Maryland Department of the Environment

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Building Energy Performance Standards: Get Started

​Did you receive a postcard from the Maryland Department of the Environment, or do you own a large building in Maryland? You may need to take action due to a new regulation in Maryland, Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS). This webpage and the video below​ will tell you your next steps. 


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Do you believe you received a postcard in error? 
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Let’s get started.

​​Step 1 - Let’s Determine Your Building’s BEPS Status. Your Building’s BEPS Status is one of the following:

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Step 2 - You Know Your Building's BEPS Status. What’s Next for Yo​u?​​​​

Step 3 - Enter the BEPS Portal to see the covered buildings list, obtain Unique Building Identifiers (UBID) for benchmarking, and/or submit exemption forms.

Step 4 - If covered, benchmark in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager by September 1st, 2025​.

Step 5 - Learn more and answer your questions using these helpful resources.​




Your Building is…

​​COVERED BY THE REGULATION IF:​

​The gross square footage of the building is greater than or equal to 35,000 square feet excluding the parking garage area, and is:

  • ​A single building, as defined by the building’s “envelope”;
  • One or more buildings held in the condominium form of ownership and governed by a single board of managers; or
  • Two or more buildings that are served in whole or in part by the same electric or gas meter or are served by the same heating or cooling system or systems, which is not a district energy system. 
Please note: If you did not receive a postcard from MDE, but the above description applies to your building, you still need to meet the requirements of this regulation. 

COVERED, BUT ELIGIBILE TO APPLY FOR EXEMPTION FROM THIS REGULATION IF:

The gross square fo​​otage of the building is greater than or equal to 35,000 square feet excluding the parking garage area, and is:

  • A building, or space within a building, individually designated as a historic property under federal, State, or local law, separate and apart from a building’s inclusion in a historic district; ​
  • Public or nonpublic elementary or secondary school​; 
  • A manufacturing building; 
  • An agricultural building; ​​
  • A building owned by the federal government; or​
  • A demolished building. ​

NOT COVERED BY THIS REGULATION IF:​

​The gross square footage of the building is less than 35,000 square feet, and the building is not connected to other buildings via energy metering or shared systems, which when combined have a gross square footage that is 35,000 square feet or larger, excluding any parking garage area.


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You Know Your Building's BEPS Status. What’s Next for Yo​u?​​​

Covered​​

Covered building owners are required to annually “benchmark” buildings subject to the performance standards. 

When benchmarking your building: 

  • ​Submit previous calendar year whole-building energy consumption data to MDE online through a free tool, ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. Submit this by September 1st in 2025 and June 1st in 2026 and beyond. When submitting reports, building owners must use the Unique Building Identifier (UBID) assigned by MDE (see Step 1 below). ​​

  • Note that in addition to benchmarking your building yourself, you can hire a company to do it for you. ENERGY STAR’s Service and Product Provider Directory​ has a list of qualified contractors, and the subset Most Active Providers List​ details the number of buildings they benchmark. 

  • Please review our detailed Benchmarking Guide​​. Belo​w are the high-level steps. ​


Step 1: Go to the covered buildings list on the BEPS Portal​ and find your building ​and its Unique Building Identifier (UBID). You can search for your building by it​​​s address. If you are unsure if the entry is your building, you can click on the UBID listed in the portal to view it on the map. The primary use type and floor area is based on publicly-available data and will be updated based on supplied information after building owners submit their benchmarking reports via ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. ​

  • If your covered building is listed, make note of your Unique Building Identifier and proceed to step 2. 

  • If your building is not included on the list but it is subject to the regulations, first view the map of covered buildings​ to confirm your building is not already listed under a different street addres​​s. If you find your building, click on it to view the UBID. The address will be updated based on the information provided to MDE in the benchmarking report (Step 6). 

  • If your building is still not listed, please register in the BEPS portal and submit a “request for UBID” form. You may start steps 2-5 while waiting to be assigned a UBID. ​​

Step 2: Create your ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Account​​ and fill in the required property information. If you have a UBID, enter it now. 

Step 3: Contact your electric and/or gas company to obtain your monthly, whole-building energy usage data for the previous calendar year. Review the data for accuracy. To find this information, please see your provider’s contact information and data request process in “Connecting with Your Energy Data Provider​”. Note that the usage data on delivered fuels (propane, diesel, fuel oil, etc.) from your delivery bills​ is also required. More details are below.​

Step 4: Enter energy usage data for all fuel types into ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. 

Step 5: Run the Data Quality Checker in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. 

Step 6: ​Share the property with MD-BEPS on ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager​. For more information, view the Benchmarking Guide​​. Note: your submission will not be valid without a UBID. 

Step 7: Assess your building’s performance. 


Between 2025 and 2030, building owners need only to submit their benchmarking report. However, after benchmarking you should refer to the greenhouse gas emissions standards in the regulation​​ to assess whether physical improvements will be needed to improve the building’s energy performance in order to meet the standards. Buildings will be required to meet greenhouse gas emissions standards that phase downward to zero by 2040 or make an alternative compliance payment for their emissions over the targets.  Emissions standards are set by property type, such as offices, warehouses, and multifamily apartments. If your building has a combination of use types (e.g. a retail store and multifamily housing), your standards will be an area-weighted average. ​


Covered, but Eligible for Exemption

If you believe your building qualifies for an exemption, please follow these steps: 

Step 1: Go to the covered buildings list on the BEPS Portal​ and find your building ​and its Unique Building Identifier (UBID). You can search for your building by it​​​s address. If you are unsure if the entry is your building, you can click on the UBID listed in the portal to view it on the map. 

  • If your building is listed, make note of your Unique Building Identifier and proceed to step 2. ​

  • If your building is not included on the list but it is subject to the regulations, first view the map of covered buildings​ to confirm your building is not already listed under a different street addres​​s. 

  • If your building is still not listed, please register in the BEPS portal and submit a “request for UBID” form.

Step 2: Register for a BEPS Portal account. 

Step 3: Click the blue clipboard action button for your building on the covered buildings list. Select the exemption form that is relevant to your building. ​

Step 4: Fill out the form for your building with the Unique Building Identifier (UBID) and required documentation, and submit the form.


​​Not Covered​

If your building is not covered and you received a postcard from MDE, then your building is listed on the BEPS Portal. Search for your building on the BEPS Portal and submit a categorical exemption form titled “under 35,000 ​ ft2​”, providing any necessary documentation. If your building is not covered and you did not receive a postcard no action is required. ​

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Resources
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​Building Energy Performance Standards compliance and regulation questions?​

Looking for Portfolio Manager resources?

Want to find out more about funding your projects? Stay tuned into the Clean Buildings Hub. 


Maryland Department of the Environment
1800 Washington Blvd
Baltimore, MD 21230