Uxbridge, Massachusetts Building Permit Guide

In Uxbridge, the Building Department in Room 203 of Town Hall, 21 South Main Street, issues building, electrical, plumbing, gas and sheet metal permits and certificates of occupancy, and answers zoning questions. Since June 10, 2026 applications and inspection requests go through the Town’s new GovWell online system; a paper application carries a $250 administration fee and must include an email address. The office is closed on Fridays.

What requires a building permit in Uxbridge?

The Building Department lists the permits it issues: building permits, certificates of occupancy, electrical permits, plumbing and gas permits and sheet metal permits, along with swimming pool permits, each of which also needs an electrical permit pulled by a licensed electrician. Its forms page adds guidance for decks, pool fencing and solar.

The Department reminds owners that compliance with the building code rests with the property owner, who should keep records of the building’s use group as tenants and uses change.

What Uxbridge decides and what the state holds

Construction is governed by the State Building Code, 780 CMR, issued by the Board of Building Regulations and Standards and applied as written. Uxbridge controls its permit fees, its Zoning By-Laws, its local historic district and its General Bylaws, which since July 1, 2018 have incorporated the Stretch Energy Code (Chapter 337), enforceable by the inspector of buildings or Building Commissioner.

Uxbridge building department: who handles permitting

Building Commissioner Joseph Fitzpatrick leads the Department, with an Electrical Inspector, a Plumbing/Gas Inspector and an administrative assistant, all reached through extension 2014.

The Conservation Agent (ext. 2020) also works from Town Hall, with office visits and site visits by appointment only, and the Town Planner, who staffs the Planning Board, is reached at 508-278-8600, press 1, option 4.

Uxbridge permit types and forms

GovWell holds the residential, commercial, sheet metal, plumbing, gas and electrical applications and is also where inspections are requested. The Department’s Other Forms & Documents page keeps the supporting papers: the workers’ compensation insurance form, the debris disposal affidavit, the commercial tenant change-of-use sheet, guidance for building a deck, guidelines for pool fencing, the solar memo and a records request form.

Residential permits

House projects use the residential application in GovWell. Pools are a two-permit job here: every swimming pool permit requires a separate electrical permit pulled by a licensed electrician, and the Department posts its own guidelines for pool fencing. A memo from the electrical inspector, agreed by the Building, Electrical and Fire Departments in January 2022, requires every residential solar installation to have a disconnect at the power company’s meter socket.

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

Accessory dwelling units

Section 400-16 of the Zoning By-Laws, as amended May 14, 2025 and approved by the Attorney General, allows one “Protected Use” accessory dwelling unit by right on a lot in the Residence A, B and C and Agricultural districts. It must be a complete unit with its own kitchen, bath and bedrooms, no larger than 900 square feet or half the floor area of the main house, whichever is smaller, with one dedicated off-street parking space, and it cannot be a short-term rental. Units that do not fit those limits may get a Zoning Board of Appeals special permit for up to three years if the owner lives on the property, the unit has one bedroom and is no more than 1,000 square feet. ADUs are not allowed in the Business or Industrial districts, and every unit must meet the building code and Title 5.

Commercial permits

Uxbridge’s commercial checklist asks for three sets of plans to quarter-inch scale, one of them 11 by 17 inches for the office, a plot plan, Fire Department approval, sewer approval or a septic disposal construction permit, a water district letter or well report, a DPW driveway permit, copies of any variances or special permits, a Planning Board release for new lots, workers’ compensation and liability insurance naming the Town as certificate holder, a street number and a code narrative. Buildings over 35,000 cubic feet also file the construction control documents and hold a preliminary meeting on required inspections.

Any change of use or occupancy in a commercial tenant space needs a building permit. A prospective business owner may apply only when the work is minor, such as painting, cleaning or redecorating, with a scaled floor plan. Structural changes, new partitions, finish changes or any job needing plumbing or electrical permits must be filed by a licensed construction supervisor, and work in a building over 35,000 cubic feet by a registered architect or engineer. Accessibility rules of the Architectural Access Board apply in every case.

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

• Zoning. The Zoning Board of Appeals meets at 6:00 pm on the first Wednesday in the Lower Town Hall meeting room and hears appeals from building permit denials and zoning enforcement decisions, special permits, variances and comprehensive permits. The Planning Board meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays.
• Conservation Commission. Reviews work in and near wetlands, floodplains, banks and riverfront areas under the Wetlands Protection Act; a commercial application needs its approval letter if any wetland is involved.
• Board of Health. Septic systems come under Title 5 through the Board of Health’s Title 5 Agent. The Board also has local rules of its own: Article XI sets minimum requirements for subsurface septic systems and Article 14 sets sanitation standards for private and semi-public wells.
• Floodplain. The Zoning By-Laws make the Building Commissioner the Town’s floodplain administrator. The Floodplain Overlay District (section 400-37) covers every Zone A and AE special flood hazard area on the federal flood maps, which are on file with the Assessors and the Town Clerk, and any development there, from new buildings to filling, grading or paving, must meet the district’s rules.
• DPW. Driveway permits come from the DPW at 147 Hecla Street (508-278-8616).
• Historic District Commission. In the Uxbridge Common and Center Historic District, no building or demolition permit can issue for work that changes exterior features visible from a public way until the Commission grants a certificate.

Uxbridge permit costs and fees

The Building Department’s fee sheet prints building fees effective January 2003 and electrical, plumbing and gas fees approved by the Select Board on October 27, 2025. New construction is priced from the ICC square-foot construction cost table. A paper application adds a $250 administration fee and must include an email address.

For example, a $40,000 residential addition costs $200 for the building permit (40 × $5). Starting before the permit is issued doubles the building fee, and no plumbing permit is issued for an irrigation system until the plumber has met the DPW and received its approval. The Fire Department’s own schedule (revised August 22, 2019) adds $25 for oil burning equipment, a fire protection system, LP-gas storage, each smoke or carbon monoxide detector certificate and each tank removed, and $5 for an LP-gas installation or a dumpster.

Trade permits and who may pull them

• Electrical: filed in GovWell and inspected by the Town’s Electrical Inspector. Every swimming pool needs an electrical permit pulled by a licensed electrician, and residential solar needs the meter-socket disconnect.
• Plumbing and gas: filed in GovWell and inspected by the Plumbing/Gas Inspector.
• Sheet metal: its own GovWell application.
• Fire Department: oil burner, LP-gas, fire protection and dumpster permits, and the smoke and carbon monoxide detector certificates.

For commercial tenant spaces, the change-of-use sheet makes plain that any job needing plumbing or electrical permits goes beyond minor work and must be led by a licensed construction supervisor.

How to apply for an Uxbridge building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Under 780 CMR 105.3.1 the building official must act on an application within 30 days of its filing. In Uxbridge, the historic district adds its own step: the Commission has 14 days to decide whether a project falls under its review, and if it does, it holds a public hearing before issuing a certificate. Commercial files also wait on the Fire Department, sewer or septic, water and driveway approvals listed on the checklist, and a business owner may file a change-of-use permit only for minor work; anything more needs a licensed construction supervisor, or an architect or engineer in a large building, as the applicant.

Inspections in Uxbridge

Inspections for building, electrical, plumbing, gas and sheet metal permits are requested through GovWell, the same system used to apply. The Department issues certificates of occupancy, and it requires inspections and an occupancy permit whenever a building’s use group or hazard index changes, not only after new construction.

Large commercial buildings over 35,000 cubic feet follow the construction control path: an initial document with the application, a meeting on the required inspection and site review document, and a final construction control document when the work is finished.

Building code and local bylaws in Uxbridge

Uxbridge enforces 780 CMR, 10th edition, with the Stretch Energy Code adopted into its General Bylaws as Chapter 337. Chapter 218 sets up the Uxbridge Common and Center Historic District under the state Historic Districts Act. The Commission’s review does not reach walls and fences, storm doors and windows, paint and roof colors, at-grade walks and driveways, landscaping, ordinary repairs that do not change design or materials, or rebuilding after a fire or storm if it starts within a year. Anyone aggrieved by a Commission decision may ask, within 20 days, for a review by a person named by the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission, and then appeal to Superior Court. FEMA lists Uxbridge as a participating community in the National Flood Insurance Program, with flood maps effective July 4, 2011.

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

Uxbridge permit search and official resources

GovWell has a public view of permit records linked from the Building Department page. For older files, use the Department’s records request form, which promises a response within 10 days, or contact the Town Clerk, the Town’s Records Access Officer (508-278-8600, ext. 2011).

• Uxbridge Building Department
• Uxbridge GovWell online permitting
• GovWell public view of permit records
• Building Department forms and documents
• Code and other requirements for building permits
• Change of use or occupancy, commercial tenant space
• Solar installation requirements
• Guidance for building a deck
• Guidelines for pool fencing
• Building, electrical, plumbing and gas permit fees
• Fire Department permit fees
• General Bylaws (October 22, 2024)
• Zoning By-Laws
• Historic District Commission
• Conservation Commission
• Board of Health
• Board of Health regulations (septic and wells)
• Fire Department forms and permits
• Zoning Board of Appeals
• Planning Board
• Records request form
• FEMA Community Status Book, Massachusetts

Uxbridge building permit FAQ

How do I apply for a building permit in Uxbridge?

Online through GovWell, which the Building Department has used since June 10, 2026 for building, electrical, plumbing, gas and sheet metal permits and for inspection requests.

Can I file a paper application?

Yes, but the Department charges a $250 administration fee for paper applications, and the form must include an email address.

Is the Building Department open on Fridays?

No. It is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm and Wednesday from 8:00 am to 7:00 pm.

Does a pool need more than a building permit?

Yes. Every swimming pool permit also requires an electrical permit pulled by a licensed electrician, and the Department publishes pool fencing guidelines.

Do I need a permit to open a business in an existing store?

Yes. Any change of use or occupancy in a commercial tenant space needs a building permit; the business owner can apply only for minor work such as painting or redecorating.

Which energy code applies in Uxbridge?

The Stretch Energy Code, part of the General Bylaws as Chapter 337 since July 1, 2018.

Do I need approval to change a house near the Uxbridge Common?

If it is in the Common and Center Historic District and the change is visible from a public way, yes: the Historic District Commission must issue a certificate before the building permit. Fences, paint colors and ordinary repairs are outside its review.

How do I look up a past permit?

Use the GovWell public records view, or file the Building Department’s records request form; copies are 5 cents a page plus search and copying fees.

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