When Does the Maryland State Fire Marshal Review Plans?

The Maryland Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) reviews fire protection plans for every State-owned building, for the occupancies a county with its own fire office leaves with the State, and for work in places where no county or municipal fire official has been designated to review it. Everywhere else, a county or city fire office reviews the plans, and OSFM directs applicants to start at the local building permit office.

This article is for owners, architects and design teams who need to know whether a Maryland project goes to OSFM or to a local fire office. It covers what the State Fire Marshal reviews and under what authority, how an OSFM review differs from a county review, which buildings and counties fall under OSFM, how a submittal is made, and what happens after approval. DGA’s guide to how fire protection plan review works in Maryland covers the statewide process in outline.

What Does the Maryland State Fire Marshal Review?

The State Fire Marshal’s authority comes from Title 6 of the Public Safety Article of the Maryland Code. Section 6-305(a) makes the State Fire Marshal responsible for enforcing State fire prevention laws, including the means and adequacy of exits, and the regulations of the State Fire Prevention Commission. Section 6-305(e) lets the State Fire Marshal issue permits and licenses where the article requires them.

The regulation the State Fire Marshal enforces is the SFPC. Under Public Safety Article 6-206, the SFPC has the force of law in every political subdivision and sets the statewide minimum. COMAR 29.06.01.06 incorporates NFPA 1 and NFPA 101 (2024), effective June 23, 2025, with Maryland’s amendments in Regulations .07 and .08.

OSFM’s Engineering Services Section performs pre-construction plan reviews and approves designs for new and modified fire alarm, fire suppression and smoke management systems. For new construction, alterations and additions, OSFM requires the architectural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing drawings and the project specifications to show compliance with the SFPC. A separate submittal is expected for the installation or alteration of any fire protection system, including water-based systems, special extinguishing systems and fire alarm systems.

The SFPC has two scope limits that decide whether OSFM is involved at all. Under COMAR 29.06.01.03, it does not apply in Baltimore City except to buildings covered by Public Safety Article Title 6, Subtitle 4, and it does not apply to buildings used only as dwellings for no more than two families. Public Safety Article 6-305(a)(3) separately makes the State Fire Marshal responsible for enforcing the sprinkler requirements for new one- and two-family dwellings.

The sprinkler edition depends on which review is looking. In Maryland, the county building permit reviews sprinklers to NFPA 13 (2019) through the 2021 International Building Code (IBC), while the State Fire Prevention Code (NFPA 1, 2024) references NFPA 13 (2022).

How Does OSFM Review Differ From a County Fire Marshal Review?

OSFM and a county fire office enforce the same State minimum, but they do not always use the same code editions, fee schedules or filing systems. Public Safety Article 6-206(d) lets a stricter State or local law govern where it is consistent with the SFPC and with sound engineering practice, so a county fire code can add requirements to the State code. Montgomery County, for example, adopted NFPA 1 and NFPA 101 in their 2021 editions effective December 10, 2024, one edition behind the State SFPC; DGA’s article on how Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties approve fire plans covers those two offices.

Fees follow the reviewer. OSFM charges under COMAR 29.06.04, a schedule the State Fire Prevention Commission sets and reviews every year under Public Safety Article 6-206(b). Under COMAR 29.06.04.01, the State schedule does not apply in a county or municipality that adopted its own plan review or inspection fee schedule before the chapter took effect, and a jurisdiction that sets its own schedule conducts its own plan reviews and inspections and collects its own fees.

The table compares NFPA 1 as published with how Maryland assigns the same decisions. DGA’s comparison of Maryland’s building code and its NFPA 1 and 101 fire code covers how the two codes divide the technical requirements.

Which Buildings and Counties Fall Under the State Fire Marshal?

State-owned property is the one category OSFM keeps everywhere. OSFM states that it is responsible for all State-owned property, and its contact list sends State property in Anne Arundel County, which has its own Fire Marshal Division, to OSFM’s Southern Regional Office. Public Safety Article 6-305(d) also requires the State Fire Marshal to develop fire safety and evacuation procedures for State-owned or leased property.

For other buildings, the answer depends on whether the county or city has a fire office of its own. OSFM directs property owners in Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Frederick County, Howard County, Montgomery County, Prince George’s County and Worcester County to their local offices. As of November 2026, OSFM’s inspection page names the jurisdictions with their own offices, not the counties that rely entirely on OSFM, so the county permit office is the place to confirm which reviewer a project gets.

The split can also change by occupancy. Washington County’s Division of Permits and Inspections took over fire review and inspection for most building permits on July 1, 2025, but OSFM kept K-12 schools, health care and ambulatory health care facilities 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 county fire code on the books does not by itself show that the county reviews plans; the Maryland Department of Labor lists local fire codes for Carroll, Charles and Talbot Counties, among others.

Baltimore City and Baltimore County each run a separate review chain, covered in DGA’s guide to how Baltimore City and County approve fire protection. Baltimore County’s Fire Marshal’s Office requires Fire Code compliance before a use and occupancy permit is issued, except for one- and two-family dwellings.

How Is a Submittal Made to the Maryland State Fire Marshal?

An OSFM review begins at the county permit office, not at OSFM. OSFM tells applicants to contact the local building department, to obtain every permit the local jurisdiction requires, and to follow the county permitting office’s process and forms, which often include a Fire Marshal Plan Review form. OSFM names no online portal of its own as of November 2026.

The building submittal is the full project set: architectural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing drawings and the project specifications, showing compliance with the SFPC. Each fire protection system then gets its own submittal of shop drawings, system calculations and product data. OSFM asks for revised submittals as needed.

OSFM fees are computed under COMAR 29.06.04.05 to .07 and are due on receipt of OSFM’s invoice for construction plans and fire protection system plans (COMAR 29.06.04.04). Payment is made to the Office of the State Fire Marshal by check, money order or another approved means, and cash is not accepted. Until a fee is paid in full, review or inspection stops, which can delay the building permit or the use and occupancy permit.

DGA prepares code analyses, sealed fire protection drawings and State Fire Marshal and county submittals 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 →

How Long Does OSFM Review Take, and What Inspections Follow?

As of November 2026, OSFM publishes no plan review time, and neither COMAR 29.06.01.04 nor the fee rules in COMAR 29.06.04.04 set a review deadline. Some county offices publish their own figures: Prince George’s County DPIE states that most commercial permit applications are reviewed within 4 weeks, and BCFD states approval within about 7 business days of the DHCD referral for fire protection work that uses its expedited third-party review. Those figures apply to the county offices, not to OSFM.

The schedule for an OSFM project therefore depends on a complete first submittal, a prompt fee payment and the number of revised submittals. DGA’s fire protection project Timeline Estimator gives a planning range from design to closeout.

OSFM performs inspections of new and modified fire alarm, fire suppression and smoke management systems for compliance with Maryland law and the SFPC. Inspections are scheduled with the OSFM office for the county where the property is located, through OSFM’s headquarters in Pikesville or one of its five regional offices (Lower Eastern, Northeast, Southern, Upper Eastern and Western). Construction must match the approved project documents, those documents must be available on site, and one half-size set of drawings must be on site at each inspection.

State Fire Marshal Compliance Dates and Enforcement

The current SFPC took effect on June 23, 2025, when COMAR 29.06.01.06 adopted NFPA 1 and NFPA 101 (2024). Since that date, OSFM reviews plans against the 2024 editions as amended by Maryland. Under COMAR 29.06.01.03, conditions that existed or were approved before the SFPC took effect are not reopened unless the AHJ finds a serious hazard, and the AHJ may accept an alternative for an existing building that clearly gives a reasonable level of safety.

Disputes go to the State Fire Prevention Commission. The State Fire Marshal decides whether the SFPC applies to a building and resolves conflicts between the SFPC and a standard it references, with appeal to the Commission under COMAR 29.06.02 (COMAR 29.06.01.03 and .04C). Where it is unclear whether a State or local law governs, Public Safety Article 6-206(d) has the Commission decide.

Violations of the SFPC carry the penalties set in the Public Safety Article (COMAR 29.06.01.04E). COMAR 29.06.04.04 also provides for administrative or legal action when a plan review or fire safety inspection fee goes unpaid, and fee disputes follow OSFM’s administrative procedures with appeal to the Commission.

Frequently Asked Questions

This article is general information, not a code determination for any project. OSFM practice, county fire office arrangements and fee schedules change; confirm the reviewing fire official and the adopted code with the county permit office for the project.