Code Enforcement

A Code Enforcement Officer (CEO) is defined under 30-A MRSA § 4451 as a person employed by a municipality to enforce all enabling state laws and local ordinances in the following areas: shoreland zoning, land use regulation, internal plumbing, subsurface waste water disposal, and building standards. CEOs must be certified in each area for which they have responsibility within 12 months of their initial appointment date or of the date they assume responsibility for a given area.  The statute also requires code officers to maintain their certification and be recertified every six years.

Northern Maine Development Commission (NMDC) offers CEO and Local Plumbing Inspector (LPI) training at its Caribou office. CEOs must be certified by the State of Maine within one year of initial appointment in a municipality. CEOs must be certified in all areas of job responsibility in order to efficiently enforce municipal regulations or ordinances. Areas of job responsibility are determined by the CEO job description. For example, if a municipality enforces the State building code, shoreland zoning, or a town-wide zoning ordinance, the CEO must obtain and maintain certification in each of those disciplines. Conversely, LPIs must be certified prior to appointment in a municipality.

The Office of the State Fire Marshall administers the state’s code enforcement program.  The following are answers to commonly asked questions related to Code Enforcement Officer and Local Plumbing Inspector testing. The purpose of the training and certification program is to build and strengthen local capacity to administer and enforce new and existing ordinances. As a result of this emphasis, code enforcement has become more uniform across the state, to the benefit of municipalities and their residents. Coordinated management and administration of local ordinances and state statutes helps reduce municipal liability associated with enforcement.