For a Salem, New Hampshire property’s permit history, use MapGeo: search or select the parcel, then choose View Permits in its property-information panel. For scanned applications and building or planning documents, follow the DocuWare link on the Town’s Issued Permits page. If the interactive services will not load, use Inspectional Services or the records-request route below.
Why the PDF permit lists stop in October 2025
The Town’s Issued Permits page keeps yearly PDF lists of building permits for 2017 through 2024 and weekly lists for 2025, the last covering September 28 to October 4, 2025. After October 2025, it sends readers to MapGeo or DocuWare. That is a change of access route, not evidence that the Town stopped issuing permits.
DocuWare’s historical reach depends on what the Town has scanned; no universal starting year is promised. Use a report to recover an identifier, then seek the underlying document.
- Match the street address and unit to your own property documents before treating a selected MapGeo parcel as the intended property.
- Open View Permits; the Town says the full history is listed newest first, and clicking a record shows its details. Retain the complete identifier and record description. Use an older monthly report as an identifier lead when needed.
- Follow the Town’s DocuWare link for the underlying scanned document. If the scan is absent, keep the identifier for a specific records request rather than treating the report as the complete file.
Preserve the prefix when you copy a number
The Town’s MapGeo explanation describes newer identifiers as type, two-digit year and record number: Prefixes include B (building), E (electrical), P (plumbing), G (gas), CO (certificate of occupancy), SI (sign), RB (radio box), BURN (burning), MHB (minor home business) and REST (restaurant). The older-software prefix vp may represent any permit type.
Copy the whole identifier, including its prefix, and retain the record description. Do not discard a vp entry because it lacks the newer building label. Conversely, do not assume every entry at the address concerns the same construction work. The map’s permit list includes Inspectional Services, Fire and Health records. Fire records sit alongside building records partly because Salem merged its Building Department into the Fire Department in 2016, creating the Inspectional Services Division. A shared location still does not make their purposes interchangeable.
An Active label needs a document-level check
The Town cautions that Active flags can remain after work was completed and inspected. That does not establish completion for a particular record. Ask for its inspection and completion evidence.
For a buyer’s question, identify the work first, then separate application, issuance, inspection results and any occupancy documentation. A certificate for a different project or a passed inspection on one trade may leave the actual question unanswered. The final-inspection guide explains what to compare rather than relying on one status word.
Recover a missing file through the Town
Salem’s Inspectional Services Division handles building and trade permit review and inspections. Its general assistance number is 603-890-2020. Inspectors hold counter hours Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., and Monday through Thursday, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.; the inspection line is 603-685-6415. Start there for a building-specific record question, giving the address, approximate work date, complete permit identifier and missing document type. Confirm Town custody if the location is uncertain.
The Public Records Center links the request form and directs formal Right-to-Know requests through the Town Manager’s Office. For Right-to-Know requests made on or after January 1, 2025, the Town posts the request date, the requester’s name, the request and its fulfillment documents to a public log. Under RSA 91-A:4, IV there is no charge to inspect records or receive them without copying, such as by email. Include the property information needed to locate the records, and avoid adding unrelated personal information.
Explain the actual gap: the map did not load, the address search found no matching entry, or the entry lacked a needed document. Ask for existing records that resolve the question; the older-permit guide can help narrow the requested period and identifiers. A missing scan or unsuccessful search alone does not establish unlawful work or unsafe conditions.
If the property is in Salem, Oregon instead, use the Salem, Oregon guide to PAC history and offline permit files.
Sources: Town of Salem Issued Permits page, MapGeo permit-records notice, Inspectional Services Division page and Public Records Center, checked October 20, 2026.