Change of Occupancy Permit
A permit is required for commercial change of occupancy. A separate permit is required for any alterations or additions to the building.
There are two options for commercial Change of Occupancy (COO) applications. They are:
- Commercial Permit—COO
- Commercial Permit—COO—Restaurant or Food Service, Hospital, Medical Daycare, Assisted Living, Nursing Home
Note: Environmental Health Services (EHS) regulates the construction of food service facilities, adult healthcare and public swimming pools and supports the building permit review process. All construction plans, whether new construction or renovation, must be submitted for approval. The food plans review staff also examines Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) Risk Assessments and the HACCP Manual. Review the Health Department Guidelines for required documents. Review the EHS fee schedule for fees.
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
- You must provide the floor plans when submitting your permit application.
- All commercial change of occupancies must provide signed and sealed plans and data sheets prepared by a registered design professional showing compliance with the proposed use.
ABOUT THE APPLICATION PROCESS
To learn more about the application process, read the steps and watch the videos below, or view the FAQ or full tutorial video playlist.
Watch a video to learn how to create your account or follow the instructions below:
- Navigate to the online portal.
- Select the Create Account button.
- Enter your email address, select Submit.
- An email will be sent with a link to complete the account setup. (Note: If you don't see the email is not in your inbox, check the SPAM folder. If in SPAM, mark unread before selecting the link.)
Prepare/gather all required documents as indicated above to upload when completing your online application. Be sure to name the documents appropriately—file names must follow Baltimore County naming conventions.
Watch a video to learn how to create your application or follow the instructions below:
- Enter the applicant and owner information.
- Select the property address and enter the contractor information.
- In the Search and Add Contractors section, enter the contractor name in the search box.
- Select the contractor. The system will highlight the selected contractor in red.
- Select the Add button to select the contractor. The contractor will be listed in the Selected Contractors section.
- Describe proposed work.
- Answer all required questions and enter all information related to the project.
- Upload required documents.
- After accepting the Terms and Conditions, the Document Upload window opens.
- On the Plan Documents tab, scroll down and select the Browse button to select your files.
- Highlight the files to be added, select Open. The files are added to the Upload Documents window.
- For each file, select a discipline from the dropdown list to describe your uploaded document type.
- Select the Upload button.
- A disclaimer pop-up appears. Approve the disclaimer by selecting the Yes button.
- Select the Submit for Review button.
- When all files have been submitted, close out the Document Upload window.
- Submit the application.
- Applications will be reviewed by the Permit Processing Staff. Watch a video to learn about the application review and revisions process. Staff may leave comments and revisions required for your permit. To view comments, follow the below instructions:
- Navigate to the online portal.
- Locate the permit on the My Dashboard page.
- Select the expand icon next to the permit. Select the Action (magnifying glass) icon, which opens the Permit Application Info page. There are two ways to view comments and revisions required for your permit:
- From the Plan Review section:
- Select the Open Plan Review button.
- From the Upload Documents screen, select the Review Documents tab
- Download the documents for review. Review the comments and feedback letter, documenting the required updates. Review the markups of submitted plans and documents.
- From the Tasks section:
- Scroll to the Tasks section. If there are comments for review, you will see an Action (magnifying glass) icon in the Comments field to the right of the task’s Date Completed field.
- Select the magnifying glass to see the comments.
- From the Plan Review section:
- If all required information and documents are submitted, the application will be completed and application fees will be calculated.
- Applicants will receive a notification that the fees are ready for payment. Watch a video to learn how to pay application fees or follow the instructions below:
- Navigate to the online portal. The My Dashboard page displays.
- Select the Applications with Fees Due box at the top-middle of the My Dashboard window.
- Scroll to the My Fees section, find the permit number and scroll to the right to the Actions section. You will see a magnifying glass icon and a credit card icon.
- To view details for the fees, select the magnifying glass icon.
- To pay the fees, select the credit card icon. (Note: Baltimore County only accepts Mastercard, Visa and PayPal electronic payments.)
- Once payment is received, the application will be sent to all reviewing departments for technical review. Watch a video to learn about the review and revision process.
- Once the reviews are completed and approved, the permit will be issued.
Once the permit has been issued, the applicant will be notified via email. Watch a video to learn how to access the permit and approved plans in the applicant portal. Permits and approved plans must be available at the job site for inspections.
All construction must be completed exactly as stated on the approved permit and approved construction plans. Watch a video to learn how to schedule inspections through the applicant portal.
APPLY FOR A PERMIT
Once you have reviewed the process outlined above and have gathered your required documentation, apply for your permit online using the buttons below.
COMMERCIAL PERMIT
APPLY FOR A COMMERCIAL CHANGE OF OCCUPANCY PERMIT
FOR PROJECTS INVOLVING FOOD SERVICE/HEALTH CARE
This application should be submitted for projects involving food service or health care (i.e. restaurants, hospitals, medical daycares, assisted living centers or nursing homes), which require review by the Environmental Health Division.
APPLY FOR A COMMERCIAL CHANGE OF OCCUPANCY ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERMIT
RESIDENTIAL PERMIT
APPLY FOR A RESIDENTIAL CHANGE OF OCCUPANCY PERMIT
FOR LEVEL 3.1 CLINICALLY MANAGED LOW-INTENSITY RESIDENTIAL SERVICE WITH NO INTERIOR ALTERATIONS
This application should be submitted for projects involving Level 3.1 Clinically Managed Low-intensity Residential Service or “Small Halfway Houses” with no more than eight people living in the house. If there are more than eight people, a Commercial Change of Occupancy is required.