The Queen Anne’s County Department of Planning & Zoning has been approved by the State Archivist and State Records Administrator to modify the department’s records retention and disposal schedule. This is an effort to reduce the space dedicated to the long term storage of documents in the county.

The Department has been approved to modify the requirements for document retention relating to building permits and construction plans. The department will retain a copy of the building permits and certificates of occupancy in our permanent files. All other documents related to building and zoning files will be retained for 5 years after the issuance of the certificate of occupancy then the department may dispose of the documents. Currently the County Department of Planning & Zoning Permit Division is warehousing approximately 30 years of construction documents.

Any building and zoning files with documents other than building permits and certificates of occupancy older than 5 years will be disposed of on or after July 15, 2013.

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of any of the documents more than 5 years old relating to your property please submit a written request to the Department of Planning and Zoning, 160 Coursevall Drive Centreville, MD 21617. Please include in your request the property address and any related permit information you may have.

Please contact the Department of Planning & Zoning, Permits division at 410-758-4088 for additional information.

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