Howard County Building Permits & Contractor Licensing (2026)

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Who needs what license

Howard County lets homeowners act as their own general contractor on one- and two-family homes only if they own it and live there. For rentals or non-primary homes, the work needs an MHIC license or a Maryland Home Builder license (Howard County Building Code §105.8).

Common permits

DILP issues building, mechanical, plumbing, electrical and sign permits. Rooftop solar: see the county's solar permit handout. There's also a new commercial HVAC/mechanical permitting program.

How to apply

• Apply online: Citizen's Access Portal
• Outage: the portal is down from Sun, Oct 18, 2026 at 9 p.m. until Mon, Oct 19 at 10 a.m. at the latest. Online payments then move to Paymentus: 2.35% card fee, $0.49 eCheck.

Fees

Official forms and fee schedules: Resources & Fee Schedules. Since Oct 1, 2026 (HB 894 & 548), large residential projects (typically 25+ units) can defer excise and impact fees until final inspection.

Codes in force

Effective Sept 7, 2025: 2024 IBC, IRC, IECC, IMC, IPC, ISPSC and 2024 Property Maintenance Code, each with county amendments. Electrical: 2023 NEC (since June 3, 2024). Adopted codes.

Turnaround times

No public turnaround dashboard confirmed yet.

Recent changes

See the changes log for dated updates on Howard County.

Local pros

Official sources

• https://www.howardcountymd.gov/inspections-licenses-permits (checked Oct 15, 2026)
• https://www.howardcountymd.gov/inspections-licenses-permits/adopted-codes (checked Oct 15, 2026)
• https://www.howardcountymd.gov/inspections-licenses-permits/lets-get-started-resources-fees (checked Oct 15, 2026)
• https://labor.maryland.gov/license/mhic/ (checked Oct 15, 2026)