Which addresses this covers
DPS permits the county outside the cities with their own building offices: Silver Spring, Bethesda, Potomac, Germantown, Clarksburg, Chevy Chase, Olney, Wheaton, Takoma Park and the rest. The cities of Rockville and Gaithersburg issue most of their own building permits. Plumbing and gas-service permits come from WSSC Water.
| Tool | Search by | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| DPS eSearch | Address, permit or license number, ZIP and street, application date, licensed contractor | Each application and permit, in a Details tab |
| Residential Permit, Electrical and Mechanical permits (dataMontgomery) | Any column | Status, address, issue and final dates, declared valuation, description; our source |
How to look up the permits on a Montgomery County address
- Open DPS eSearch and choose Data Search by address.
- Enter the street number and street name. Add the ZIP if the street name is common.
- Open each permit listed for the address. Building, electrical and mechanical (HVAC) work are separate DPS permits; plumbing is at WSSC Water.
- Read the permit's details: status and final inspection.
- To check the firm, use eSearch's licensed contractor search with the license number or name on your contract.
What the statuses mean
| Status in the county file | What it means | How we count it |
|---|---|---|
| Finaled (or a final date) | Final inspection passed | Finished |
| Issued, Open | Work under way or not finaled | Open |
| Stop Work | DPS has halted the work | Open |
Of permits issued October 2024 to September 2025, 77.4% had finished and 22.6% were still open by our 19 October 2026 snapshot. HVAC permits finish least often (73.2%), and the usual electrical permit took 64 days to its final.
When the record is not online
The DPS Records Request page lists Request Records as an online service, reached through the DPS account login; it does not list the steps or fees on the page (read 24 October 2026). For help, DPS is at 240-777-0311 and 2425 Reedie Drive, 7th floor, Wheaton, MD 20902, Monday to Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Requests fall under the Maryland Public Information Act.
What our Montgomery County pages add
Our Montgomery County page adds the county's permits up by kind of work:
| Kind of work | Permits (Oct 2024–Sep 2026) | Finished (issued Oct 2024–Sep 2025) | Usual days to final (issued Oct 2024–Sep 2025) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical | 22,023 | 79.5% | 64 |
| HVAC | 15,557 | 73.2% | 55 |
| Solar | 7,854 | 80.7% | 48 |
| Remodels and repairs | 2,673 | 84.7% | 119 |
| Decks, garages and sheds | 2,548 | 86.0% | 50 |
| Additions | 1,775 | 81.0% | 186 |
| New homes | 1,590 | 86.2% | 222 |
81% of the 57,855 permits (October 2024 to September 2026) were for homes, and the usual permit that reached a final took 69 days (issued October 2024 to September 2025). ADU permits rose 79% in the last 12 months (October 2025 to September 2026) against the 12 months before, to 147. The permit statistics page has year and month counts, how long a permit takes has the ranges, and the ZIP code pages split the file; 20817 (Bethesda) led with 4,501 permits. The ADU and pool pages cover the smaller kinds, and browse permits lists the rows. Maryland home improvement contractors are licensed by the Maryland Home Improvement Commission.
What this does not tell you
The county's open files name no contractor, so there are no firm lists for Montgomery County. Declared value is filled on building permits only; electrical and HVAC permits carry none. Plumbing is missing because WSSC Water issues it.
How we know this
The eSearch options are from the Department of Permitting Services eSearch page, and the records route from the DPS Records Request page, both read 24 October 2026. Our counts are dataMontgomery's Residential, Commercial, Mechanical and Electrical Building permit datasets, read 19 October 2026: permits issued October 2024 to September 2026 by DPS.
Numbers come from public permit records in 57 cities, data through October 19, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- How do I find out if a permit was pulled on my house in Montgomery County, MD?
Use the Department of Permitting Services eSearch and choose Data Search by address: enter the street number and street name (both required). Open each permit listed for the address and check its status and final date.
- Can I look up Montgomery County permits by contractor?
DPS eSearch has a licensed contractor search by license number, contractor name or contact last name. The county's open permit datasets name no contractor, so our Montgomery County pages have no firm lists.
- Where are plumbing permits in Montgomery County, MD?
Plumbing and gas-service permits are issued by WSSC Water, not the county's Department of Permitting Services, so they are not in DPS eSearch or our county file.
- Does DPS issue permits in Rockville and Gaithersburg?
The cities of Rockville and Gaithersburg issue most of their own building permits. A Rockville or Gaithersburg mailing address in the county file is usually just outside those cities.
- What does Stop Work mean on a Montgomery County permit?
DPS has halted work under the permit. We count a permit at Stop Work as open: it has no final inspection. Of permits issued October 2024 to September 2025, 22.6% were still open by our October 2026 snapshot.
Build your own list
Pick your city and the kind of work. Every firm with a permit on record, sorted by what you value.
Related guides
- Adams County, CO building permit search: the e-Permit Center, statuses and CORA
- Alachua County building permit search: Citizenserve, statuses and old records
- Anaheim building permit search: Anaheim NEXT and the Building Permit Report
- Arlington, VA building permit search: Permit Arlington lookups and FOIA requests
- Rockford building permit search: the city's open permit file and portal
- Rockville, MD building permit search: MGO, the permit map and Permit Plan
- eSearch — Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services (2026-10-24)
- DPS Records Request — Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services (2026-10-24)
- Residential Permit (m88u-pqki) — dataMontgomery (2026-10-19)
- Electrical Building Permits (qxie-8qnp) — dataMontgomery (2026-10-19)
- Mechanical Permits (ih88-a6aa) — dataMontgomery (2026-10-19)