Pembroke, Massachusetts Building Permit Guide

Pembroke’s Building and Inspectional Services office, in Room 3 of Town Hall at 100 Center Street, issues building, electrical, sheet metal, plumbing and gas permits through the Simplicity online system, and a paper application costs $50 extra. Inspections are booked by phone at 781-293-3864, usually for the next day. Pembroke has enforced the Stretch Energy Code since a Special Town Meeting vote on October 19, 2010.

What requires a building permit in Pembroke?

Pembroke is a town of about 18,500 people in Plymouth County. Its Building Department reviews every application against the state building, access, electrical and plumbing and gas codes and the Town’s zoning and general by-laws. In 2025 it issued 521 permits for work valued at about $74.6 million: five new single-family homes, three accessory dwelling units, 65 commercial projects and 448 other residential permits. The department’s FAQ says a permit is needed for any structural change to an existing home or a new dwelling, including:

What Pembroke decides and what the state holds

Massachusetts writes the building code, 780 CMR, through the Board of Building Regulations and Standards, and Pembroke has no power to amend it. Pembroke’s General By-Laws, updated through the May 13, 2025 Town Meeting, supply the local layer: the Stretch Energy Code (Article XXXVII), a historic district by-law and a three-month demolition delay, a wetlands by-law, trench permit fees and a Fire Department review of commercial plans. Permit fees are set by the Board of Selectmen, and the Zoning By-Law sets setbacks for new homes.

Pembroke building department: who handles permitting

Building and Inspectional Services, the Department of Municipal Inspections, issues building permits and the related wiring, sheet metal, plumbing and gas permits, and it also does the annual inspections of restaurants, buildings, schools and day care centers. Pete DelPrete is the Building Commissioner; a wiring inspector and a plumbing and gas inspector handle the trades, with an assistant to the Building Inspector at the same number.

The department page does not post counter hours; call before visiting. The Board of Health is in Room 4 (781-293-2718) and is open Monday 8 am to 6:30 pm, Tuesday to Thursday 8 am to 4:30 pm and Friday 8 am to noon. Town Hall’s main number is 781-709-1400.

Pembroke permit types and the approvals that come first

Simplicity, the PeopleGIS permit portal, carries every building, electrical, sheet metal, plumbing and gas application, and the Town posts separate guides for property owners and for contractors. An application is processed only when it includes its supporting documents, and every application, owner’s or contractor’s, must include the workers’ compensation affidavit. Paper applications are accepted at a $50 surcharge to cover entering them into the system.

Residential permits

For a new house, the department’s FAQ gives the setbacks the by-laws enforce: 20 feet from the side lines, 25 feet from the rear, 40 feet from the street, 10 feet from the septic tank and 20 feet from the leaching field. Sheds over 200 square feet need a permit and must meet setbacks too. The department prints the permit itself; you cannot print a building permit from home.

Accessory dwelling units are allowed as of right under the Zoning Bylaw (February 2026 edition): one ADU per principal dwelling in every district that allows homes. Exterior changes must keep the look of a single dwelling, with any added stairways or exits at the side or rear; the house and ADU stay in common ownership; one parking space is required unless the ADU is within half a mile of a commuter rail or bus station; and an ADU may not be used as a short-term rental.

A demolition application comes with the Town’s demolition checklist: sign-offs from the Planning Department, the Board of Health, the electric and gas companies, the DPW water division and the telephone company, a Dig Safe number, pest and asbestos reports, and a walk-through by the Building Official.

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

Commercial permits

Before any commercial building permit issues, the General By-Laws require the Fire Department to receive professionally drawn plans and review them under the State Fire Code, 527 CMR 1.00, including the sprinkler system and riser diagram or fire detection diagram and the fire alarm annunciator. Commercial wiring is priced at $150 plus 1.5% of total cost for construction, and commercial plumbing and gas start at $50 for the first fixture.

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

What comes before the building permit

• Historic District Commission: work in a historic district needs a certificate of appropriateness before the building permit; the Town posts the scope-of-work requirement, certificate and demolition application forms.
• Conservation Commission: Pembroke’s Wetlands Protection By-Law reaches work within 100 feet of banks, freshwater and coastal wetlands and other resource areas.
• Board of Health: septic systems under Title 5, plus well installation and well repair permits; the Town also posts a septic betterment loan packet for homeowners. Cesspools have not been allowed since 1965, and since May 6, 2019 a cesspool automatically fails inspection at any property transfer.
• Trench permits: the Building Inspector issues trench permits for work on private land ($25, or $50 for a blanket permit on long projects), and DPW issues them for public or private ways along with street opening and driveway permits.
• Floodplain District: an overlay on the mapped flood hazard areas where all development must meet the state Wetlands Protection Act and the flood sections of 780 CMR; mobile homes are not allowed there, and in VE zones new construction must sit landward of mean high tide.
• Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Board: special permits from the Board of Appeals after a public hearing, and site plan review with plans prepared by a registered professional.

Pembroke permit fees

Pembroke’s Permit Fee List links a building permit fee schedule, but that document returned a “page not found” error on November 4, 2026, so ask the department for the current building fee before you budget. In 2025 the department collected $311,847.90 on $74.6 million of permitted work. The plumbing and gas schedules, approved by the Board of Selectmen on September 22, 2008 and effective October 1, 2008, are still posted:

Water connection charges

New homes on Town water also pay the DPW’s system development charges, revised effective July 1, 2026 and payable in full before the connection: $5,500 for a 1-inch service to a one-family home or to each duplex or condominium unit, $3,500 per apartment, $1,500 more if the service crosses a street, and main taps from $7,000 for 1.5 inches to $175,000 for 16 inches. The owner buys the meter pit. The DPW Water Division is at 781-709-1425.

The $170 new-house plumbing minimum covers a two-and-a-half-bath house: three toilets, three vanity sinks, a laundry hookup, a kitchen sink, a dishwasher, two tubs or showers, a water heater, water piping and a backflow preventer.

Electrical, plumbing and gas permits in Pembroke

Electricians, plumbers and gas fitters apply through Simplicity like everyone else. The Town’s 2021 electrical permit price list sets a $45 residential minimum and a $60 commercial minimum.

Gas inspections on jobs with more than one fixture need the test box checked on the application, and plumbing permits for a boiler replacement must include the backflow preventer.

Alliance handles electrical permit applications for contractors here. More on this: who pulls the electrical permit.

How to apply for a Pembroke building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

An application without its supporting documents is not processed, and a paper filing waits to be entered into Simplicity. The state code gives the building official 30 days from the filing of an application to grant or deny it (780 CMR 105.3.1). Historic District Commission certificates, Conservation Commission hearings, Fire Department review of commercial plans and the three-month delay for pre-1900 buildings are the outside steps most likely to add time.

Inspections in Pembroke

Schedule inspections by calling the office at 781-293-3864; they are booked for the next day or the earliest open slot. Only work done under a permit is inspected. Re-inspection fees on the trade schedules are $50 for residential plumbing, $45 for residential gas and $60 for commercial gas. The office also carries out the annual inspections of restaurants, buildings, schools and day care centers.

Septic work has its own inspections: once an installer starts, the installer’s office calls the Board of Health to schedule them, and when the engineer’s as-built plan and the installer’s certification are in, the Health Agent signs a Certificate of Compliance for the system.

Building code and local by-laws in Pembroke

Pembroke enforces 780 CMR, 10th edition, together with the Stretch Energy Code under Article XXXVII of its General By-Laws. Article XXXI-A, the demolition delay by-law, lets the Historic District Commission advise the Building Commissioner on demolition of significant buildings: buildings dating wholly or partly from before 1900 that the Commission finds meet its criteria, such as listing on or eligibility for the National Register or an important link to the town’s history or architecture. A building the Commission finds should preferably be preserved faces a three-month demolition delay, and no permit for new construction or alterations on that property issues during the same three months unless the Commission agrees. FEMA lists Pembroke as a participating community in the National Flood Insurance Program, with flood maps effective July 6, 2021.

Inside a historic district, Article XXXI goes further: no building may be built, moved, demolished or altered in a way that significantly affects its exterior without a certificate of appropriateness, hardship or non-applicability, and alteration expressly includes repairing or replacing roofing, which must match the existing material in appearance, color and style and keep any distinctive historic pattern. The Inspector of Buildings cannot issue a permit there until a certificate is in hand.

Demolishing a building covered by the by-law without a permit risks a fine of up to $300 a day and a two-year bar on building permits for that parcel and any adjoining parcel under common ownership, unless the permit is for a faithful restoration.

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

Pembroke permit search and official resources

The department page links a Simplicity public permit report alongside the application portal, the Town’s published view of permit records. For records the report does not show, call the department at 781-293-3864.

• Pembroke Building and Inspectional Services
• Simplicity permit portal
• Simplicity public permit reports
• Permit fee list
• Forms and documents
• Plumbing permit fee schedule
• Gas permit fee schedule
• Electrical permit price list (2021)
• Demolition checklist
• Pembroke General By-Laws and Zoning By-Laws
• Pembroke Board of Health
• 2025 Annual Report
• FEMA Community Status Book, Massachusetts
• Massachusetts State Building Code (780 CMR)

Pembroke building permit FAQ

Who issues building permits in Pembroke, MA?

Building and Inspectional Services, Room 3, Pembroke Town Hall, 100 Center Street (781-293-3864). Pete DelPrete is the Building Commissioner.

How do I apply?

Online through Simplicity, with the workers’ compensation affidavit and supporting documents. A paper application costs $50 extra.

Do I need a permit for a shed?

Only for a shed larger than 200 square feet, according to the department’s FAQ; it must also meet the setback rules.

What are the setbacks for a new house?

20 feet from the side lines, 25 feet from the rear, 40 feet from the street, 10 feet from the septic tank and 20 feet from the leaching field.

How fast can I get an inspection?

Call 781-293-3864; inspections are scheduled for the next day or the earliest time available.

What is the building permit fee?

The Town’s posted building fee schedule could not be opened on November 4, 2026, so ask the department for the current rate. Plumbing starts at $35 and gas at $40 for the first fixture.

Can an old house be torn down?

If it predates 1900 and the Historic District Commission finds it should preferably be preserved, demolition waits three months.

Which energy code applies in Pembroke?

The Stretch Energy Code, adopted at the Special Town Meeting of October 19, 2010.

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