How Does Fire Protection Plan Review Work in Maryland?

In Maryland, fire protection plans start at the county or city building permit office and are reviewed either by a local fire protection reviewer, such as Montgomery County’s Department of Permitting Services or the Baltimore City Fire Department, or by the Engineering Services Section of the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM). Every project answers to two state codes at once: the Maryland Building Performance Standards (MBPS), built on the 2021 International Building Code (IBC), and the State Fire Prevention Code (SFPC), built on National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1 and NFPA 101 (2024).

This article is for owners, architects and design teams with a Maryland project. It covers what the two state codes require, how Maryland departs from the model codes, who reviews sprinkler and fire alarm plans in each kind of jurisdiction, how filing works in outline, and what happens between plan approval and the use and occupancy permit.

What Maryland Requires for Fire Protection Approval

The building side is the MBPS, COMAR 09.12.51, adopted by the Maryland Department of Labor. Regulation .04A incorporates the 2021 IBC, IRC and IECC, and the Department required local jurisdictions to enforce the 2021 codes by May 29, 2024. As of November 2026 the regulation text still incorporates the 2021 editions.

Each county and municipality may amend the MBPS locally, and a local amendment prevails in that jurisdiction (Public Safety Article 12-504 and COMAR 09.12.51.05). A local amendment may not weaken the automatic sprinkler provisions for townhouses and one- and two-family dwellings, so a county or municipality cannot amend away the IRC sprinkler requirement for those buildings.

The fire side is the SFPC, COMAR 29.06.01, adopted by the State Fire Prevention Commission. Regulation .06 incorporates NFPA 1 Fire Code and NFPA 101 Life Safety Code (2024), effective June 23, 2025, with Maryland amendments in .07 and .08. Under Public Safety Article 6-206, the SFPC has the force of law in every political subdivision and sets the minimum; a stricter local law controls where it is consistent with the SFPC.

The SFPC does not apply in Baltimore City, except to buildings and conditions covered by Public Safety Article Title 6, Subtitle 4, and it does not apply to buildings used only as dwellings for up to two families (COMAR 29.06.01.03). Outside those exceptions, a sprinkler, standpipe or fire alarm design is checked against the 2021 IBC through the building permit and against NFPA 1 and NFPA 101 by the fire official.

How Maryland Differs From the Model Codes

Maryland’s departures from the model codes are mostly about who decides and which edition applies. The table compares the model provisions with Maryland’s on the points a fire protection submittal runs into. DGA’s article on how Maryland’s building code and its NFPA 1 and 101 fire code divide the work covers the two-code question in depth.

Edition gaps also exist between levels of government. Montgomery County adopted NFPA 1 and NFPA 101 in their 2021 editions, with NFPA 13 (2019) and NFPA 72 (2019), by Executive Regulation 14-24, effective December 10, 2024, one edition behind the State SFPC. A design team in Maryland confirms the county’s own fire code adoption before choosing editions.

Who Reviews Maryland Fire Protection Plans: County, City or State Fire Marshal

COMAR 29.06.01.04A gives SFPC enforcement to the State Fire Marshal, to a legally designated county or municipal fire official, or to others the State Fire Marshal appoints. OSFM states that some counties have their own fire marshal or inspection departments, and it lists jurisdictional contacts for Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Frederick County, Howard County, Montgomery County, Prince George’s County and Worcester County.

OSFM’s Engineering Services Section reviews and approves designs for new and modified fire alarm, fire suppression and smoke management systems, and OSFM states that it is responsible for all State-owned property. Where a county has no fire official reviewing the work, the OSFM fire protection engineers review it.

The split can change. Washington County’s Division of Permits and Inspections took over fire review and inspection for most building permits on July 1, 2025, while OSFM kept K-12 schools, health care and ambulatory health care certified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), State-licensed day care, State-owned property, most facilities that need a State license to operate, and fireworks. A local fire code alone does not show who reviews plans: the Department of Labor lists local fire codes for Carroll, Charles and Talbot Counties, among others.

How to File Fire Protection Plans in Maryland, County by County

Every Maryland filing begins at the local permit office, even where OSFM does the review. OSFM tells applicants to check with the county permitting office for its process and forms, which often include a Fire Marshal Plan Review form, and to obtain any local building or low voltage permits. OSFM names no online portal of its own.

An OSFM submittal for a fire protection system includes shop drawings, system calculations and product data, and the architectural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and specification documents must show Fire Code compliance. OSFM invoices its fees under COMAR 29.06.04, payment goes to the Office of the State Fire Marshal and cash is not accepted. Under COMAR 29.06.04.04, unpaid fees stop further review and can hold up the building or use and occupancy permit.

The larger jurisdictions run their own systems:

• Montgomery County: DPS issues separate Fire Protection System and Fire Alarm System permits; plans go through ePlans and applications are filed and paid through Apply and ePay.
• Prince George’s County: the DPIE Fire and Life Safety Section reviews commercial plans, suppression and fire alarm; fire cases are FIR cases in DPIE’s Momentum system, and sprinkler, suppression, voice alarm and fire alarm shop drawings go to a DPIE-authorized third-party agency that the owner pays.
• Baltimore City: permits are filed with DHCD through its ePlans portal, and BCFD reviews the fire protection work, with a third-party review option for small changes to existing approved systems and for Fire and Life Safety Design Evaluations (FLSDE).
• Washington County: a sprinkler permit needs a licensed sprinkler contractor tied to it and can issue before the building permit; a fire alarm permit is paired with a low voltage electrical permit, and the fees for both are paid before either issues.

Storage buildings add a further step. DGA’s guide to how Maryland and Delaware regulate high-piled storage shows how NFPA 1 Chapter 34 replaces the IFC storage chapter in this review.

DGA prepares fire protection code analyses, sealed drawings and permit packages for county and State Fire Marshal review across New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware. Project briefs get confirmation and preliminary code feedback within one business day. See where DGA works →

Maryland Review Times, Inspections and Acceptance Tests

Maryland sets no single review clock for fire protection plans, and published figures vary by office. As of November 2026, OSFM publishes no review time. Prince George’s County DPIE states that most commercial permit applications are reviewed within 4 weeks. BCFD states that its fire protection approval issues within about 7 business days of the DHCD referral once the expedited third-party documentation is in, and that an initial FLSDE review takes about 15 business days.

Those figures cover plan review, not a whole project. DGA’s article on fire protection plan review times by state compares Maryland with the other states in the region, and the fire protection project Timeline Estimator gives a schedule from design to closeout.

OSFM requires construction to match the approved project documents, requires those documents to be available on site, and asks for one half-size set of drawings at each inspection. Revised submittals are required when the design changes. Systems permitted under the 2021 IBC are tested to NFPA 13 (2019) Chapter 28 for acceptance.

Local fire offices set their own inspection practice. The Baltimore County Fire Marshal’s Office requires Fire Code compliance before a use and occupancy permit issues, except for one- and two-family dwellings, and it inspects and witnesses tests of sprinklers, underground fire service mains, tanks, kitchen hood suppression, fire pumps and standpipes, with requests made at least 3 working days ahead. Washington County performs all fire inspections in person and does not accept photos.

Water Utility Approvals That Run Alongside Maryland Plan Review

The water supply data in the hydraulic calculations comes from the utility, on its own schedule. In most of Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties that utility is WSSC Water (Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission), which has taken fire flow test requests only through its online Fire Flow Test Application since September 2, 2026.

WSSC Water gives hydraulic grades free by phone from Permit Services Intake or through its WERI application. A Hydraulic Information Sheet is issued only as part of a site utility or minor site utility review for connections of 4 in. or larger, and WSSC Water describes it as a theoretical estimate at the connection point. Outside the WSSC service area, the local water utility sets its own flow test and service connection process, and that request belongs early in the schedule.

Frequently Asked Questions

This article is general information, not a code determination for any project. Code editions, county amendments and reviewer practice change; confirm the adopted code, the reviewing fire official and any local fire code for the project.