Montgomery County Building Permit Lookup
Search 228,260 Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services (DPS) records covering 2000 to 2026. See what was filed, who filed it, and what was never closed out.
Searching in Montgomery County, Maryland · Street address only, no city or state
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Navigating the Montgomery County permit registry
Building permits in Montgomery County are public records. Every renovation, addition and structural change that went through the proper process left a filing with Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services (DPS), and the gaps in that record are often more revealing than the filings themselves.
We pull directly from Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services (DPS), whose published records begin in 2000 and now run to 228,260 permits. That includes building work alongside the trade permits — electrical, mechanical and plumbing — that carry most of a house's renovation history. You can verify any permit at the source.
Work started without a permit, or started under one that was never closed out, can surface at the worst possible moment: during an appraisal, at closing, or when you make an insurance claim. A permit that shows as open or expired years after the work finished is the signal worth chasing.
Across Montgomery County's whole record, 154,304 permits closed out properly, 69,939 are still open, and 4,017 expired without ever being finaled.
Use Cases
Most filed in Montgomery County
- Building Residential Permit186,402
- Commercial Building41,858
Source
- Authority
- Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services (DPS)
- Feed
- Socrata
- Index refreshed
- September 2026
- Typical review
- ~20 days
Montgomery County Permit Registry FAQ
How far back do the records go?
Montgomery County's published permit records begin in 2000 and run through 2026. Work done before then will not appear here, even if it was properly permitted at the time.
How many permits are in the database?
228,260 for Montgomery County, pulled from Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services (DPS) over Socrata. Our index was last refreshed in September 2026.
Are these records official?
Yes. Every permit shown comes from Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services (DPS) through its public data feed. We reformat the records, we do not create them.
Can I see which permits are still open?
Yes. Of the 228,260 permits on file, 154,304 closed out properly, 69,939 remain open and 4,017 expired without ever being finaled. Expired is usually the more serious of the two.
What if I find work without a permit?
Unpermitted work is common and usually negotiable before closing. Get a contractor's estimate for bringing it into compliance, and raise it with the seller while you still have leverage.
Does every minor repair need a permit?
Most cosmetic work does not. Anything structural, electrical or plumbing almost always requires a filing, which is why those are the gaps worth checking.
How current is the data?
We query Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services (DPS)'s feed directly at search time. How fresh that feed is depends on the department, and some publish on a lag of days. The most recent permit in our Montgomery County index was issued 2026.
Ready to check another address?
Searching in Montgomery County, Maryland · Street address only, no city or state
Not sure what you’ll get? See a sample report