Who to Contact

Planning & Building

The Office of Planning and Building section has a number of tabs that may provide the information that you are looking for. Please use the following guide to address your issue:

New Permit

Visit the Online Permitting page and read the instructions so that you can successfully navigate this system. Once you are logged into the Contractor portal, a Help guide is located at the bottom of the page. If you have made a good faith effort to read this material and you are still having trouble, please contact staff at 617-993-2650 and we will try to connect you with customer support to try and solve your issue.

Seeking Information / Status on Existing Permit

Customers should expect up to a 30-day turnaround for building permits, so we would ask that you not call for a status check early in that time period.

Arranging for Inspection

Building Inspections: Please call the inspection line at 617-993-2663 and leave a message. Please listen to the complete message and leave all information that is requested. Inspections take place Monday through Thursday and you will not receive a confirmation call. Leaving multiple messages for the same inspection request will not provide you with a faster inspection. Conversely, this will only clog the inspection system, likely taking longer to get to your request.

Electrical Inspections: Please call 617-993-2661 between 7:30 and 8:30 am, Monday through Friday, to speak with the electrical inspector directly to schedule your inspection.

Plumbing and Gas Inspection: Please call 617-993-2662 between 12:30 and 1:30 pm, Monday through Thursday, to speak with the plumbing and gas inspector directly to schedule your inspection.

Reporting a Violation

Please contact the violation reporting line at 617-993-2656 and leave a detailed message regarding the violation, the location, and your name and contact information.

Question on Any Topic

For general questions or if you don't exactly know what you need or are looking for, please call the general OPB number at 617-993-2650 and if you don't get a live person, please leave a message and someone will get back to you within 1 to 2 days.

Phone Versus Email

You are far more likely to get a quick response via email than by leaving a voicemail message on the phone. Additionally, please use the following guidelines for leaving messages:

Email Message Suggestions

  • Please use a subject line as follows: Address - Name - Issue (example: 66 Hopkins Rd - McNally - Status of Permit)
  • Please provide only the information needed to follow up. Multiple paragraphs of narrative are not productive and make it more difficult to process your request. Use the following convention in the body of your email:
    • Your Street Address
    • Your Full Name
    • Your Contact Information (email and phone)
    • Very brief, to-the-point explanation of your question or issue
    • If you wish to provide additional detail, please attach a Microsoft Word document with the additional explanation.

Phone Messages

You are far more likely to get a faster turnaround on your question if you use email and stick to the conventions suggested above. But if you still prefer or need to contact us by phone, please use the following conventions:

  • When leaving a voice mail message (VM), please only leave your full name, address, contact information, and a brief one-line summary of the purpose of your call, followed by a repeat of your contact information (a callback number).
  • Please do not give lengthy explanations on your VM message: these messages will not be processed. Please only provide the minimum information as recommended here.