The Town of Merrimack's Building Department at 432 Daniel Webster Highway issues permits for a Hillsborough County town of around thirty thousand between Nashua and Manchester — the municipality that added more residents than any other in New Hampshire over the last five years, a growth rate that shows up directly in the department's workload. The office runs from eight to four on weekdays; the town's code enforcement function sits at Town Hall on Baboosic Lake Road and shares the department's telephone line.
The name needs disambiguating twice over. The Town of Merrimack is in Hillsborough County — Merrimack County is a separate county in the middle of the state containing the capital, and a search or a filing that conflates the two lands in the wrong place entirely. The Merrimack River, meanwhile, runs along the town's eastern edge and through several of the other municipalities in this batch. When describing a property here, the county and the river both need naming explicitly.
This guide covers the Town of Merrimack in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire. Nashua, Bedford, Amherst, Hollis and Litchfield are separate municipalities with their own building officials; Merrimack County is a different county elsewhere in the state; and no New Hampshire county issues building permits in practice.
The town is in Hillsborough County, not Merrimack County. The Town of Merrimack sits in Hillsborough County. Merrimack County is a separate county in the centre of the state, containing the capital and a dozen other municipalities. A title search, a permit enquiry or a contractor's registration directed at the county of that name will not reach this town, and the confusion is common enough to be worth ruling out in the first sentence of any file.
What requires a building permit in Merrimack?
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 Merrimack the questions are whether the municipality enforces, what it has amended, and the town and county that share a name, and the two offices the function is split across.
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
- Construction, alteration, addition, demolition and change of occupancy, on a permit before work begins
- Electrical, plumbing and mechanical work, each on its own permit by a state-licensed tradesperson
- The state's shoreland or wetlands approval on the river and pond frontage, before the local permit
- 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
- 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
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 town and county sharing a name, the split between the building department on the highway and code enforcement at Town Hall, and the river frontage along the eastern edge.
Who handles permitting in Merrimack?
The Building Department is the permitting authority inside the town, administering the New Hampshire State Building Code through the enforcement mechanism Merrimack has adopted, with the code enforcement function based at Town Hall on the same telephone line. 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 electricians, plumbers and gas fitters statewide.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Department | Merrimack Building Department |
| Office | 432 Daniel Webster Highway, Merrimack, NH 03054 |
| Phone | (603) 420-1730 |
| Code enforcement | Town Hall, 6 Baboosic Lake Road, on the same line |
| County | Hillsborough County — not Merrimack County |
| Hours | Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm |
Permit types
Residential permits
A Merrimack house project files with the Building Department on the highway rather than at Town Hall, with the trades on their own permits and New Hampshire licences on the tradespeople. The town's rapid growth means a good deal of the residential file is new subdivision work rather than renovation, which shifts the questions towards access, drainage and the state's wetlands approvals earlier in the process than an older town would require.
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 Merrimack 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 Merrimack — the highway corridor, the industrial and distribution parcels near the turnpike, the brewery and the office parks — runs through the same department with the state fire code alongside. The town's position between the state's two largest cities has made it a distribution and light industrial market, and those larger buildings reach the State Fire Marshal's pre-construction review list.
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 Merrimack the Merrimack River along the eastern edge and the ponds and wetlands inland bring the state environmental department's approvals ahead of the local permit, and the rapid subdivision growth puts access and drainage at the front of most new residential files.
Merrimack permit costs and fees
Merrimack 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.
| 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 |
| Trade licences | New Hampshire licences through the state licensing office |
Growth has moved the questions earlier. Merrimack added more residents than any other New Hampshire municipality over the last five years. On a new subdivision the deciding questions — access, drainage and the state's wetlands approval — arrive well before the building permit, and a programme built around the permit date rather than the approval dates will slip. Sequence the state approvals first.
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 Merrimack 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 Department reviews for the state building code with the state fire code alongside, and the town's planning and zoning boards take subdivision and site plan review before the permit. What delays a Merrimack project is a filing sent to Town Hall instead of the highway office, a confusion between the town and the county of the same name, and a wetlands approval left until after the design.
Inspections in Merrimack
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. Merrimack inspections are requested from the Building Department against the permit number, with each trade inspected on its own permit and the certificate of occupancy at the close.
Merrimack 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
Frequently asked questions
Is Merrimack in Merrimack County?
No. The Town of Merrimack is in Hillsborough County. Merrimack County is a separate county in the centre of the state, containing the capital.
Who issues building permits in Merrimack?
The town's Building Department at 432 Daniel Webster Highway. The code enforcement function is at Town Hall on the same telephone line. No New Hampshire county issues building permits in practice.
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.
Who approves work near the river or a wetland?
The state environmental department, through the shoreland and wetlands approvals. Those come before the local building permit.
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.
Where do I file, Town Hall or the highway office?
Building permits go to the Building Department at 432 Daniel Webster Highway; code enforcement is based at Town Hall and shares the same telephone line.
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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 Merrimack permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.