Building permits, zoning and septic rules in Prince George's County, Maryland

At a glance

Building permit

Required for nearly all construction, alteration, demolition or occupancy change; issued by DPIE²¹

Zoning

Yes, the County Zoning Ordinance applies countywide on private property, except the City of Laurel, which manages its own⁷³

Septic permit

Required through the county Health Department's Environmental Engineering Program, plus a statewide permit⁵⁶

Owner-builder exemption

Available via a Homeowner Waiver, but the owner must agree not to sell or rent the property for at least 5 years⁸⁹

Well permit

Required from the county Health Department before a well driller can install a well¹⁰

New single-family building permit fee (under 3,500 sq ft)

$4,095, plus other applicable fees such as grading, M-NCPPC and technology fees¹¹

Septic-suitable soils

Only about 1.9% of the county's soils lack severe limits for a conventional drain field¹²

Property tax

About 1.2% effective rate; median bill around $4,662/year¹³¹⁴

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on September 24, 2026.

Do you need a building permit in Prince George's County, Maryland?

Yes. Any owner or owner's authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a building, or to install or alter a regulated electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system, must first apply to the building official and obtain the required permit or permits¹. This requirement is administered by DPIE and applies countywide, though permit requirements can vary in the county's 27 municipalities, which may have separate or additional responsibilities of their own²¹⁵. Prince George's County is one of the Maryland counties that operates under its own local building authority rather than the generic statewide framework in Local Government Article § 13-901, which by its own terms excludes Prince George's County along with several other large or charter counties¹⁶. An inspection is required every time a permit is issued, whether for commercial building, site/road development or a homeowner permit¹⁵.

Who issues building permits in Prince George's County, and how do you reach them?

The Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement (DPIE) is the office to call, at 9400 Peppercorn Place, Largo, MD 20774, main line 301-636-2000¹⁷. DPIE splits its work by division: Building Plan Review is 301-636-2070, the Permitting and Licensing Division is 301-636-2050, the Inspections Division is 301-636-2080, and Code Enforcement runs through 301-883-6168¹⁷. Zoning enforcement on already-built property is handled separately, by the Zoning Compliance / Enforcement Division at 9400 Peppercorn Place, Suite 600, Largo, MD 20774, 301-636-2090¹⁸. Before DPIE can issue a building or site permit, though, the Prince George's County Planning Department, part of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), has to approve zoning, use, subdivision, site plans and any subdivision plat; reach their Largo office at 1616 McCormick Drive, First Floor, Largo, MD 20774, 240-545-8976¹⁹.

Does Prince George's County have zoning?

Yes: the County Zoning Ordinance provides for enforcement of private properties countywide, with the exception of the City of Laurel, which manages its own zoning ordinance³⁴. Zoning approval and enforcement are split between two different offices: the Planning Department (M-NCPPC) approves zoning, use, subdivision, site plans and subdivision plats before DPIE will issue a building or site permit, while the county's own Zoning Compliance/Enforcement Division investigates violations on property that's already built, such as commercial activity in a residential district¹⁹¹⁸. Maryland's state policy leaves zoning and planning controls to local government, so Prince George's County's own ordinance, not a state zoning code, is what actually governs a specific parcel's district, use and dimensional standards²⁰.

How do septic permits work in Prince George's County?

If public water or public sewer isn't available to your property, the Prince George's County Health Department's Environmental Engineering Program has to approve your building permit application before DPIE will issue it, starting with a percolation test application filed in person²¹. Percolation tests for some soils can only run during the county's 'wet season,' February 1 through April 30, so time your purchase or design schedule around that window if you're not already on public sewer²¹. Once tests are satisfactory, you apply for a sewage disposal permit, and the completed system has to be inspected by the Environmental Engineering Program before it's covered, at which point the office issues a Certificate of Compliance²¹. That county-level process sits on top of Maryland's own statewide rule: no one may construct an onsite sewage disposal system without a permit from the Approving Authority, that permit is valid for no more than 2 years, and no part of the system may be covered or used until it's been inspected and approved⁶²². Budget for an engineered system on most lots: USDA soil data shows only about 1.9% of Prince George's County's soils are free of severe limits for a conventional drain field, one of the lowest shares among Maryland counties¹².

Can you live in an RV or tiny home on your land in Prince George's County?

There is no official county page that gives a direct, specific answer for long-term RV occupancy, temporary camping, tiny-home occupancy, manufactured-home occupancy or accessory dwelling units on a private, individually owned lot in Prince George's County; the county's zoning ordinance regulates land use, but no page we reviewed states a clear rule for any of these uses, so treat each as unconfirmed rather than assuming it's allowed or banned. For anything beyond a standard single-family home, call the Planning Department at 240-545-8976 or DPIE's Zoning Compliance line at 301-636-2090 before you buy or move a structure onto the land¹⁹¹⁸. One change is coming statewide regardless of what your county decides: Maryland now requires every local legislative body to adopt a local law authorizing accessory dwelling units on lots with a single-family detached home, with a deadline of October 1, 2026, so ask Prince George's County directly whether its own accessory-dwelling ordinance is in place yet²³.

Building a home in Prince George's County: the steps, in order

1. Confirm zoning, use and any subdivision requirements with the Planning Department (M-NCPPC) before you finalize a design; DPIE cannot issue a building or site permit until this office has signed off¹⁹²⁴.
2. If the lot isn't on public sewer, file a percolation test application in person with the Health Department's Environmental Engineering Program, remembering that some soils can only be tested February 1 through April 30²¹.
3. If the tests pass, apply for a sewage disposal permit; if you need a private well, have your licensed well driller apply for the well permit at the same office²¹²⁵.
4. Apply for your building permit through DPIE; budget around $4,095 for a new single-family home under 3,500 square feet, plus applicable grading, M-NCPPC, technology and other fees¹¹¹⁷.
5. If you intend to act as your own contractor, submit a Homeowner Waiver application with a recorded deed showing your ownership; you'll have to agree not to sell or rent the property for at least 5 years and perform some of the work yourself⁹⁸.
6. Complete an inspection every time a permit is issued, including a final inspection of any sewage disposal system before it's covered¹⁵²².
7. Obtain your certificate of occupancy once DPIE confirms compliance; Maryland requires every local jurisdiction to ensure issuance of appropriate use and occupancy certificates as part of its minimum enforcement duties²⁶.

What to check before you buy land in Prince George's County

Treat septic as a major line-item cost, not a formality: with only about 1.9% of the county's soils free of severe limits for a conventional drain field, most undeveloped lots without public sewer will need percolation testing and likely an engineered system before the Health Department will approve a building permit¹²²¹. Prince George's County sits about 10 miles from the nearest metro area with a population density around 1,963 people per square mile, so land here trades more like inner-suburban Washington, D.C. real estate than rural acreage²⁷²⁸. If part of the property is a working farm building used only for agricultural purposes, it can skip the building-permit requirement, though an electrical or mechanical trade permit may still apply along with other zoning, subdivision, soil-conservation and environmental requirements²⁹. If the land isn't already a recorded, approved lot, expect M-NCPPC subdivision and plat approval before DPIE will issue any building or site permit, on top of any state or federal wetlands, floodplain or driveway-access permit a specific parcel might trigger²⁴³⁰³¹. Budget for property taxes at roughly a 1.2% effective rate, translating to a median bill near $4,662 a year on a typical home in the county¹³¹⁴.

Watch-outs

• RV occupancy, temporary camping, tiny-home occupancy, manufactured-home occupancy, accessory dwelling units and minimum dwelling size all remain unconfirmed on official county pages; call the Planning Department or DPIE Zoning Compliance before assuming any of these is allowed on a specific lot¹⁹¹⁸.
• The City of Laurel manages its own zoning ordinance instead of the county's; if your parcel is in or near Laurel, confirm which zoning ordinance actually applies before relying on anything in this guide about countywide zoning⁴.
• The septic-soils figure (1.9%) is a countywide average; get a site-specific percolation test from the Health Department rather than assuming every lot needs the same system design¹².

Sources

1. Inspection FAQs, quoted and re-checked
2. Inspection FAQs (2026 county census)
3. Zoning Compliance | Prince George's County, quoted and re-checked
4. Zoning Compliance | Prince George's County, quoted and re-checked
5. Information about the Permit Process (2026 county census)
6. COMAR 26.04.02.03 On-Site Sewage Disposal Permits (Maryland statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
7. Zoning Compliance | Prince George's County (2026 county census)
8. Building Contractor License (2026 county census)
9. Building Contractor License, quoted and re-checked
10. Health Approval of Building Permit — Individual Water-Sewer, quoted and re-checked
11. DPIE Fee Schedule, quoted and re-checked
12. Share of soils without severe limits for a conventional septic drain field (USDA SSURGO): Bolthole Index county data
13. Effective property tax rate: Bolthole Index county data
14. Median property tax bill: Bolthole Index county data
15. When Is an Inspection Required?, quoted and re-checked
16. Maryland Code, Local Government Article, §§ 13-901 through 13-906 (Maryland statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
17. Prince George's County Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement (DPIE) (princegeorgescountymd.gov)
18. Prince George's County Code Compliance, Zoning Compliance / Enforcement Division (princegeorgescountymd.gov)
19. Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Prince George's County Planning Department (pgplanning.org)
20. Maryland Code, Local Government Article (Maryland statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
21. Prince George's County Health Department, Environmental Engineering Program (web.archive.org)
22. COMAR 26.04.02.02 General Provisions (Maryland statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
23. Maryland Land Use Article §4-502 (Maryland statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
24. Information about the Process, quoted and re-checked
25. Prince George's County Health Department, Environmental Engineering Program (Well Permits) (web.archive.org)
26. Maryland Public Safety Article § 12-505 (Maryland statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
27. Distance to the nearest metro area: Bolthole Index county data
28. Population density: Bolthole Index county data
29. When Is a Permit Required?, quoted and re-checked
30. Floodplain Permitting in Maryland (Maryland statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
31. Access Management/Permits - MDOT SHA (Maryland statewide rule), quoted and re-checked

Written September 24, 2026 from the rules quoted below, each taken from an official source and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: rules change, so confirm with the office before you buy or build.