Adopted edition
MBPS 2024 (IBC 2021 base + MD amendments)
City has its own adoption — separate from county.
MD · City
Baltimore, MD.
Baltimore is an independent city. Permits issue from the city, not Baltimore County. Historic preservation review (CHAP) covers many neighborhoods, and harbor-front parcels trigger flood-zone overlays.
Design wind speed
105 mph
ASCE 7 Risk Cat II, 3-second gust at 33 ft.
Climate zone (IECC)
4A
Drives R-value, fenestration U-factor, and air-leakage envelope rules.
Special zones
- HVHZ
- WBDR
- WUI
- FEMA SFHA possible
Permit office
Baltimore Department of Housing & Community Development
www.baltimorehousing.org/permits-licensesIndependent city — Baltimore issues its own permits, separate from Baltimore County.
Population
~565,000
Approximate. Drives roof-volume estimates and storm-event canvassing footprint.
ZIP coverage
25 ZIP codes inside Baltimore.
Each ZIP resolves to the correct city + county + state on every parcel lookup. Multi-jurisdiction parcels pick up amendments from each layer.
21201212022120521206212072120821209212102121121212212132121421215212162121721218212222122321224212252122621229212302123121251
City-specific amendments
What's specific to Baltimore.
- §01Maryland Building Performance Standards (MBPS) is the state-mandated floor.
- §02City Historic Preservation Commission review applies for parcels in CHAP-designated districts (Federal Hill, Mount Vernon, Fells Point, etc.).
- §03Tidal Chesapeake/harbor flood overlays cover Inner Harbor and Canton waterfront parcels.
- §04Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act applies to land within the city's Critical Area.
Working in Baltimore?
Pull an address-levelcode packetfor any parcel in Baltimore. SkyCanvass resolves the address, looks up the Baltimore-specific amendments and the Baltimore City county and Maryland state floor, then emits a cited packet ready for permit submittal.
See theBaltimore (independent city) countyoverview, or theMaryland state directory.
Pull a Baltimore code packet.
Free to start — property lookups, state code access, the hail map, and your first storm report on us. No credit card required to look up an address.