Medford’s Building Department, in Room 115A of City Hall at 85 George P. Hassett Drive, permits and inspects construction for the city between Somerville and the Mystic Lakes. Building applications must be submitted online, as must plumbing and gas, electrical, sheet metal and periodic inspection applications, and the same system searches past permits; plumbing and gas applications may also be sent by mail. The office is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Wednesday to 7:30 pm and Friday to 12:30 pm, and the inspectors keep office hours from 8:30 to 10:00 am and again in the afternoon.
The energy standard is the demanding part. Medford adopted the Municipal Opt-in Specialized energy code with effect from July 1, 2024, so new construction must meet high-performance standards, be pre-wired for all-electric systems where it uses fossil fuel, and provide electric-vehicle-ready parking. Additions, alterations and renovations follow the stretch code. A new building designed for one of Medford’s non-adopting neighbours will need its envelope and mechanical design reworked before it can be permitted here.
This guide covers the City of Medford in Massachusetts. Somerville, Malden, Everett, Arlington, Winchester and Stoneham run their own building departments under the same state code, and they do not all share Medford's energy code position.
Online filing, leading-edge code. Medford takes building and trade applications online and enforces the Municipal Opt-in Specialized energy code, effective July 1, 2024, for new construction. Design a new building for the strictest energy pathway in the Commonwealth, and keep additions and renovations on the stretch code.
What requires a building permit in Medford?
What is local in Medford is the building department, the fee schedule, zoning, and the Specialized energy code and the city's zoning ordinance.
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- Any construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, removal or demolition, and any change of use or occupancy
- New construction, which meets the Specialized code’s performance, electrification-readiness and electric vehicle requirements
- Electrical work and plumbing and gas work, each permitted separately under the state codes
- New buildings, additions and any structural work on an existing building
- Alterations, repairs and reconstruction under the existing building provisions, and any change of use or occupancy
- Decks (except small, low, freestanding ones), sheds over 200 square feet at a one- or two-family home or 120 square feet elsewhere, swimming pools 24 inches deep or more, and solar installations
Often exempt
- Ordinary repairs that do not alter structure, egress or systems
- Ordinary repairs that do not alter structure, egress or systems
- Painting, wallpapering, flooring, cabinets and similar finish work
- Small items on the code’s exempt list, such as fences up to 7 feet and retaining walls up to 4 feet
- Work on a building owned by the Commonwealth, which the State Building Inspector enforces rather than the town
What is actually local, and what is not
The code is the Commonwealth's and cannot be amended locally. Medford's layer is the building department itself, its fee schedule and filing route, the zoning bylaw or ordinance and the zoning enforcement that precedes the permit, the conservation commission's wetlands jurisdiction under the Wetlands Protection Act, and the Specialized energy code the city adopted in 2024 for new construction.
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
Who handles permitting in Medford?
The Building Department is the enforcing office, with the building commissioner or inspector of buildings as building official under the state code and the city's wiring and plumbing inspectors covering their own trades. The zoning board of appeals hears relief under the state Zoning Act, the community development board handles site plan review, the historical commission reviews designated properties, and the conservation commission holds the Wetlands Protection Act jurisdiction along the Mystic River and the lakes.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Department | City of Medford Building Department |
| Office | City Hall, 85 George P. Hassett Drive, Room 115A, Medford, MA 02155 |
| Phone | (781) 393-2509; wires (781) 393-2485; plumbing and gas (781) 393-2506. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Wednesday to 7:30 pm, Friday to 12:30 pm |
| Filing | Online applications for building, plumbing and gas, electrical, sheet metal and periodic inspections; plumbing and gas also by mail |
| Energy | Municipal Opt-in Specialized energy code for new construction, effective July 1, 2024; stretch code for additions and renovations |
| Trades | City wiring and plumbing inspectors under the state codes |
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Residential permits
A Medford house project files online against the state code, the city’s zoning ordinance and the energy code, with the supervising individual’s Construction Supervisor Licence and, on residential work for an owner-occupant, the contractor’s Home Improvement Contractor registration. The Specialized pathway is the biggest design consequence of building a new house here; additions and renovations follow the stretch code.
Commercial permits
Commercial and multi-family work in Medford — the Wellington and Mystic Avenue corridors carry the city's larger development — clears zoning and site plan review, then plan review and the building permit under the Specialized code's commercial pathway. The application and its documents are filed through the city’s online system.
Zoning, conservation and the 30-day clock
The approvals that run ahead of the building permit are the local ones: zoning sign-off under Medford's bylaw or ordinance, and, where the work is within 100 feet of a wetland or within the riverfront or floodplain areas, an order of conditions from the conservation commission under the Wetlands Protection Act, which is a hearing rather than a counter transaction. In Medford the Mystic River and the lakes bring the conservation commission's Wetlands Protection Act jurisdiction and floodplain review into the file, the historical commission reviews the city's designated properties, and the Specialized energy code governs new construction. Appeals from the building official go to the local zoning board of appeals on zoning matters and to the State Building Code Appeals Board on code matters.
Massachusetts has no general contractor licence: the supervising individual holds a Construction Supervisor Licence, and contractors working on existing owner-occupied homes register as Home Improvement Contractors. Massachusetts rules
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Call 1-855-478-4290 →Medford permit costs and fees
Fees follow the city’s schedule, paid through the online system, and the trades are charged separately under the state codes.
| Item | Fee or rule |
|---|---|
| Building permit | City schedule by project type and construction value |
| Wiring permits | Filed with and inspected by the city's wiring inspector under the state electrical code |
| Plumbing and gas permits | Filed with and inspected by the city's plumbing inspector under the state code |
| Zoning relief | Zoning board of appeals application under the state Zoning Act |
| Conservation | Wetlands Protection Act filing fees where the work is in a resource area |
| Energy compliance | Specialized code documentation for new construction; stretch code documentation for alterations |
Neighbouring cities are not on this code. Medford adopted the Specialized code; several of the cities on its own boundary have not. A design carried across the line from a non-adopting neighbour will not meet Medford's requirements, and one carried the other way will be more expensive than that town needs. Check the state's adoption list by municipality rather than assuming continuity.
Trade permits and who may pull them
Permit required
- New construction — Specialized code compliance documentation with the application
- Electrical — state-licensed electrician; separate wiring permit under 527 CMR 12
- Plumbing and gas — state-licensed plumber or gas fitter; separate permits under 248 CMR
- Sheet metal work — state sheet metal licence where the work falls under it
- Fire protection and alarms — fire department plan review through the building permit, plus any fire department permit under 527 CMR; alarms by a state-licensed systems contractor
Typically exempt
- Fixing a leaking faucet or valve, clearing a blocked drain, or adjusting gas appliance controls, which need no plumbing or gas permit
Rather not deal with the building department?
Get a free quote →Trade work is permitted separately and inspected by the municipality’s own wiring and plumbing inspectors under the state codes. Massachusetts rules
How to apply for a Medford building permit
Zoning sign-off under the local bylaw or ordinance, and any variance or special permit the project needs, must come before the building permit.
Work in or near wetlands, rivers or land that floods needs conservation commission approval under the Wetlands Protection Act, usually an order of conditions, before work starts.
The Construction Supervisor Licence of the supervising individual, and the Home Improvement Contractor registration where the work is on an existing owner-occupied home of one to four units.
The building official reviews the documents against 780 CMR and the energy code the town has adopted.
Fees are the town's own and are due before issuance; trade permits are filed separately.
Footing to final, with the wiring and plumbing inspectors on their own trades, then a certificate of occupancy for a new building or change of use, or a certificate of completion for other work.
Review, corrections and what actually causes delay
Medford’s building official acts on a complete application within 30 days under the state code. What delays a project here is a new building’s energy design built for the base or stretch code, and an online application filed without the documents the department’s checklists require.
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Inspections follow the code's sequence — footing and foundation, frame, insulation and final — with the wiring and plumbing inspectors covering their own trades, and are requested from the building department by permit number. Work that passes final receives a certificate of occupancy for new buildings and changes of use, or a certificate of inspection where the code requires one. Buildings in the use groups listed in 780 CMR Section 110 also carry periodic inspections, with proof of maintenance filed with the building official. Medford's inspectors carry the code's sequence and, by the trade's own account, get to a job site quickly when they are needed; the city's wiring and plumbing inspectors cover their own trades and the certificate of occupancy follows the finals.
Medford permit search and official resources
- Medford Building Department — the department, its permits and its contacts
- Massachusetts energy code adoption by municipality — Medford's Specialized adoption and its neighbours' positions
- Massachusetts State Building Code, 780 CMR — the 10th edition the department enforces
- Massachusetts State Building Code, 780 CMR — the 10th edition and its Massachusetts amendments from the Board of Building Regulations and Standards
- Home Improvement Contractor registration — the consumer-protection registration and Guaranty Fund
- Construction Supervisor Licence — the examined licence held by the individual supervising the work
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →Frequently asked questions
Can I file a Medford permit online?
Yes. Building applications must be submitted online, as must plumbing and gas, electrical, sheet metal and periodic inspection applications; the same system searches past permits. Plumbing and gas applications may also be sent by mail.
Which energy code applies?
The Municipal Opt-in Specialized energy code, effective from July 1, 2024, for new construction. Additions, alterations and renovations follow the stretch code.
Do the neighbouring cities use the same energy code?
Not all of them. Several cities on Medford's boundary have not adopted the Specialized code, so a design should be checked against the state's adoption list rather than carried across a line.
Who permits electrical and plumbing work?
The city's wiring inspector under the state electrical code and the plumbing inspector under the state fuel gas and plumbing code, each separately from the building permit.
How long does the building official have?
30 days from a complete application under the state code, with written reasons for any refusal.
Which building code edition applies?
The 10th edition of the Massachusetts State Building Code, 780 CMR, in effect since October 11, 2024 and the only code in force since July 1, 2025.
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More Massachusetts permitting guides
More Massachusetts permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Medford permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.