Is a permit required to install a wood stove in Maryland?

By Melissa Bollman and Diane Peng

Alliance for Green Heat

Updated: Jan. 2019

If you're planning on installing a wood burning appliance, chimney or fireplace in your residence, it’s important to check whether you need a permit first. Beyond the health and safety of you and your family, securing a permit is usually important for your homeowners insurance - and for obtaining a generous rebate from the State of Maryland.

Virtually every Maryland county requires either a building or HVAC permit for a new or replacement stove.   The map below is now outdated so it should not be relied on, but it showed where wood stove permits were required in the state in 2012.  Check with the Maryland Energy Administration site for updated information. They provide permit detail here.

 Regulations change, and your appliance might be an exception to the rule. If you are planning on having a wood stove installed in your Maryland home, the best source of up-to-date accurate information will be your county officials. The easiest way to contact your local permit officer is through this Maryland governmental site that has phone numbers for each county code office.  Page 4 of the application form for a rebate for a new wood or pellet stove has an excellent list of what kind of permit is needed in each country. 

Regardless of whether your county requires a permit, you should always contact your insurance company before installing a stove. If you have an unpermitted stove installation and your stove causes a fire, your insurance company could deny your claim. For more information on this topic and a list of some states that have statewide permitting requirements, check here.

Even if you're not required to obtain a permit, wood burning appliances should always conform to local law and code, and be installed and operated per manufacturer’s specs and code. Counties across America often contain interesting and unforeseen code requirements regarding wood and pellet stoves – and boilers. For instance, Garrett County, Maryland’s western-most county with the highest per capita use of wood for heating, requires stoves to be tested and UL listed by a national laboratory. This would seem to make it unlawful to install many old, second hand stoves that are not UL listed for safety. (In Garrett County, more than 12% of the population uses wood as a primary heating source, 10 times the Maryland state average.)

On a final note, it's recommended having your stove installed through a NFI-certified or CSIA certified  professional. Professional installers should be well versed in local building codes and help ensure a safe and compliant installation. One affordable way to complete a stove installation is to buy the stove through a big box store and buy the install kit and then have a pro install it.  Big box stores sell some good quality stove brands and some not-so-good ones, so do some research first.

Postscript: Maryland provides a $500 - $700 rebate as of January 2019 for qualified wood and pellet stoves, depending on whether its a wood or pellet stove. Eligible units must be at least 70% efficient.

Wood Stove Bill in Rhode Island Should be Model for all States

A Rhode Island bill, HB 7371, would make the state the first eastern state to adopt the progressive policies of Washington and Oregon on wood stoves. The bill, introduced by representative Art Handy and four other delegates, would phase-out wood stoves without EPA certification in densely populated residential areas.

House bill no.7371 states that beginning on January 1, 2013, an individual must obtain a permit before installing a wood stove in any residential home. Permits will only be issued for EPA certified models unless they are 50 feet from any lot line and 200 feet from a neighboring home. Property owners cannot sell, rent, or lease any home with an uncertified stove that is less than 50 feet from any lot line and 200 feet from a neighboring home. Additionally, only "clean wood" can be burned, meaning natural wood free of chemical paints, varnishes, preservatives, resins, or glues.

Washington and Oregon go even further than the Rhode Island bill, by applying to all stoves in all areas of the state – not just densely inhabited ones. “In states where there would not be the political will to pass a bill that impacts the entire state, this is an excellent measure to reduce the wood smoke that has the most impact on the most people,” said John Ackerly, President of the Alliance for Green Heat.

This commonsense approach may only apply to a minority of households and would not impact those households which are most likely to heat with stoves. “Ultimately, we need to see a quicker phase out of all old, uncertified stoves and this is an excellent step in that direction,” Mr. Ackerly said.

Exceptions will be made for those demonstrating financial hardship. If a person's household income is less than 250% of the federal poverty level, he or she may continue to operate an uncertified wood stove regardless of proximity to the lot line or neighboring home.

The Alliance for Green Heat supports this bill and urges legislators to pass it.