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 50 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 Laurel issues its own building, electrical and mechanical permits through its Fire Marshal and Permit Services office at 8103 Sandy Spring Road (301-725-5300), with plumbing through WSSC Water. The City of Bowie, the City of College Park, 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.
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Get a free quote →What requires a building permit in Prince George's County?
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 ordinance and its stormwater programme under MDE criteria, and the use and occupancy permit and the third-party plan review and inspection programmes the department mandates and certifies.
Maryland enforces one statewide set of codes, the Maryland Building Performance Standards (COMAR 09.12.51), through the county or city permit office, which may amend the building and residential codes for local conditions. Maryland rules
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.
Not sure this scope needs a permit?
Get a free quote →| 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 |
In 2025, building permits issued in unincorporated Prince Georges County authorized 1,978 new privately owned housing units, 1,418 of them single-family homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey.
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 10 percent is applied. Contractors improving a house hold the state home improvement licence; new-home builders show the state builder registration.
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
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. Maryland sets no deadline for deciding a building permit (though since 1 October 2026 the office must decide within 30 days whether a housing application is complete) — Prince George's County publishes its own targets, and they are the number to plan against.
Rather talk it over?
Call 1-855-478-4290 →Maryland licenses home improvement contractors through the Maryland Home Improvement Commission and home builders register with the Attorney General; trade licences are mostly state licences, but some counties and WSSC license or register trades themselves. Maryland rules
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 | 10 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.
Rather not deal with the Prince George's County building department?
Get a free quote →Trade permits and who may pull them
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 — a WSSC Water-licensed plumber or gasfitter; plumbing and gas permits and inspections from WSSC Water (301-206-4003), not the county
- 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
Trade work is permitted separately and inspected locally or, for electrical work in many counties, by a state-certified private inspection agency. Maryland rules
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 home builder registration number (required by state law for new homes) or, where the office asks for it, the Maryland Home Improvement Commission licence 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.
Want this handled start to finish?
Get a free quote →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
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →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 50 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.