Holliston, Massachusetts Building Permit Guide

Holliston’s Building Department issues building, plumbing and gas, electrical, sheet metal, occupancy and sign permits from the basement level of Town Hall, and applications are filed in the town’s PeopleGIS online portal. Building and electrical permits are $10 per $1,000 of value (rounded up to the next $1,000) with a $75 residential minimum, and the fee must be paid before an application joins the review queue.

What requires a building permit in Holliston?

Holliston’s forms and fee schedule show what the department permits: building work, sheet metal and fire protection, signs, tents and temporary structures, trenches, certificates of inspection and occupancy, and separate electrical, plumbing and gas fitting permits.

Work listed as exempt in 780 CMR, section 105.2 needs no building permit, but zoning still applies, and the Inspector of Buildings is the town’s zoning enforcement officer.

What Holliston decides and what the state holds

The State Building Code, 780 CMR (10th edition), belongs to the Board of Building Regulations and Standards and cannot be amended locally. Holliston’s part is its zoning bylaw (2025 edition, with groundwater and aquifer protection districts), the General By-laws, including the wetlands bylaw (Article XXXI) and the Preservation of Historic Buildings bylaw, the Board of Health’s septic, small wastewater and well regulations, the Planning Board’s site plan, stormwater and scenic road rules, and the permit fees.

On energy, Article XLII of the General By-laws, accepted May 5, 2014, incorporates the Stretch Energy Code with its future editions and makes it enforceable by the inspector of buildings. The May 2026 compilation of the by-laws contains no Specialized code article, so the Stretch code is the path for new construction in Holliston.

Holliston building department: who handles permitting

The Building Department administers the State Building Code and issues every construction permit, and Mark Kaferlein, listed on its page as Building Inspector, is the Inspector of Buildings, who under the town’s permitting guide also enforces the zoning bylaw. An assistant building inspector, a plumbing and gas inspector and a wiring inspector complete the office. Holliston’s land use departments, Building, Planning, Conservation and Health, share the basement level of Town Hall.

Holliston permit types

Applications go through the town’s PeopleGIS SimpliCity portal, which Holliston switched to in December 2021; anyone who has not registered since December 10, 2021 must create a new account. The first permit needs a copy of the applicant’s license and proof of workers’ compensation and liability insurance, and the department keeps a kiosk computer for those who need help signing up. Applications enter the review queue only once they are paid.

Residential permits

Almost every house project starts at the Health Department. Building modifications need the Health Agent’s approval of the Project Evaluation for Building Permit, known as Form A, for a $50 fee: exterior changes include a plot plan with the distance to the nearest septic component, and interior changes include a sketch of all rooms and the proposed change, because the room count governs septic capacity. The form covers additions, alterations, renovations, tents and pools. Its room-count rules are specific: bathrooms, hallways, unfinished cellars and unheated storage over garages are not counted; in a house of fewer than 8 rooms, a bedroom is any room of at least 70 square feet with privacy, a 7-foot ceiling, electricity, ventilation and a window; and in a house of 8 or more rooms, the bedroom count is the room total divided by two, rounded down. Adding rooms or bedrooms means the septic system’s capacity must be evaluated; if only the footprint changes, its distance from the septic components must be shown from records or, failing that, by an approved inspector locating them. A deed restriction can allow a permit for a house that exceeds the approved design flow on room count alone. The Building Department’s forms page carries separate residential and commercial building applications, an amendment form for changing an issued permit, and the solid waste removal form for construction debris.

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Commercial permits

Commercial building and electrical permits use the same $10 per $1,000 rate with a $100 minimum. All new commercial construction trips Site Plan Review, and where a special permit is also needed the Planning Board usually acts as the single zoning permit authority. Commercial building inspections are by appointment, between 10:00 am and noon, and existing assembly and similar buildings use the certificate of inspection application ($100). Most new businesses also need a business certificate from the Town Clerk on the first floor of Town Hall, and anyone running a business from home should talk to the Inspector of Buildings about the limits in the zoning bylaw.

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 Town Planner coordinates site plan reviews, special permits and variances. The five-member elected Planning Board handles site plan review, common driveways, inclusionary housing and land disturbance and stormwater permits; the three-member Zoning Board of Appeals grants special permits and variances, hears appeals of the Inspector of Buildings’ zoning decisions and issues comprehensive permits.
• Conservation Commission. The seven-member appointed Commission administers the Wetlands Protection Act and Holliston’s wetlands bylaw, issuing resource area determinations, orders of conditions and certificates of compliance; it meets on alternate Tuesday evenings, and its agent works from the front basement of Town Hall (508-429-0607). The town’s permitting guide warns not to skip the agent’s advice, because wetland resource areas are not always obvious on a lot.
• Board of Health. Beyond Form A, the three-member elected Board of Health issues soil evaluation, septic design, upgrade, variance, building relocation and private well permits under Title 5 and its own septic, small wastewater and well regulations. The Health Department, in the front basement of Town Hall (Monday to Thursday 7:30 am to 4:30 pm, Friday to noon), keeps soil test records that can show whether a site suits septic.
• Demolition. Structures built in 1950 or earlier need the Supplemental Demolition Application under the Preservation of Historic Buildings bylaw, emailed to the Historical Commission with photos, and a $100 fee paid by cash or check at the Building Department. Buildings of unknown age are treated as pre-1950; the Assessor’s property cards show the year built. If structural failure is the reason for demolishing, a licensed structural engineer’s report goes with the application. The Building Commissioner forwards it within seven days and the Commission decides within fifteen days whether the building is significant; if it is, a hearing follows within thirty days, noticed to abutters and the Planning Board at the applicant’s cost. A preferably preserved building cannot be demolished, or rebuilt or altered under a building permit, for 18 months unless the Commission agrees, and a demolition permit issued under the bylaw expires after six months.
• Street work and trees. The DPW Highway Department at 63 Arch Street (508-429-0515) issues in-road trench permits and driveway or roadway access permits, each $50, under its street opening procedures; the Building Department’s trench permit covers trenches outside the street. Removing a street tree needs the Tree Warden’s permit and possibly a Scenic Road permit from the Planning Board.

Holliston permit costs and fees

The Building Department’s permit fees took effect August 1, 2019. Values are rounded up to the nearest $1,000, and work started without a permit pays double.

A worked example: a $64,500 addition rounds up to $65,000, so the building permit is 65 × $10, or $650, plus the $50 Form A. A gas water heater replacement in a house takes a $50 plumbing permit and a $50 gas permit.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Wiring, plumbing, gas fitting and sheet metal each have their own application, and the trade inspectors keep short morning office hours.

• Electrical: filed by a licensed electrician under 527 CMR 12; inspector’s office hour 8:00 to 9:00 am on weekdays, inspections 9:00 to 11:00 am.
• Plumbing and gas: filed by a licensed plumber or gas fitter under 248 CMR; office hour Monday, Wednesday and Friday 8:00 to 9:00 am, inspections the same days 9:00 to 11:00 am. A boiler and water heater replaced together cost $60 (plumbing) and $100 (gas) in a house.
• Sheet metal and fire protection: priced like building permits at $10 per $1,000.

How to apply for a Holliston building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

780 CMR 105.3.1 gives the building official 30 days from the filing of an application to issue or refuse it. In Holliston an unpaid application has not yet joined the queue, and a missing Form A approval, a plot plan without septic distances, or an open Conservation or zoning question holds a permit back.

Inspections in Holliston

Residential building inspections run Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 11:00 am; commercial inspections are by appointment from 10:00 am to noon. Electrical inspections are weekdays 9:00 to 11:00 am, and plumbing and gas inspections Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the same window.

Requests can be made by phone or in person during the department’s business hours, and a same-day inspection needs a call before 8:15 am. The department does not accept inspection requests by email. A failed inspection costs $50 to repeat, and a certificate of occupancy is $100.

Massachusetts building code

Holliston enforces 780 CMR, 10th edition, and under Article XLII of its General By-laws, the Stretch Energy Code. FEMA lists Holliston (community 250195) as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program, with current 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

Holliston permit search and official resources

The PeopleGIS portal includes a public portal for looking up permits by address. The land use offices also keep plot plans, building plans and parcel zoning histories, and the Health Department keeps septic and well plans and soil test records.

• Holliston Building Department
• Online permit application and public portal
• Fee structure for all permits
• Building and electrical fees (effective August 1, 2019)
• Plumbing and gas fee schedule
• Inspection schedules
• Board of Health Form A
• 2023 Permitting Guide
• General By-laws (May 2026)
• Demolition application information
• Wetland Protection Bylaw (Article XXXI)
• Septic, building and well regulations
• Zoning By-Law and maps
• Massachusetts State Building Code, 780 CMR
• FEMA Community Status Book, Massachusetts

Holliston building permit FAQs

How much is a building permit in Holliston?

$10 per $1,000 of value, rounded up to the next $1,000, with a $75 minimum for residential work and $100 for commercial, under the fees effective August 1, 2019.

What is Form A?

The Board of Health’s Project Evaluation for Building Permit. It costs $50 and checks that a building change does not affect the septic system; call 508-429-0605 with questions.

Why has my application not been reviewed yet?

Holliston puts building applications in the review queue only after the fee is paid in the portal.

Can I book an inspection by email?

No. Call 508-429-0606 or come in during business hours; call before 8:15 am for a same-day inspection.

Does demolishing an old garage need Historical Commission review?

If it was built in 1950 or earlier, or its age is unknown, file the Supplemental Demolition Application with the $100 fee. A building found preferably preserved can be delayed 18 months.

Does a finished basement room count as a bedroom in Holliston?

Under Form A’s rules, in a house of fewer than 8 rooms any room of 70 square feet or more with privacy, a 7-foot ceiling, power, ventilation and a window counts as a bedroom, which can trigger a septic capacity review.

Which energy code applies in Holliston?

The Stretch Energy Code, adopted under Article XLII of the General By-laws in 2014.

Who enforces zoning in Holliston?

The Inspector of Buildings, who is also the zoning enforcement officer; appeals of his decisions go to the Zoning Board of Appeals.

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