Billerica, Massachusetts Building Permit Guide

Billerica’s Building Department, on the ground floor of Town Hall at 365 Boston Road (Room G2, 978-671-0959), reviews, permits and inspects new construction and alterations across the town, issues the electrical, plumbing and gas permits, and enforces the zoning bylaw. Applications go through the Town’s online permitting portal. Under the fee schedule the Select Board approved on December 4, 2023, residential work costs $12 per $1,000 of estimated construction cost, with a $40 minimum.

Inspections are booked by leaving a voicemail on the inspectors’ direct line, 978-215-1925, at least 24 hours ahead, and the Town places the Zoning Board of Appeals under the Building Department’s purview, so zoning relief and building permits start at the same office. Zoning questions such as setbacks are settled by bringing the certified plot plan and deed to a Building Inspector at the counter.

What work requires a building permit in Billerica?

The Building Department’s FAQ says a permit is needed to construct, reconstruct, alter, repair, remove or demolish any one- or two-family dwelling or accessory structure, and it names swimming pools and earth migration among the accessory work covered. Its list of required forms shows the jobs it handles most: additions, decks and sheds, new houses, demolition, detached garages and accessory structures, pools, interior renovations of kitchens, baths and basements, and siding, roofing, window and insulation work.

The FAQ is plain that sheds need permits, so a small garden shed that might be permit-free elsewhere is not here. A certified plot plan is needed whenever a structure or living space is added; the Town suggests looking for it in closing papers or asking the Building or Engineering Department before paying a surveyor.

What Billerica decides and what the state holds

780 CMR, issued by the Board of Building Regulations and Standards, sets the construction rules, and Billerica enforces it without local amendment. Town Meeting and the Select Board control the rest: the zoning bylaw (current edition October 2025), the General By-Laws, including the Wetlands Protection By-Law and the Demolition Review By-Law, the historic districts by-laws, and the fee schedule. Article IX, section 15 of the General By-Laws (October 2023 compilation) adopts the Stretch Energy Code for residential and commercial buildings, effective January 1, 2019, enforced by the inspector of buildings or building commissioner.

Billerica building department: who handles permitting

The Building Department is led by Mark LaLumiere, Director of Permitting and Building Commissioner, with local inspectors, a plumbing and gas inspector and an inspector of wires. It issues building and occupancy permits, and the Town describes the Zoning Board of Appeals as falling under its purview.

Billerica permit types and application documents

Building permits are filed on the Town’s online permitting portal. The Building Department Documents page holds the residential and commercial applications, the Homeowner License Exemption, the Residential Construction Plan Requirements, cost affidavits for the estimated and final construction cost, a checklist for finishing a habitable basement, the electrical load calculation worksheet, and the sign, sheet metal and trench permit forms. Billerica also publishes an ADU guide and a DPW policy for accessory dwelling units.

Residential permits

Every residential job starts with the building permit application, the Construction Supervisor License and Home Improvement Contractor details or the homeowner affidavit, the workers’ compensation affidavit, and either a signed contract or the homeowner’s signature. New houses and additions add a certified plot plan (mortgage inspection plans are not accepted), three sets of plans stamped by the Fire Department with any beam or engineering calculations, and energy compliance calculations with a HERS rating. Decks, sheds and detached garages need two plan sets and a plot plan; pools need a security fencing plan and an electrical permit; demolition needs proof that all utilities have been shut off. A homeowner may pull a building permit after filing the homeowner exemption form, but not an electrical, plumbing or gas permit.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial work uses the commercial application and pays the commercial rates below. New businesses start with a business use approval form at the Building Department to confirm the use is allowed in the zoning district. For larger projects the Town sets out five stages: a letter of intent and early talks with staff, a Technical Review Team meeting on concept plans, final proposals to the permit granting boards, the public hearings and building permit, and pre-construction meetings through final occupancy sign-off. Projects under construction control file a final cost affidavit before occupancy, and any difference from the estimated cost is charged at $15 per $1,000.

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

What comes before the building permit

• Zoning: variances and special permits from the Zoning Board of Appeals start with a letter of intent describing the work; the Planning Board is the special permit granting authority for most larger projects.
• Wetlands: the Conservation Commission applies the state Wetlands Protection Act and Billerica’s own Wetlands Protection By-Law (Article XXII of the General By-Laws).
• Health and septic: the Board of Health enforces the State Sanitary Code and handles Title 5 matters for lots on septic.
• Historic buildings: the Demolition Review By-Law covers buildings on the National or State Register, in a local historic district, on the Town’s inventory of historic properties, or voted significant by the commission. Inside a historic district the Historic Districts Commission reviews the application; elsewhere the Billerica Historical Commission does. Within 30 days of finding a building significant, the commission holds a public hearing on whether it should be preferably preserved, and during any six-month delay the owner must keep making good-faith efforts to find a buyer or another use that would save it.
• Street work: trenching needs the Town’s trench permit, and work in a public way a DPW street opening permit.

Billerica permit costs and fees

All three Building Department fee schedules carry the note “BOS Approved 12/4/23”. Every building permit carries a $30 administrative processing fee, paid when you apply and deducted from the total fee; small accessory structures are exempt.

The estimated cost is set from a square-foot figure: $250 per square foot for residential work and $350 for commercial, based on the state average and adjusted each year, so the Building Inspector, not the applicant’s quote, fixes the valuation. Land value is excluded. Work started without a valid permit pays double, fees are paid when the permit issues and are non-refundable, and the applicant pays for any outside consultant’s plan review.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical permits are issued only to Massachusetts licensed electricians, and plumbing and gas permits only to Massachusetts licensed plumbers and gas fitters. When the trade work is part of a building permit, its fee is a share of that permit’s estimated construction cost; on its own, it is priced by rooms or fixtures.

EV charger applications must include the residential electrical load calculation worksheet. Unless a line says otherwise, trade permits carry the same $40 residential and $100 commercial minimums as building permits.

How to apply for a Billerica building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The building official has 30 days from filing to grant or refuse the permit in writing under 780 CMR 105.3.1. In Billerica a few steps sit outside the department’s own clock: the Fire Department stamp on plans for new houses and additions, any ZBA or Planning Board hearing, and the DPW sign-off on sewer, water, highway and engineering at occupancy, which takes at least 48 hours. Plot plans copied from a mortgage inspection are rejected.

Billerica inspections and final approval

The Town says the quickest way to book is to call the inspectors’ direct line, 978-215-1925, and leave a voicemail. Every inspection needs 24 hours’ notice. Building inspections run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; electrical and plumbing and gas inspections from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., booked with those inspectors during their early-morning office hours. A re-inspection costs $75.

Before occupancy, the occupancy permit is left at the DPW Administration Office at Town Hall so that the sewer, water, highway and engineering divisions can each confirm their requirements are met and billing is current; allow at least 48 hours. Buildings needing a certificate of inspection pay $100.

Massachusetts building 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

Billerica building permit FAQ

Who issues building permits in Billerica?

The Building Department in Room G2 on the ground floor of Town Hall, 365 Boston Road, led by Building Commissioner Mark LaLumiere. It also issues electrical, plumbing and gas permits.

How much is a building permit in Billerica?

$12 per $1,000 of estimated construction cost for residential work ($40 minimum) and $15 per $1,000 for commercial ($100 minimum), with a $30 processing fee paid up front and credited to the total.

Do I need a permit for a shed in Billerica?

Yes. Sheds need permits ($20 under 100 sq ft), and must meet the zoning setbacks: 7 feet 6 inches side and 10 feet rear up to 100 sq ft, 15 and 20 feet above that.

Can a homeowner pull a permit in Billerica?

A building permit, yes, after filing the homeowner exemption form. Electrical, plumbing and gas permits go only to Massachusetts licensed tradespeople.

How do I schedule an inspection?

Leave a voicemail on the inspectors’ direct line, 978-215-1925, at least 24 hours ahead.

Can an old building be demolished right away?

Not if it is significant under the Demolition Review By-Law. If the commission finds it preferably preserved, no demolition permit may issue for six months, and an illegal demolition bars any permit on the lot for two years.

How do I look up permits on a property?

Use the public permit report on the Town’s MapsOnline site, or ask the Building Department for older files.

Billerica permit search and official resources

The Building Department publishes a public permit report through MapsOnline, and the Town’s interactive map shows zoning, wetlands and other layers by parcel. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists Billerica (community 250183) as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program, with flood maps effective July 8, 2025.

• Billerica Building Department
• Building Department hours and inspectors
• Billerica online permitting portal
• Billerica public permit report
• Building Department documents
• Building permit fee schedule (approved December 4, 2023)
• Electrical permit fee schedule
• Plumbing and gas permit fee schedule
• Residential permit application required forms
• Building Department FAQ
• Local permits and licenses for projects
• Town Charter, General By-Laws and Zoning By-Law
• Billerica ADU guide
• Billerica interactive maps
• FEMA Community Status Book, Massachusetts
• Massachusetts State Building Code, 780 CMR

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