Building permits in Durham, North Carolina
Of the 12 common home projects we have verified in Durham, 5 need a permit outright and 7 depend on size or scope. Click any project for the full rule, fee, and how to apply.
By Mario Bailey Last checked · 2 official sources
Verified against official sources- Project types verified
- 13
- in Durham
Durham City-County Building & Safety Department (formerly the Durham City-County Inspections Department), a joint City of Durham and Durham County department that issues building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits for both the City of Durham and unincorporated Durham County
- 101 City Hall Plaza, Ground Floor, Suite 400, Durham, NC 27701
- Phone: 919-560-4144
- Email: permittechnicians@durhamnc.gov
- Official permit page
- Permit portal
- Official fee schedule
Look up a permit in Durham
Durham permit records are public, and you can check a property's permit history by permit number or project name online.
What needs a permit in Durham
Of the 12 common home projects we have verified in Durham, 5 need a permit outright and 7 depend on size or scope. Click any project for the full rule, fee, and how to apply.
| Project | Permit needed? | Threshold | Typical fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bathroom Remodel Permit | It depends | cost of the remodel work on a single-family residence | No Change to Rough-in": 1-4 fixtures $65.00 |
| Deck Permit | It depends | Before building a new deck or altering its load-bearing structure | ...Schedule F "Miscellaneous": "Residential decks (single and two-family)"... |
| Electrical Permit | It depends | Before installing, extending, altering or generally repairing any electrical wiring... | ...7/1/18, Includes Technology Surcharge): "Minimum electrical permit fee"... |
| EV Charger Permit | Permit required | Any size | ...on individual branch circuits and not covered in other schedules, each" $10.90... |
| Fence Permit | It depends | Only when the fence or wall is on a property in a designated flood plain, is used as a... | See schedule |
| HVAC Permit | Permit required | Any size | ...of a heating/cooling system with any concealed ductwork or component"... |
| Patio Permit | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not published |
| Plumbing Permit | It depends | Before installing, extending or generally repairing any plumbing system | No Change to Rough-in": 1-4 fixtures $65.00 |
| Pool Permit | Permit required | Any size | See schedule |
| Roof Replacement Permit | It depends | cost of the roof replacement work on a single-family residence | ...Surcharge), Schedule F "Miscellaneous": "Residential Reroofing (addition)"... |
| Shed Permit | Permit required | Any size | ...Technology Surcharge), Schedule C "Accessory Buildings": "No footing" $50.00... |
| Solar Permit | Permit required | Any size | ...Schedule G "Miscellaneous": "Solar panel inspections" "Residential"... |
| Water Heater Permit | It depends | Before installing a new water heater, or replacing one with a change in fuel, location... | ...Technology Surcharge), Schedule E: "Electric water heater (permit required)"... |
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Schedule an inspection in Durham
Permitted work is not finished until it passes inspection. Building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical inspections are scheduled online in the LDO portal, and only the permit applicant can schedule, using their login. A customer service lobby on the ground floor of City Hall (9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday) has computers for scheduling.
Schedule or request a Durham inspection
When the portal will not take the date you need, the office still books by phone: 919-560-4144.
Checked . If the office has changed its process, report it.
Durham permit fees compared with nearby North Carolina localities
| North Carolina locality | Deck Permit | HVAC Permit | Electrical Permit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Durham | ..."Residential decks (single and two-family)"... | ...with any concealed ductwork or component"... | ...Surcharge): "Minimum electrical permit fee"... |
| Charlotte | ...the LUESA Fee Ordinance (revised July 1, 2026): $1 to... | ...The minimum fee that multiplier works from is $59.70... | ...the LUESA Fee Ordinance (revised July 1, 2026): $1 to... |
| Greensboro | ...#1005 dated 12/19/24: 'Minimum permit fee -... | ...#4200 dated 7/16/24: 'Minimum Inspection Fee $... | Electrical Permit Fee Schedule, Document #4100 dated... |
| Mecklenburg County | ...priced off total construction value with a $59.70... | ...priced off total construction value with a $59.70... | ...priced off total construction value with a $59.70... |
Each cell is the opening clause of that North Carolina jurisdiction's own fee schedule; the full wording and source sit on each permit page.
Durham permit questions, answered from the data
- Do you need a permit in Durham?
- For most projects, yes. Of the 13 permit types we have verified for Durham, 5 always require a permit (for example an EV charger permit), 7 depend on size or scope (a bathroom remodel permit, for instance). Each Durham permit type's page states the exact rule and its source.
- How much does a permit cost in Durham?
- Durham publishes a fee for 12 of the 13 permit types we cover, each quoted on its page from the jurisdiction's own schedule (linked on every page that carries one). Fees are set by Durham City-County Building & Safety Department (formerly the Durham City-County Inspections Department), a joint City of Durham and Durham County department that issues building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits for both the City of Durham and unincorporated Durham County; we do not estimate or mark them up.
- Where do you apply for a permit in Durham?
- Durham City-County Building & Safety Department (formerly the Durham City-County Inspections Department), a joint City of Durham and Durham County department that issues building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits for both the City of Durham and unincorporated Durham County issues permits in Durham, with an online portal for applications, plan uploads and status checks, and takes questions at 919-560-4144. The Durham official page and portal are linked in the office section above.
How the Durham pages were verified. 13 permit types, 7 distinct official sources, most recently checked . Every rule is read from Durham City-County Building & Safety Department (formerly the Durham City-County Inspections Department), a joint City of Durham and Durham County department that issues building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits for both the City of Durham and unincorporated Durham County or the applicable code and cited on its page; anything we could not confirm for Durham is marked rather than estimated. How we verify.
Permitting activity in Durham
In 2025, Durham authorized permits for 4,483 new residential housing units (2,518 single-family, 1,965 in multi-family buildings), valued at $1.3B , up from 2,793 the year before. That works out to about 15.7 permits per 1,000 residents. It is a useful gauge of how busy the local permit office is.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2025 annual data · population 285,809.