Agawam, Massachusetts Building Permit Guide

Agawam’s Building Department, at the Public Works Municipal Annex, 1000 Suffield Street, issues building, electrical, plumbing and gas permits and enforces the zoning ordinance for the whole town. Permits can be filed online through OpenGov or on paper forms, and building fees under Chapter 103 of the town code are mostly per square foot: $0.45 for a new house and $0.30 for an addition or alteration, with a $100 minimum.

The office is open Monday to Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Paper applications can be handed in, mailed, or left in the black drop box to the left of the annex’s front door.

What requires a building permit in Agawam?

Agawam’s permit list is broad, and the department names several exterior and heating jobs specifically:

What Agawam decides and what the state decides

Chapter 82 of the town code adopts the state building code for Agawam, and today that means 780 CMR, the code the state Board of Building Regulations and Standards writes and towns cannot amend. Agawam’s own decisions are its zoning ordinance (Chapter 180), its fee chapter, a demolition delay for historically significant buildings, and its 2016 vote to use the Stretch energy code. Fees for town-owned buildings are waived by the town code, and religious buildings are exempt from inspection certificate fees, though the permits and certificates themselves are still required.

Agawam building department: who handles permitting

The Building Department handles building inspections, building code and zoning enforcement, and the electrical, plumbing and gas inspections, and it tests the town’s weighing and measuring devices. Appeals on land use go to the Zoning Board of Appeals. The Inspector of Buildings sets the fee for any work the schedule does not list and decides how a permit is classified when there is doubt.

Permit types in Agawam

Residential permits

The department’s page states two things that need reading together. Its general rule is that permits are applied for by licensed building, plumbing, gas and electrical contractors; but it also gives homeowners a route for an owner-occupied property, using the first form on its list, the Building Permit Application for a One or Two Family Dwelling. Trade permits stay with the licensed contractor. The one- and two-family fee is $0.45 per square foot, counting an attached garage but not a basement without habitable rooms, while additions, alterations and decks are $0.30 per square foot. Exterior jobs such as roofing, siding, windows and doors have flat $45 fees on a house.

Building or remodeling a home here? Alliance handles residential permit expediting, so the crew isn't waiting on the counter.

Commercial permits

Business, institutional and industrial buildings use the Building Permit Application for Other than One and Two Family Dwelling. New buildings pay $0.45 per square foot with a $400 minimum, and additions or alterations $0.40 per square foot with a $200 minimum. Commercial roofing is priced by area ($0.05 per square foot, or $0.10 with structural changes), replacement windows at $7.50 each, and re-occupying a space with no work at $45. Fire suppression and fire warning systems cost $75 up to 5,000 square feet, then $0.05 and $0.02 per square foot respectively. A business with its own electrical maintenance staff can take an annual $500 blanket electrical permit. Signs cost $60 each and tents $50, and communication towers have their own lines: $2 per foot of new tower, $250 for an equipment cabinet and $100 per new or replacement antenna.

For tenant improvements and new commercial builds, Alliance handles commercial permit applications through issuance. More on this: commercial building permits explained.

What comes before the building permit

• Zoning: the department enforces the zoning ordinance and offers an Application for Zoning Determination; a variance or special use permit before the Zoning Board of Appeals costs $250, and a City Council special permit $250.
• Conservation Commission: wetlands and riverfront work needs the commission’s approval under the state Wetlands Protection Act before building.
• Health Department: Title 5 septic approval where a lot is not sewered; the town reports the Health Department temporarily on the basement level of its building while its offices are renovated.
• Demolition delay: buildings on the Agawam Inventory of Historic Structures or the National Register go to the Historical Commission, and one found historically significant cannot be demolished for at least six months.
• Smoke and CO: before a sale, the Fire Department inspects smoke and CO alarms ($50), booked online through OpenGov.

The demolition delay in Section 82-3 of the town code runs in stages. The Inspector of Buildings sends any demolition application for a listed building to Planning and Community Development, which makes an initial determination within five days. A positive finding sends it to the Historical Commission, which must hold a public hearing within 30 days, advertised in a local newspaper at least 14 days ahead, with notice mailed to the applicant and affected owners. If the commission decides demolition would not harm the town’s heritage, it tells the inspector within 10 days, and the permit can issue once that notice arrives or 15 days after the hearing. If it finds the building historically significant, the six-month wait begins, during which the commission and town departments help look for buyers, grants or other ways to keep it; the commission can release the permit sooner if it is satisfied no one is willing to preserve the building.

Agawam building permit fees

Agawam’s fees are adopted by the town council in Chapter 103 of the town code; the building section was last amended on April 4, 2022. The department’s web table shows some different figures and wording (for example, it counts a finished basement in a new house and lists $75 for a fence over 7 feet), so the adopted code is used below.

Worked example. A 400-square-foot family-room addition costs 400 × $0.30 = $120, above the $100 minimum. Starting building, plumbing or gas work before the permit adds $50 to the fee, and the code also provides for a fine of twice the permit fee for proceeding before a permit is granted or for work left off the application on purpose.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical, plumbing and gas permits are applied for by licensed electrical contractors, plumbing contractors (lawn irrigation included) and gas fitters, online or on the Commonwealth’s uniform plumbing and gas fitting applications that the department posts. The electrical permit should be taken out before work starts and no later than five days after; after that, $50 is added.

Building, plumbing and gas need separate permits even on one job. The person supervising structural work holds a state Construction Supervisor License, and a contractor working on an existing owner-occupied home also carries Home Improvement Contractor registration.

How to apply for an Agawam building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The state code gives the building official 30 days from filing to approve or deny an application (780 CMR 105.3.1). In Agawam, the things most likely to stretch that are a missing zoning determination, a Conservation Commission filing, or a demolition of an inventoried building, which goes to the Planning and Community Development office for an initial determination within five days and can then wait for a Historical Commission hearing. The department invites questions about the process at 413-821-0632 before filing.

Inspections in Agawam

The Building Department’s own inspectors cover building, electrical, plumbing and gas, so the same department inspects every trade on a typical job. Each failed inspection costs $50 to repeat, under the town code. When the work is complete the department issues a certificate for use, which has its own form (the web table lists $45), and buildings on the state’s periodic schedule file a Certificate of Inspection Request Form (the web table lists $50 each under 500 occupants and $100 over 500). Separately, the Fire Department carries out smoke and carbon monoxide alarm inspections required when a home is sold; they run Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., cost $50, and a re-inspection costs $25.

Energy code and state code in Agawam

Agawam adopted the Stretch energy code by town resolution TR-2016-64 on December 5, 2016, effective January 2, 2017, including later editions; it is Article II of Chapter 82 of the town code. The code shows no adoption of the Municipal Opt-in Specialized code, so new homes in Agawam follow the Stretch code.

Massachusetts has one State Building Code, 780 CMR, for every city and town; towns cannot rewrite it, though many opt into a stricter energy code. The trades run under their own state codes. Massachusetts rules

Agawam permit search and official resources

Permits filed online can be looked up in the town’s OpenGov portal by address. For older permits, plans or certificates, contact the Building Department at 413-821-0632 or file a public records request with the town.

• Agawam Building Department: forms and filing
• Agawam OpenGov permit portal
• Building Department permit fees (web table)
• Chapter 103, Fees (eCode360)
• Chapter 82, Building Construction: demolition delay and Stretch code (eCode360)
• Chapter 180, Zoning (eCode360)
• Building permit application, one- or two-family dwelling
• Building permit application, other buildings
• Application for zoning determination
• Zoning Board of Appeals
• Conservation Commission
• Health Department
• Fire Department smoke and CO inspections
• FEMA Community Status Book, Massachusetts
• Massachusetts building energy codes
• Massachusetts State Building Code, 780 CMR
• Massachusetts city and town Census data

Agawam building permit FAQ

How much does a building permit cost in Agawam?

Under Chapter 103, a new one- or two-family home is $0.45 per square foot and an addition or alteration $0.30 per square foot with a $100 minimum; a 400-square-foot addition pays $120. Roofing, siding and window jobs on a house are $45.

Do I need a permit to replace windows or a roof in Agawam?

Yes. The department requires permits for siding, roofing, windows and exterior doors, as well as for pellet and wood stoves.

Can I file an Agawam permit online?

Yes, building, electrical, gas and plumbing permits can all be filed in the town’s OpenGov portal. Paper forms are still accepted in person, by mail or in the drop box, paid by check or money order.

Can a homeowner get a building permit in Agawam?

For an owner-occupied one- or two-family home, yes: the department directs homeowners to its one- and two-family application. Electrical, plumbing and gas permits are for licensed contractors.

Does Agawam have a demolition delay?

Yes. A building on the town’s historic inventory or the National Register that the Historical Commission finds historically significant cannot be demolished for at least six months after that finding.

Do I need a permit for a fence in Agawam?

Only for a fence over 7 feet, which the state code’s exemption list sets as the limit. The department’s web table charges $75 for such a fence, while the adopted town code lists a $45 residential fence fee.

Which energy code applies in Agawam?

The Stretch energy code, in effect since January 2, 2017.

Is Agawam in the National Flood Insurance Program?

Yes. FEMA lists Agawam as a participating community, with flood maps dated July 16, 2013.

Simplify Agawam permitting with Alliance Permitting

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in Massachusetts. 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 Agawam permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.