The Town of Bedford’s Building Department, a division of the Bedford Fire Department on the second floor of the Safety Complex at 55 Constitution Drive, issues permits for a Hillsborough County town of around 24,000 immediately west of Manchester. The department runs its own plan review and inspections and keeps its counter open on weekdays from eight to half past four (603-472-3838). Applications can be brought in, posted or emailed.
The address is the thing to get right. Bedford's Town Office is at 24 North Amherst Road and its Building Department is at 55 Constitution Drive — two separate buildings with two separate telephone lines, and mapping services frequently return the Town Office for a building permit search. Beyond that, the town's process is conventional for a New Hampshire municipality that has adopted an enforcement mechanism: the state building code administered locally, plan review and inspection in-house, and the trades permitted separately by state-licensed tradespeople.
This guide covers the Town of Bedford in Hillsborough County. Manchester, Merrimack, Amherst, Goffstown and New Boston are separate municipalities with their own building officials, and no New Hampshire county issues building permits in practice.
The Building Department is not at the Town Office. Bedford's Building Department is at 55 Constitution Drive; the Town Office is at 24 North Amherst Road. They are separate buildings with separate telephone lines, and a search for a Bedford building permit will often return the Town Office instead. Confirm the address before travelling and dial the department's own number rather than the town switchboard.
What requires a building permit in Bedford?
In Bedford the questions are whether the municipality enforces, what it has amended, and the Building Department's separate address on Constitution Drive.
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- Construction, alteration, addition, demolition and change of occupancy, on a permit before work begins
- Swimming pools, decks and additions, all reviewed and inspected by the department
- Electrical, plumbing and mechanical work, each on its own permit by a state-licensed tradesperson
- New construction and renovation, on a permit obtained before work begins under RSA 155-A:4
- Alteration, renovation, rehabilitation, repair, removal and demolition of buildings previously erected
- Electrical, plumbing and gas work, by tradespeople licensed by the state
Often exempt
- Ordinary repairs that do not alter structure, egress, fire protection or building systems
- Painting, papering, flooring, cabinets and similar finish work
- Ordinary repairs that do not alter structure, egress, fire protection or building systems
- A tent of any size erected as an accessory structure at an owner-occupied one- or two-family dwelling
- Painting, papering, flooring, cabinets and similar finish work
What the municipality may change, and what it may not
Locally, what stands out is the Building Department's own address and line, separate from the Town Office, and the in-house plan review the department runs.
Every building in New Hampshire must meet the state building and fire codes (the 2024 codes since July 2026). Only towns that have adopted an enforcement mechanism issue local permits, and any local amendment must be administrative and confirmed by the state. New Hampshire rules
Who handles permitting in Bedford?
The Building Department, a division of the Bedford Fire Department, is the permitting authority inside the town, administering the New Hampshire State Building Code through the enforcement mechanism Bedford has adopted, with the department’s own inspectors carrying out plan review and field inspection. Trade permits for licensed trades are issued in person at the department, on presentation of the tradesperson’s current licence; they cannot be taken out online or by proxy. The State Fire Marshal permits state, university and community college buildings, the environmental department issues shoreland, wetlands and sewage approvals, and the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification licenses the trades statewide.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Department | Bedford Building Department |
| Office | 55 Constitution Drive, Bedford, NH 03110 |
| Phone | (603) 472-3838 |
| Not this address | Bedford Town Office, 24 North Amherst Road, (603) 472-5242 |
| Hours | Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm |
| Trade licences | Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, statewide |
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Residential permits
A Bedford house project files with the Building Department on Constitution Drive, with the trades on their own permits and New Hampshire licences on the tradespeople. The town's residential file runs heavily to additions, pools and larger new houses rather than to conversions, and the department handles the plan review and the inspections itself rather than contracting them out — which shortens the path from a question to an answer.
Commercial permits
Commercial work in Bedford — the Route 101 corridor, the office and medical parcels along the Manchester line and the retail frontage — runs through the same department with the state fire code alongside. Larger projects reach the State Fire Marshal's pre-construction review list, which runs on the state's timetable rather than the town's and is worth starting early on an institutional or assembly building.
The state permits that sit outside the town
In Bedford the Merrimack River along the eastern boundary and the brooks and wetlands inland bring the state environmental department's approvals ahead of the local permit on affected parcels, and the town's larger lots put septic and well approvals into a good share of the residential file.
New Hampshire has no general contractor licence; the contractor carries the duty to meet the state codes, and the trades hold state licences. New Hampshire rules
Bedford permit costs and fees
Bedford charges building and trade permit fees under the town's schedule, with the state's own approvals charged by the department issuing them and board fees where the project reaches planning or zoning.
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Call 1-855-478-4290 →| Item | Fee or rule |
|---|---|
| Building permit | On the declared construction value, per the town's schedule |
| Trade permits | Separate electrical, plumbing and mechanical fees |
| State permits | Shoreland, wetlands and sewage approvals through the environmental department |
| Planning and zoning | Board application fees where the project reaches them |
| Fire review | State fire code review where the project reaches the pre-construction list |
| Plan review | Carried out in-house by the department's inspectors |
In-house review is a schedule advantage. Bedford reviews plans and carries out inspections with its own staff rather than contracting the work out, which is not universal in New Hampshire — a municipality that has adopted an enforcement mechanism may contract it to a third party instead. Where review is in-house, a correction is usually a conversation rather than a round trip, and that is worth something on a schedule.
Trade permits and who may pull them
Permit required
- Electrical — by an electrician licensed by the state electricians' board
- Plumbing — by a plumber licensed by the state mechanical licensing board
- Gas fitting — by a gas fitter licensed by the state mechanical licensing board
- Fire protection — under the state fire code, with the fire marshal's review where it applies
Typically exempt
- Arc-fault protection beyond the 2014 electrical requirements, which is not enforced in New Hampshire
- Like-for-like replacement the adopted code places below the permit threshold
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Get a free quote →Trade work follows the town’s permit process where the town enforces, and is done by tradespeople holding the state licence their trade requires. New Hampshire rules
How to apply for a Bedford building permit
Permitting exists locally only where an enforcement mechanism has been adopted under RSA 155-A:3; the code applies either way.
A local amendment may cover only administrative matters, is unenforceable unless the Building Code Review Board has confirmed it, and the board publishes what it confirms.
Shoreland, wetlands and subsurface sewage approvals come from the environmental department, not from the town.
Electricians, plumbers and gas fitters are licensed by the state; there is no general contractor licence, and the contractor carries the compliance duty.
The code in effect when the application is received governs the whole of the work; during a concurrency period elect one edition, not a blend.
Footing to final, with trade inspections as the town requires, then the certificate of occupancy where the town issues one.
Review, corrections and what actually causes delay
The Building Department reviews plans in-house against the state building code, with the state fire code alongside. What delays a Bedford project is an application taken to the Town Office instead of the department, a trade permit pulled by someone without a New Hampshire licence, and a wetland parcel where the state approval was left until after the design.
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Where the municipality enforces, inspections follow the code's sequence — footing, foundation, framing, rough trades, insulation and final — requested from the building official by permit number, with the trades inspected on their own permits and a certificate of occupancy at the end. Where the State Building Permit Program covers the work instead, inspections are booked with the State Fire Marshal's office at least 48 hours ahead, non-compliant work draws a written order to correct, and the re-inspection carries its own fee. Bedford inspections are carried out by the department’s own inspectors between half past nine and half past three on weekdays. Request them at least 24 hours ahead on the inspection line, 603-472-4567; no inspections are scheduled on the second Wednesday of each month. Each trade is inspected on its own permit, with a certificate of occupancy at the close.
Bedford permit search and official resources
- New Hampshire State Building Code — the adopted editions and the statewide amendments
- RSA chapter 155-A — the statute on the code, permits, enforcement and appeals
- State Building Permit Program — the fire marshal's permitting and pre-construction review
- New Hampshire State Building Code — the adopted editions, the amendments and RSA 155-A
- State Building Permit Program — the fire marshal's permits, inspections and certificates where a municipality does not enforce
- RSA chapter 155-A — the statute on the code, permits, enforcement and appeals
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →Frequently asked questions
Who issues building permits in Bedford?
The town's Building Department at 55 Constitution Drive, which is a different building from the Town Office. No New Hampshire county issues building permits in practice.
Is the Building Department at the Town Office?
No. The Town Office is at 24 North Amherst Road with its own line; the Building Department is at 55 Constitution Drive. Searches frequently return the wrong one.
Which code applies?
The New Hampshire State Building Code — the 2024 international codes with the 2018 energy code and the 2023 electrical code, in force since the first of July 2026.
Does the town do its own plan review?
Yes. Bedford carries out plan review and inspections with its own staff rather than contracting them to a third party.
Do I need a licensed contractor?
New Hampshire issues no general contractor licence, but electricians, plumbers and gas fitters hold state licences and the contractor carries the compliance duty by statute.
Who approves a septic system?
The state environmental department approves subsurface sewage disposal; the town does not. That approval belongs in the file before the building permit.
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Bedford’s department is easy to arrive at the wrong building for. We file at Constitution Drive, put state licences on the trades, and start the environmental approvals ahead of design.
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More New Hampshire permitting guides
More New Hampshire permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Bedford permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.