What do these permits involve in Guilford County?

Question

Accepted Answer

On-Site Wastewater (Septic) Authorization to Construct

Any business in Guilford County that is not on public sewer needs an on-site wastewater authorization from Guilford County Environmental Health before it builds or expands, and a restaurant, veterinary clinic, salon, childcare centre or auto-repair shop on a rural site is the common case. Every figure here is read from the Water Quality block of the Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule, adopted June 25, 2026 for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026, which prints FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027 columns for each line. Four of these amounts rose with this schedule and the county's earlier published material still shows the old numbers, so the current figures matter: Authorization to Construct type I & II went from $100 to $150, Authorization to Construct type III from $140 to $150, and Evaluation of Additions / Septic Field Identification from $100 to $150. The adopted schedule's own Summary of Changes gives the reason: 'Environmental Health--Water Quality Fees have been updated to better align with peer benchmarking. Changes are associated with residential construction fees such as septic field identification and residential soil evaluations.' Note the label: the adopted schedule reads 'Authorization to Construct type III', and the older 'type IIIb' wording belongs to a different document, so the two should not be merged. Unchanged in FY2027 are Alternative Construction Authorization $450, Alternative Design $550, Innovative Wastewater Approval (off-site) $200, Application Fee for DUMT 10k gallons $260, Permit for DUMT 10K gallons $340, Additional Trip Fee $54 and DOT Fee $150. The county's power to charge at all comes from G.S. 130A-39(g), which permits cost-related fees for services performed under Article 11 of Chapter 130A, Wastewater Systems, and requires the fee plan to be 'recommended by the local health director and approved by the local board of health and the appropriate county board or boards of commissioners' — the budget ordinance is that approval. Well and septic enquiries: 336-641-7613; Environmental Health: 336-641-3771.

Existing On-Site Sewer System Inspection

A business taking over premises that already has a septic system, or changing the use of a building served by one, is inspected by Guilford County Environmental Health and charged by system type. The figures come from the Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule, adopted June 25, 2026, under the heading the document spells 'Exisiting On Site Sewer', at Type IIIB $150, Type IV $300, Type V $350, Type Va $100, Type VI $400 and Maintenance/Monitoring Operator $450, each identical in the FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027 columns. The adopted schedule carries a single Type IV line at $300 with no sub-bands, so that is the figure published here for a Type IV system. This inspection is the step that most often catches a restaurant or salon moving into an older rural building, because the existing system's type and capacity determine whether it can support the new use at all: a higher-strength waste stream from a commercial kitchen or a grooming or veterinary operation can require an upgrade authorization under the separate on-site wastewater record on this page before the county will sign off on occupancy. The more complex system types carry a designated maintenance or monitoring operator, which is the $450 line. The county's authority to charge is G.S. 130A-39(g), which allows cost-related fees for services performed under Article 11 of Chapter 130A on a fee plan recommended by the local health director and approved by the local board of health and the county board of commissioners, given here by the budget ordinance. Environmental Health handles well and septic enquiries on 336-641-7613 and general Environmental Health matters on 336-641-3771. The programme is countywide.

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.

Fire Site Plan Review

Guilford County Emergency Services reviews the site as well as the building, and charges for it separately. The Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule, adopted June 25, 2026, sets Site Plan Review at $50 for 0-999 square feet, $100 for 1,000-2,499, $150 for 2,500-9,999, $200 for 10,000-49,999, $300 for 50,000-99,999 and $500 above 100,000 square feet, each unchanged across the FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027 columns. The bands mirror the fire building plan review bands at half the amount, so a project can read its two fire review charges off the same floor area. What this review covers is the fire service's access to and around the building — apparatus access, hydrant placement, gates and barricades, water supply — which is why a constrained infill site can generate comments even where the building itself is straightforward. Subdivision work is priced on a different basis entirely, by lot count rather than floor area, at $50 for 0-29 lots rising in steps to $300 for 500 or more lots. Three separate site-related reviews can therefore land on one commercial project in Guilford County: this fire site plan review, Guilford County Planning's minor site plan review at $175 or major site plan review at $325 plus $5 per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, and, where more than an acre is disturbed, a soil erosion grading permit starting at a $450 base. None of the three substitutes for the others. The Fire Division's scope excludes the areas inside the city limits of Greensboro and High Point, where the city fire department performs and prices the equivalent review.

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.

General County Business License (privilege license tax repealed)

No fee applies, because the enabling statute no longer exists. The whole current text of the statute at G.S. 153A-152 states '§ 153A-152: Repealed by Session Laws 2014-3, s. 12.3(b), effective July 1, 2015.', and the city equivalent at G.S. 160A-211 states '§ 160A-211. Repealed by Session Laws 2014-3, s. 12.3(a), effective July 1, 2015.' — so Guilford County levies no general business or occupational privilege license tax, and neither does Greensboro or High Point. That is a statutory basis rather than a gap in the record. The repeal did not sweep away every local license, and this is where a blanket statement that North Carolina counties license nothing goes wrong. Two categories survive in different statutes and are live in Guilford County. First, Part 3 of Article 2C of Chapter 105, headed 'Local Licenses', was untouched, so G.S. 105-113.78 still requires a retail ABC permit holder to buy a county malt beverage and wine retail license at the fixed amounts the statute states — recorded separately on this page as the county's one mandatory business license. Second, the City of Greensboro's own Business Privilege License page states that 'Due to state legislation effective July 2015, businesses physically located in Greensboro city limits will no longer need a license, with the exception of those operating taxicabs and beer and wine privilege license holders', and that 'Also effective July 2015, peddlers, itinerant merchants, mobile food vendors, commercial solicitors, and massage businesses must obtain a business permit' — city requirements, carried at the City of Greensboro layer rather than here. What a business in Guilford County pays the county instead of a general license are the specific programme fees on this page: Environmental Health permits, Inspections building and trade permits, Planning site plan and use approvals, and Emergency Services fire plan review and inspections.

Private Well Permit — New Well

A business in Guilford County that will draw its water from a new private well — typically a rural restaurant, kennel, veterinary clinic or childcare centre outside a public water system — needs a well permit from Guilford County Environmental Health before drilling, at $450. The figure is on the 'Well Permits - New' line of the Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule, adopted June 25, 2026, at $450.00 in each of the FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027 columns. The county's authority to charge for private well work is named specifically in G.S. 130A-39(g), which allows a local board of health to impose cost-related fees 'for services performed pursuant to G.S. 87-97', on a fee plan recommended by the local health director and approved by the local board of health and the county board of commissioners; in Guilford County that approval is the budget ordinance adopted under G.S. 153A-102. The water sample analyses a new well requires are charged separately and are recorded on their own line on this page, with a trip fee charged once per visit on top of the individual analyses. Only the new-well permit amount is published here: the adopted county fee schedule prices no well repair or camera-inspection line for FY2025, FY2026 or FY2027, and the FY2026 budget ordinance's Summary of Changes lists 'Water Quality – Well Camera/Repair Permit ($220)' among the 'Elimination of four (4) fees no longer being charged', so a repair or camera figure from the county's older published material should not be relied on; call Environmental Health for the current handling of a well repair. Well and septic enquiries: 336-641-7613. The programme is countywide.

Private Well Water Sample Analysis Fees

Water from a private well serving a Guilford County business is sampled and analysed by Guilford County Environmental Health, and the charge is built up from a per-visit trip fee plus the individual analyses requested. The Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule, adopted June 25, 2026, prices the Trip Fee at $65, Bacteria at $50, Inorganic / Nitrate at $70, Pesticide at $75 and Petroleum at $75, each unchanged across the FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027 columns. The structure matters more than any single figure, because the trip fee is charged once per visit rather than once per sample: the county's own worked example is 'Bacteria ($50.00) + Inorganic/Nitrate ($70.00) + Trip Fee ($65.00) = Total Fee ($185.00)', which shows two analyses sharing one trip charge. Adding all five analyses together with a single trip fee is arithmetic rather than an adopted line, and the adopted schedule carries no bundled all-samples total, so a business should price the specific analyses its situation calls for instead of a package figure. Which analyses apply depends on the use and the setting: bacteria and inorganic or nitrate testing are the usual baseline on a new well, while petroleum testing is the one that most often reaches an auto-repair or fuel-handling site and pesticide testing an agricultural surrounding. The county's authority to charge is G.S. 130A-39(g), permitting cost-related fees for services performed pursuant to G.S. 87-97 on a fee plan approved by the local board of health and the county board of commissioners. Well and septic enquiries: 336-641-7613; Environmental Health: 336-641-3771.

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.

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.

Fire Routine Inspection and Reinspection Fees

Routine fire inspection in Guilford County's fire jurisdiction is free on the first visit, and the cost only starts if issues are left uncorrected. The Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule, adopted June 25, 2026, prices the first routine visit at no charge, then a second visit at $100 where all issues are not corrected by reinspection, a third at $200 and a fourth judicial visit at $300, each unchanged across the FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027 columns. The schedule also carries a Fire Systems Compliance Fee with Brycer of $18 per system, which the FY2025 column shows as $0.00 and the FY2026 and FY2027 columns at $18.00, so a business with sprinklers, alarms or suppression systems reporting through that platform carries a small recurring per-system charge. The practical reading for an operator is that the ladder is avoidable: correcting everything cited at the first visit costs nothing, while a single item carried forward starts a sequence that reaches $600 across three return visits. The named inspections priced separately on the same schedule are not part of this ladder and are charged whether or not anything is wrong — ABC Inspection $75, Daycare Inspection $75, Foster Care Inspection $75 and Group Home Inspection $75, with the ABC and daycare figures recorded on their own entries on this page. New construction has its own parallel ladder, also free on the first inspection and then $100, $200 and $300. The Fire Division's scope excludes the areas inside the city limits of Greensboro and High Point, where the city fire department inspects and prices its own visits; schools are treated as a further exception in the Division's own description of its territory.

Fire Building Plan Review

This is the largest fire charge a new commercial build in Guilford County faces, and it is priced purely by floor area. The Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule, adopted June 25, 2026, sets Building Plan Review at $100 for 0-999 square feet, $150 for 1,000-2,499, $200 for 2,500-9,999, $300 for 10,000-49,999, $500 for 50,000-99,999 and $1,000 above 100,000 square feet, each unchanged across the FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027 columns. Because the bands are area-based rather than value-based, a large but simple building such as a warehouse or a big-box retail unit can attract a higher fire review fee than a small, expensive fit-out. Three points matter for budgeting. First, this review is distinct from the Guilford County Inspections plan review fee of $75, which is new in FY2027, so a commercial project in the county's fire jurisdiction pays both rather than one. Second, Emergency Services charges a separate Site Plan Review on the same floor-area bands, from $50 to $500, which is recorded on its own entry here. Third, the individual fire systems each carry their own review charges — sprinklers, alarms, tanks, hoods, hazardous materials, smoke control, solar, ovens and spray operations — so the total fire review cost on a restaurant or auto-repair build is this area charge plus the site plan review plus the system reviews. Guilford County Planning's site plan review at $175 or $325 plus $5 per 1,000 square feet is a further, separate charge from a different department. The Fire Division's scope excludes the areas inside the city limits of Greensboro and High Point, where the city fire department reviews and prices plans instead.

Fire New-Construction Acceptance Inspections

Once the fire systems are installed on a Guilford County project they have to be tested and accepted, and Emergency Services charges by system. The Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule, adopted June 25, 2026, gives the first new-construction inspection at no charge and then $100 each per inspection per system for AES field test, tank inspection, hydrant inspections, industrial ovens, damper drop test, emergency radio system testing, hazardous materials, smoke control systems, underground inspections and flush, fire access gates and barricades, solar systems and spraying and dipping. Water-based system pressure testing is $100, while sprinkler, standpipe and pump testing and fire alarm testing are $150 each per inspector — the per-inspector basis means a test needing two staff costs $300 rather than $150, which is the single most commonly underestimated line here. Failed tests run their own ladder: $100 for a second visit, $200 for a third and $300 for a fourth, all unchanged across the FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027 columns. These acceptance charges come on top of the plan review charges for the same systems, which are recorded separately on this page, so a system is paid for twice over its life on a project: once at review and once at test. For a restaurant that usually means hood suppression and alarm; for an auto-repair shop, spray booths, tanks and underground work; for a larger retail or assembly building, sprinklers, standpipes, smoke control and hydrants. Scheduling matters to the cost, because getting systems genuinely ready before the first free inspection is what keeps a project off the reinspection ladder. The Fire Division's scope excludes the areas inside the city limits of Greensboro and High Point.

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.

Permit	Issuing agency	Fee	Renews	Last checked
On-Site Wastewater (Septic) Authorization to Constructonly if it applies to you	Guilford County Division of Public Health — Environmental Health	Adopted FY2027 Water Quality fees, county-only: Authorization to Construct type I & II $150.00 (raised from $100.00, a $50 increase effective with the FY2027 schedule); Authorization to Construct type III $150.00 (raised from $140.00); Evaluation of Additions / Septic Field Identification $150.00 (raised from $100.00); Alternative Construction Authorization $450.00; Alternative Design $550.00; Innovative Wastewater Approval (off-site) $200.00; Application Fee for DUMT 10k gallons $260.00; Permit for DUMT 10K gallons $340.00; Additional Trip Fee $54.00; DOT Fee $150.00.	per authorization; an authorization to construct precedes the installation and the operation permit that follows it	2026-09-30
Existing On-Site Sewer System Inspectiononly if it applies to you	Guilford County Division of Public Health — Environmental Health	Adopted FY2027 'Exisiting On Site Sewer' fees as the schedule spells the heading, county-only and unchanged across FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027: Type IIIB $150.00; Type IV $300.00; Type V $350.00; Type Va $100.00; Type VI $400.00; Maintenance/Monitoring Operator $450.00.	per inspection; a system with a maintenance or monitoring requirement carries the operator charge alongside it	2026-09-30
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
Fire Site Plan Review	Guilford County Emergency Services, Fire Marshal's Office	$50–$500 per review, county-only, by floor area (adopted FY2027 Site Plan Review lines, unchanged across FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027): 0-999 SF $50.00; 1,000-2,499 SF $100.00; 2,500-9,999 SF $150.00; 10,000-49,999 SF $200.00; 50,000-99,999 SF $300.00; over 100,000 SF $500.00. Site Plan Subdivision Review is priced by lot count instead, at $50.00 for 0-29 lots, $100.00 for 30-100, $200.00 for 101-249, $250.00 for 250-499 and $300.00 for 500 or more	one-off, per review submission on the project	2026-09-30
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
General County Business License (privilege license tax repealed)only if it applies to you	Guilford County Tax Department	No fee	not applicable; the statute that authorised a North Carolina county privilege license tax was repealed effective July 1, 2015	2026-09-30
Private Well Permit — New Wellonly if it applies to you	Guilford County Division of Public Health — Environmental Health	$450 per new well permit, county-only (adopted FY2027 fee schedule line 'Well Permits - New', unchanged at $450.00 across FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027)	per permit, issued before the well is drilled	2026-09-30
Private Well Water Sample Analysis Feesonly if it applies to you	Guilford County Division of Public Health — Environmental Health	Adopted FY2027 Water Sample Fees, county-only and unchanged across FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027: Trip Fee $65.00, charged once per visit; Bacteria $50.00; Inorganic / Nitrate $70.00; Pesticide $75.00; Petroleum $75.00. The analyses are charged individually and the trip fee is added once per visit rather than per sample.	per visit and per analysis, as required on a new well and on any later resampling	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
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
Fire Routine Inspection and Reinspection Fees	Guilford County Emergency Services, Fire Marshal's Office	Adopted FY2027 Routine Inspection Fees, county-only and unchanged across FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027: 1st visit no charge; Reinspection 2nd visit, if all issues are not corrected by reinspection, $100.00; 3rd visit $200.00; 4th visit (judicial) $300.00. A Fire Systems Compliance Fee with Brycer of $18.00 per system was added in FY2026 and is unchanged in FY2027.	recurring; the Fire Marshal's Office sets the inspection cycle by occupancy type, and the reinspection charges apply within a cycle where issues remain uncorrected	2026-09-30
Fire Building Plan Review	Guilford County Emergency Services, Fire Marshal's Office	$100–$1,000 per review, county-only, by floor area (adopted FY2027 Building Plan Review lines, unchanged across FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027): 0-999 SF $100.00; 1,000-2,499 SF $150.00; 2,500-9,999 SF $200.00; 10,000-49,999 SF $300.00; 50,000-99,999 SF $500.00; over 100,000 SF $1,000.00	one-off, per review submission on the project	2026-09-30
Fire New-Construction Acceptance Inspectionsonly if it applies to you	Guilford County Emergency Services, Fire Marshal's Office	Adopted FY2027 New Construction Inspection Fees, per inspection per system, county-only and unchanged across FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027: first inspection no charge; then $100.00 each for AES Field Test, Tank Inspection, Hydrant Inspections, Industrial Ovens, Damper Drop Test, Emergency Radio System testing, Hazardous Materials, Smoke Control Systems, Underground Inspections/flush, Fire Access Gates & Barricades, Solar Systems and Spraying & Dipping, plus Water Based System Pressure test $100.00, Sprinkler/Standpipe/Pump Test $150.00 per inspector and Fire Alarm Test $150.00 per inspector. Reinspection is $100.00 for a 2nd visit, $200.00 for a 3rd and $300.00 for a 4th.	per inspection, during commissioning of the new construction	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

Business licenses and permits in Guilford County, North Carolina

What are you opening in Guilford County?

Permits that apply to every type of business in Guilford County