Franklin, Massachusetts Building Permit Guide

In Franklin, the Town’s Building & Inspections Department issues building permits and also the electrical, plumbing and gas permits, and its inspectors carry out all of those inspections. Applications go through the Town’s OpenGov (ViewPoint) portal. A residential building permit costs $10 per $1,000 of job value with a $75 minimum under Chapter 82 of the Town Code, and Franklin enforces the Stretch Energy Code.

What requires a building permit in Franklin?

The Building & Inspections Department applies the State Building Code, the State Electrical Code and the State Plumbing Code to work anywhere in the town of roughly 34,000 people (Census estimate, 2025). Its own forms list shows the projects it sees most: new homes and additions, decks, above-ground pools, roof work, woodstoves, signs, sheet metal (ductwork) jobs and accessory dwelling units.

What Franklin decides and what the state holds

The construction rules themselves are the Commonwealth’s: the Board of Building Regulations and Standards writes 780 CMR, and Franklin cannot change what it requires. What the Town controls is the paperwork around it: the fee bylaw, the online filing route, the Zoning Bylaw (Chapter 185 of the Town Code) and its setbacks, the local Wetlands Protection bylaw (Chapter 181), the demolition delay for older buildings (Chapter 71) and the energy code choice. On that last point Franklin went further than the base code: the Town Council accepted the Stretch Energy Code in 2017, and the Building Commissioner enforces it.

Franklin building department: who handles permitting

One department covers all of it. Building & Inspections reviews applications, issues building, electrical, plumbing and gas permits, inspects the work, administers and enforces the Zoning Bylaw, and provides the staff support for the Zoning Board of Appeals. The Building Commissioner is Lloyd (Gus) Brown. The same office also holds the sealer of weights and measures and fence viewer roles.

The Wednesday evening hours, to 6 pm, are the only time the counter is open after 4 pm.

Franklin permit types and the approvals that come first

Franklin moved its permitting online: the Online Permitting page sends applicants to the OpenGov (ViewPoint) portal, where you register, file the application and upload documents. Questions about the portal go to the department at 508-520-4926. The Forms page still lists paper versions of each application and the supporting documents.

Residential permits

A house project needs the Building Permit Application with plans, the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Affidavit and, for an existing owner-occupied home, the contractor’s Home Improvement Contractor details; the supervising builder holds a state Construction Supervisor License. The Energy Conservation Application Form covers energy compliance. Decks follow the Town’s deck plan sheet, and there are instruction sheets for above-ground pools, roof repair and woodstoves (with a woodstove checklist). The department’s Accessory Dwelling Units guide explains how an ADU is reviewed.

A homeowner who pulls the permit signs the Homeowner Permit Applicant Warning Notice. It limits the route to a person who owns and lives in, or intends to live in, a one- or two-family dwelling, and spells out the cost: you must supervise all the work, you are personally responsible for it, you waive the state Guaranty Fund, and a subcontractor’s responsible person must attend inspections.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial building work is charged at $11 per $1,000 rather than $10. Where a building needs construction control by a registered design professional, the Town publishes the Initial and Final Construction Control Documents and a Construction Control Checklist. Owners of multi-family buildings and places of assembly use the Annual Periodic Inspection Form and the multi-family Certificate of Inspection. Signs need the sign application and Design Review Commission review, and larger projects pass through the Technical Review Committee and Planning Board site plan review.

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: the department applies the Zoning Bylaw and its setback sheet. The Zoning Board of Appeals hears variances, special permits (including gravel removal) and Chapter 40B applications, usually every other Thursday at 7:30 pm; its forms come from the Building & Inspections office.
• Planning Board: subdivision plans, Approval Not Required plans and site plans, through the Department of Planning & Community Development.
• Conservation Commission: work in or near wetlands, floodplain or riverfront needs a filing under the state Wetlands Protection Act and the Town’s Chapter 181 bylaw. The commission meets every other Thursday at 7 pm in the Town Council Chambers.
• Board of Health (Title 5): the Health Department permits and inspects new and repaired septic systems and witnesses percolation tests.
• Historical Commission: demolishing a building built before 1930 or listed on the National or State Register triggers the Chapter 71 demolition delay.
• DPW: a driveway or other access onto a town way falls under Chapter 131, Public Way Access Permits, and new water and sewer services carry entry fees at permit issuance.

Franklin building permit fees

Franklin’s permit fees are set in Chapter 82 of the Town Code, the municipal service fee bylaw adopted by the Town Council. Section 82-6 was last amended on October 22, 2025, and the department’s own sheet, “Service Fees as of 01/01/2025”, carries the same inspection figures.

For example, a $60,000 kitchen and bath renovation in a house is charged $600 for the building permit, before the trade permits. The water and sewer entry fees are paid when the building permit for a new service is issued.

Planning and zoning fees sit in the same chapter, so a commercial project can see its site plan fee and its building fee on one schedule. Septic inspections by the Health Department are not charged for the first three visits under the bylaw.

Two rules in the bylaw cost money if missed. Work started before the permit is charged triple the fee rate (§ 82-3), and fees unpaid after 30 days run at 14% annual interest with the permit held until they are paid (§ 82-2).

Trade permits and who may pull them

Franklin’s Inspector of Wires and Inspector of Plumbing and Gas work inside Building & Inspections, so trade permits are filed with the same department and portal as the building permit. Each is charged by fixture count:

Trade work is done and permitted by state-licensed electricians, plumbers, gas fitters and sheet metal workers. The Fire Department handles its own items: oil burner installations, oil tank removals and installations, and the smoke and carbon monoxide certificates needed when a home is sold, booked online or at 508-528-2323.

How to apply for a Franklin building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Under 780 CMR 105.3.1 the building official must act on an application within 30 days of filing, granting or refusing it in writing. In Franklin the holdups are usually outside the building review itself: a pending ZBA decision, an open Conservation Commission filing, or a demolition application held for the Historical Commission’s hearing. A file missing the energy form, the workers’ compensation affidavit or the homeowner notice also stalls until it is complete.

Inspections in Franklin

The Town links a “Schedule an Inspection” page in its ViewPoint portal, and the department’s inspection rules say the contractor must call to request trade inspections. The order matters: rough electrical must be signed off before the rough frame inspection is booked, and final electrical before the final building inspection.

Someone has to be there. The plumber or gas fitter must be on site for a plumbing or gas inspection, and an electrician or an adult over 18 for an electrical one. The department’s inspection page still names a $40 charge for a missed electrical inspection, while the current fee bylaw sets $75 as the minimum for any reinspection, so budget on the bylaw figure. After the finals, a new building or change of use receives its certificate of occupancy, and multi-family buildings and assembly uses go onto the periodic inspection cycle.

Before any digging, the Town’s homeowner notice asks for a Dig Safe request (811) at least three weeks ahead of the start of work. On a septic lot, the Health Department witnesses the percolation test and inspects the system installation itself, separately from the building and trade inspectors.

Building and energy code in Franklin

Franklin enforces the 10th edition of 780 CMR together with the Stretch Energy Code, which the Town Council accepted by Bylaw Amendment 17-796 (Chapter 63, Article II of the Town Code) and which the Building Commissioner enforces. Under FEMA’s Community Status Book the Town takes part in the National Flood Insurance Program, with flood maps effective July 8, 2025.

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

Franklin permit search and official resources

To look up an existing permit, use the property record search in the Town’s OpenGov portal; building files not online can be requested from Building & Inspections as public records.

• Franklin Building & Inspections Department
• Franklin OpenGov permit applications and property record search
• Franklin ViewPoint inspection scheduling
• Franklin building forms and applications
• Franklin requirements for inspections
• Franklin service fees as of January 1, 2025
• Franklin Homeowner Permit Applicant Warning Notice
• Code of the Town of Franklin (fees, demolition delay, wetlands, zoning)
• Franklin Zoning Board of Appeals
• Franklin Conservation Commission
• Franklin Board of Health
• Franklin Fire Department inspection scheduling
• Massachusetts energy code adoption by municipality
• Massachusetts State Building Code (780 CMR)
• Massachusetts Census data by city and town

Franklin building permit FAQ

Who issues building permits in Franklin, MA?

The Town’s Building & Inspections Department at 355 East Central Street, which also issues electrical, plumbing and gas permits. Phone 508-520-4926.

How much is a building permit in Franklin?

$10 per $1,000 of job value for residential work and $11 per $1,000 for commercial, with a $75 minimum, under Chapter 82 of the Town Code.

Can I apply on paper?

The Town takes applications through its OpenGov (ViewPoint) portal, and paper versions of the forms remain on the Forms page. Call the department if you cannot use the portal.

Can a homeowner pull a permit in Franklin?

Yes, for a one- or two-family home you own and live in or plan to live in, after signing the Homeowner Warning Notice. You must supervise the work and you give up the Guaranty Fund.

What happens if I start work before the permit?

The Town Code charges triple the permit fee rate for work begun before the permit was obtained.

Is my old house subject to demolition delay?

If it was built before 1930 or is on the National or State Register, the Historical Commission reviews the demolition application and can delay the permit for at least one year.

How do I find a past permit for a Franklin property?

Search the property in the OpenGov portal’s record search, or ask Building & Inspections for older paper files as a public records request.

Does Franklin use the Stretch or Specialized energy code?

The Stretch Energy Code, accepted by the Town Council in 2017 and enforced by the Building Commissioner.

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