent is applied. Contractors improving a house hold the state home improvement licence; new-home builders show the state builder registration.
How Maryland contractor credentials work
Maryland has no state general contractor license for commercial work, but home improvement is licensed outright: the Maryland Home Improvement Commission licenses contractors who alter, repair or improve residential property, with an examination, proof of financial solvency and a guaranty fund that pays homeowners for a licensee's defective or incomplete work. New construction is different again: a home builder registers with the Home Builder Registration Unit of the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division under the Maryland Home Builder Registration Act, and the registration number goes on the permit. Electricians, plumbers and gas fitters, and HVACR contractors are licensed statewide by their boards at the Department of Labor, and Prince George's County verifies those licenses at the permit counter. Owner-occupants may build on their own home without the home improvement license, and Prince George's County licenses no trades of its own beyond any local registration its ordinance keeps.
Commercial permits
Commercial work in Prince George's County can be routed through certified peer reviewers instead of county staff, with the Third-Party Inspection Program agreement filed early in the permit process, and townhouse and residential construction cost is set from the county's approved construction price list — one third collected at application and the remainder before issuance. A change of use needs both the building permit and a new use and occupancy permit.
Prior approvals, plan review and the local clock
A Maryland building permit is one application reviewed by the local office's plan reviewers for the building, residential and energy codes, with the electrical, plumbing and mechanical trades permitted alongside it. The approvals that run ahead of it are the ones that decide the schedule: zoning certification, a grading permit with a sediment and erosion control plan approved by the soil conservation district, stormwater management under the Maryland Department of the Environment's delegation, forest conservation under the Forest Conservation Act where the site disturbs enough land, and Critical Area review within a thousand feet of tidal waters. In Prince George's County the department itself reviews grading, watershed and floodplain compliance alongside the building code, the health division approves septic and wells, and the planning commission's review runs beside them. Unlike the states with a statutory review clock, Maryland leaves review times to each jurisdiction — Prince George's County publishes its own targets, and they are the number to plan against.
Prince George's County permit costs and fees
Fees follow the department's published fee schedule, by building type, project and trade, with a technology fee added and grading and planning charges collected alongside.
| Item | Fee or rule |
|---|---|
| Building permit | By building type, project and trade under the department's fee schedule |
| Technology fee | Ten percent added to the permit fee |
| Grading | Grading fee collected with the building permit where grading applies, plus a planning commission charge |
| Townhouse and residential | Construction cost from the county's approved construction price list; one third at application, the balance before issuance |
| Plan review cycles | A further fee after the fourth review cycle, each cycle, on site development and street construction permits |
| Peer review | Paid by the applicant to the certified third-party reviewer, in place of county review |
The fifth review cycle costs extra. The department's schedule charges a fee after the fourth review cycle, and for each cycle thereafter, on site development concepts, street grade establishment, street construction permits and rough and fine grading permits. Four rounds of comments are the budget; the fifth is billed.
Trade permits and who may pull them
Trade work is permitted separately from the building permit in most Maryland jurisdictions and inspected by the office's trade inspectors, with the state boards' licenses verified at issuance.
Permit required
- Business occupancy — use and occupancy permit, whether or not construction is involved
- Electrical — state-licensed master electrician; separate electrical permit
- Plumbing and gas — state-licensed master plumber or gas fitter; separate plumbing and gas permits
- HVACR — state-licensed HVACR contractor; mechanical permit
- Fire protection, alarms and sprinklers — fire marshal review, state or local, with the building permit
Typically exempt
- Like-for-like fixture, receptacle and switch replacement where the licensing boards' rules allow it
- Low-voltage and communications wiring below the local permit threshold
How to apply for a Prince George's County building permit
Zoning certification, grading and sediment control, stormwater, forest conservation and Critical Area review run ahead of the building permit.
The Maryland Home Improvement Commission license, or the home builder registration number, goes on the application.
The local application with the building, residential and energy code submittals the scope requires, and trade permits alongside.
Reviewers in the local office check the building, residential and energy codes as the jurisdiction amended them; corrections are answered in writing.
Fees follow the jurisdiction's ordinance and are due before issuance.
Footing to final by permit number, then the use and occupancy certificate that closes the permit.
Review, corrections and what actually causes delay
Prince George's County reviews through ePlan, where applicants track status by logging in, and the peer review programme is the county's own answer to review time. What delays a file here is an application posted rather than filed, a tenant occupying before the use and occupancy permit, and a site development plan pushed past its fourth review cycle.
Inspections in Prince George's County
Inspections follow the adopted codes' required sequence — footing, foundation, framing, rough trades, insulation and final — and are requested from the local office by permit number. Work that passes final receives a use and occupancy certificate for new buildings and changes of use, or a final approval on the permit for everything else. Prince George's County schedules inspections online or through its interactive voice response system, and offers virtual as well as on-site inspections; commercial projects may use the Third-Party Inspection Program, with the agreement filed early in the permit process.
Prince George's County permit search and official resources
- Prince George's County DPIE permits — permit types, Momentum, ePlan and the Virtual Permit Center
- DPIE building permits — filing at Largo and the three printed copies
- DPIE fee schedule — permit fees, technology fee and review cycle charges
- Maryland Building Performance Standards — the statewide code adoptions from the Department of Labor's Building Codes Administration
- Maryland Home Improvement Commission — home improvement contractor licensing and the guaranty fund
- Home Builder Registration Unit — new home builder registration with the Attorney General
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a building permit and a use and occupancy permit?
A use and occupancy permit indicates the business meets local zoning and safety requirements and may legally operate at the location; a building permit authorises the construction itself.
Can I speed up plan review?
Yes. The county's third-party plan review programme lets applicants engage county-certified peer reviewers at their own cost, which the department says can cut review and approval time by up to fifty percent.
Can I post my application?
No. Building permit applications and plans are not accepted through the mail; they are filed in person at 9400 Peppercorn Place or submitted through ePlan.
Is there an expedited occupancy permit?
Yes, for a change of owner's or tenant's name with no change of use and no construction — the administrative use and occupancy permit through the Virtual Permit Center.
How do I schedule an inspection?
Online, or through the county's interactive voice response system at (301) 755-9000; virtual inspections are available as well as on-site.
Which code edition applies?
The 2021 editions of the International Building Code, International Residential Code and International Energy Conservation Code with Maryland modifications, effective statewide on May 29, 2023 under the Maryland Building Performance Standards, with local enforcement required from May 29, 2024.
Simplify Prince George's County permitting with Alliance Permitting
Prince George's County gives applicants two levers most jurisdictions do not — peer review and third-party inspection — and two permits most applicants confuse. We file in Momentum, choose the review path deliberately, and keep the use and occupancy permit on its own track to the opening date.
Ready to break ground in Prince George's County sooner?
Send us the scope and the parcel. We confirm the review path with the Prince George's County Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement, assemble the submittal, file it, and track it through issuance — corrections included.
More Maryland permitting guides
More Maryland permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Prince George's County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.