Permits & licenses in Boston.

Permits in Boston are municipal. Massachusetts writes one building code for every city and town — 780 CMR, promulgated by the Board of Building Regulations and Standards — and Chapter 143 puts its enforcement in the hands of the inspector of buildings or building commissioner each city and town employs. The county holds no building permit counter, and the state permits only its own buildings.

• The Inspectional Services Department issues Boston's building permits — the Short-Form for minor work that does not change a building's structure or use, the Long-Form for alterations, changes of occupancy and new construction — and its Building, Electrical, and Plumbing and Gas divisions carry the inspections; filings run through the Inspectional Services Portal, with Fire Prevention Division permits on a separate Fire Prevention Portal.
• Boston zones under its own enabling act, Chapter 665 of the Acts of 1956, through the Boston Zoning Code. The Zoning Board of Appeal — seven members appointed by the mayor, administered from ISD — hears exceptions to the code, and a Long-Form file can carry Planning and Zoning, Parks and Recreation, and Landmarks Commission approvals before ISD issues the permit.
• Projects over 20,000 square feet go through Article 80 development review — Small Project Review above 20,000 square feet, Large Project Review above 50,000 — run by the Planning Department, which a 2024 ordinance created and staffed by transfer from the Boston Planning & Development Agency; the BPDA Board still votes on Planning Department recommendations.