North Carolina building permit data by trade
What the permit records show for roofers, HVAC contractors, solar installers and general contractors depends on one thing: whether North Carolina requires a permit for the work. Here's each trade side by side, with a guide to each.
The trades side by side
Permits filed in the last 12 months at the offices we read, whether the work needs a permit under state law, and where most of it is.
| Trade | Permit required? | Permits, 12 months | Last 30 days | Most filed in | Most active |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roofing | Usually notReplacing a roof costing $40,000 or less is exempt. New roofing and any structural repair still need one. | 1,167 | 104 | Mecklenburg County | Nc Solar Now |
| HVAC | YesAdding or replacing heating or air-conditioning equipment always needs a permit. | 47,026 | 4,107 | Mecklenburg County | Ars |
| Solar | YesEvery install adds electrical equipment, so it needs at least an electrical permit. | 1,961 | 134 | Mecklenburg County | Top Tier Solar Solutions, LLC |
| General contractors | Yes, mostlyStructural work needs a permit; a general contractor's license is needed from $40,000. | 34,936 | 3,139 | Mecklenburg County | Lennar Carolinas, LLC |
Permit requirements from G.S. 160D-1110 and G.S. 87-1. Counts are every permit for the work at the offices we read; offices that publish trade permits separately (Mecklenburg above all) count far more, so each guide breaks the numbers down office by office.
The trade guides
- Roofing permits in North Carolina1,167 permits in 12 months
- HVAC permits in North Carolina47,026 permits in 12 months
- Solar permits in North Carolina1,961 permits in 12 months
- Building permit data for general contractors34,936 permits in 12 months
For PropTech and data teams: permit data for products and research.
Permits by trade: common questions
- Which construction work needs a permit in North Carolina?
- Most of it. State law (G.S. 160D-1110) exempts work costing $40,000 or less on a house or commercial building, unless it touches load-bearing structure, changes plumbing, adds or replaces HVAC or electrical equipment, adds roofing, or falls under the Fire Code. So an HVAC change-out or a solar install always needs a permit, while a roof replacement or new windows under the limit don't.
- Why are there so few roofing permits compared with HVAC permits?
- Because roof replacements under $40,000 are exempt and HVAC replacements aren't. In the last 12 months the offices we read filed 1,167 roofing permits against 47,026 mechanical (HVAC) permits. Roofers get more from new-home and addition permits, which come before every new roof.
- Do all permit offices publish trade permits?
- No. Mecklenburg, Cabarrus and Union counties, Greensboro and Guilford County publish electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits as records of their own. Several Triangle offices fold trade work into the building permit or don't publish it, so trade counts there run low. Each trade guide shows the counts office by office.
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