Pole barn permits on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, county by county

Which office issues the permit

Outside town limits, your county’s permit office does. Maryland makes every county enforce the same editions of the International Building, Residential and Energy Conservation Codes, now the 2021 editions, with the 2024 editions proposed but not final. Counties can amend them, and Talbot’s codes page still listed the 2018 editions when we checked, so confirm there.

Zoning, floodplain and Critical Area rules are each county’s own. As the builder, we manage those permits for you; see our process, or our Delaware permit guide for land across the line.

Inside town limits, start at town hall

Inside an incorporated town, call town hall before the county. Some towns issue the permit; others sign off and send you to the county. A town mailing address doesn’t by itself put a parcel inside town limits, and Millington, Queen Anne and Templeville straddle county lines, so check the parcel first.

The places we’ve built barndominiums show how much this varies. Cordova is unincorporated, so Talbot County handles permits there, while Hurlock, Ridgely and Centreville each issue their own inside town limits; a lot just outside those limits goes to the county instead.

Garages, shops and the small-shed cutoffs

Every county requires a permit for a garage or shop big enough to park in; the exemptions cover small sheds only. Cecil, Kent, Dorchester and Worcester want a permit even for a shed. Wicomico exempts only a portable shed up to 250 square feet outside a floodplain; Queen Anne’s, Caroline and Somerset skip the building permit under 200 square feet, and Talbot up to 300.

Expect a scaled site plan and construction plans for the footings, framing and trusses; our designers draw the building plans. Worcester also wants engineering for pole buildings with living space or a second floor, or larger than 24 by 30 feet and 10 feet tall.

Queen Anne’s lets a residential accessory building sit 3 feet off the side and rear lines and caps it at 20 feet tall on residential lots under 2 acres. Dorchester asks for 6 feet from the lines and Cecil’s residential zones 10 feet. On Kent parcels under 5 acres, an outbuilding tops out at 2,000 square feet without a special exception, and Somerset sets the same cap on residential lots under 2 acres.

Farm buildings get a different permit

A building used only for farming, to store implements, hay, feed or grain or to house animals, gets its own path in most counties, but none skips review. Farm definitions exclude living space, processing areas and public use.

Queen Anne’s and Talbot exempt farm buildings from the building permit but require a zoning certificate. Somerset requires one too and excludes agricultural buildings from its building code, but confirm whether inspections apply. Caroline and Dorchester take farm buildings out of the building code but still want a permit or zoning approval. Kent issues a permit but waives inspections other than electrical and plumbing for farm buildings, and its zoning counts a farm as 20 acres or more.

Cecil requires a building permit on its Agricultural Building application, at reduced fees, and Wicomico requires a building permit and all inspections but waives its permit fees. Worcester puts agricultural structures on a zoning permit with a simplified floor plan. See our farm buildings page.

The Critical Area near tidal water

If any part of your land is within 1,000 feet of tidal water or tidal wetlands, it’s in the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area, which limits where a pole barn can go and how much of the lot you can cover. Each county runs its own program under state law; in Dorchester, it touches about half the county’s land.

The buffer, at least 100 feet from tidal water, tidal wetlands and tributary streams (110 in Cecil), generally takes no new outbuildings and widens for steep slopes and sensitive soils. In Limited Development and Resource Conservation Areas, lot coverage is capped at 15%, counting buildings, driveways, gravel and pavers, with a sliding scale for older small lots. Clearing trees or adding coverage usually brings a planting or buffer management plan.

Worcester County adds the Atlantic Coastal Bays Critical Area: land within 1,000 feet of tidal wetlands or the head of tide around the coastal bays, with its own 100-foot buffer. The Natural Resources Division of Worcester County Environmental Programs reviews Critical Area work there (410-632-1220 ext. 1161).

Flood zones and building at grade

In a mapped flood zone, a pole barn built at grade can hold only parking and limited storage, and past a size cap it must be raised or floodproofed, or it needs a variance. Below the flood level it also needs flood-resistant materials, anchoring, raised utilities and flood openings on at least two walls.

The cap is 300 square feet in Caroline, Talbot, Wicomico and Worcester, 600 in Kent and Queen Anne’s, and about 900 in Dorchester and Somerset; Cecil allows 600 but wants a variance from 300 up. Below the cap, many counties want a nonconversion agreement recorded on the deed. Worcester bars accessory buildings from V and Coastal A zones, and Kent allows no new structures in a floodway.

Most counties set the flood protection elevation 2 feet above the base flood elevation; Kent uses 3 feet, Somerset 1 and Worcester none.

Design loads, frost depth and digging

On a post-frame building, the county’s design values set post depth and truss loads, so they go on the drawings first. Wind speeds aren’t printed alike: Talbot’s 100 mph is an older basic wind speed and Caroline’s comes from an older table, so confirm the design value with the county and the truss supplier.

Caroline bans wood footings and requires poured concrete with rebar, so ask how that applies to embedded posts. Cecil’s footing inspection covers the pier holes, and Dorchester and Somerset require hurricane ties on every truss and rafter.

Before the first hole, Maryland law requires a Miss Utility ticket, post holes included, at least 3 business days before digging; call 811. Grading that disturbs 5,000 square feet or moves 100 cubic yards also needs an approved sediment control plan, usually from the Soil Conservation District.

When the pole barn is a home

A barndominium is permitted as a new house: the full residential code, including the sprinkler requirement Maryland counties can’t weaken, and, off public water and sewer, health department approval of the well and septic. Dorchester issues no building permit until the Health Department approves the water supply and sewage disposal, and the Somerset County Health Department handles perc tests and septic and well approvals (443-523-1700).

Homes usually take 3 to 5 months to permit, depending on the county. Outbuildings are quicker. Our pages on Maryland barndominiums and living in a pole barn go deeper on the house side.

You get drawings and an organized, easy-to-read quote from our designers, a project manager keeps you posted through the build, and you make the final payment once the county’s final inspection passes. Call 302-399-4420 or ask for a free quote.