Scituate, Massachusetts Building Permit Guide

Scituate’s Building/Inspections Department, at Town Hall, 600 Chief Justice Cushing Highway (781-545-8716), issues building, electrical, plumbing and gas permits, and every application and inspection request goes through PermitEyes. Residential building permits cost $13 per $1,000 of estimated cost with a $50 minimum, under the Select Board vote of February 13, 2024. New homes must meet the Stretch Energy Code, and work in flood zones follows the Town’s coastal elevation guidance.

What requires a building permit in Scituate?

Scituate is a coastal Plymouth County town of about 19,700 people whose shoreline lots can fall in V, A or AO flood zones, on barrier beach or dune, or near salt marsh. The Building/Inspections Department lists the work that needs a building permit:

A local rule to note: turning a seasonal home into a year-round one requires an occupancy permit under Section 30310 of the General Bylaws.

What Scituate decides and what the state holds

The building code, 780 CMR, comes from the state Board of Building Regulations and Standards, and Scituate cannot amend it. The Town’s own rules sit around it: the Select Board sets building and electrical permit fees (General Bylaws Section 30320), Town Meeting adopted the Stretch Energy Code (Section 30355, effective July 1, 2011), and the Zoning Bylaw (amended through the April 13, 2026 Annual Town Meeting) sets lot sizes, setbacks, height limits and the Flood Plain and Watershed Protection District. The General Bylaws also add a 5-foot pool fence rule, a 12-month demolition delay and a local wetlands bylaw.

Scituate building department: who handles permitting

The Building/Inspections Department is the permitting authority for building, plumbing, gas and electrical work and also houses the Sealer of Weights and Measures. Robert Vogel is the Building Commissioner and Zoning Enforcement Officer; a local building inspector, a plumbing and gas inspector and an electrical inspector work under him.

Other Town Hall offices you are likely to need: the Board of Health (781-545-8725), the Conservation Commission agent (781-545-8721), the Water Division (781-545-8735) and the Sewer Division (781-545-8736).

Scituate permit types and the approvals that come first

Since June 28, 2021 every permit (building, demolition, tent, pod, pool, wood stove or fireplace, electrical, plumbing and gas fitting) has had to be filed online, with all plans and supporting documents uploaded. The Town will not review an application until it is complete; staff point out gaps through the PermitEyes chat function, and the permit is processed once the emailed fee is paid. A homeowner may apply for building and other non-trade permits with a Homeowner’s Affidavit; otherwise a licensed contractor applies.

Residential permits

The department’s application requirements sheet sets out the documents by job:

• Decks: a plan of the deck and adjacent house (a hand sketch is fine), framing and foundation details, the railing design, and the contractor’s workers’ compensation proof, CSL and HIC cards and signed contract (not needed when the homeowner applies).
• Interior renovation: a plan of the area; structural changes stamped by an engineer or confirmed by a lumber-yard printout; insulation values for energy code compliance; and, where bedrooms change, a plan stamped by the Fire Department showing smoke and CO detectors.
• New house: a site plan stamped by a civil engineer or land surveyor showing zone, setbacks, wetland limits and impervious area; recorded ZBA, Conservation and Planning Board decision pages; floor plans stamped by the Fire Department; stamped structural plans; a HERS rating showing the design meets the Stretch Energy Code; and an elevation certificate in a flood zone.
• Additions: the same, with a RESCheck report in place of the HERS rating.
• Pools: an engineered site plan with a 5-foot non-climbable fence and gates, alarms on house doors opening into the pool enclosure, and a separate Health Department filter permit.
• Solar: the installer’s data package and an engineer’s letter on roof capacity; a battery storage system also needs Fire Department review.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial building work is charged $15 per $1,000 of estimated cost and commercial electrical work by service size or contract value. Under Section 30330 of the General Bylaws, the building code’s fire limits follow the boundaries of the Harbor and North Scituate business zones. Signs need a $50 commercial sign permit.

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

What comes before the building permit

• Conservation Commission: wetlands, buffer zones within 100 feet, flood plains, salt marshes, coastal banks, barrier beaches, dunes and riverfront areas within 200 feet of perennial streams come under the state act and Scituate’s own wetlands bylaw. The Commission also decides which lots are coastal dune or barrier beach.
• Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Board: variances, special permits and site plan or stormwater approvals; the recorded decision page goes in with the application.
• Board of Health: Title 5 septic, pool filter permits, and asbestos and rodent control filings for demolition, all through PermitEyes.
• Historical Commission: a demolition review for any building 100 or more years old.

Scituate permit fees

Building fees were raised by Select Board vote on February 13, 2024 for applications received from March 1, 2024. The fee is calculated after you apply and sent by email.

Example: a $60,000 kitchen and bath renovation costs 60 × $13 = $780 for the building permit. An older department FAQ still quotes $30 for a lost permit card; the 2024 fee page says $25.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical, plumbing and gas fitting permits must be applied for by licensed tradespeople, through the same PermitEyes account system. Plumbing permit fees are set by the Board of Health and electrical fees by the Select Board, under Section 30320 of the General Bylaws. The posted trade fee sheets carry no date:

Generator fees are charged on top of a new-home or remodel electrical fee, not folded into it. A trade re-inspection fee applies when the work is not ready, the premises are locked or have no stair access, or the work is disapproved. For building work, contractors upload their state Construction Supervisor License and Home Improvement Contractor cards; pool contractors need the HIC card but not a CSL.

How to apply for a Scituate building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

An incomplete application is not reviewed at all, so missing stamps, unrecorded board decisions or a missing HERS or RESCheck report will stop the review. Once an application is complete, 780 CMR 105.3.1 gives the building official 30 days from filing to grant or deny it. Coastal projects add time for the Conservation Commission, which meets virtually twice a month, and for elevation certificates prepared by a surveyor or engineer.

Inspections in Scituate

Inspection requests go through PermitEyes, and someone must be home to let the inspector in. The department requires building inspections at these stages:

• Footings and foundations
• Chimney throat and wood stove installations
• Rough frame, after the rough plumbing and electrical inspections
• Insulation
• Final, after the final plumbing and electrical inspections; the Fire Department also inspects when bedrooms were added or changed

The certificate of occupancy ($50) needs the signed permit card, an as-built foundation plan, Fire Department and (where applicable) Board of Health certificates of compliance, the HERS certificate for new construction and an elevation certificate in a flood zone. If the plans showed the house within 5% of the zoning height limits (35 feet to the roof midpoint, 40 feet to the ridge), an as-built height is required too.

Building code, flood zones and local bylaws in Scituate

Scituate enforces 780 CMR, 10th edition, with the Stretch Energy Code adopted under Section 30355 of the General Bylaws (approved by the Attorney General on December 16, 2010 and effective July 1, 2011). The department’s flood guidance, revised December 14, 2023 and written against the 9th edition, sets the design flood elevation at the base flood elevation plus 1 foot in A zones and plus 2 feet in V zones, measured in V zones to the underside of the lowest structural member. Work costing more than 50% of the building’s value is a substantial improvement that brings the whole building up to the flood rules. On lots the Conservation Commission designates as coastal dune or barrier beach, the only allowed foundation is driven wooden piles. FEMA lists Scituate as a participating community in the National Flood Insurance Program, with flood maps effective July 6, 2021; it also lists Scituate in Community Rating System class 7, with a 15% flood insurance discount.

Separately, the Town’s Flood Plain and Watershed Protection District (Zoning Bylaw Section 470, mapped in 1972) allows no new structures except listed accessory uses, such as garages and sheds serving buildings that legally existed on March 2, 1992, and the uses the ZBA allows by special permit. The demolition review bylaw (Section 30361) gives the Historical Commission 15 business days to decide whether a building 100 or more years old is significant, and a building it finds preferably preserved faces a 12-month delay; buildings in the velocity flood zone are exempt.

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

Scituate permit search and official resources

Scituate’s PermitEyes site has no public permit search: the public view sends visitors to a staff login. To see past permits or a plot plan on file, ask the Building/Inspections Department; the office has a plot plan only if an owner filed one with an earlier permit. Formal requests can be made with the Town Clerk’s public records request form.

• Scituate Building/Inspections Department
• Online permit application (PermitEyes)
• Building fee schedule (March 1, 2024)
• Electrical fee schedule
• Plumbing and gas fee schedule
• Permit application requirements
• Building department FAQs
• Flood zone regulations guidance (December 14, 2023)
• Zoning Bylaw (April 13, 2026)
• General Bylaws (July 9, 2026)
• Demolition review bylaw
• Conservation Commission
• Board of Health
• Coastal management and flood hazard mitigation
• Public records request form
• Massachusetts State Building Code (780 CMR)
• FEMA Community Status Book, Massachusetts

Scituate building permit FAQ

Who issues building permits in Scituate, MA?

The Building/Inspections Department at Town Hall, 600 Chief Justice Cushing Highway (781-545-8716). Robert Vogel is the Building Commissioner.

How much is a building permit in Scituate?

$13 per $1,000 of estimated cost for residential work, with a $50 minimum, and $15 per $1,000 for commercial work, for applications received from March 1, 2024.

Can I file a paper application?

No. All permits have been online-only through PermitEyes since June 28, 2021, and inspections are requested there too.

Do I need a permit for a shed or fence?

A shed needs a permit if it is over 200 square feet or over 15 feet tall; a fence only if it is over 7 feet. Both still have to respect zoning.

What fence does a pool need in Scituate?

A non-climbable fence at least 5 feet high with self-closing, self-latching gates, plus alarms on house doors that open into the pool area and a Health Department filter permit.

Will I have to raise my house to remodel it in a flood zone?

Yes if the work costs more than 50% of the building’s value: it is then a substantial improvement and the whole house must meet the flood elevation rules.

Can a homeowner pull the permit?

Yes for building and other non-trade permits, with the Homeowner’s Affidavit. Electrical, plumbing and gas permits must be filed by licensed tradespeople.

Can I tear down an old house in Scituate?

If it is 100 or more years old (or its age is unknown), the Historical Commission reviews it first and can impose a 12-month delay; velocity-zone buildings are exempt.

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