HVAC permits in North Carolina: every change-out is on the record
For HVAC contractors
Unlike a reroof, an HVAC replacement in North Carolina needs a permit at any price. That makes mechanical permits the most complete record there is of who is replacing systems, where and how often — wherever an office publishes them.
- Permits, last 12 months
- 47,026
- Last 90 days
- 14,276
- Last 30 days
- 4,107
- Contractors on the list
- 12
- most active, below
When HVAC work needs a permit in North Carolina
The $40,000 exemption in G.S. 160D-1110 doesn't cover heating and air conditioning: adding or replacing HVAC equipment, or changing a system's design, needs a mechanical permit whatever it costs. A like-for-like change-out is a permitted job, the same as a new install.
Who can see those permits depends on the office. Mecklenburg, Cabarrus and Union counties, Greensboro and Guilford County publish mechanical permits as records of their own, naming the contractor who pulled them. Several Triangle offices file trade work inside the building permit or don't publish it, so mechanical counts there run low — read the numbers below office by office.
Mechanical work also follows other permits. A new home gets a system, an addition usually extends one, and a commercial up-fit gets new rooftop units — and those permits arrive weeks or months before the mechanical permit does.
The permits worth watching
Change-outs
Mechanical permits on existing homes are replacements. Where one contractor files a run of them, you're looking at a competitor's territory.
New homes
Each one needs a system, and the builder picks the HVAC sub — often for a whole subdivision at once.
Additions and remodels
More square footage means a bigger system or a new zone. The homeowner picks the contractor, often weeks after the building permit.
Commercial up-fits
A tenant fit-out usually means new or relocated rooftop units and ductwork: larger jobs, with a GC to call.
Where the work is
47,026 mechanical (HVAC) permits in the last 12 months, by the permit office that issued them and by ZIP code. Each links to its own page.
HVAC permits by city
Every permit office with 50 or more of these permits in the last year has its own page: counts by month, the busiest ZIP codes, who's pulling them and recent filings.
- Charlotte & Mecklenburg County31,455 permits in 12 months
- Greensboro7,186 permits in 12 months
- Cabarrus County5,548 permits in 12 months
- Cary972 permits in 12 months
- Union County721 permits in 12 months
- Guilford County489 permits in 12 months
- Wilmington & New Hanover County296 permits in 12 months
- Asheville89 permits in 12 months
- Wake Forest78 permits in 12 months
- Wake County52 permits in 12 months
Who's doing the work
The contractors pulling the most of these permits in the last 12 months — your competitors, or the builders and GCs worth a call.
| Contractor | Last 12 months | Last 90 days |
|---|---|---|
| Ars | 381 | 93 |
| Mandolin HVAC & Construction | 316 | 137 |
| Central Carolina A/C Co, LLC | 306 | 85 |
| Comfort Air, Inc | 294 | 41 |
| Eanes Heating & A/C | 288 | 67 |
| Berico Fuels, Inc | 276 | 72 |
| Stellar HVAC LLC | 247 | 0 |
| Caryl Mechanicals II, Inc | 232 | 33 |
| Champion Residential LLC, DBA Morris Jenkins | 209 | 87 |
| Webb Heating & A/C | 198 | 47 |
| Gentry Services LLC | 174 | 58 |
| Formula Air HVAC, LLC | 165 | 72 |
Recent permits
A sample from 30 or more days ago. Permit Search and the daily email have them as they're filed.
| Address | Type | Value | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5600 ALBEMARLE RD #300Charlotte 28212 | Mechanical / HVACMechanical | $34K | — | |
| 5501 JOSH BIRMINGHAM PY #0010Charlotte 28208 | Mechanical / HVACMechanical | — | — | |
| 3205 CREST DRGreensboro 27406 | Mechanical / HVACResidential HVAC Change Out | — | Issued | |
| 6965 QUAIL HILL RDCharlotte 28210 | Mechanical / HVACMechanical | $8,000 | — | |
| 9726 WHITEWOOD TLCharlotte 28269 | Mechanical / HVACMechanical | $5,300 | — | |
| 10429 ROYAL WINCHESTER DRCharlotte 28277 | Mechanical / HVACMechanical | $26K | — | |
| 7324 LEE REA RDCharlotte 28226 | Mechanical / HVACMechanical | $11K | — | |
| 6070 E INDEPENDENCE BVCharlotte 28212 | Mechanical / HVACMechanical | $27K | — | |
| 11526 GLENN ABBEY WYCharlotte 28277 | Mechanical / HVACMechanical | — | — | |
| 6018 SWANSTON DRCharlotte 28269 | Mechanical / HVACMechanical | $3,100 | — |
How to work the list
- 01
Map the change-outs
Mechanical permits on existing homes show where systems are being replaced. The ZIPs with the most are where the replacement cycle is running.
- 02
Know your competition
The contractor table shows who pulls the most permits; each contractor's page shows where they work and what else they file.
- 03
Get ahead of the system
Watch new-home, addition and up-fit permits in your ZIPs. They tell you where mechanical work is coming before anyone files for it.
HVAC permits in North Carolina: common questions
- Do you need a permit to replace an HVAC system in North Carolina?
- Yes. The $40,000 exemption in G.S. 160D-1110 doesn't cover adding or replacing heating or air-conditioning equipment, so a change-out needs a mechanical permit like a new install does. That makes mechanical permits close to a complete record of HVAC replacements wherever an office publishes them.
- How many HVAC permits are filed in North Carolina?
- 47,026 mechanical permits in the last 12 months across the offices we read. Most were filed in Mecklenburg County (31,455), Greensboro (7,186) and Cabarrus County (5,548). Not every office publishes trade permits separately, so the count leans toward those that do — Mecklenburg, Cabarrus and Greensboro among them.
- Who pulls the most mechanical (HVAC) permits in North Carolina?
- By permits in the last 12 months: Ars, Mandolin HVAC & Construction and Central Carolina A/C Co, LLC. The table above has the top twelve, each linked to its own page where it has one.
More guides
- North Carolina building permits: the guide
- Roofing permits in North Carolina
- Solar permits in North Carolina
- Building permit data for general contractors
- The Charlotte region: building permits guide
- The Triangle: building permits guide
- The Triad: building permits guide
- Wilmington and the Cape Fear region: building permits guide
Get these permits as they're filed
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Source: TarSignal, from North Carolina public building permit records, data through October 3, 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.