Guilford County

Guilford County Planning & Development

In short

Guilford County Planning & Development issues 9 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
Minor Site Plan Review	Guilford County Planning & Development	$175 per plan, county-only, and inclusive of the zoning permit fee for non-residential development (Planning and Development fee schedule effective 1 July 2026, corroborated at $175.00 in the adopted FY2027 budget fee schedule for FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027)	one-off, per plan submitted	2026-09-30
Major Site Plan Review	Guilford County Planning & Development	Planning and Development fee schedule effective 1 July 2026, county-only: Major Site Plan Review $325.00 per plan base fee plus $5.00 per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area or open uses of land. The adopted FY2027 budget fee schedule carries the same $325.00 base and the same $5.00 additional fee per 1,000 square feet for FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027. Footnote 3 of the Planning schedule provides that the fee includes the zoning permit fee for non-residential development.	one-off, per plan submitted	2026-09-30
Rezoning or Original Zoning Applicationonly if it applies to you	Guilford County Planning & Development	$750–$2,000 per case, county-only, by acreage (Planning and Development fee schedule effective 1 July 2026, corroborated in the adopted FY2027 budget fee schedule for FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027): less than 1 acre $750.00; 1 to 4.9 acres $1,200.00; 5 to 24.99 acres $1,500.00; 25 acres or more, or a planned unit development, $2,000.00. A Rezoning Appeal is $750.00 per case	one-off, per case; a rezoning runs with the land once approved	2026-09-30
Special Use Permitonly if it applies to you	Guilford County Planning & Development	$500 per case, county-only, plus a $26 recording fee for up to 15 pages — the Planning and Development fee schedule effective 1 July 2026 itemises '$500.00 Per Case / Plus Recording Fee' with footnote 1 setting the recording fee at $26, and the adopted FY2027 budget fee schedule states the same total as a bundled 'Special Use Permit/Case + Recording Fee $526.00'	one-off, per case; the permit attaches to the approved use and the recording fee covers recording the order	2026-09-30
Variance (Board of Adjustment)only if it applies to you	Guilford County Planning & Development	$400 per case, county-only, plus a $26 recording fee for up to 15 pages (Planning and Development fee schedule effective 1 July 2026; the adopted FY2027 budget fee schedule carries the same line as '$400 +$26' for FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027)	one-off, per case before the Board of Adjustment	2026-09-30
Appeal to the Board of Adjustmentonly if it applies to you	Guilford County Planning & Development	$250 per case, county-only (Planning and Development fee schedule effective 1 July 2026, 'Appeals to the Board of Adjustment (per case)'; the adopted FY2027 budget fee schedule carries $250.00 for FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027). Other Appeals of the Planning Board are $200.00 per case and a Rezoning Appeal is $750.00 per case	one-off, per appeal filed	2026-09-30
Zoning Verificationonly if it applies to you	Guilford County Planning & Development	No fee	per request; a verification speaks to the zoning position at the date it is given	2026-09-30
Soil Erosion Grading Permitonly if it applies to you	Guilford County Planning & Development	Adopted FY2027 Guilford County Grading Permit Fees, county-only and unchanged across FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027: one acre (43,560 SF) but less than three acres, base fee $450.00; three acres or more, base fee $450.00 plus $225.00 per additional acre over three; maximum charge $8,325.00, which the schedule notes is equivalent to 38 acres; single family residential lot of less than one acre $100.00.	per permit, for the land-disturbing activity it covers	2026-09-30
ABC Zoning and Compliance Form (local sign-off)	Guilford County Planning & Development	No fee	per application, returned to the Commission before the State permit issues	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

Minor Site Plan Review

Most small commercial projects in Guilford County's planning area go through minor site plan review at $175 per plan. The figure is published in the Guilford County Planning and Development Fee Schedule, Civil Penalties and Related Fines, effective 7-1-2026 with a footer revision date of 7/22/2026, and the Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule carries the same 'Minor Site Plan Review (per plan)' line at $175.00 in its FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027 columns, so the two adopted documents agree. One detail saves a separate application: footnote 3 of the Planning schedule states that the site plan fee 'Includes Zoning Permit Fee for non-residential development', so for a commercial use the zoning permit is covered by this fee rather than billed on its own. Zoning verification is also free, on a separate entry on this page. Scope is narrower here than for county building permits, and the difference catches people out. The county's Zoning Codes page states that 'The Guilford County Planning Section provides Planning Services for Unincorporated Guilford County and through contractual agreements, Planning Services are provided for the Towns of Stokesdale, Pleasant Garden, Sedalia and Whitsett' — four towns, against the seven towns plus the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority that buy permitting. Jamestown, Oak Ridge and Summerfield buy permitting from the county but run their own planning and zoning, and Archdale, Burlington, Gibsonville, Greensboro, High Point and Kernersville run both. The adopted FY2027 budget schedule corroborates the four-town planning footprint with exactly four Planning Services line items: Stokesdale $25,000, Pleasant Garden $5,000, Whitsett $1,000 and Sedalia $1,000. A larger project uses major site plan review instead, at $325 plus $5 per 1,000 square feet. Planning: 336-641-3334.

Major Site Plan Review

A larger commercial development in Guilford County's planning area goes through major site plan review, priced at a $325 base per plan plus $5 per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area or open uses of land. Both elements are published in the Guilford County Planning and Development Fee Schedule effective 7-1-2026 and corroborated line for line in the Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule, which carries the $325.00 base and the $5.00 per 1,000 square feet addition in each of its FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027 columns. The per-1,000-square-foot element counts open uses of land as well as gross floor area, so a use with large outdoor areas — vehicle display or storage, an outdoor fitness or recreation area, a garden centre — can carry a materially higher fee than its building footprint alone suggests. As with the minor plan, footnote 3 of the Planning schedule provides that the fee 'Includes Zoning Permit Fee for non-residential development', so the zoning permit is not billed separately for a commercial use. Whether a project is minor or major is a determination under the Unified Development Ordinance rather than something the applicant selects, so it is worth settling with Planning on 336-641-3334 before budgeting. Scope is unincorporated Guilford County plus Stokesdale, Pleasant Garden, Sedalia and Whitsett only; Jamestown, Oak Ridge and Summerfield buy permitting from the county but do their own planning, and Archdale, Burlington, Gibsonville, Greensboro, High Point and Kernersville do both. A major project will also face Guilford County Emergency Services fire site plan review priced by floor area, the Inspections plan review fee of $75, and a soil erosion grading permit where an acre or more is disturbed.

Rezoning or Original Zoning Application

Where a proposed business use is not allowed in the zoning district at all, and no special use permit route exists for it, the remaining option in Guilford County's planning area is a rezoning, priced by the acreage of the case. The Guilford County Planning and Development Fee Schedule effective 7-1-2026 sets $750 per case for less than one acre, $1,200 for 1 to 4.9 acres, $1,500 for 5 to 24.99 acres and $2,000 for 25 acres or more or a planned unit development, and the Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule carries the matching amounts in each of its FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027 columns. This is the most expensive planning application the county charges a business, and it is a case fee rather than a refundable deposit, so it is worth establishing with Planning on 336-641-3334 whether the use could instead proceed as a permitted use, or under a special use permit at $500 per case plus a $26 recording fee, before filing. The same schedule prices a rezoning appeal at $750 per case. An approved rezoning does not by itself authorise construction: the project still needs minor or major site plan review, county building and trade permits from Guilford County Inspections where the site is in the county's permitting footprint, fire plan review from Emergency Services, and any Environmental Health permits for food, pools, septic or wells. Scope is unincorporated Guilford County plus Stokesdale, Pleasant Garden, Sedalia and Whitsett; Jamestown, Oak Ridge and Summerfield buy permitting from the county but do their own zoning, and Archdale, Burlington, Gibsonville, Greensboro, High Point and Kernersville run their own.

Special Use Permit

Some uses in Guilford County's planning area need a special use permit rather than being allowed outright in the zoning district, and childcare centres, veterinary and kennel uses, auto-repair and vehicle service, outdoor recreation and some restaurant and retail formats are the usual candidates. The fee is $500 per case plus a $26 recording fee. Two current county documents state this consistently in different forms and the apparent discrepancy resolves cleanly: the Guilford County Planning and Development Fee Schedule effective 7-1-2026 itemises '$500.00 Per Case' with footnote 1 setting the recording fee at '$26 (up to 15 pages)', while the Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule bundles both into a single 'Special Use Permit/Case + Recording Fee $526.00' line, unchanged across FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027 — and $500 plus $26 is $526. Published here as the itemised $500 plus the $26 recording fee, which is how the Planning counter invoices it. This is a case fee rather than a per-plan fee, so it is charged once for the application regardless of project size, and it does not replace site plan review: a use needing a special use permit will normally also need minor or major site plan review at $175, or $325 plus $5 per 1,000 square feet. A related appeal route is priced separately, with Board of Adjustment appeals at $250 per case and variances at $400 per case plus the same $26 recording fee. Scope is unincorporated Guilford County plus Stokesdale, Pleasant Garden, Sedalia and Whitsett; the county's Zoning Codes page lists Archdale, Burlington, Gibsonville, Greensboro, High Point and Kernersville among the jurisdictions its Planning and Development Department does not serve. Planning: 336-641-3334.

Variance (Board of Adjustment)

Where a Guilford County site cannot meet a dimensional or similar standard of the Unified Development Ordinance, the route is a variance from the Board of Adjustment at $400 per case plus a $26 recording fee. The Guilford County Planning and Development Fee Schedule effective 7-1-2026 prints the variance fee with the recording fee added under footnote 1, and the Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule carries the matching line as '$400 +$26' in each of its FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027 columns. The commercial situations that most often need one are a setback, height, parking, buffer or signage standard that an existing building or an awkward lot cannot satisfy — so it tends to arise on a conversion of an older property rather than on a new build with a free site. Because it is a case fee it is charged once per application whatever the project size, and it does not substitute for the site plan review the same project needs. The Board of Adjustment also hears appeals, priced separately at $250 per case, and appeals of Planning Board decisions are $200 per case; a use that is simply not permitted outright in the district is a special use permit matter at $500 per case plus the $26 recording fee, or a rezoning, rather than a variance. Scope is unincorporated Guilford County plus Stokesdale, Pleasant Garden, Sedalia and Whitsett; in the other municipalities within the county the town or city board handles variances under its own schedule. Planning: 336-641-3334.

Appeal to the Board of Adjustment

A business that disagrees with a Guilford County zoning determination — a use classification, a permit refusal, a notice of violation — can appeal to the Board of Adjustment for $250 per case. The figure is in the Guilford County Planning and Development Fee Schedule effective 7-1-2026 on the line 'Appeals to the Board of Adjustment (per case)', and the Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule carries the same $250.00 in each of its FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027 columns. Two neighbouring appeal routes are priced differently and it is worth knowing which applies before filing: other appeals of the Planning Board cost $200 per case, and a rezoning appeal is $750 per case. An appeal is also distinct from a variance at $400 per case plus a $26 recording fee, which asks the Board to relax a standard rather than to overturn an interpretation, and from a special use permit at $500 per case plus the $26 recording fee, which seeks approval for a use the district allows only conditionally. For a business facing a violation notice the appeal fee needs weighing against the county's daily zoning civil penalty ladder, which runs at $50 for a first violation, $100 for a second, $200 for a third and $500 for a fourth, charged daily with no stated penalty limit. Scope is unincorporated Guilford County plus Stokesdale, Pleasant Garden, Sedalia and Whitsett; elsewhere in the county the municipality's own board hears appeals. Planning: 336-641-3334.

Zoning Verification

Guilford County charges no fee for a zoning verification. Both current county documents say so in the same terms: the Guilford County Planning and Development Fee Schedule effective 7-1-2026 prints the Zoning Verification Fee as 'No Charge', and the Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule carries 'Zoning Verification Fee' as 'no charge' in each of its FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027 columns. That makes it the cheapest and usually the first step for a business choosing between sites in the county's planning area, because it establishes whether the intended use is permitted outright, needs a special use permit at $500 per case plus a $26 recording fee, or would require a rezoning at $750 to $2,000 per case, before any money goes into plans. For a non-residential use the zoning permit itself is not a separate charge either: footnote 3 of the Planning schedule states that the site plan fee 'Includes Zoning Permit Fee for non-residential development', so the zoning permit is covered by the $175 minor or $325-plus-area major site plan review. Scope is the narrower planning footprint rather than the county's permitting footprint: the county's Zoning Codes page states that Planning Services are provided for unincorporated Guilford County and, by contractual agreement, the Towns of Stokesdale, Pleasant Garden, Sedalia and Whitsett, while Jamestown, Oak Ridge and Summerfield buy only permitting from the county, and Archdale, Burlington, Gibsonville, Greensboro, High Point and Kernersville are served by neither. A business at an address in one of those six municipalities should ask that city or town for its zoning verification instead. Planning: 336-641-3334.

Soil Erosion Grading Permit

A commercial project in Guilford County that disturbs an acre or more of land needs a grading permit from the Soil Erosion Division of Planning and Development, starting at a $450 base fee. The Planning and Development fee schedule effective 7-1-2026 directs applicants to 'Refer to the Soil Erosion Division Grading Permit Fee Schedule', and the Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule carries the figures: $450 base for one acre (43,560 square feet) but less than three acres; $450 base plus $225 per additional acre over three where three acres or more are disturbed; a maximum charge of $8,325, which the schedule itself notes is equivalent to 38 acres; and $100 for a single family residential lot of less than one acre. All are unchanged across the FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027 columns. The one-acre threshold is the practical trigger, so a small infill fit-out will not meet it while a new building with parking, access and stormwater works usually will. Because the incremental rate is per acre above three, the cost rises steadily on a mid-sized site and then stops at the $8,325 cap, which is worth knowing when phasing a larger development. The grading permit is separate from and additional to site plan review, and the two run on the same planning footprint: unincorporated Guilford County plus Stokesdale, Pleasant Garden, Sedalia and Whitsett. It is also separate from Guilford County Emergency Services fire site plan review and from the Inspections building permits. Planning: 336-641-3334; water and sewer enquiries: 336-641-3645.

ABC Zoning and Compliance Form (local sign-off)

The Zoning and Compliance Form itself carries no fee; what Guilford County charges is for the inspection work behind it. G.S. 18B-901(c) provides that before issuing a permit the Commission must be satisfied the location is a suitable place, and 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' and, if applicable, has been notified that it is located in an Urban Redevelopment Area; the Commission must also weigh 'The recommendations of the local governing body'. Which body that is turns on the address: G.S. 18B-901(b) directs the Commission to give notice of a retail application to the governing body of the city in which the establishment is located, and provides that 'If the establishment is not inside a city, the Commission shall give notice to the governing body of the county', with 15 days from mailing to file a written objection stating the facts on which it is based. So for a site in unincorporated Guilford County the county is the notified local governing body, while inside Greensboro or High Point it is the city. Special occasion, limited special occasion, temporary and special one-time permits are excepted from that notice requirement. The county's charges for the underlying work are $75 for the Inspections ABC Permit and $75 for the Emergency Services ABC Inspection, both on the adopted FY2027 fee schedule and both recorded separately on this page, so an applicant in the county's jurisdiction should budget $150 rather than treating the sign-off as free. The State's own application fees under G.S. 18B-902(d) run from $50 to $1,000, and the county's beer and wine retail license under G.S. 105-113.78 is separate again.

Contact

Jurisdiction: Guilford County
Phone: 336-641-3334
Website: www.guilfordcountync.gov/my-property/property-information/zoning-codes-and-ordinances

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. 18B-902(d), ABC permit application fees — $400.00 for each of the six malt beverage and wine permits, brown-bagging $400.00 or $200.00 for a restaurant seating fewer than 50, special occasion $400.00, limited special occasion $50.00, mixed beverages $1,000, culinary $200.00North 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 Planning and Development — Fee Schedule, Civil Penalties and Related Fines, effective 7-1-2026, footer 'Schedule Fee Planning Page 1 of 2 / Revised 7/22/2026' — site plan, special use, variance, appeal, rezoning, subdivision and zoning verification fees, footnote 1 recording fee $26 up to 15 pages, footnote 3 'Includes Zoning Permit Fee for non-residential development', and the UDO zoning civil penalty ladderGuilford County Planning & Development · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-30
Guilford County Zoning Codes and Ordinances — the UDO description, the seven-town-plus-PTAA permitting list, the four-town planning list ('Planning Services are provided for the Towns of Stokesdale, Pleasant Garden, Sedalia and Whitsett'), and the list of other jurisdictions within Guilford County that the Planning and Development Department does not serve: City of Archdale, City of Burlington, Town of Gibsonville, City of Greensboro, City of High Point, City of KernersvilleGuilford County Planning & Development · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-30

Other offices serving Guilford County

The full permit list for this jurisdiction

Business licenses in Guilford County

Industry permit lists that include this agency

North Carolina jurisdictions

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