The City of Concord's Building Safety Division at 37 Green Street reviews and accepts plans submitted with building permit applications, issues building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical and demolition permits, performs the inspections and issues certificates of occupancy once code compliance has been documented. The division also administers the City of Concord Property Maintenance Code and coordinates the Building Board of Appeals — the local appeal route that RSA 155-A requires of a municipality that has adopted an enforcement mechanism. The counter opens at half past seven, earlier than most.
The capital line matters here. Under RSA 155-A the State Fire Marshal issues permits, conducts inspections and issues certificates of occupancy for buildings owned by the state, the university system and the community college system, and gives due consideration to the written recommendations of the local fire chief and building official before doing so. In Concord that covers the State House, the legislative office building and the state complex along the river — parcels the city's own division does not permit, sitting beside private buildings that it does.
This guide covers the City of Concord in Merrimack County. Bow, Hopkinton, Boscawen, Canterbury, Loudon and Pembroke are separate municipalities with their own building officials; state-owned buildings inside the city are permitted by the State Fire Marshal; and no New Hampshire county issues building permits in practice.
The capital's map has parcels the city does not permit. Buildings owned by the state, the university system and the community college system are permitted, inspected and certified by the State Fire Marshal wherever they stand — and in Concord that is a meaningful share of the downtown. The fire marshal takes the local building official's written recommendations into account, but the file is the state's. Establish ownership before assuming the authority.
What requires a building permit in Concord?
New Hampshire applies one code everywhere and leaves the enforcing to the town. Under RSA 155-A all buildings, building components and structures constructed in New Hampshire must comply with the state building code and the state fire code — there is no opting out of the standard. What varies is who administers it: a municipality takes on permitting and inspection only by adopting an enforcement mechanism under RSA 674:51, and a good number of New Hampshire towns never have. The code itself is the twenty twenty-one international building, residential, existing building, plumbing, mechanical and swimming pool codes with the twenty eighteen energy code and the twenty twenty-three National Electrical Code, all with New Hampshire amendments, in force since the first of July twenty twenty-four. So in Concord the questions are whether the municipality enforces, what it has amended, and the state buildings the fire marshal permits rather than the city.
Two statutory rules shape every New Hampshire project and neither is in the model code. The first is a lock on the edition: the state building code in effect when the permit application is received by the governing authority remains in effect for the duration of the work covered by that permit, so a long project is not overtaken mid-build by a new code. The second is the concurrency period: for six months after a new edition takes effect an applicant may elect to show compliance under either the old code or the new one — but not a combination of the two. Beyond that, the code draws the ordinary permit line: construction, alteration, renovation, repair, removal and demolition are covered; ordinary repairs are not.
Typically permit required
- Building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical and demolition work, each on its own permit from the division
- Compliance with the city's own property maintenance code, administered by the same division
- Plans submitted with the application, reviewed and accepted for code compliance before issue
- 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 mechanical work, by tradespeople licensed by the state
Often exempt
- Ordinary repairs that do not alter structure, egress, fire protection or building systems
- State-owned buildings, which the State Fire Marshal permits rather than the city
- 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
New Hampshire lets a municipality amend the state building code, and then puts a check on it. Local amendments are adopted by the legislative body under RSA 674:51, but since the twenty twenty-two amendment to that statute a local ordinance amending the code may not be enforced unless it has been confirmed by the state Building Code Review Board, which publishes the amendments it confirms. Issuing permits and collecting fees are not themselves amendments and need no confirmation. A municipality that has adopted an enforcement mechanism may contract the work to a local enforcement agency or a qualified third party rather than employ its own building official, and that contractor holds the same authority as a building inspector. Appeals from a local official go to the municipality's own building code board of appeals; appeals from the State Fire Marshal go to the Building Code Review Board. Beyond that, the state buildings the fire marshal permits rather than the city, the city's own property maintenance code, and the Building Board of Appeals the division coordinates.
Who handles permitting in Concord?
The Building Safety Division is the permitting authority for private property inside the city, administering the New Hampshire State Building Code through the enforcement mechanism Concord has adopted, reviewing plans, issuing permits and certificates of occupancy and administering the city's property maintenance code. The State Fire Marshal permits state, university and community college buildings, the Building Board of Appeals hears local code appeals, the environmental department issues shoreland, wetlands and sewage approvals, and the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification licenses the trades.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Department | Concord Building Safety Division |
| Office | 37 Green Street, Concord, NH 03301 |
| Phone | (603) 225-8580 |
| Hours | Monday to Friday, 7:30 am to 4:00 pm |
| Appeals | City of Concord Building Board of Appeals, coordinated by the division |
| State buildings | Permitted by the State Fire Marshal, not by the city |
Permit types
Residential permits
A Concord house project files plans with the Building Safety Division for review, takes the building permit and the trade permits it needs, and closes with a certificate of occupancy once compliance is documented. The city's property maintenance code continues to apply to a let property afterwards. Appeals from the building official's decisions go to the city's own Building Board of Appeals rather than to the state board, which hears appeals only from the fire marshal.
How New Hampshire contractor credentials work
New Hampshire issues no general contractor licence. A builder needs no state credential to take on a house, and the statute puts the duty squarely on them anyway: the contractor is responsible for meeting the minimum requirements of the state building code and state fire code, and no municipality may be held liable for a contractor's failure to comply. The trades are licensed through the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification: electricians under the electricians' board, plumbers under the plumbers' board, and gas fitters and mechanical trades under the licensing required by RSA 153:27. In Concord the credential is checked at permit issue where the municipality enforces, and where it does not the licence requirement still applies to the tradesperson doing the work.
Commercial permits
Commercial work in Concord — the Main Street downtown, the hospital, the industrial and office parks off the interstate and the private buildings that serve state government — runs through the division's plan review. The capital's peculiarity is proximity: a private office block may sit directly across the street from a state building whose permit came from the fire marshal, and the two files never meet.
The state permits that sit outside the town
Several New Hampshire approvals come from the state rather than the municipality, and they are the ones most often missed. The Shoreland Water Quality Protection Act requires a permit from the Department of Environmental Services for construction, excavation and filling within two hundred and fifty feet of a protected water body — a state permit, not a local ordinance. Wetlands work and subsurface sewage approval run through the same department. The State Fire Marshal permits, inspects and certifies buildings owned by the state, the university system and the community college system wherever they stand, and operates the State Building Permit Program for municipalities without a code enforcement mechanism that have asked for help in writing. In Concord the Merrimack River floodplain runs the length of the city and shapes the low ground east of Main Street, the state complex occupies a substantial part of the centre under the fire marshal's permitting rather than the city's, and the property maintenance code reaches the let housing stock around the downtown.
Concord permit costs and fees
Concord charges building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical and demolition permit fees under the city's schedule, with plan review by the division and appeals through the city's own board.
| Item | Fee or rule |
|---|---|
| Building permit | On the declared construction value, per the city's schedule |
| Trade permits | Separate electrical, plumbing and mechanical fees |
| Demolition permit | Its own permit from the division |
| Property maintenance | Administered by the same division on existing buildings |
| Board of Appeals | Application fees for a local code appeal |
| State buildings | Permitted and charged by the State Fire Marshal, not the city |
Appeals go to the city, not the state board. New Hampshire splits the appeal routes. An appeal from a local building official's decision goes to the municipality's own building code board of appeals — in Concord, the board the division coordinates. The state Building Code Review Board hears appeals from the State Fire Marshal, not from a city official. Taking the wrong route costs the whole appeal period.
Trade permits and who may pull them
Trade work is permitted separately where the municipality enforces, and carried out by tradespeople holding the state licence their trade requires. New Hampshire declines to enforce arc-fault protection beyond the twenty fourteen electrical requirements, whichever edition of the electrical code the state has adopted.
Permit required
- Electrical — by an electrician licensed by the state electricians' board
- Plumbing — by a plumber licensed by the state plumbers' board
- Gas fitting and mechanical — under the state licensing required by RSA 153:27
- Fire protection — under the state fire code, with the fire marshal's review where it applies
Typically exempt
- Arc-fault protection beyond the twenty fourteen electrical requirements, which is not enforced in New Hampshire
- Like-for-like replacement the adopted code places below the permit threshold
How to apply for a Concord building permit
Permitting exists locally only where an enforcement mechanism has been adopted under RSA 674:51; the code applies either way.
A local amendment 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 the trades on their own permits, then the certificate of occupancy.
Review, corrections and what actually causes delay
The Building Safety Division reviews and accepts the plans submitted with the application for code compliance before issuing, and issues the certificate of occupancy only when compliance has been sufficiently documented. What delays a Concord project is plans submitted without the detail the review needs, a state-owned parcel filed with the city, and an appeal taken to the state board instead of the city's.
Inspections in Concord
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 forty-eight hours ahead, non-compliant work draws a written order to correct, and the re-inspection carries its own fee. Concord inspections are performed by the division against the permit number, with each trade on its own permit, and the certificate of occupancy issued when sufficient verification of code compliance has been documented.
Concord permit search and official resources
- Concord Building Safety Division — plan review, permits, inspections, occupancy and the property maintenance code
- State Building Permit Program — the fire marshal's permitting of state, university and college buildings
- RSA chapter 155-A — the statute on the code, permits, enforcement and the appeal routes
- 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
Frequently asked questions
Who issues building permits in Concord?
The city's Building Safety Division at 37 Green Street. No New Hampshire county issues building permits in practice.
Does the city permit the State House?
No. The State Fire Marshal permits, inspects and certifies buildings owned by the state, the university system and the community college system, taking the local officials' written recommendations into account.
Where do I appeal a decision?
From a city building official, to the City of Concord Building Board of Appeals. The state Building Code Review Board hears appeals from the State Fire Marshal, not from a local official.
Which code applies?
The New Hampshire State Building Code — the twenty twenty-one international codes with the twenty eighteen energy code and the twenty twenty-three electrical code, in force since the first of July twenty twenty-four.
What is the property maintenance code?
A city code administered by the same division, applying to existing buildings after the construction work has closed.
When does the office open?
Half past seven in the morning, weekdays, through to four in the afternoon.
Simplify Concord permitting with Alliance Permitting
Concord's map has parcels the city cannot permit and an appeal route that is easy to get wrong. We establish ownership first, file with the division, and take any appeal to the right board.
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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 Concord permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.