Dartmouth, Massachusetts Building Permit Guide

Dartmouth’s Department of Inspectional Services, the Building Department in Town Hall at 400 Slocum Road, Room 210, issues every construction and use permit in town, from building permits to wiring, plumbing and gas, and takes applications through OpenGov. House work is charged $8 per $1,000 of estimated contract cost under the schedule effective January 1, 2022, with a $225 minimum and a $175 plan review fee on new homes and additions. Most building permits are reviewed in 7 to 10 days.

The department also interprets and enforces the zoning bylaw. Around it sit the Board of Health with its own supplemental Title 5 rules, a Conservation Commission working under a wetlands bylaw rewritten in 2024, the Russells Mills Local Historic District, and a demolition review that can hold up a demolition permit for up to six months.

The Building Department serves the whole Town of Dartmouth, Russells Mills and the other villages included. New Bedford and Westport have their own building departments.

What requires a building permit in Dartmouth?

The department’s FAQ quotes the state rule: anyone who constructs, reconstructs, alters, repairs, removes or demolishes a building or structure, changes its use or occupancy, or installs or alters equipment regulated by 780 CMR must first get a building permit. Dartmouth’s fee schedule shows how wide that net is in practice.

What the town decides and what the state holds

Dartmouth administers 780 CMR and the state electrical, plumbing, gas and mechanical codes but cannot amend them. Town meeting controls the zoning bylaw, the general bylaws on wetlands (Chapter 360), floodplain management (Chapter 363), historic districts and demolition review (Chapter 209), and the Board of Health’s supplemental Title 5 regulations; the department’s fee schedule sets the permit charges.

Dartmouth building department: who handles permitting

All construction and use permits come from the Building Department. After a permit issues, the relevant inspectors check the work, and a Certificate of Completion or Certificate of Occupancy follows once every inspection has passed. Other offices in the same Town Hall review parts of a project before the permit is released.

Permit types

Residential permits

At a minimum a Dartmouth application needs the completed online application, copies of the required licenses, the fee, an insurance certificate and plans, plus any supporting documents or department approvals the code or the project calls for, such as Fire, Engineering or Water. An application filed by anyone other than the owner or lessee needs the owner’s written authorization. Building permits normally go to holders of a Construction Supervisor License who are also registered as Home Improvement Contractors where the work is on an existing home of one to four units. A homeowner may take out a building permit on a one- or two-family dwelling they live in or will live in, using the town’s Homeowner Exemption Form, but the department warns they may be liable for contractors on the property and lose the protection of the home improvement contractor law.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial work pays $10 per $1,000 of estimated cost, with a $300 minimum and a $200 plan review fee for new buildings and additions. Plans for larger buildings follow the department’s sample code synopsis and site plan submission requirements, and buildings over 35,000 cubic feet need the initial and final construction control documents. Fire protection and mechanical systems are $195 each, and multifamily certificates of inspection are $100 for the first three units plus $15 for each unit beyond.

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

Design guides and septic follow-up

For houses the department posts the American Wood Council’s guide to wood construction in high-wind areas for the 110 mph, Exposure B wind zone, with a Massachusetts compliance checklist, and it links its own regulations for wood-burning and pellet stoves. Projects approved in stages use the Special Permit for Phased Approval form. On the health side, septic installers apply online to work in Dartmouth, submit an installer’s certification and a septic system design submittal form, and owners of innovative or alternative systems file an annual maintenance report online. The Board of Health also keeps lists of engineers and installers and a homeowner’s guide to septic care.

What comes before the building permit

• Zoning: the department applies the zoning bylaw and posts a setbacks, frontage and area chart; zoning relief goes to the Planning Board or the Zoning Board of Appeals, as the zoning bylaw assigns it. A zoning review or denial letter costs $75.
• Conservation Commission: the 2024 wetlands bylaw covers resource areas and a 100-foot buffer; the commission opens a hearing within 21 days of a complete application, and abutters must be notified at least 7 days before it.
• Board of Health and Title 5: the board applies Title 5 with its own supplemental regulations. A perc test or soil evaluation is scheduled only after the percolation test application, the online A1 site inspection application and a trench permit are filed; a house tying into town sewer needs a septic abandonment permit for the old system.
• Floodplain: in FEMA flood zones, the Building Department consults the town’s Floodplain Administrator under Chapter 363 before issuing the permit.
• Historic review: exterior work in the Russells Mills Local Historic District needs the Historic District Commission; a demolition of a building 75 years old or more goes to the Historical Commission, and a preferably preserved building can wait up to six months for both its demolition permit and any new construction permit on the lot.

Dartmouth permit costs and fees

Building fees follow the schedule effective January 1, 2022. A department notice adds that, with changes to the online system, every building fee except tents and signs is now based on estimated contract cost, with the minimums unchanged. Electrical and plumbing and gas fees follow separate schedules effective July 1, 2021. Paper applications carry a $50 administrative fee.

Worked example: a $300,000 new house is 300 × $8 = $2,400, and the schedule lists the $175 plan review fee alongside it; a $15,000 residential alteration works out to $120, above the $100 minimum. Wiring, plumbing and gas permits are separate.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Wiring, plumbing and gas permits are issued by the same department on their own applications, and the FAQ is direct: a homeowner cannot apply for any of them, because the work must be done by people licensed by the Commonwealth. Trade applications are usually reviewed in three to four days. Residential plumbing is $85 plus $10 per fixture, commercial $85 plus $13, and gas permits use a base fee that rises with the total BTU load, from $85 for under 200,000 BTU to $210 at 900,000 BTU and above for houses.

The electrical schedule repeats the state wiring rule that installations may not be covered until the inspector of wires has inspected them, with the inspector to act within 24 hours for exterior excavations and 72 hours for interior work after proper notice, weekends and holidays excluded.

Massachusetts has no general contractor license: the supervising individual holds a Construction Supervisor License, and contractors working on existing owner-occupied homes register as Home Improvement Contractors. Massachusetts rules

How to apply for a Dartmouth building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The town says building permits generally take 7 to 10 days, while larger commercial projects and new one- and two-family homes may take the full 30 days that 780 CMR 105.3.1 allows from filing. Delays usually trace back to a missing department approval, an incomplete plan set, or a septic design that still needs a perc test witnessed by the Board of Health.

Inspections in Dartmouth

Once the permit issues, the applicable building, wiring, plumbing and gas inspectors check the work in stages, and the Certificate of Completion or Occupancy is issued only after every inspection has passed. A failed or not-ready inspection costs $75 for a building re-inspection. Electrical work must stay open until the wire inspector has seen it.

Projects in a flood zone add the Floodplain Administrator’s review, and construction-controlled buildings need the final construction control affidavit before occupancy.

Building and energy code in Dartmouth

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

Dartmouth enforces the 10th edition of 780 CMR. Its general bylaws contain no energy-code chapter, and the Building Department’s pages do not state its energy path; the state Department of Energy Resources keeps the official municipal list of base, Stretch and Specialized adoptions. FEMA lists Dartmouth as a participating National Flood Insurance Program community with maps current from July 6, 2021, and the town’s floodplain management bylaw dates from 2021.

Dartmouth permit search and official resources

Applicants follow their permits, reviews and inspections in their OpenGov account. For records on other properties, contact the Building Department at 508-910-1820 or file a public records request under the town’s records access policy.

• Dartmouth Building Department — notices, forms, hours
• Dartmouth OpenGov permit portal — online applications
• Dartmouth fee schedules and information — paper filing fee and schedules
• Building permit fee schedule, effective January 1, 2022 — building fees
• Electrical permit fee schedule — effective July 1, 2021
• Plumbing and gas fee schedule — effective July 1, 2021
• Building Department FAQ — review times, homeowners, expiry
• Septic and Title V information — perc tests, A1 and abandonment
• General Bylaws Chapter 209, Historic Preservation — Russells Mills district and demolition review
• General Bylaws Chapter 360, Wetlands — the 2024 bylaw
• Dartmouth Conservation Commission — wetlands filings

Dartmouth building permit FAQ

How much is a building permit in Dartmouth?

$8 per $1,000 of estimated contract cost for residential work, with a $225 minimum and a $175 plan review fee on new homes and additions, and a $100 minimum on alterations. Commercial work is $10 per $1,000.

How long does a Dartmouth building permit take?

Usually 7 to 10 days; new one- and two-family homes and larger commercial projects can take the full 30 days. Trade permits take about three to four days.

Can a homeowner pull permits in Dartmouth?

A homeowner can get a building permit on a one- or two-family home they live in or will live in, but not wiring, plumbing or gas permits.

Is there a fee for paper applications in Dartmouth?

Yes, $50 on top of the permit fee; online filing through OpenGov avoids it.

How long is a Dartmouth permit valid?

Work must start within 180 days of issue; extensions of up to 180 days can be requested in writing.

Can a demolition be delayed in Dartmouth?

Yes. A building 75 years old or more that the Historical Commission finds preferably preserved can wait up to six months for its demolition permit.

Who reviews exterior work in Russells Mills?

The Historic District Commission, under Chapter 209 of the general bylaws, for properties inside the Russells Mills Local Historic District shown on the 1998 map filed with the Town Clerk.

What do I need before a perc test in Dartmouth?

The percolation test application, the online A1 site inspection application and a trench permit, all filed with the Board of Health first.

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