Application Forms and Instructions
Application for Review
Applications are submitted through the Accela e-Permits System.
Download the forms below, fill them out, save each form and attachment as its own PDF (named so staff can tell what it is), and upload them through Accela.
New for 2026: the application is now a set of short, numbered forms. Start with Form 0, which explains how the packet works, and Form A, which lists exactly what your application needs.
Application Forms
Every application includes Forms A, B, and C. What else you need depends on what you are requesting — Form A tells you.
Start here
- Form 0: Instructions and Frequently Asked Questions — how the packet works, what the words on the forms mean, and where to find the information they ask for (PDF, 6 pages)
- Form A: Checklist and Cover Sheet — complete this checklist last, once everything else is assembled (PDF, 2 pages)
Everyone completes these
- Form B: Application for Zoning Relief — the property and the relief you are requesting (PDF, 3 pages)
- Form C: Parties, Acknowledgments, and Signatures — who is filing, and the signatures required (PDF, 2 pages)
Based on what you are requesting
- Form D: Statement of Justification — Variance — required if you are requesting a variance (PDF, 2 pages)
- Form E: Statement of Justification — Conditional Use — required if you are requesting a conditional use (PDF, 3 pages)
- Form T: Terms of Operation — required for every conditional use; optional for a variance — it gives the Board and the public a fuller picture and lets you offer conditions (PDF, 2 pages)
Based on what you are proposing
- Form F: Live Entertainment or Dancing — required if your request involves live entertainment or dancing (PDF, 4 pages)
- Form G: Day-Care Center, Adult or Child — required if you are proposing a day-care center (PDF, 1 page)
If you are not the owner
- Form O: Property Owner's Authorization to File an Application — required whenever any owner does not sign Part C6 of Form C (PDF, 1 page)
Help with your site plan
- How to Mark Up a Parcel Image — a step-by-step guide to the simplest site plan format, for applications that involve no construction (PDF, 2 pages)
The forms are fillable PDFs. You can type into them and save, or print and fill them in by hand.
Completeness
Form A is the completeness checklist. Work through every row and attach what it lists — BMZA staff use the same list to confirm your application is complete before it is scheduled for a hearing.
Staff examine every application within 10 days of filing and will tell you if anything is missing.
Fee Payment
After you file, BMZA staff review your submission and send an invoice through Accela for the filing fee. Your application is not complete — and your hearing is not scheduled — until the fee is paid.
Zoning Appeal Approval Standards
The Board decides each application under the standards in the Baltimore City Zoning Code, Article 32, and in Maryland caselaw.
The approval standards are also built into the forms themselves: Form D walks through each finding the Board must make for a variance (Art. 32 § 5-308), and Form E does the same for a conditional use (§ 5-406).
The Board of Municipal and Zoning Appeals (BMZA) Fees
| Appeal Type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Variance - simple* | $100 |
| Variance - complex** | $200 |
| Sign | $200 |
| Conditional Use | $300 |
| Nonconforming Use | $300 |
| Negative or other miscellaneous appeals | $100 |
| Combination *** | $500 |
*Simple variance - up to 2 variances requested per property
**Complex variance - 3 or more variances requested per property
***Combination - two or more appeal types requested per property