Contractor Records
Home › Baltimore County

Baltimore County, MD building permits

Data through September 2026 · updated 20 Oct 2026

72,744 building permits were issued in Baltimore County from October 2024 to September 2026, about 36,372 a year. Electrical permits lead with 25,685, then plumbing (22,473) and HVAC (5,336). 84% were for homes. The county's file doesn't name contractors, so we can't rank, compare or profile firms here: these pages show what was built, where and when.

72,744permits issued
36,372a year
84%for homes
52%finished (Oct 2024–Sep 2025 permits)
Sep 2026records through

What gets built here

Electrical

25,685permits
13,121last 12 mo

Plumbing

22,473permits
10,790last 12 mo

HVAC

5,336permits
2,863last 12 mo

Garages, sheds & shade structures

2,963permits
1,428last 12 mo

Fences & walls

2,819permits
1,325last 12 mo

New homes

2,308permits
1,381last 12 mo

Solar

1,400permits
762last 12 mo

Remodels & repairs

1,178permits
618last 12 mo

Additions

1,044permits
496last 12 mo

Demolition

299permits
140last 12 mo

Pools & spas

251permits
122last 12 mo

What this page can and can't show

  • ✓Permits the county issued, by kind of work, month and ZIP code.
  • ✓Which permits finished, are still open or expired.
  • ✓What the job was declared at on the permit.
  • Who did the work. The county's file doesn't name contractors, so we can't rank, compare or profile firms here.
  • How long a permit takes to final. The file has too few final dates.
  • Street addresses or owners. We publish counts and permit rows without them.

Building, electrical, plumbing and gas permits issued by Baltimore County Permits, Approvals and Inspections, which covers the whole county (it has no incorporated towns): Towson, Catonsville, Dundalk, Essex, Parkville, Pikesville, Owings Mills, Randallstown, Perry Hall, White Marsh and the rest. Baltimore City is a separate jurisdiction with its own permit office and is not in this file; the few trade permits whose ZIP code lies wholly inside Baltimore City are left out. Grading, storm-water and use-and-occupancy permits are not counted.

Hiring someone here?

The permit file can't tell you who does good work. Ask for the contractor's license number and look it up at the Maryland Home Improvement Commission, then ask the county whether they pulled the permit for your job.

Permits by kind of work

Permits issued October 2024 through September 2026, every kind of work with 100 or more. Last 12 months is Oct 2025–Sep 2026. Homes is the share issued as residential permits.

Kind of workPermitsShareLast 12 mo
Electrical25,68535%13,121
Plumbing22,47331%10,790
HVAC5,3367%2,863
Garages, sheds & shade structures2,9634%1,428
Fences & walls2,8194%1,325
New homes2,3083%1,381
Solar1,4002%762
Remodels & repairs1,1782%618
Additions1,0441%496
Demolition299under 1%140
Pools & spas251under 1%122
Other6,8599%3,384

Fewer than 100 permits, so no row: roofing (91), ADUs & casitas (38).

Download this table (CSV)

Baltimore County permit statistics →Baltimore County permits by ZIP code →Baltimore County building permit search: the county's Permit Search map and records requests →

Before you start a project

All guides →

Nearby permit data

Permit data for other places in Baltimore. Each permit office keeps its own file, so the numbers are not added together.

Baltimore, MDHoward County, MD

How these numbers are made

Source: Baltimore County GIS, Active Development map service: Cityworks Permits, Electrical Permits, Plumbing Permits and Gas Permits layers, read 20 Oct 2026. We count permits issued October 2024 through September 2026; denied and withdrawn permits are left out.

Building, electrical, plumbing and gas permits issued by Baltimore County Permits, Approvals and Inspections, which covers the whole county (it has no incorporated towns): Towson, Catonsville, Dundalk, Essex, Parkville, Pikesville, Owings Mills, Randallstown, Perry Hall, White Marsh and the rest. Baltimore City is a separate jurisdiction with its own permit office and is not in this file; the few trade permits whose ZIP code lies wholly inside Baltimore City are left out. Grading, storm-water and use-and-occupancy permits are not counted.

  • The county's files name no contractor, so there are no contractor lists, rankings or firm pages for Baltimore County.
  • The files carry no final inspection or completion date, so we show no time to final.
  • Electrical, plumbing and gas permits are marked complete when the county signs them off. Building permits in the county's current system are rarely marked closed, so building work (new homes, decks, fences, additions, remodels, commercial work) almost always shows as open and the finished share mostly reflects trade permits.
  • The estimated cost is filled on building permits only; trade permits carry no job value.
  • Gas permits for furnaces and boilers count as HVAC; gas permits for water heaters, ranges, dryers and gas lines count as plumbing. The county publishes no separate mechanical permits, so heat pumps and air conditioners appear under electrical.
  • Solar counts come from solar building permits; the matching electrical permit for the same job counts under electrical. Fire-sprinkler permits count as other.

Counts are permits, not jobs: one job can need several permits. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can. Sources and definitions →

Cite this page

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0). Please credit Contractor Records and link to this page. Suggested citation:

Contractor Records, "Baltimore County, MD building permits", https://contractorrecords.com/baltimore-county/, data through September 2026, from Baltimore County Permits, Approvals and Inspections building-permit records.

Link to a table: By kind of work · Browse the permits · Permits each month.

Download the tables (CSV): Permits by kind of work · Permits in the last 12 months.

Common questions

  • How many building permits does Baltimore County issue a year?About 36,372 a year in Baltimore County: 72,744 permits issued October 2024 through September 2026, 36,489 of them in the last 12 months. That counts the permits the county issued, homes and commercial, not denied or withdrawn applications.
  • Can I find a contractor's permits in Baltimore County?Not from this file: the county publishes its permits without the contractor's name, so we can't list or rank firms. Check a license at the Maryland Home Improvement Commission and ask the contractor for the permit number of a past job.
  • What do people build most in Baltimore County?Electrical: 25,685 of the 72,744 permits (35%), then plumbing (22,473), HVAC (5,336), October 2024 through September 2026.
  • How do I look up a building permit in Baltimore County?Filter the permit list on this page by month, kind of work and ZIP code to see what was issued. For one property's permits, search the county's own records by address or permit number; we don't publish addresses. How to look up a permit in Baltimore County →
  • How many permits were issued in Baltimore County last month?2,678 in September 2026, the last full month on file; 36,489 over the last 12 months.

Browse the permits

Browse 72,744 permits

Every permit in the file issued October 2024 through September 2026, newest first. Pick a month, a kind of work, a ZIP code or a status. Each row is one permit: no street address, no names.

The list loads as you reach it (72,744 permits).

IssuedKind of workCounty permit typeStatusZIP

Permits each month, the last 12 months

Permits issued each month and the kind of work with the most. A month opens its permits in the list above.

MonthPermitsTop kind of work
Sep 20262,678Electrical (943)
Aug 20263,001Electrical (1,080)
Jul 20263,178Electrical (1,311)
Jun 20263,210Electrical (1,240)
May 20263,197Electrical (1,128)
Apr 20263,472Electrical (1,244)
Mar 20263,290Plumbing (1,207)
Feb 20262,648Electrical (1,002)
Jan 20262,474Electrical (954)
Dec 20252,843Electrical (1,106)
Nov 20252,864Electrical (998)
Oct 20253,634Plumbing (1,112)

Download this table (CSV)