Permit Fees in North Carolina

City	Bathroom	Kitchen	Roof	HVAC	Status
Charlotte	$280.83	$400.44	$61.70	$61.70	✓
Raleigh	$383.76	$383.76	$127.92	$127.92	✓

North Carolina is running older code than you'd guess. The 2018 NC State Building Code, whose residential volume is built on the 2015 IRC, is still the law statewide in mid-2026. A full 2024 code suite has been adopted on paper, but the legislature tied its start date to a certification process, and the State Fire Marshal's office said in December 2025 that the effective date remains undetermined. Builders who want the newer code can use it voluntarily as an alternate method.

The homeowner headline is the $40,000 rule. Under G.S. 160D-1110(c), no building permit is required for work costing $40,000 or less on a single-family home, with carve-backs that pull you right back into permitting: load-bearing structural changes, plumbing design or capacity changes, and HVAC or electrical work beyond like-for-like replacement all still need a permit regardless of price. The general-contractor license threshold sits at the same $40,000, and an owner can build their own residence unlicensed, with a 12-month occupancy presumption if they sell early.

Every city and county must provide code enforcement, and each sets its own fees. The verified numbers: Charlotte charges $280.83 for a bathroom remodel permit and $61.70 for a roof or HVAC changeout; Raleigh runs $383.76 and $127.92 for the same work.

One genuine oddity from the code-edition limbo: houses are wired to the 2017 NC Electrical Code while everything outside residential scope uses the 2020 edition. Your house and your shop building can legally follow two different NECs.

Sources: NC OSFM current and past codes · G.S. 160D-1110 ($40,000 exemption) · G.S. 87-1 (license threshold) · OSFM on the 2024 code delay · verified 2026-06