Shrewsbury, Massachusetts Building Permit Guide

In Shrewsbury, the Office of the Building Inspector at Town Hall, 100 Maple Avenue, issues building permits and, through its electrical and plumbing and gas inspectors, the trade permits. Applications are filed in the town’s OpenGov system, and since the fees set by Town Meeting on May 19, 2025, a building permit costs $12 per $1,000 of construction value, with a $50 minimum.

What requires a building permit in Shrewsbury?

The Building Inspector’s FAQ follows the state code: a permit is needed before anyone builds, alters, repairs, removes or demolishes a building or structure, changes its use or occupancy, or installs or alters equipment or life-safety systems. The town’s chart of required documents lists the common permit types: new homes and ADUs, additions, alterations, accessory buildings, decks and other exterior work, demolition, roofing, siding and insulation, door and window replacement, chimneys and stoves, retaining walls and tents.

The FAQ’s list also exempts water tanks under 5,000 gallons resting on the ground, window awnings projecting less than 54 inches, greenhouses covered only in plastic film and repairs to fire protection systems.

What Shrewsbury decides and what the state holds

The building rules are the State Building Code, 780 CMR, issued by the Board of Building Regulations and Standards; the Building Inspector’s page notes the 10th edition has governed since July 1, 2025. Shrewsbury controls its fees, which Town Meeting sets, and its General and Zoning Bylaws, as well as its two local historic districts. The Building Codes page lists the state’s 2025 energy code regulations (225 CMR 22 for low-rise homes and 225 CMR 23 for other buildings) without saying which energy path the town follows, and every application must show energy code compliance.

Shrewsbury building department: who handles permitting

The Office of the Building Inspector is run by Inspector of Buildings Patricia Sheehan, with two assistant building inspectors, an electrical inspector and a plumbing and gas inspector. The same office line also answers Planning and Economic Development questions about the online Planning Board and Zoning Board applications.

Electrical work for a new house, a temporary service, a service upgrade or solar also needs a work request number from SELCO, the town’s electric and cable utility, before the wiring permit is filed.

Shrewsbury permit types

In OpenGov, choose Building Inspection Services and then the residential or commercial building application, or the electrical, plumbing, gas or sheet metal permit. The town’s residential submission guide (updated fall 2024) walks through each screen; anyone who has not signed in for more than a year must create a new username and password. Most permit types need an owner authorization form, a workers’ compensation affidavit, a certificate of insurance, a copy of the contractor’s Construction Supervisor License and an electronic set of existing and proposed plans.

Residential permits

Owners may apply for work on their own home if they live in it and know the building code, and the department posts a paper on the risks of homeowners taking out their own permits: an owner who pulls the permit gives up access to the state Guaranty Fund under the Home Improvement Law, and anyone hired for the work must still be registered. Contractors supply a Construction Supervisor License, Home Improvement Contractor registration and workers’ compensation coverage. A minimum residential set covers floor plans with each room labelled, framing and engineered lumber details, elevations, energy code compliance, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and egress, and a certified plot plan from a registered land surveyor. The department has written guides for ADUs, decks under the 10th edition, basement finishing, ductless heat pumps and pool barriers.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial building permits use the same $12 per $1,000 rate, and commercial wiring is $100 plus $10 per $1,000 of electrical construction cost. Restaurants, clubs, churches, schools, child care, institutions, hotels and multi-family buildings need periodic certificates of inspection, from $75 to $100, some with added per-unit or per-bed charges. The Planning Board offers pre-application Development Team consultations through OpenGov, open to developers, residents and landowners, to talk through permitting steps, zoning compliance, engineering standards and land-use policy before a project is designed in full.

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. Special permits and variances go to the Zoning Board of Appeals ($300 filing fee, several requests allowed on one application; comprehensive permits $1,000 plus $100 per unit), filed online. The Planning Board meets on the first Thursday of each month for site plans, subdivisions and special permits.
• Conservation Commission. Work within 100 feet of most wetlands or 200 feet of a stream or river needs a filing under the state Wetlands Protection Act and the town’s own Wetlands Protection Bylaw (Town Meeting Article 29, May 2023, approved by the Attorney General on September 14, 2023). The Commission meets at 7:00 pm on the third Tuesday at the Municipal Office Building; hearing applications are due at least two weeks ahead, in three paper copies plus an electronic copy, with town fees paid by check to Town of Shrewsbury Conservation.
• Board of Health. Septic systems follow Title 5 through the Central MA Regional Health Department, which serves Shrewsbury, Grafton and West Boylston under the Board of Health, whose three members are appointed by the Town Manager; the same department handles food service, housing and nuisance matters.
• Historic District Commission. The town declared its local historic district in 1972. Exterior work in the town-center district north of Main Street, which takes in the Common, the First Congregational Church, the 1830 brick schoolhouse and the library, or at the Artemas Ward homestead owned by Harvard University, needs a Certificate of Appropriateness.

Around Lake Quinsigamond, the Commission uses a 100-year flood elevation of 364.1 feet as of March 2025, up from 358.8, because FEMA’s newer flood data proposes the higher figure. Zoning changes are pending: proposed bylaw articles on drone delivery facilities and on data centers, including a ban on centers drawing more than 10 megawatts, have a Planning Board hearing on November 5, 2026 and go to a Special Town Meeting on December 7, 2026.

Shrewsbury permit costs and fees

The building permit fee is based on the total cost listed on the application, rounded up to the next whole $1,000. Town Meeting set the current building fees on May 19, 2025 and the $50 reinspection fee on May 18, 2016. Paper electrical permits carry a $15 manual entry fee, must include an email address because status updates come from the online system, and can take up to three business days to enter.

For example, a $34,200 kitchen remodel is rounded up to $35,000, so the building permit is $420 (35 × $12). A plumbing permit includes one underground, one rough and one finish inspection; each extra visit is $50, and a separate plumbing permit is filed for each dwelling unit. The department estimates construction costs with the ICC Building Valuation Data.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Shrewsbury states that electrical, plumbing and gas permits must be filed by the licensed tradesperson, and the homeowner’s exemption does not apply to them.

• Electrical: filed online; a new house is three inspections, and SELCO work requests are needed for new or temporary services, service upgrades and solar.
• Plumbing and gas: one permit per dwelling unit or business; a gas permit is needed for a water heater only if it is gas-fired.
• Sheet metal: priced like a building permit at $12 per $1,000.

How to apply for a Shrewsbury building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Applicants see comments, missing items and each department’s sign-off on their OpenGov dashboard. Under 780 CMR 105.3.1 the building official must act within 30 days of filing. Intake review comes before payment and building code review, so a file missing items from the FAQ’s minimum list, such as the certified plot plan or energy code compliance, waits at intake.

Inspections in Shrewsbury

Every inspection is logged in OpenGov, and the printed permit card must be posted on the site. Plumbing and gas permits each cover one underground, one rough and one finish inspection, and a new-house electrical permit covers three; any extra inspection or reinspection is $50.

When work is found done without a permit, the owner must apply as though the project were being built today; parts of the finished work may have to be opened for inspection, and materials that do not meet current code may have to come out. Places that need periodic certificates of inspection are inspected on the schedule in Table 110 of the state code, which the department posts; for example, restaurants and night clubs over 400 occupants are inspected twice a year and smaller ones once a year, and such buildings may not stay occupied without a valid certificate.

Pool permits are checked against the barrier rules the department publishes from the 2021 Massachusetts Swimming Pool and Spa Code: the barrier must be at least 48 inches high with no opening that passes a 4-inch sphere, and an in-ground pool site must be ringed by construction fencing at least 4 feet tall from the first excavation until the permanent barrier is finished.

Massachusetts building code

Shrewsbury enforces the 10th edition of 780 CMR. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists the Town of Shrewsbury (community 250332) as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program, with flood maps dated 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

Shrewsbury permit search and official resources

Applicants track their own permits in OpenGov, and the Building Inspector’s office posts permit reports in the town Document Center. Orders of conditions and certificates of compliance from the Conservation Commission are recorded with the property at the Worcester Registry of Deeds, so they can be found in its online land records. Other records go through the Town Clerk, the town’s primary Records Access Officer, at 100 Maple Avenue (508-841-8507).

• Shrewsbury Building Inspector
• How to apply for a building permit
• Shrewsbury OpenGov permit portal
• Permitting fees
• Building permit FAQs
• Required documents by type of work
• Residential permit submission guide
• Guides and resources
• Zoning Board of Appeals
• Planning Board
• Proposed zoning articles, December 2026
• Conservation Commission
• Historic District Commission
• Central MA Regional Health Department
• Town bylaws
• Public records

Shrewsbury building permit FAQs

How much is a building permit in Shrewsbury?

$12 per $1,000 of construction value, rounded up to the next $1,000, with a $50 minimum, as set by Town Meeting on May 19, 2025.

Can I file a paper application in Shrewsbury?

Building permits have been online since 2011. Paper electrical forms are taken with a $15 manual entry fee and an email address.

Do I need a permit for a shed or a deck?

Not for a shed of 200 square feet or less, or a ground-level detached deck of 200 square feet or less; larger ones need a permit.

Do I need a permit for a fence?

Only for a fence over 7 feet tall.

Can a homeowner pull a building permit?

Yes, for an owner-occupied home. Electrical, plumbing and gas permits must come from licensed tradespeople.

How do I reach the Building Inspector?

Call 508-841-8512; visits are by appointment in the morning and late-afternoon office hours.

Why does my electrical permit need a SELCO number?

The town’s electric utility issues work request numbers for new houses, temporary services, service upgrades and solar.

Who handles septic permits in Shrewsbury?

The Central MA Regional Health Department, under the Board of Health, applying Title 5.

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