East Bridgewater, Massachusetts Building Permit Guide

In East Bridgewater, the Building Department at Town Hall, 175 Central Street (508-378-1607), issues building, electrical, plumbing and gas permits, and applications go through the Town’s SmartGov permitting portal. A new one- or two-family home costs $1.25 per square foot and other residential work $10 per $1,000 of construction value, with a $75 minimum, and new buildings follow the Stretch Energy Code the Town has enforced since July 1, 2021.

What requires a building permit in East Bridgewater?

For the question of which jobs need a permit, the Building Department points residents straight to section 105 of the state code: the residential volume for one- and two-family homes and the base volume for everything else. Its answer is that most, but not all, projects need one, with separate electrical and plumbing or gas permits for the trade work. In this town of about 14,600 residents (Census estimate, 2025), the fee sheet splits work into new one- and two-family homes, which pay by floor area, and all other residential permits, which pay by construction value.

What East Bridgewater decides and what the state holds

The building code, 780 CMR, is written by the state Board of Building Regulations and Standards, and East Bridgewater has no power to amend it. Local decisions are the fee schedule, the Zoning By-Laws (2021 edition), the General By-Laws (updated to February 28, 2026), the Stretch Energy Code, a demolition review bylaw for historic properties, and a grading rule that sets how high a new house must sit above the street.

East Bridgewater building department: who handles permitting

The Building Department issues building permits and the electrical, plumbing and gas permits that go with them. Patrick Franey is the Building Commissioner; the staff includes a plumbing and gas inspector, an electrical inspector, an administrative assistant and a senior clerk. The Building Inspector is also the Zoning Enforcement Officer, which is why the department, not the Zoning Board of Appeals office, is the first stop for any project.

The Planning Board office and the Zoning Board of Appeals office share the second floor of Town Hall with the Building Department, so zoning, planning and building questions can be handled in one visit; the department’s alternate line, 508-378-1608, is also the number the Zoning Board of Appeals lists.

East Bridgewater permit types and the approvals that come first

The department’s new permitting system runs on SmartGov; the public portal lets applicants sign up, file applications and view their applications and inspection results. A sign-up guide is linked from the portal’s home page.

Residential permits

A new single-family or two-family home is charged by area, $1.25 per square foot; every other residential permit, from a deck to a kitchen remodel, is $10 per $1,000 of construction value, and no residential permit costs less than $75. The department’s FAQs spell out who should pull the permit. A Home Improvement Contractor can sign the contract, but if the job needs a Construction Supervisor License and the HIC does not hold one, a licensed supervisor must be hired, and both are responsible for getting the permits before work starts. Owners may pull their own permits, but the department warns that doing so puts the job under the homeowner exemption and gives up recourse under the state Home Improvement Contractor law, M.G.L. c. 142A, and its Guaranty Fund.

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Commercial permits

Commercial building permits are $12 per $1,000 of construction value with a $125 minimum. Commercial electrical permits are a $50 application fee plus $50 for each inspection, per unit, and commercial plumbing is $60 plus $18 per fixture. The Planning Board meets every other Monday at 7 pm on the second floor of Town Hall.

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

What comes before the building permit

• Zoning: the Building Inspector decides, as Zoning Enforcement Officer, whether a project must go to the Zoning Board of Appeals (508-378-1608), which meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 7 pm in the second-floor conference room.
• Conservation Commission: the Commission reviews every building permit filed in town. Its jurisdiction reaches 100 feet from bordering vegetated wetlands, 200 feet from the bank of a stream or watercourse, and land subject to flooding in the 100-year storm; it receives Notices of Intent, holds hearings and issues Orders of Conditions under the Wetlands Protection Act (508-378-1623). The Commission meets on the fourth Monday of each month at 6:30 pm, and applications are due by noon on the Wednesday two and a half weeks before the meeting. Its own administrative fees are $50 for a Request for Determination or a residential Notice of Intent and $100 for a commercial one, and the Town’s share is doubled when a filing comes after the work.
• Board of Health (Title 5): perc testing is $200 per lot and needs a DPW trench permit; a disposal works permit is $200 with soil logs and five sets of plans; septic component repairs are $75 on an application by a licensed installer (Board of Health, 508-378-1612, which meets on the first and third Monday of each month at 5 pm). Board of Health fees are paid by check to the Town of East Bridgewater or in cash.
• Flood plain: the Zoning By-Laws’ Flood Plain and Wetlands Protection District covers land in the latest FEMA 100-year flood plain and land protected under the Wetlands Protection Act. Where a permit may involve that land, the Building Inspector requires a lot plan with elevations at 2-foot contours certified by a registered land surveyor; any building for human occupancy must have its lowest floor, including the basement, at or above the 100-year base flood elevation, and fill placed to reach it must extend at least 15 feet beyond the structure.
• Street grade: a new dwelling or accessory building must finish at least 6 inches above the highest point of the adjacent street grade and 3 inches above the sidewalk line; on Town ways the Director of Public Works supplies the lines and grades free on request.
• Historical Commission: buildings over 75 years old or on the National or State Register need demolition review (see below).

East Bridgewater building permit fees

The Building Department posts a one-page fee schedule covering building, electrical and plumbing permits; it carries no adoption date. Working without a permit doubles the fee.

For example, a 2,000-square-foot new house costs 2,000 × $1.25, or $2,500, for the building permit. A $30,000 addition is 30 × $10, or $300, while a $5,000 job comes to $50 by the rate and is charged the $75 minimum instead. A commercial fit-out valued at $200,000 is 200 × $12, or $2,400.

Trade permits and who may pull them

The electrical inspector and the plumbing and gas inspector review and inspect the trade permits filed in SmartGov. The department’s FAQs answer the licensing question in one line: Massachusetts requires a state license for plumbers, construction supervisors and all electrical and home improvement trades, so the licensed electrician, plumber or gas fitter files the trade permit for the work they do.

Electrical fees depend on the number of inspections. If the wiring of a new house needs three inspections, the fee is the $25 application fee plus three at $50, or $175 for the unit; a two-family home pays per unit. Plumbing is charged per fixture: six fixtures in a house come to $50 plus 6 × $12, or $122. A re-inspection in any trade is $50, and an emergency inspection is $50 an hour with a three-hour minimum, so at least $150.

How to apply for an East Bridgewater building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

780 CMR 105.3.1 requires the building official to issue or deny a permit, in writing, within 30 days of filing. East Bridgewater files can also wait on decisions made elsewhere in Town Hall: a ZBA hearing that meets only once a month, a Conservation Order of Conditions, a Board of Health disposal works permit, or a Historical Commission hearing on an older building. A demolition review form with any of its four parts left blank is returned to the applicant.

Inspections in East Bridgewater

Inspections are tied to the permit in SmartGov, where applicants can see the results of each visit. The electrical inspector’s visits are what the electrical fee counts, so a job needing a rough and a final pays for two. A re-inspection after a failed visit costs $50. Emergency inspections are available at $50 an hour with a three-hour minimum. Call the department at 508-378-1607 (or 508-378-1608) with questions about scheduling; the office is open until 7 pm on Mondays.

East Bridgewater building and energy code

East Bridgewater enforces the 10th edition of 780 CMR and the Stretch Energy Code, which the Town incorporated into Part Five, Section IV of its General By-Laws; the Special Town Meeting of January 11, 2021 set it in force from July 1, 2021, and the bylaw also cites a vote of the May 8, 2023 Annual Town Meeting, approved by the Attorney General on September 13, 2023. Under the historic properties demolition bylaw, demolition includes razing 50% of a building’s exterior shell. An owner planning to demolish a building over 75 years old, or one on the National or State Register, files a Notice of Intent to Demolish a Significant Building with the Building Inspector. The Historical Commission makes an initial determination within seven business days, holds a hearing within 30 days for a significant building, and files its written decision within 21 days of closing the hearing. A building found preferably preserved cannot be demolished for at least 120 days unless the Commission advises in writing that no one is likely to preserve it, or that the owner has spent at least 120 days trying without success to find a buyer who will. FEMA lists East Bridgewater as a participating community in the National Flood Insurance Program, with flood maps effective July 16, 2015.

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

East Bridgewater permit search and official resources

Applicants follow their own applications and inspection results in the SmartGov portal. For permits on a property you do not own, or records from before the new system, ask the Building Department or file a public records request with the Town. Buyers can also ask the Conservation office to review a property’s conservation status and its filing history, which the Commission says is often of interest. The General By-Laws and the 2021 Zoning By-Laws are posted on the Town Clerk’s page.

• East Bridgewater Building Department
• East Bridgewater SmartGov permitting portal
• Building Department fee schedule
• Building Department FAQs
• General By-Laws (updated February 28, 2026)
• Zoning By-Laws (2021)
• Request for demolition of historic property
• Zoning appeals application
• Board of Health fees and submittal requirements
• Board of Health
• Conservation Commission
• Zoning Board of Appeals
• Planning Board
• Historical Commission
• FEMA Community Status Book, Massachusetts
• Massachusetts State Building Code (780 CMR)

East Bridgewater building permit FAQ

Who issues building permits in East Bridgewater, MA?

The Building Department at Town Hall, 175 Central Street (508-378-1607). It issues building, electrical, plumbing and gas permits.

How much is a building permit for a new house?

$1.25 per square foot for a new single- or two-family home; a 2,000-square-foot house is $2,500.

How much is a permit for an addition or remodel?

$10 per $1,000 of construction value, with a $75 minimum.

Should I pull the permit myself or let my contractor do it?

The department says the registered Home Improvement Contractor should; an owner who pulls the permit loses recourse under the HIC law and its Guaranty Fund.

Do I go to the Zoning Board first?

No. Start with the Building Inspector, who as Zoning Enforcement Officer decides whether you need the ZBA.

How much does a perc test cost?

$200 per lot through the Board of Health, plus a DPW trench permit.

How long can demolition of an old house be delayed?

At least 120 days after the Historical Commission finds a building over 75 years old preferably preserved.

Will the Conservation Commission see my building permit?

Yes. It reviews every building permit filed in town, and work within 100 feet of a resource area may need its own filing.

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