If you own a house in Boston and the next job is a deck, a bathroom, or opening a wall, the office in front of you is the Inspectional Services Department, which most people just call ISD.
PermitCove is an independent guide, not the City of Boston, and nothing here approves your project. The city pages behind each rule are linked at the end. Fees and forms change, so check the live ISD page before you pay.
The office that handles the permit
ISD's stated job is to protect the health and safety of Boston's residents and businesses by enforcing building, housing, health, and environmental rules. For a house project, that lands on building permits, and also on electrical, plumbing, and gas permits. The city's own permit guide says those permits have to be applied for before the work.
The public counter is at 1010 Massachusetts Avenue, 5th floor, Boston, MA 02118. The phone line is 617-635-5300. The general email is isd@boston.gov. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
A lot of the housing stock here is a one- or two-family house, or a three-decker where someone owns a single floor. That split decides whether you can file the building permit yourself. It is the first question worth answering, before you price lumber.
When a permit is required, and what the city does not spell out
Homeowners usually want a list of ordinary repairs that skip a permit. The Boston pages do not publish that list. There is no city checklist that says painting, or a like-for-like faucet, is automatically fine.
What ISD does say is that a permit is required to begin construction. ISD's Navigating the Permit Process guide puts it that way: permits are required to begin any type of construction under the law, and the process turns on whether you are changing the structure or the building's occupancy.
The practical split on the current permit pages is short-form versus long-form.
A short-form permit is for minor alterations that do not change a building's structure or use. ISD's examples are opening up a wall, and minor alterations, repairs, or replacements that leave the structure and use of the home, building, or lot alone. ISD's Navigating the Permit Process guide describes the same permit as minor work that does not change use or exits, fire protection, or living area. It also says that for simple home repairs, plans are often not required, and that plans are the long-form case.
A long-form permit is for major alterations or renovations that change the structure or use of a home, building, or lot. That guide's examples include new construction and additions, structural repairs or renovations, legalizing use or occupancy when there is no record, creating an additional dwelling unit, installing fire suppression or fire alarms, and increasing how intensively the building is used.
If you are not sure which one you need, the short-form and long-form pages both say to contact ISD. Do not guess from a contractor's habit in another town.
"Repair" is its own lane on the city's permitting site, and it is not a free pass. The repair page describes fixing or restoring existing building elements, such as roofs, decks, and porches, without a structural alteration. A roof repair is called out there as a short-form permit. Fixing something can still be a filing.
Starting early is the outcome the city writes down. If you begin before the permit is issued, ISD may charge double the permit cost or issue a building code violation. The homeowner overview adds that unpermitted work can mean you pay double, or you have to fix or remove what you built. It can also be unsafe, cause legal problems, affect homeowner's insurance, and make the house harder to sell later.
Who can file if you are doing the work
On both the short-form and the long-form building permit, a homeowner can apply when they will do the work themselves in a one- or two-family, owner-occupied home. If you own a condo in a building with three or more dwellings, including one floor of a three-decker, you have to hire a contractor to do the work. The roof-deck page uses the same rule for a three-family or larger building: an apartment building, a multi-unit condo, or one floor of a triple-decker. Our guide to who pulls the building permit covers the trade-offs of filing as the owner.
The paper behind that rule is ISD's homeowner construction license exemption. A homeowner doing work that needs a building permit is exempt from the licensing provisions of the Massachusetts State Building Code, 780 CMR, but only inside the definition on the form. A homeowner there is a person who owns land where they live, or intend to live, with a one- or two-family dwelling, including attached or detached structures accessory to that use, and farm structures. If you hire people, the form says you act as supervisor. The exemption does not apply to field erection of a manufactured building. A person who builds more than one home in a two-year period is not treated as a homeowner. The form also says that owners who pull their own permit, or who have the work done by unregistered contractors, do not have access to the arbitration program or the guaranty fund under Massachusetts General Laws chapter 142A.
Structures of 35,000 cubic feet or larger still have to meet the state building code's construction-control rules. That line is on the same exemption form. A typical small repair will not hit it. A large rebuild might.
If you pull the building permit yourself, the city's homeowner page says you are taking the contractor's role. You are responsible for the work meeting 780 CMR.
That exemption is about the building permit. It does not let you file an electrical permit or a plumbing permit. Both of those pages say a homeowner cannot apply. You hire a licensed contractor. That contractor applies in their own name and does the work. ISD's Navigating the Permit Process guide also says gas permits, along with building, electrical, and plumbing, have to be applied for before the work.
What a homeowner uploads
For a short-form, a homeowner doing the work in a one- or two-family owner-occupied house is told to provide a short description of the work, an estimated total project cost, a homeowner waiver, a Massachusetts workers' compensation affidavit with box 3 selected, and a longer description of everything you and any contractors will do on the property. The short description should cover scope, materials, floors and rooms, and any related permit numbers. When you type the cost into the portal, do not use a dollar sign or commas.
A long-form filing by that same homeowner asks for those items and also for design plans stamped by a Massachusetts registered engineer or architect, and a certified plot plan showing the property lines and where the structure sits on the lot. If you do not have a plot plan, the page says you hire a land surveyor. You may also need a fire-protection plan and narrative, or a nominal fee letter if the work does not follow the zoning and you already know you are going to the Zoning Board of Appeal.
Put the packet together before you submit. After you submit a short-form or a long-form, you cannot edit the application or add uploads until ISD has reviewed it.
The fees printed on the permit pages
These are the figures on the pages we read. They are not a quote for your address, and the city can change them.
- Short-form: a $20 application fee, plus $10 for every $1,000 of the work estimate. The fee is due up front.
- Long-form: a $50 application fee, plus $10 for every $1,000 of the estimated cost of the work. Also due up front.
- Plumbing, licensed contractors only: a $20 application fee, plus $5 for each fixture, such as a toilet or a sink.
- Electrical, licensed contractors only: a $20 application fee, then a usage-based charge. For a service upgrade or a new service, the page adds 25 cents per amp up to 240 volts, or 75 cents per amp over 480 volts. If the service is not changing, it adds $1 for each fixture, plug, or outlet, and $5 for each approved meter. If neither of those cases fits, including work in Massachusetts state buildings, it adds $10 per $1,000 of estimated cost.
Online payment on those pages is credit or debit card. In person, at 1010 Massachusetts Avenue, 5th floor, ISD also takes cash and checks. The pages say ISD does not accept Apple Pay. An older guide mentioned PayPal. The current short-form, long-form, plumbing, and electrical pages do not.
Zoning is a separate question
A building permit is not the zoning decision. ISD tells you to check legal occupancy and zoning before you apply. Zoning is what can be built, where it can sit, and how the land can be used.
The map the city points homeowners to is the Boston Planning and Development Agency zoning viewer, at maps.bostonplans.org/zoningviewer. Search an address or a parcel ID. The panel shows assessing information, the zoning district and sub-district, the zoning article, any overlay districts, and other rules that are not zoning. In the land-use table, a use is marked A for allowed, C for conditional, or F for forbidden. Conditional means a conditional use permit from the Zoning Board of Appeal. Forbidden means the use is not allowed there without a variance. The dimensional tables cover limits such as height and lot size. If the plan exceeds those limits, the page says you need a variance.
ISD sorts the result into two outcomes. As-of-right means the property is zoned for the use and meets the other zoning requirements, so you can keep going with the application. Zoning relief means the work does not conform. The permit application will be refused, and you seek variances from the Zoning Board of Appeal, with a neighborhood review. The zoning page says that extra path often takes several months. To change the use or occupancy of a building, that same page says you submit a long-form application to ISD. If the planned use is conditional or forbidden, you also file an appeal.
ISD's Navigating the Permit Process guide describes what happens after a refusal letter. You have to submit the appeal within 45 days of the date on the letter. Community review runs through the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services, often including a meeting with neighbors, before the appeal is scheduled at the Zoning Board of Appeal. After the decision is signed, there is a required 20-day appeal period before the plans go back to the ISD plans examiner. That guide is an overview. The filing steps are on the city's page for how to file a Zoning Board of Appeal appeal. The zoning page also points to a tracker for cases already in that process.
ISD does not chase outside approvals for you. On a short-form or a long-form, the Review section of the portal may list Planning and Zoning, for Boston Zoning Code compliance; Parks and Recreation, for work within 100 feet of a park or parkway; and the Landmarks Commission, for a project in a historic district. You contact those agencies, then upload what they give you. The permit is not issued until ISD has reviewed those approvals.
Some addresses have no record of occupancy on file. The portal then says "Please Confirm Occupancy." The owner, not the contractor, calls 617-635-5300 and asks for a confirmation-of-occupancy inspection. An inspector walks the property, and the owner has to be there to let them in. No permit goes out until that record is settled. If you hired a contractor, they may not learn the record is missing until they apply, and they cannot book that inspection for you.
Decks and porches
On the city's permitting hub, "building a new roof or deck" is grouped with additions, next to an accessory dwelling unit or extending living space. The additions page says additions and detached structures affect zoning and the structure, and that they require both a building permit and a site plan review. After you apply, ISD confirms the documents for that project. The page is part of a site the city still describes as growing, so treat it as a starting point, not a full plan set. For the general height and attachment rules most cities use, see do I need a permit for a deck.
Repair is narrower. The repair page is about fixing or restoring what is already there, including decks and porches, without a structural alteration. It does not say a porch repair is permit-free. It sends a roof repair to a short-form permit, and a roof deck to either a short-form or a long-form.
Roof decks are the clearest deck rule Boston publishes. A short-form is for repairing an existing roof deck and making no structural change, and the city's example of a structural change is expanding the size. You also have to provide the permit and the engineer-stamped plans from the original build. A long-form is for a new roof deck, for making an existing one larger, or for any case where you cannot produce the original approved plans and permit. On a one- or two-unit owner-occupied home, a homeowner or a contractor can apply. On a three-family or larger building, you hire a contractor to apply and do the work.
A yard deck at ground level does not have its own instruction page. A new deck is filed under additions on the hub, and the Navigating the Permit Process guide lists additions as long-form work. Repairing an existing deck without a structural change is described as a repair. Which packet your drawings belong in is something ISD confirms. Do not order the framing because a blog in another state said decks under a certain height are exempt. Boston's pages do not say that.
Sheds
Boston does name sheds. You need a use-of-premises permit to add certain outdoor features, and the city's list includes sheds and pools, new parking on your property, space to sell Christmas trees or cars, and any other special use of outdoor land.
You start that permit in the online application. The page also says you bring documents in to finish it: a certified plot plan that shows how you will use the land, a diagram for temporary structures and for changes to land use or utilities, and an approved curb-cut application if you are creating parking. The counter named on the page is Building Division, Counter 1, at 1010 Massachusetts Avenue, 5th floor, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
A long-form application has a subtype called "Use of Premise," and the long-form page says that subtype is only for use-of-premise filings. The additions page, separately, says detached structures need a building permit and a site plan review. A shed can sit under more than one of those sentences. Ask ISD which filing your shed actually is before you treat the use-of-premises form as the only one.
Fences
No city page linked here states a citywide rule for an ordinary yard fence. The use-of-premises list names sheds and pools. It does not name fences. That is not a finding that fences are exempt. It is a gap. Our fence permit guide covers height limits and corner lots in other cities.
What those pages do say is that a project in a historic district can need Landmarks Commission approval, and that ISD will not request it for you. That review is about the district, not a general fence permit for every street in the city. Before you set posts, call ISD at 617-635-5300 and ask about your address. If the house is in a historic district, ask Landmarks as well.
Bathrooms
The city's page for renovating a bathroom or a kitchen says you will need several permits. It also says that a homeowner trying to do the project has to hire a contractor who will apply for the permits and perform the work.
The same page then sorts the building permit:
- Short-form, for renovating an existing bathroom when no other structural changes need to be made. The sentence on the page includes the example "such as cutting into a wall." Read it next to the long-form line rather than treating one phrase as the whole rule.
- Long-form, for moving any structural walls or means of egress. The examples are expanding the bathroom or kitchen, creating a new window, or creating or removing a doorway.
Plumbing, electrical, and sheet metal are additional permits. Only a contractor with a valid, unexpired Massachusetts trade license can apply for those and do the plumbing, electrical, or exhaust work. Plumbing covers water lines and fixtures such as sinks, bathtubs, and other bathroom fixtures, plus non-structural pipe work. Electrical covers installations, alterations, and repairs. If you are installing, replacing, or moving fire alarms or sprinklers, the page says you also hire a fire protection engineer.
One awkward spot: that bathroom page also says homeowners and contractors can apply for the short-form or long-form building permit, which sits next to the earlier line that a homeowner must hire a contractor for the renovation. Do not try to smooth that over at the counter. For a bathroom, plan on a licensed plumber and, if you are touching wiring, a licensed electrician. Ask ISD whether you or your contractor files the building permit for your scope.
Electrical work
An electrical permit covers electrical installations, alterations, and repairs, including a gut renovation that includes electrical work. Homeowners cannot apply. The applicant has to be the licensed contractor doing the work. Someone in the office can type the form, but it has to be in the contractor's name. The name on the license has to match. The upload list is the front and back of a current license, a current certificate of liability insurance, a workers' compensation affidavit, a short description of the work, and the estimated cost, again with no dollar sign or commas in the portal.
The rest of the electrical page tracks the building permits. Do not start before the permit is issued. Start work within six months, unless your project is one of the types that can get another 180 days. When the work is done, schedule the inspection. The licensed contractor has to be on site for it.
Where you file, and what happens after
You apply in the Inspectional Services online portal, and you need an account before you can file. The link on the current short-form page is onlinepermitsandlicenses.boston.gov/isdpermits. The ISD department page also links a cityofboston.gov address that opens the same portal. Either way, you are creating an account and filing there.
You can go to 1010 Massachusetts Avenue, 5th floor, but staff will still have you complete the application in that portal, including while you are standing in the office. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
A long-form application asks you to pick a subtype. Alteration or change of occupancy is the common one, for structural work or a change of occupancy. Erect or new construction is only a brand-new building on an empty lot. Amendment is only a change to a long-form application you already have. Use of premise is only for a use-of-premise filing.
The current short-form and long-form pages do not promise a review time. They say it depends on planning and zoning, and on whether you still have to upload other approvals. Check the application often. ISD emails the address on the portal account. You can also look a filing up in Permit Finder.
The Navigating the Permit Process guide did give rough windows. It said a short-form may take a week if the documents are in order, and a long-form can take about four to five weeks if the file is complete and the project does not need building or zoning relief. Those sentences are in that PDF. They are not repeated on the current permit pages. Do not book a dumpster around them.
Once the permit is issued, you have to start work within six months. Some projects can get another 180 days. Only certain project types are eligible, so do not assume yours is. That same guide also says the work has to continue without interruption. The current permit pages stress the six-month start and the possible extension. They do not repeat that extra sentence.
When the work is finished, schedule an inspection through 617-635-5300 or the portal. Have the address and the permit number. If a contractor did the work, have their name and phone number. The page says that contractor detail is not required when a homeowner did the work themselves, and it also says a licensed contractor must be on site for the inspection. An inspector is supposed to contact you within 48 hours to set the time. Scheduling questions go to isdpermits@boston.gov or 617-635-5300. After the inspection, if nothing else is required, check that the permit shows as closed in the portal. If it still shows open, call.
The homeowner overview describes the whole arc in one pass. You start online. The system helps you see which permits the job needs. You upload plans and pay the fees. Inspections happen during the work. The permit closes when the work passes.
Before you spend the money
- Look the address up on the zoning viewer, and look up past permits in Permit Finder, before you design around a guess.
- If you cannot tell whether the job changes structure, use, exits, or living area, call ISD before anyone opens a wall.
- If you own one unit in a building with three or more dwellings, the building-permit path for a homeowner doing the work does not apply. Hire a contractor.
- Plumbing and electrical permits are the licensed contractor's application, not yours.
- If the portal asks you to confirm occupancy, you, the owner, schedule that inspection. A permit does not come out while that is open.
- An application in process is not a permit. Do not start the work because you clicked submit.
Last checked: October 31, 2026.
Official sources
- Inspectional Services Department
- What homeowners should know about permits
- Short-form permit
- Long-form permit
- Navigating the Permit Process (ISD guide, PDF, January 2024 file path)
- Homeowner construction license exemption form (PDF) style="max-width:100%;height:auto;">style="max-width:100%;height:auto;">
- Boston permitting hub, last updated on that page August 13, 2026
- Build or make an addition
- Repair projects
- Install or repair a roof deck
- Use of premises permit, including sheds and pools
- Renovate a bathroom or kitchen
- Electrical permit
- Plumbing permit
- How to check a building's zoning designation
- BPDA zoning viewer
- How to file an appeal with the Zoning Board of Appeal
- ISD online permit portal
- Permit Finder
Next steps for a Boston project
If you aren't sure a Boston job needs a permit, start with do I need a building permit, in plain English or the shorter permit checker. Once you've filed with ISD, Permit Finder is where you can look the application up. Other cities are on building permits by city.
PermitCove isn't ISD, so this page can't issue a permit, quote your fee, or tell you a set of plans will pass.
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