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?
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.
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- 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 gas 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
Locally, what stands out is 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.
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 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.
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Get a free quote →| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Department | Concord Building Safety Division |
| Office | 37 Green Street, Concord, NH 03301; applications through the city’s Citizen Self Service (CSS) permit portal, with a kiosk at the office for anyone applying in person |
| 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 |
In 2025, building permits issued in Concord authorized 20 new privately owned housing units, 15 of them single-family homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey.
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.
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
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.
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
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Call 1-855-478-4290 →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
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
Rather not deal with the building department?
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 Concord 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 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.
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Get a free quote →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 48 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
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →Frequently asked questions
Who issues building permits in Concord?
The city’s Building Safety Division at 37 Green Street (603-225-8580), with applications through the Citizen Self Service permit portal; paper applications have been discontinued. 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?
Concord’s Building Safety Division enforces the state code, which on July 1, 2026 moved to the 2024 international codes while keeping the energy code at its 2018 edition and the National Electrical Code at 2023. An application filed by December 31, 2026 may instead follow the earlier 2021 set in full, never a mix; the New Hampshire code summary lists every edition.
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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Send us the scope and the parcel. We confirm the review path with the Concord Building Safety Division, assemble the submittal, file it, and track it through issuance — corrections included.
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.