Building permits, zoning and septic rules in Wicomico County, Maryland

Unincorporated Wicomico County, Maryland requires building permits for homes, additions, structural alterations and detached accessory buildings, including sheds of any size; ordinary non-structural repairs and replacements are exempt¹. Decks more than 30 inches above grade, swimming pools and hot tubs also need building permits¹. Wicomico County adopted an International Building Code amendment effective July 7, 2025; ask Permits and Inspections which edition and local amendments apply to your plans^12,13. A homeowner may obtain the required building permits and personally perform residential construction, accepting liability and responsibility for code compliance¹. Starting before building-permit issuance can trigger a fee of 4 times the regular rate at the Chief Building Inspector’s discretion¹. Qualifying farm buildings still need a building permit and every inspection; the exemption waives only the county permit fees, and only for buildings necessary to a farm operation, used for agriculture and classifiable as Group U¹¹. In mapped floodplain areas, development also needs a floodplain permit alongside the building permit¹⁴.

Wicomico County's Permits, Inspections, Licenses and Fire Protection office handles building permits for unincorporated Wicomico County, Maryland¹³. Reach the office at 410-548-4810, or by email at permits@wicomicocounty.org¹³. In person, the office is in Room 201 of the Government Office Building at 125 N. Division Street in Salisbury¹³. Applications can be submitted by email, and residential applicants should use the county's Residential Permit Application and Minimum Plan Submittal Requirements¹³. Salisbury issues its own building permits; Delmar also administers building permits, with a Town public-facilities agreement required for covered development or subdivisions^3,5. Septic permits remain with Wicomico County Health Department throughout the county; Delmar subdivision sewer alternatives also require Town discretion and state and county health approval^7,8. Depending on the project, you may also need zoning, sediment-control, forest-conservation, critical-area, or floodplain approval alongside the building permit, and some of those carry their own fees¹.

Wicomico County zoning applies to unincorporated land; use the official county zoning map to identify a parcel’s district and overlays^2,15. The official zoning map is the final authority on a parcel’s zoning status, and zoning applications carry county fees that must be paid before the county acts². Chapter 225, the zoning chapter, was amended effective May 5, 2026, so use the current text rather than older copies². Salisbury and the Maryland portion of Delmar have their own zoning; Delmar’s regulations were adopted jointly with Delmar, Delaware^4,6,16. Wicomico County Health Department still handles on-site septic permits within the county, including municipal addresses⁷. Minimum lot size, setbacks, height and lot coverage depend on district and use². Setbacks run from the property line or street right-of-way line as specified by the code; ask Planning which line controls before locating a building^2,10. A-1 single-family detached homes have a 35% maximum lot coverage². A one-bedroom house must have at least 446 interior square feet and 528 exterior square feet¹¹. Dividing unincorporated Wicomico County land into 2 or more lots or sites for sale or building development falls under Chapter 200 subdivision review, which may involve Planning Commission and Health Department review¹⁷. Call Planning at 410-548-4860 for parcel-specific requirements¹⁰.

The Wicomico County Health Department administers septic systems throughout the county and permits and inspects every on-site sewage disposal system⁷. A new sewage permit costs $500 and a replacement permit costs $300, separate from the $150 site-plan review fee¹⁸. Maryland requires the permit before construction begins, and renewal may be needed after 2 years¹⁹. Soils make this an early planning question: 0% of Wicomico County soils rate free of severe limits for a conventional drain field, so arrange a site evaluation before fixing the house location or budget⁹. Where community water and sewer are impractical in a subdivision, the proposed individual system needs Health Officer review or a completed soils evaluation²⁰. The same Health Department permits and inspects wells, and the county building-permit application lists a $160 well-permit fee⁷. Reach Environmental Health at 410-546-4446⁷.

Wicomico County defines a recreational vehicle park for temporary occupancy of no more than 30 days, while its residential parking and storage rule does not authorize living in an RV². Campgrounds and RV parks require a Board of Appeals special exception in the A-1 and V-C districts, so that rule does not answer informal camping on a private lot²¹. We could not confirm a general private-lot RV occupancy rule in Wicomico County; ask Planning, Zoning and Community Development¹⁰. Maryland’s protection for placing a new home in a zone allowing single-family residential use covers qualifying statutory modular dwellings and manufactured homes; other applicable local and state approvals still apply²². Under the county amendment adopted in 2026, a qualifying modular home is permitted by right in the A-1, V-C, R-8, R-15, R-20, R-30 and TT districts and by special exception in REC, and the home goes through the ordinary building-permit process; a self-propelled RV does not qualify, and homeowners-association covenants can still prohibit the structure²³. A double-wide manufactured home in R-8 needs a Board of Appeals special exception and must be at least 40 feet long and 24 feet wide²⁴. A manufactured-home park in A-1 or V-C requires a Planning Commission special exception, a development plan and a county license before occupancy²⁵.

1. Confirm whether county or municipal zoning applies, then verify the parcel's district, setbacks, height, lot coverage and allowed home type with Planning^2,10,26.
2. If you are dividing land, ask about review under the county subdivision chapter¹⁷.
3. For a septic system or well, contact Environmental Health before the building application; Wicomico County cannot issue a building permit without a valid health permit when plumbing, well or septic work is involved^1,7.
4. Submit the residential building permit application and minimum plan materials in person or by email to Permits and Inspections¹³.
5. Ask the permit office for the actual fee; the published square-foot figures estimate construction cost used in the calculation, not the permit fee itself²⁷.
6. For all development within mapped floodplain areas, obtain a floodplain development permit alongside applicable building or grading permits; wait for building-permit issuance and arrange project-specific inspections^1,14.

Confirm whether county or municipal zoning applies before making an offer, then ask Planning for the parcel's district, uses, setbacks, height and lot-coverage limits^2,10,26. Arrange a site evaluation before counting on a conventional septic system: 0% of Wicomico County's soils rate free of severe limits for a conventional drain field⁹. All development within mapped Wicomico County floodplain areas requires a floodplain permit alongside applicable building or grading permits, and federally backed mortgage holders in a Flood Hazard Area must carry flood insurance¹⁴. Properties outside Salisbury seeking Salisbury utility service under the county-hosted extension policy need an Out of Town Service Agreement and must connect to both public water and sewer when available²⁸. A new or upgraded entrance onto a county-maintained road needs an entrance permit from the Wicomico County Roads Division, which must be contacted before installation so roadside drainage is not affected²⁰. The pipe-installation application, last updated in 2015, lists a $150 inspection and stakeout fee, and a nonstandard design adds a $350 County Engineer review²⁹. A driveway built or modified within a state right-of-way requires coordination and a permit from the applicable MDOT State Highway Administration district office³⁰. The effective property tax rate is about 0.9%, with a median annual bill near $2,120⁹.