Guilford County

Guilford County Inspections Department

In short

Guilford County Inspections Department issues 13 permits we publish for Guilford County, last verified 2026-09-30. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.

What this agency issues

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Permit	Issuing agency	Fee	Renews	Last checked
Inspections Plan Review Fee	Guilford County Inspections Department	Adopted FY2027 fees, county-only: Plan Review Fee $75.00, new in FY2027 where the FY2025 and FY2026 columns read $0.00; Re-Review Fee 1st re-review $0.00; Re-Review Fee 2nd re-review $75.00; Re-Review Fee each review after the 2nd $150.00.	per review submission on a permit application	2026-09-30
Change of Occupancy Permit (trade fees only)	Guilford County Inspections Department	No separate base fee. The adopted FY2027 fee schedule carries 'Change of Occupancy (Trade Fees Only)' at $0.00 in each of the FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027 columns, and the live Inspections fee page renders the same line as 'Change of Occupancy - Trade Fee(s)'. The applicant pays the applicable trade permits at $75.00 each, plus the $75.00 Inspections plan review fee.	per permit, for the change of occupancy it covers	2026-09-30
Commercial Addition or Alteration Permit	Guilford County Inspections Department	Adopted FY2027 fee, county-only: Commercial Additions/Alterations at $0.25 per square foot added or altered, plus the applicable trade fee(s) at $75.00 each, unchanged across FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027. Interior Alterations are priced separately and were added in FY2027 at $125.00 for a construction value of $0-$10,000 and $250.00 over $10,000. The $75.00 Inspections plan review fee is charged separately.	per permit, for the addition or alteration it covers	2026-09-30
After Hours Inspection Feeonly if it applies to you	Guilford County Inspections Department	$125 per inspection requested on non-business days or outside business hours, county-only (adopted FY2027 fee schedule line 'After Hours Inspection', new in FY2027 where the FY2025 and FY2026 columns read $0.00)	per after-hours inspection requested	2026-09-30
Trade Permits — Building, Electrical, Plumbing, Mechanical, Fuel Piping	Guilford County Inspections Department	$75 each, per trade, county-only: Building $75.00, Electrical $75.00, Plumbing $75.00, Mechanical $75.00, Fuel Piping $75.00 and Gas Logs $75.00, unchanged across FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027; the fee includes permitting, applicable plan review and required trade inspections	per permit, for the work it covers	2026-09-30
Commercial Up-Fit Building Permit	Guilford County Inspections Department	Adopted FY2027 Commercial Up-fit fees by construction value, county-only: $1-$9,999 base fee $75.00; $10,000-$49,999 base fee $75.00 plus $5.00 per 1,000 square feet; $50,000-$99,999 base fee $200.00 plus $4.00 per 1,000 square feet; $100,000-$499,999 base fee $350.00 plus $3.00 per 1,000 square feet; $500,000 and over base fee $1,150.00 plus $2.00 per 1,000 square feet. The base fee for the two lowest bands rose from $35.00 to $75.00 with the FY2027 schedule. Applicable trade permits at $75.00 each and the $75.00 plan review fee are charged separately.	per permit, for the up-fit project it covers	2026-09-30
New Commercial Building Permit — Business, Mercantile or Retail	Guilford County Inspections Department	Adopted FY2027 fees, county-only: New Business, Mercantile, or Retail Structures base fee $100.00 per unit plus $0.25 per square foot per unit. New Industrial, Factory, High Hazard, or Storage Structures are priced the same, at a $100.00 base fee plus $0.25 per square foot. New Utility & Miscellaneous is a $75.00 base fee plus $0.25 per square foot, and New Commercial Residential / Multi-Family is $250.00 per dwelling unit. Applicable trade permits at $75.00 each and the $75.00 plan review fee are charged separately.	per permit, for the new construction it covers	2026-09-30
New Commercial Building Permit — Educational, Assembly or Institutional	Guilford County Inspections Department	Adopted FY2027 fee, county-only: New Educational, Assembly or Institutional Structures base fee $1,000.00 plus $0.20 per square foot. Applicable trade permits at $75.00 each and the $75.00 Inspections plan review fee are charged separately.	per permit, for the new construction it covers	2026-09-30
Building and Trade Re-Inspection Feeonly if it applies to you	Guilford County Inspections Department	$75 per re-inspection, county-only (adopted FY2027 fee schedule line 'Re-Inspection Fees', raised from $50.00 in FY2025 and FY2026 to $75.00 in FY2027, a $25 increase)	per re-inspection visit on an open permit	2026-09-30
Temporary Power Permitonly if it applies to you	Guilford County Inspections Department	$75 per unit or meter, county-only (adopted FY2027 fee schedule line 'Temporary Power/Unit or Meter', raised from $40.00 in FY2025 to $75.00 in FY2026 and held at $75.00 in FY2027)	per unit or meter energised, for the duration of the construction work	2026-09-30
Event Permit (Guilford County Inspections, trade fees only)only if it applies to you	Guilford County Inspections Department	No separate base fee. The adopted FY2027 fee schedule carries the line as 'Event Permit (Trade Fees Only)' — FY2025 $40.00, FY2026 $40.00, FY2027 $75.00 — and $75.00 is the amount every other '(Trade Fees Only)' line in the same schedule carries, while the live Inspections fee page renders the same line as 'Event - Trade fee(s)' with no figure. The applicant pays the applicable trade permits at $75.00 each.	per event, for the temporary work or installation it covers	2026-09-30
ABC Permit (Guilford County Inspections)only if it applies to you	Guilford County Inspections Department	$75 per ABC permit inspection by Inspections, county-only (adopted FY2027 fee schedule line 'ABC Permit', unchanged at $75.00 across FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027)	per application, at the point the county signs off on the premises	2026-09-30
Homeowner Recovery Fund Fee on Building Permits to General Contractors	Guilford County Inspections Department	$10 per building permit issued to a general contractor, collected by Guilford County Inspections for the State Homeowner Recovery Fund (adopted FY2027 fee schedule, unchanged at $10.00 across FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027)	per building permit issued to a general contractor	2026-09-30

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

About each permit

Inspections Plan Review Fee

This charge is new and is easy to miss when working from last year's numbers: the Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule, adopted June 25, 2026, prices the Inspections Plan Review Fee at $75.00 where the FY2025 and FY2026 columns both read $0.00, so a project priced on the county's earlier figures will be $75 short. The re-review ladder was added at the same time, and the schedule's own Summary of Changes records it: 'Re-Review Fees for 1st and 2nd re-review submissions added.' The first re-review is free, the second costs $75, and each review after the second costs $150, so the cost of a plan set that keeps coming back rises steeply. The live Inspections fee page and the adopted schedule agree exactly on all four amounts. This fee is distinct from two other plan reviews a commercial project in Guilford County can face at the same time, and they are not alternatives. Guilford County Emergency Services charges its own fire plan review by floor area, from $100 for 0-999 square feet up to $1,000 above 100,000 square feet, plus separate system reviews; and Guilford County Planning charges $175 for a minor site plan or $325 plus $5 per 1,000 square feet for a major one. A project in the county's fire and planning jurisdiction can therefore pay Inspections, Emergency Services and Planning review fees on the same building. Note also that the $75 trade permit fee is described by the county as including 'applicable plan review', so an applicant should confirm with Permitting which reviews its particular submission attracts. Scope is unincorporated Guilford County plus the seven contract towns and the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority. Permitting: 336-641-3707.

Change of Occupancy Permit (trade fees only)

A business moving into space that was previously used for something else needs a change of occupancy permit from Guilford County Inspections, and the county charges no base fee for it. Both current county documents agree: the Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule, adopted June 25, 2026, carries the line as 'Change of Occupancy (Trade Fees Only)' with $0.00 in the FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027 columns, and the live Inspections fee page shows 'Change of Occupancy - Trade Fee(s)'. What the applicant pays instead is the applicable trade permits at $75 each — building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, fuel piping — plus the $75 Inspections plan review fee that is new in FY2027. For a straightforward retail, salon or cafe conversion needing two or three trades, that is $150 to $225 in trade permits plus the $75 review. The same trade-fees-only treatment applies to a group of related lines on the adopted schedule: Land Use Permit, Accessory Structure, Utility, Open Assembly, Above Ground Storage Tank, Decks, Temporary Construction Trailer, Event Permit and Permit Re-Issuance. A change of occupancy will usually pull in other county requirements at the same time, and those do carry fees: Guilford County Planning's minor or major site plan review, Guilford County Emergency Services fire plan review and inspection, Environmental Health food service plan review for a kitchen, and an existing on-site sewer inspection where the premises is not on public sewer. Scope is the county's permitting footprint of unincorporated Guilford County plus Jamestown, Oak Ridge, Pleasant Garden, Sedalia, Stokesdale, Summerfield, Whitsett and the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority; in Greensboro, High Point, Archdale, Burlington, Gibsonville and Kernersville the city or town handles it. Permitting: 336-641-3707.

Commercial Addition or Alteration Permit

Extending or reworking an existing commercial building in Guilford County's permitting area is charged by area rather than by construction value: the Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule, adopted June 25, 2026, prices Commercial Additions/Alterations at $0.25 per square foot added or altered plus the applicable trade fee(s), unchanged across the FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027 columns. There is no base fee on this line, so on a 1,200 square foot addition the area charge is $300 and the trade permits at $75 each are the rest. Two neighbouring lines are worth checking before assuming this is the right one. Interior Alterations are priced by construction value rather than area and are new in FY2027, at $125 for a value of $0-$10,000 and $250 above that, and Commercial Up-fit — the usual tenant fit-out of existing space — runs on its own construction-value ladder from a $75 base to $1,150 plus a per-1,000-square-foot charge. Which line applies turns on the nature of the work, so an applicant should confirm the classification with Permitting rather than pricing from the cheapest heading. The $75 Inspections plan review fee, new in FY2027, is charged on top, and the live Inspections fee page warns that permit fees will be doubled if work commences before the permit issues. An alteration that changes the use of the space also brings in the change of occupancy permit, which carries no base fee of its own, and may bring in Planning site plan review and Emergency Services fire plan review. Scope is unincorporated Guilford County plus Jamestown, Oak Ridge, Pleasant Garden, Sedalia, Stokesdale, Summerfield, Whitsett and the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority. Permitting: 336-641-3707.

After Hours Inspection Fee

Guilford County now charges $125 where an applicant asks for a building or trade inspection on a non-business day or outside business hours. The charge is new: the Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule, adopted June 25, 2026, shows $0.00 in the FY2025 and FY2026 columns and $125.00 in FY2027, with the change column repeating $125.00, and the schedule's Summary of Changes records that an 'After Hours Inspection Fee added for non-business day/hours requests for service'. The live Inspections fee page carries the same amount. This matters most to a business working to an opening date, because out-of-hours inspection is the usual way to keep a fit-out on schedule when trades finish late in the week, and it was free in Guilford County until this fiscal year. It is charged per inspection, so several trades inspected out of hours are several charges, and it stacks with the $75 re-inspection fee where an after-hours visit fails. A note on reading the county's schedule: for newly priced lines like this one the county repeats the new amount in its Change column rather than showing the difference, which is also why the Event Permit line shows a change of $75 against a previous $40. The FY2027 column is the figure to use. Scope is the county's permitting footprint of unincorporated Guilford County plus Jamestown, Oak Ridge, Pleasant Garden, Sedalia, Stokesdale, Summerfield, Whitsett and the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority; Greensboro, High Point, Archdale, Burlington, Gibsonville and Kernersville set their own inspection charges. Permitting: 336-641-3707.

Trade Permits — Building, Electrical, Plumbing, Mechanical, Fuel Piping

Guilford County charges a flat $75 for each trade permit, and this is the charge that recurs across almost every project in the county's permitting area. The Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule, adopted June 25, 2026, lists Building, Electrical, Plumbing, Mechanical and Fuel Piping at $75.00 each under 'Trade Permit Fees – Commercial' and Gas Logs at $75.00 under the residential heading, each unchanged across the FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027 columns; the county's live Inspections fee page groups all six under one heading. That page states the scope of the charge in its own words: 'The following schedule of fees applies to all Trades and includes permitting, applicable plan review, and required trade inspections. Permit fees will be doubled if work commences prior to the issuance of a permit.' The practical importance of the flat $75 is that a number of county permits carry no base fee of their own and are priced purely as trade fees — the schedule marks Change of Occupancy, Land Use Permit, Accessory Structure, Utility, Open Assembly, Above Ground Storage Tank, Decks, Temporary Construction Trailer, Event Permit and Permit Re-Issuance as '(Trade Fees Only)', and the live page renders the same lines as 'Trade fee(s)' with no figure. So a retail store, salon or cafe taking over existing space typically pays the applicable trade permits at $75 each plus the $75 plan review fee, and no change-of-occupancy base fee. Scope is the county's permitting footprint: unincorporated Guilford County plus Jamestown, Oak Ridge, Pleasant Garden, Sedalia, Stokesdale, Summerfield, Whitsett and the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority. Greensboro, High Point, Archdale, Burlington, Gibsonville and Kernersville run their own trade permitting. A contractor should also note the separate $10 Homeowner Recovery Fund fee on building permits issued to general contractors. Permitting: 336-641-3707.

Commercial Up-Fit Building Permit

This is the permit most new Guilford County businesses actually buy, because a tenant fit-out of existing space is how a shop, salon, cafe, clinic or studio usually opens. The Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule, adopted June 25, 2026 for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026, prices it by construction value: $75 base for $1-$9,999; $75 base plus $5 per 1,000 square feet for $10,000-$49,999; $200 base plus $4 per 1,000 square feet for $50,000-$99,999; $350 base plus $3 per 1,000 square feet for $100,000-$499,999; and $1,150 base plus $2 per 1,000 square feet at $500,000 and over. The two lowest bands went up this year, from a $35 base to $75, and the schedule's own Summary of Changes gives the reason: 'Base fee costs for Commercial Up-fit inspections raised to align with peer benchmarking, remaining the lowest cost for services amongst peers.' The base fee is not the whole cost. The applicable trade permits are charged on top at $75 each for building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical and fuel piping, and the Inspections plan review fee of $75 is new in FY2027 where it was $0 in FY2025 and FY2026 — both are separate records on this page. Scope is the limit to watch: the Inspections Department's own page states it serves 'all unincorporated areas of Guilford County and, through contractual agreements, to the towns of Jamestown, Oak Ridge, Pleasant Garden, Sedalia, Stokesdale, Summerfield, and Whitsett and the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority (PTAA)', so a fit-out in Greensboro, High Point, Archdale, Burlington, Gibsonville or Kernersville is permitted by that city or town under its own schedule instead. The live Inspections fee page adds a standing warning that applies here: 'Permit fees will be doubled if work commences prior to the issuance of a permit.' Permitting: 336-641-3707.

New Commercial Building Permit — Business, Mercantile or Retail

A restaurant, coffee shop, retail store, salon, auto-repair shop or veterinary clinic putting up a new building in Guilford County's permitting area pays a $100 base fee per unit plus $0.25 per square foot per unit, published on the 'New Business, Mercantile, or Retail Structures' lines of the Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule, adopted June 25, 2026. On a 4,000 square foot single-unit building that is $100 plus $1,000, so $1,100 before trades. The same $100 base and $0.25 per square foot apply to New Industrial, Factory, High Hazard or Storage Structures, which is where a larger auto or storage operation lands; New Utility & Miscellaneous is cheaper at a $75 base plus $0.25 per square foot, and New Commercial Residential / Multi-Family is $250 per dwelling unit. A childcare centre or fitness studio is usually in a different and much more expensive band — New Educational, Assembly or Institutional at a $1,000 base plus $0.20 per square foot — which is recorded separately on this page, so the occupancy classification the designer assigns drives the fee more than the floor area does. On top of the base and per-square-foot charge come the applicable trade permits at $75 each and the $75 Inspections plan review fee that is new in FY2027, and a new building will also face Guilford County Emergency Services fire building and site plan review priced by floor area, Guilford County Planning site plan review, and Environmental Health permits where there is a kitchen, pool, septic system or well. Scope is unincorporated Guilford County plus Jamestown, Oak Ridge, Pleasant Garden, Sedalia, Stokesdale, Summerfield, Whitsett and the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority. Permitting: 336-641-3707.

New Commercial Building Permit — Educational, Assembly or Institutional

A childcare centre or a fitness studio built new in Guilford County's permitting area is usually classified as an educational, assembly or institutional structure, and that classification carries the county's highest commercial base fee: $1,000 plus $0.20 per square foot, on the 'New Educational, Assembly or Institutional Structures' lines of the Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule, adopted June 25, 2026. The contrast with the business, mercantile or retail band matters when comparing sites and uses, because the two bands are shaped differently: a retail building pays a $100 base plus $0.25 per square foot, so on a 4,000 square foot building it costs $1,100 against $1,800 for the same floor area classed as assembly, while at larger floor areas the lower per-square-foot rate in the assembly band narrows the gap. The occupancy classification is a building-code question settled by the design and the use, not something the applicant selects for price, so a childcare or studio operator should establish it early with the designer and with Permitting. On top of this come the applicable trade permits at $75 each and the $75 Inspections plan review fee that is new in FY2027. A childcare centre will also face Guilford County Emergency Services' $75 daycare fire inspection and its fire building and site plan reviews priced by floor area, Guilford County Planning site plan review and, for many childcare uses, a $500 special use permit plus a $26 recording fee; a studio with a pool adds Environmental Health pool plan review and an operation permit. Scope is unincorporated Guilford County plus Jamestown, Oak Ridge, Pleasant Garden, Sedalia, Stokesdale, Summerfield, Whitsett and the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority. Permitting: 336-641-3707.

Building and Trade Re-Inspection Fee

Where a Guilford County building or trade inspection fails and the inspector has to return, the county charges $75 for the re-inspection. The amount went up this year: the Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule, adopted June 25, 2026, shows $50.00 in the FY2025 and FY2026 columns and $75.00 in FY2027, with the change column reading $25.00, so a project priced from the county's earlier published figures will understate it. The live Inspections fee page carries the same $75. This is a per-visit charge and it compounds on a project with several trades, since each failed trade inspection is its own return visit. It is separate from three other charges on this page that are easy to confuse with it. The Inspections re-review ladder applies to plan submissions rather than site visits, at $0 for a first re-review, $75 for a second and $150 for each review after that. Guilford County Emergency Services runs its own fire reinspection ladder at $100 for a second visit, $200 for a third and $300 for a fourth judicial visit, with the first visit free. And Guilford County Environmental Health charges $100 for a second swimming pool permitting trip. An After Hours Inspection requested outside normal business days or hours is $125 and is also new in FY2027. Scope is unincorporated Guilford County plus Jamestown, Oak Ridge, Pleasant Garden, Sedalia, Stokesdale, Summerfield, Whitsett and the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority. Permitting: 336-641-3707.

Temporary Power Permit

Energising a temporary supply so that construction or fit-out work can proceed on a Guilford County site costs $75 per unit or meter. The Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule, adopted June 25, 2026, carries the line as 'Temporary Power/Unit or Meter' at $40.00 in FY2025 and $75.00 in both FY2026 and FY2027, so the increase took effect a year before the current schedule and the figure is now settled. The live Inspections fee page shows the same $75. The charge is per unit or per meter rather than per site, so a multi-unit building energising several meters pays several times. For a business opening in the county's permitting area this is a small but commonly missed line item alongside the larger ones: the commercial up-fit or new building permit, the trade permits at $75 each, and the $75 Inspections plan review fee new in FY2027. A related line on the same schedule charges $10 per unit for Machinery or Equipment, and a Temporary Construction Trailer is one of the trade-fees-only lines with no base fee of its own. Scope is unincorporated Guilford County plus Jamestown, Oak Ridge, Pleasant Garden, Sedalia, Stokesdale, Summerfield, Whitsett and the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority; inside Greensboro, High Point, Archdale, Burlington, Gibsonville or Kernersville the city or town issues and prices temporary power. The live Inspections fee page also carries the standing warning that permit fees are doubled where work commences before the permit issues, and a Penalty Fee of double the trade permit fee. Permitting: 336-641-3707.

Event Permit (Guilford County Inspections, trade fees only)

A business staging a temporary event in Guilford County's permitting area — a pop-up, a festival stand, a temporary installation with power or gas — takes an Event Permit from Guilford County Inspections, and the county charges no separate base fee for it. The two current county documents read together make that clear. The Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule, adopted June 25, 2026, carries the line as 'Event Permit (Trade Fees Only)', and the $75.00 in its FY2027 column is the trade-fee amount rather than an event charge: every other '(Trade Fees Only)' line in the same schedule carries the identical $75.00 — Home Occupation, Family Care Home, Daycare in Residence and Alterations (No change) — and the live Inspections fee page renders those same lines with no figure at all, as 'Event - Trade fee(s)', 'Home Occupation - Trade fee(s)', 'Family Care Home - Trade fee(s)' and 'Daycare in Residence - Trade fee(s)'. So the correct way to price this is the applicable trade permits at $75 each, and a quoted '$75 Event Permit' would misstate it. One reading note explains where that misreading comes from: the county's Change column on this line shows $75.00 against a previous $40.00 rather than the $35 difference, because for newly priced lines the county repeats the new amount in that column. The FY2027 column is the figure. An event serving food also needs an Environmental Health temporary food establishment permit at the statutory $75 per permit, and a tent brings in Guilford County Emergency Services' Tent/Stage Permit and Inspection at $100 per tent — both separate records on this page. Scope is unincorporated Guilford County plus the seven contract towns and the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority. Permitting: 336-641-3707.

ABC Permit (Guilford County Inspections)

A restaurant, coffee shop or retail store applying for a State ABC permit needs the local governing body to certify that the premises complies with the building and fire codes, and Guilford County charges $75 for the Inspections side of that work. The figure is on the 'ABC Permit' line of the Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule, adopted June 25, 2026, at $75.00 in each of the FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027 columns, and the live Inspections fee page carries the same amount. The statutory reason for the charge is G.S. 18B-901(c), which provides that to be a suitable place 'the local governing body shall return a Zoning and Compliance Form to the Commission on a form provided by the Commission to show the establishment is in compliance with all applicable building and fire codes'. There is a second $75 for the same application on the fire side: Guilford County Emergency Services charges its own 'ABC Inspection' at $75, recorded separately on this page, so an applicant in the county's jurisdiction should budget $150 in county inspection charges for the sign-off, not $75. Both are distinct from the State's own charges, which are far larger — G.S. 18B-902(d) sets application fees of $400 for each of the six malt beverage and wine permits and $1,000 for mixed beverages, and G.S. 18B-903(b1) adds a $400 annual registration and inspection fee for each permit held. They are also distinct from the county's own beer and wine retail license under G.S. 105-113.78, which is a tax rather than an inspection charge. Scope is the county's permitting footprint of unincorporated Guilford County plus the seven contract towns and the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority; inside Greensboro or High Point the city performs and charges for its own code compliance sign-off. Permitting: 336-641-3707.

Homeowner Recovery Fund Fee on Building Permits to General Contractors

Guilford County collects an extra $10 on every building permit it issues to a general contractor, for the State's Homeowner Recovery Fund. The Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule, adopted June 25, 2026, states the basis in its own words: 'An additional $10 Homeowner Recovery Fund Fee applies to all bldg. permits issued to General Contractors as required by State law', at $10.00 in each of the FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027 columns. What a contractor pays Guilford County is otherwise the ordinary permit schedule rather than any county contractor credential: the trade permits at $75 each, the commercial up-fit or new building permit, the $75 Inspections plan review fee new in FY2027, the $75 re-inspection fee and the $125 after-hours inspection fee, all recorded separately on this page. Licensure itself is a State function with a dollar threshold worth knowing before bidding: G.S. 87-1(a) makes a person, firm or corporation a 'general contractor' requiring a license from the NC Licensing Board for General Contractors where it undertakes to bid upon, construct, superintend or manage construction of any building, highway, public utilities, grading or any improvement or structure 'where the cost of the undertaking is forty thousand dollars ($40,000) or more', or undertakes to erect a North Carolina labeled manufactured modular building meeting the State Building Code. Guilford County Inspections also lists a Worker's Compensation Certificate and an Owner-Contractor Exemption Affidavit, to be notarised, among the forms it takes at the counter. Scope is unincorporated Guilford County plus Jamestown, Oak Ridge, Pleasant Garden, Sedalia, Stokesdale, Summerfield, Whitsett and the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority. Permitting: 336-641-3707.

Contact

Jurisdiction: Guilford County
Phone: 336-641-3707
Website: www.guilfordcountync.gov/government/departments-and-agencies/inspections

Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.

Sources

Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.

G.S. 18B-901, Issuance of permits — the local governing body shall return a Zoning and Compliance Form showing compliance with building and fire codes, the Commission weighs the recommendations of the local governing body, and notice goes to the city or, where the establishment is not inside a city, to the countyNorth Carolina General Assembly · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-30
G.S. 87-1(a) — a person undertaking construction work where the cost of the undertaking is forty thousand dollars ($40,000) or more is a 'general contractor' licensed by the NC Licensing Board for General ContractorsNorth Carolina General Assembly · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-30
Guilford County FY2027 Adopted Budget Ordinance and Fee Schedule — adopted and effective the 25th day of June, 2026; Section 10.A adopts the attached fee schedule in accordance with §153A-102; the schedule is headed 'This fee schedule includes Guilford County fees for the Fiscal Year 2027' and prints FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027 columns for Environmental Health, Inspections, Emergency Services and Planning & DevelopmentGuilford County, North Carolina · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-30
Guilford County Inspections Department — 'provides permitting, plan review, and building inspection services for all unincorporated areas of Guilford County and, through contractual agreements, to the towns of Jamestown, Oak Ridge, Pleasant Garden, Sedalia, Stokesdale, Summerfield, and Whitsett and the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority (PTAA)'Guilford County Inspections Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-30
Guilford County Inspections Fee Schedule — 'The following schedule of fees applies to all Trades and includes permitting, applicable plan review, and required trade inspections. Permit fees will be doubled if work commences prior to the issuance of a permit.'; the trade-fees-only lines rendered without a figure ('Event - Trade fee(s)', 'Daycare in Residence - Trade fee(s)', 'Home Occupation - Trade fee(s)', 'Family Care Home - Trade fee(s)'); the Penalty Fee of double the permit fee; and the stop-work and order-to-repair civil penalties of $50 dailyGuilford County Inspections Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-30

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