Saugus, Massachusetts Building Permit Guide

Saugus Inspectional Services, in Suite 6 of Town Hall at 298 Central Street, issues the town’s building, electrical, plumbing and gas permits and enforces its zoning bylaw. Applications are printed forms from the department’s web page, fees are paid by check or money order, and the only building fee sheet the department posts, a 2007 sheet headed “Proposed”, charges $12 per $1,000 of construction cost for house work.

Town Hall stays open until 7 p.m. on Mondays, and the building inspector keeps a Monday evening counter hour from 5 to 7 p.m.; the plumbing and electrical inspectors are in from 6 to 7 p.m. that evening.

What needs a building permit in Saugus?

Saugus enforces the state building code, so construction, alteration, demolition and changes of use need a permit unless 780 CMR exempts them. The department’s forms and fee sheets show the work it permits most often:

What Saugus decides and what the state decides

The construction standards are the Commonwealth’s 780 CMR; Saugus cannot change them. The town’s own rules sit in its Zoning By-Laws (the version posted is dated January 2026), which also say how fees are set: Section 10.6 has the Board of Selectmen fix the building fee schedule after a public hearing. Its general bylaws add a Conservation Commission wetland bylaw (Section 508.00) on top of the state Wetlands Protection Act. The Building Commissioner is also the town’s Zoning Enforcement Officer, so zoning questions and building questions go to the same person. Removing soil, sand, gravel or other earth material from land is a separate matter: under the zoning bylaw it needs a special permit from the Board of Selectmen after a public hearing.

Saugus building department: who handles permitting

Inspectional Services issues all construction and trade permits. Michael LaVecchia is the Building Commissioner and Zoning Enforcement Officer; the department also has a building inspector, two electrical inspectors, a plumbing inspector and a sealer of weights and measures.

Permit types in Saugus

Residential permits

Most house projects use the Application for Permit to Build or Alter, which must be printed. Contractors fill in their Home Improvement Contractor and Construction Supervisor numbers; homeowners filling out their own permits must complete all four pages, including the workers’ compensation affidavit, which has a box for a homeowner doing all the work personally. The form asks whether the lot is in a flood plain or near wetlands, whether it has town water and sewer, a septic system or a well, and for the size of new construction, the heating method and the cost of the work. A brand-new house uses the separate new construction application. The zoning bylaw requires every application to come with an accurate plan of the lot showing its shape and dimensions, the existing buildings, where new work goes and the intended uses.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial work starts at an $80 minimum and pays $24 per $1,000 for new buildings, cluster and multi-unit projects and signs, double the residential rate. The fee sheet adds a plan review charge of $50 an hour for commercial plans. Commercial and residential buildings use different occupancy permit applications, and places that need a periodic certificate of inspection apply on the department’s certificate of inspection form. Projects under the state code’s construction control rules file the construction control affidavits the department posts, and a fall protection notice is part of the building forms.

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 Commissioner checks zoning as Zoning Enforcement Officer; variances and special permits start with the Zoning Board application posted with the building forms.
• Conservation Commission: work near wetlands goes to the commission at the Town Hall Annex, 25 Main Street (781-231-4129), under the state act and the town’s wetland bylaw. The bylaw presumes that land within 100 feet of resource areas, and within 200 feet of rivers and streams, matters to their protection, and it counts vernal pools and the 100 feet around them as resource areas whether or not the state has certified them. Work there starts with a Request for Determination of Applicability or a Notice of Intent, which carries its own town filing fee.
• Board of Health: Title 5 septic matters go to the Board of Health in Suite 9 of Town Hall (781-231-4117).
• Planning Board site plan review: Section 12.6 of the zoning bylaw requires Planning Board approval before a building permit for commercial work or more than 50% lot coverage in business and industrial districts, and, in residential districts, for buildings other than one- and two-family homes over 3,000 square feet or more than 50% lot coverage. The Building Inspector cannot grant an occupancy permit until the Planning Board confirms its conditions have been met.
• Flood zones: the zoning bylaw requires developers in a Zone A area without a mapped flood elevation to obtain existing flood elevation data.
• Historical Commission: before any demolition permit (except for signs), the building inspector notifies the commission by certified letter and files photographs of the building with it. If the commission raises no objection within 21 days the permit is not held up, and even an objection is not a legal reason to deny it.

Saugus building permit fees

The only building fee sheet Inspectional Services posts is headed “Proposed Fee Changes as 8-14-07”: it is a proposal, and we found no record that the Board of Selectmen adopted it. Under Section 10.6 of the zoning bylaw the Board of Selectmen sets building fees after a public hearing, so the figures below are the proposed 2007 amounts the office links today, not a confirmed adopted schedule; ask Inspectional Services for the current amount before you write the check. All permits are paid by check or money order made out to the Town of Saugus.

Worked example (proposed 2007 rates). A $45,000 kitchen and bath alteration in a single-family house costs 45 × $12 = $540, and an above-ground pool is a flat $100.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical, plumbing and gas permits use the application forms the department posts and are filed by state-licensed electricians, plumbers and gas fitters with a workers’ compensation affidavit. The trade fees are itemized:

Electrical work started without a permit triples the fee; plumbing and gas fees double. Trench, backflow and drain layer applications are on the plumbing forms page.

How to apply for a Saugus building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The state building code gives the building official 30 days from the application to approve or deny it (780 CMR 105.3.1). In Saugus the printed application has to be complete, all four pages of it for a homeowner, and the approvals that come before the permit take their own time: a Conservation Commission filing, Planning Board site plan review or flood-zone elevation data. A demolition can wait up to 21 days while the Historical Commission considers its certified-letter notice.

Inspections in Saugus

Each inspector covers one trade, so a typical house job sees the building inspector, the electrical inspectors and the plumbing inspector separately; their direct lines are in the contact table, and the counter hours above are when they are in the office. A failed inspection costs $40 on a residential job and $80 on a commercial one. At the end of the job, the residential or commercial building occupancy permit application leads to the certificate of occupancy ($100 residential, $200 commercial); if the building is used before everything is finished, temporary occupancy is charged by the month. Buildings that need periodic certification, such as places of assembly, apply on the certificate of inspection form.

Energy code and state code in Saugus

Saugus is a designated Green Community (since 2015) and builds to the Stretch energy code, not the Municipal Opt-in Specialized code, according to state figures compiled on a Town of Danvers comparison page through April 28, 2026.

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

Saugus permit search and official resources

Saugus keeps its permit files at Inspectional Services. To see the permit history of a property, or copies of plans and certificates, ask Inspectional Services at 781-231-4116 or file a request through the town’s public records request page.

• Saugus Inspectional Services
• Building forms and information
• Application for permit to build or alter
• New construction permit application
• Building permit fees
• Electrical forms and information
• Residential electrical permit fees, March 2023
• Plumbing, gas and sheet metal forms
• Plumbing and gas permit fees
• Saugus Zoning By-Laws, January 2026
• Saugus Town By-Laws (wetland control, section 508)
• Conservation Commission
• Board of Health
• Public records requests
• FEMA Community Status Book, Massachusetts
• DOER energy-code adoption by municipality
• Massachusetts State Building Code, 780 CMR
• Massachusetts city and town Census data

Saugus building permit FAQ

How much is a building permit in Saugus?

$12 per $1,000 of construction cost for homes and residential alterations ($40 minimum) and $24 per $1,000 for new commercial and multi-unit buildings ($80 minimum), on the only building fee sheet the department posts, a 2007 sheet headed “Proposed Fee Changes”; no record of its adoption was found, so ask the office for the current amount.

Can I apply for a Saugus building permit online?

Building permits are filed on the printable application forms the department posts, and fees are paid by check or money order.

When can I talk to a building inspector in Saugus?

At the counter Monday 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., Tuesday to Friday 8:15 to 9:30 a.m., Monday to Thursday noon to 1 p.m., and Monday evenings 5 to 7 p.m.

Do I need a permit for a shed in Saugus?

The Saugus fee sheet charges accessory buildings a $40 flat fee up to 120 square feet and $12 per $1,000 of cost above that. In residential districts Section 6.7 of the zoning bylaw keeps a detached accessory building 20 feet back from the frontage and 10 feet from side and rear lines, at most 20 feet tall and covering no more than 25% of the rear yard; an attached one must meet the house’s own setbacks.

Can a homeowner pull their own permit in Saugus?

Yes. The application has a homeowner path, and owners filling out their own permits must complete all four pages, including the workers’ compensation affidavit.

Does Saugus have a demolition delay?

Not a binding one. The Historical Commission is notified by certified letter and gets photographs; if it does not object within 21 days the permit proceeds, and an objection is not a legal reason to deny it.

How far must a pool be from the property line in Saugus?

The zoning bylaw sets the minimum side and rear distance for an accessory swimming pool at 10 feet in all districts. Above-ground pools pay a $100 flat building fee and in-ground pools $12 per $1,000.

Is Saugus in the National Flood Insurance Program?

Yes, as a participating community; FEMA’s current flood map for the town is dated July 8, 2025.

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