BALT — Maryland Third-Party & Special Inspection Matrix
Type: research deliverable · Date: 2026-08-08 · Status: complete
Baltimore-branch replication of the Virginia Beach third-party/special-inspection jurisdiction research. All 15 MD jurisdictions in the BALT tracker zone (1,018 records) researched from official sources by 5 parallel agents.
- Evidence file:
/home/claude/BALT_3P_INSPECTION_MATRIX_2026-08-08.md - Artifact: https://claude.ai/code/artifact/2e5ff3e3-3e14-4416-bc73-e857961b2025
- Scope doc:
/home/claude/TRIAGE_BRANCH_JURISDICTION_RESEARCH_SCOPE_2026-08-08.md(BALT line marked done)
Key findings
- Maryland has NO analog of Virginia’s VUSBC §113.7 (verified in full COMAR 09.12.51 text) — no statute forces a building official to keep a written 3P policy. MD is a discretion market: where nothing is published there is nothing to request.
- Tier 1 (product-specific published rules): Anne Arundel (Forms 210/215/240 = a formal Third Party Inspector Certification program, footing/backfill/slab, PE/RA, 10-working-day reports — Form 215 names “foundation anchors”; UP files these today) and Baltimore County (Bill 49-24 §1705.1.2 Data-Sheet engineer services; PAI Form 378-08 retaining-wall engineer certification; engineer-certified drainage alternates).
- Tier 2: Frederick (BO may pre-authorize 3P inspection reports + only SSI form in the branch with a helical-pile/torque-recording category; their “TPIP” is electrical-only), Howard (published footing 3P prior-approval), Baltimore City (§105.1.5 RDP discretion; underpinning permits must be pulled by the contractor; RTW exemption stripped at all heights), Town of Easton (full SI manual, “all deep foundations” bullet, inspector must be unaffiliated with designer), Town of Denton (Ord. 724 §38-2.3(E) MD-structural-engineer certification rule).
- Tier 3 (nothing published): Harford (64 rec — biggest exposure), Washington, Cecil, Dorchester, Carroll, Queen Anne’s, Wicomico (suspended-slab PE-report precedent), Caroline, Talbot, Kent.
- Towns are separate jurisdictions: Easton, Cambridge, Salisbury, Hagerstown (+6 WashCo towns), Chestertown, Centreville, Denton, Elkton, Rising Sun, City of Frederick, Mt. Airy all self-permit.
Next actions
15-call phone worklist in the evidence file (priority = records × leverage): Baltimore City 410-396-3470, Anne Arundel program-scope confirmation, Baltimore County Data Sheet catalog, Harford PE-acceptance, Frederick pre-approved-agency application.
Related: vb-expansion-3p-inspection-matrix (Hampton Roads finished example)