Somerville building permit portal: how to apply, pay, track and search permits

The Somerville building permit portal is Citizenserve, and the City has taken applications online there since May 2014. Every building, demolition, plumbing, gas and electrical permit runs through it. Here is how I use it, step by step, for my clients' projects.

Start at the City's Licenses and Permits page, which links straight into the portal.

Who can apply on the Somerville building permit portal

According to the ISD Building Division:

• A homeowner who lives in a 1 or 2 family home can apply for their own building permit.
• 3+ family and commercial buildings need a licensed contractor. That covers most Somerville triple-deckers.
• Electrical permits are pulled by a licensed electrician. Plumbing and gas permits are pulled by a licensed plumber.

Step 1: Create your Citizenserve account

1. Open the Somerville Citizenserve portal.
2. Register the first time you apply. Pick a public account. The portal will not let an anonymous account apply for a permit.
3. Use an email you check daily. Review comments and fee notices arrive there.

Step 2: Choose the right permit type

1. Click Services in the top menu, then Permits.
2. Under Construction, choose Building Permit (or Demolition, Plumbing, Gas or Electrical).
3. Fill in every field marked with a red line on the left. Those are required.

Zoning and historic applications are separate permit types in the same portal. If your house is in a local historic district, plan for that review too.

Step 3: Upload the right documents

For applications submitted on or after July 1, 2025, the City's 1 and 2 family submittal checklist lists what a complete file needs. All uploads must be PDFs. The most common items:

• The completed checklist and a detailed project description.
• The contractor's Construction Supervisor License and HIC registration, or the homeowner's affidavit plus the estimated cost affidavit.
• A signed contract or cost affidavit.
• Scaled drawings of existing and proposed conditions, plus photos.
• Workplace Safety Affidavit, Wage Theft Affidavit and safety documents such as a site safety plan and OSHA-10 card.
• Energy code paperwork, and a certified plot plan if the exterior footprint changes.
• Condo association approval and lead-safe documents where they apply.

The maximum upload is 25 MB per file, so split big plan sets into smaller PDFs. If a reviewer asks for something extra, upload it to the same application rather than starting a new one.

Step 4: Pay, track status and schedule inspections

• Paying: you pay a review fee when you apply. After approval, the application shows "Approved/Waiting for Payment" and you pay the balance. The amounts follow the City's published fee schedule (see what Somerville permits cost, with worked examples).
• Watch for scams: the portal warns that the City never asks for gift cards, Venmo, crypto or wire transfers. Real City emails come from @somervillema.gov.
• Tracking: under My Account, each permit has Review, Documents and Inspections tabs. Statuses move from Online Application Received to Under Review, Approved, Issued and finally Closed.
• Inspections: use the permit's Inspections tab to request or cancel them, or call ISD. Building re-inspections cost $55, per the fee schedule.
• Permit card: post it at the job site. A replacement card is $50.

Somerville building permit search: look up past permits by address

1. Citizenserve Search. Click Search in the portal menu, choose Permits, and enter an address or parcel number to see issued permits.
2. Open data. The City's Applications for Permits and Licenses dataset on data.somervillema.gov covers over 90,000 applications since 2014. It includes address, permit type, status, estimated cost and contractor, and it was refreshed today when I checked.

I used that same dataset to study 7,174 Somerville building permits from the last 12 months. It is a great way to see what your neighbors in Davis Square or Union Square have done, or to check a house before you buy.

The Somerville permit office (ISD)

• Address: 1 Franey Road (DPW Building), Somerville, MA 02145.
• Phone: (617) 625-6600 ext. 5600. Email: [email protected].
• Public hours: Monday to Thursday 9 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m.; Friday 9 to 11 a.m. The window closes 15 minutes before the end of each block.

Hours are from the Building Division page. For the bigger picture, read my Somerville building permit guide.

Need a hand?

I handle Citizenserve applications for my clients every week, from drawings and affidavits to inspections and closeout. Book a free walkthrough and I will send a written line-item budget, usually within 48 hours.

About the author

Mateus Magno is the founder of Magno & Co — a licensed Massachusetts Construction Supervisor (CS-123658), registered Home Improvement Contractor (HIC #220484) and certified Lead-Safe Renovator Supervisor who has renovated and managed over $3 million in projects across Greater Boston.

More about Mateus →