How to find roofing leads in Wilmington from building permits — free
Wilmington & New Hanover County filed 152 roofing permits in the last 12 months — about 2.9 a week, 22 in the last 30 days. Every one is a public record naming the address, the work and, usually, who's doing it. Here's how roofers find them for free, which ones are worth a call, and when it's worth paying not to.
The busiest ZIP code was 28405, with 26% of them, and the most active name on them was Arnold Roofing And Restoration LLC, with 20.
- Last 12 months
- 152
- A week, on average
- 2.9
- Last 30 days
- 22
- Busiest month
- 23
- October 2026
Step 1: Search New Hanover County's COAST portal (free)
The permit office's own records, straight from the source. Search for: roofing or re-roof, and new residential dwellings.
- Open the portal and choose Search (no account needed to look).
- Set the search to Permit, then filter by permit type (residential or commercial building, mechanical, electrical, plumbing) and an applied or issued date range.
- Page through the results; each permit opens to its address, work description and status.
Who's on a permit: A permit's page lists its contacts on some permits, not all.
Step 2: Keep the permits worth a call
Does the work need a permit in North Carolina? Usually not. Replacing a roof costing $40,000 or less is exempt. New roofing and any structural repair still need one. So these are the roofing permits on file, and what each is worth.
New homes
Every new house gets a roof a few weeks after framing starts. The new-home permit names the builder — that's who buys it.
Re-roofs that had to be permitted
North Carolina exempts a re-roof of $40,000 or less, so the ones on file are the big ones: commercial, multifamily and large homes. Call the owner or property manager.
Structural and storm repairs
Decking or structural work needs a permit at any size, so a cluster of repair permits after a storm marks the streets that were hit.
Step 4: Know who's pulling them
The builders on this list are your customers on new homes; the roofers are who you're up against. Ranked by permits in the last 12 months.
| Contractor | Last 12 months | Last 90 days |
|---|---|---|
| Arnold Roofing And Restoration LLC | 20 | 0 |
| Ingram Bros Inc | 6 | 1 |
| Multifamily Roofing Services Inc | 4 | 2 |
| Premier Building Associates Southern Division LLC | 4 | 2 |
| Baker Roofing Company | 4 | 0 |
| Highland Roofing Company | 4 | 4 |
| Miles E Kath | 3 | 0 |
| Eastern Shore Sunrooms LLC | 3 | 1 |
| Deck And Patio Tuneup Inc | 3 | 0 |
| Mckinley Building Corp | 2 | 2 |
| Home Doctor Construction | 2 | 2 |
| Brookshire Estate Management LLC | 2 | 1 |
Step 5: Reach out at the right time
On a new home, call the builder when the building permit is issued, not when the house is framed — by then the roof is usually sold. On a large re-roof, the permit often comes after the contract, so watch the owner's other properties.
The free way, and the fast way
The permits are free either way. What costs time is finding them, one office and one search at a time.
| The office's portal | TarSignal Free | TarSignal Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where | One permit office's site at a time | 23 North Carolina offices, one search | 23 offices, one search |
| How recent | Same day, if you search every day | Permits over 30 days old | Up to today |
| Who's doing the work | Depends on the office; phone numbers rarely | Contractor and contact, on permits over 30 days old | Contractor and contact on every permit |
| New permits sent to you | No | Weekly, one ZIP code | Daily, every area |
| Export | Rarely | No | CSV |
| Cost | Free | Free | $199/month |
Roofing Leads in Wilmington: common questions
- How do I find roofing leads in Wilmington for free?
- From the building permits. New Hanover County's COAST portal is free to search: Open the portal and choose Search (no account needed to look). TarSignal's free search has the same permits from 23 North Carolina offices in one place, with the contractor where the record names one, for permits more than 30 days old.
- How many roofing permits are filed in Wilmington?
- 152 in the last 12 months, about 2.9 a week, and 22 in the last 30 days. The busiest ZIP codes were 28405, 28401 and 28412.
- Are building permits public record in North Carolina?
- Yes. Permits are public records under the North Carolina Public Records Act (G.S. Chapter 132), so anyone can look them up, and the contractor named on a permit is part of the record.
- Does roofing work need a permit in Wilmington?
- Usually not. Replacing a roof costing $40,000 or less is exempt. New roofing and any structural repair still need one. That's state law (G.S. 160D-1110), so it's the same at any permit office in the state.
Related
The numbers behind this guide, with recent permits: Roofing permits in Wilmington & New Hanover County. Every permit in the area: building permits in Wilmington & New Hanover County.
Roofing Leads in other places
See this week's roofing leads
Permit Search has every roofing permit filed in Wilmington & New Hanover County, with the contractor where the record names one. Free for permits over 30 days old; Pro has them the day they're filed.
Source: TarSignal, from North Carolina public building permit records, data through October 28, 2026. Refreshed nightly. Counts include every permit type a jurisdiction files — trade permits (electrical, plumbing, mechanical) as well as building permits — so one project can appear more than once. Values are what the applicant declared, where the jurisdiction records one. We keep improving how we collect each office's permits, so a count that steps up suddenly usually means more complete records, not more construction.