NC Building Permit Lookup

Every permit-issuing authority across North Carolina’s 100 counties, grouped by metro. Find your county, click through to its permit-search portal, search by address or permit number. Free, no signup, no email required.

100
NC counties listed
16
Direct search portals
6
NC metros covered
We don’t host permit data ourselves — every link goes straight to the county’s own portal.

How to use this page

  1. Find your county below — they’re grouped by metro, and the search box filters everything as you type.
  2. Click the county’s portal link. The Direct search counties land you on a search form; Portal index counties land on the county’s permitting page where you drill down.
  3. Enter the property address (easiest), permit number, or parcel ID on the county site.
Save the 3-step permit check — run it before any work is signed off.

Triangle

11 counties

Charlotte / Lake Norman

10 counties

Triad

11 counties

Asheville / WNC

18 counties

Wilmington / Coast

5 counties

Other NC counties

45 counties

Alexander County

Portal index

Taylorsville

Open permit portal →

Alleghany County

Portal index

Sparta

Open permit portal →

Anson County

Portal index

Wadesboro

Open permit portal →

Ashe County

Portal index

Jefferson · West Jefferson

Open permit portal →

Beaufort County

Portal index

Washington · Belhaven

Open permit portal →

Bertie County

Portal index

Windsor

Open permit portal →

Bladen County

Portal index

Elizabethtown

Open permit portal →

Burke County

Portal index

Morganton · Valdese

Open permit portal →

Caldwell County

Portal index

Lenoir · Granite Falls

Open permit portal →

Camden County

Portal index

Camden

Open permit portal →

Chowan County

Portal index

Edenton

Open permit portal →

Columbus County

Portal index

Whiteville · Tabor City

Open permit portal →

Craven County

Portal index

New Bern · Havelock

Open permit portal →

Cumberland County

Portal index

Fayetteville · Hope Mills · Spring Lake

Open permit portal →

Currituck County

Portal index

Currituck · Moyock

Open permit portal →

Dare County

Portal index

Manteo · Kill Devil Hills · Nags Head

Open permit portal →

Duplin County

Portal index

Kenansville · Wallace

Open permit portal →

Edgecombe County

Portal index

Tarboro · Rocky Mount (partial)

Open permit portal →

Gates County

Portal index

Gatesville

Open permit portal →

Greene County

Portal index

Snow Hill

Open permit portal →

Halifax County

Portal index

Halifax · Roanoke Rapids

Open permit portal →

Hertford County

Portal index

Winton · Ahoskie

Open permit portal →

Hoke County

Portal index

Raeford

Open permit portal →

Hyde County

Portal index

Swan Quarter · Ocracoke

Open permit portal →

Jones County

Portal index

Trenton

Open permit portal →

Lenoir County

Portal index

Kinston

Open permit portal →

Martin County

Portal index

Williamston

Open permit portal →

Montgomery County

Portal index

Troy · Mount Gilead

Open permit portal →

Moore County

Portal index

Carthage · Pinehurst · Southern Pines

Open permit portal →

Nash County

Direct search

Nashville · Rocky Mount

Open permit portal →

Northampton County

Portal index

Jackson

Open permit portal →

Pamlico County

Portal index

Bayboro

Open permit portal →

Pasquotank County

Portal index

Elizabeth City

Open permit portal →

Perquimans County

Portal index

Hertford

Open permit portal →

Pitt County

Portal index

Greenville · Winterville · Ayden

Open permit portal →

Richmond County

Portal index

Rockingham · Hamlet

Open permit portal →

Robeson County

Portal index

Lumberton · Pembroke · Red Springs

Open permit portal →

Sampson County

Portal index

Clinton

Open permit portal →

Scotland County

Portal index

Laurinburg

Open permit portal →

Tyrrell County

Portal index

Columbia

Open permit portal →

Warren County

Portal index

Warrenton

Open permit portal →

Washington County

Portal index

Plymouth

Open permit portal →

Wayne County

Portal index

Goldsboro · Mount Olive

Open permit portal →

Wilkes County

Portal index

Wilkesboro · North Wilkesboro

Open permit portal →

Wilson County

Portal index

Wilson

Open permit portal →

Building permit FAQ

Why look up a building permit?
Three reasons. (1) Before you buy a house — find out whether past additions, decks, or grading work were permitted (unpermitted work is the buyer's problem after closing). (2) Before you hire a contractor — see whether they regularly pull permits in your county (a contractor who tells you a permit isn't needed when one is, is a flag). (3) During an active project — confirm the permit is real and the inspections are passing.
How do I find a permit on these sites?
Most county portals search by either property address, parcel ID, permit number, or contractor name. Address is the easiest if you know it. Some portals (Wake, Mecklenburg, New Hanover, Cabarrus) deep-link to a search form. Others land you on the county's permitting page where you'll need to click through to the search tool.
What if my county isn't on this list?
Every NC county is on this list — there are exactly 100. Some smaller rural counties don't publish their permit data online; for those, the link goes to the county's planning or inspections page where the contact info for the permit office is published. Call them directly during business hours.
What if a link is broken?
County government websites get redesigned regularly. If a link here lands somewhere that isn't a permit page, we'd appreciate a heads-up — the contact form is on every page footer. Meanwhile, search 'building permits {county name} NC' and you'll usually find the current URL.
Are permit lookups free?
Yes. Every county portal listed here is free to search anonymously. Some portals charge a fee to download a copy of a specific permit's PDF, but the search itself is always free.
What does it mean if work was done without a permit?
Two practical implications. (1) Insurance: an insurer can deny a claim if damage is traced to unpermitted work. (2) Resale: NC requires sellers to disclose known issues, and unpermitted additions show up on appraisals and inspections. The county can also require retroactive inspection or removal of unpermitted structures.
Can I look up the contractor by their license number?
On most permit portals, no — they're indexed by property and permit number, not contractor. To verify a contractor's license directly, use the NC Licensing Board's search at portal.nclbgc.org. (We also link to it from /resources/.)
Do you sell this data?
No. NCGH doesn't sell verifications, leads, or directory data. The links here are public — anyone can find them with a Google search; we just organized them. If you want to support what we do, hire one of the contractors on /directory/ when your project comes up.

Looking for an actual contractor instead?

The NC Grade and Haul directory has every license-active grading and hauling contractor in the state, organized by city. Every license number deep-links to nclbgc.org so you can verify in one click — same public-records-first approach you’re using on this page.

Browse the contractor directory →