Concord, NC Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing code
- NC State Building Code, Volumes I-X
- Local adoption
- Code 1987, §§ 4-1, 4-2
- One/two-family dwellings
- 1993 residential code provisions
- Permits issued by
- Cabarrus County Building Inspections
- Updates
- Track state building code council amendments
Summary
Concord regulates all building construction, alteration, repair and demolition under the North Carolina State Building Code, adopted by reference in Volumes I through X, plus the 1993 residential provisions for one- and two-family dwellings, rather than a separate locally written building code.
(a)Adopted. The minimum standards, provisions and requirements for safe and stable design, methods of construction and usage of materials in buildings and structures erected, enlarged, altered, repaired, moved, converted to other uses or demolished, and the equipment, maintenance, use and occupancy of all buildings and structures in the city to which the state building code applies, shall be regulated in accordance with the terms of Volumes I—X of the 1996 North Carolina State Building Code Publications, which are hereby adopted and incorporated in this section by reference as fully as though set forth in this section, and such amendments thereto as are prepared and published from time to time by the state building code council and approved by the state insurance commissioner.(b)Provisions applicable to one-family and two-family dwellings. There is hereby adopted and incorporated in this section, all provisions of the 1993 edition with revisions of the state and building code, as amended, which are applicable to the construction of one-family and two-family dwellings as the minimum building code for one-family and two-family dwellings within the city.
Full Breakdown
Section 14-1 of the Concord City Code does not write a separate municipal building code; instead it adopts the North Carolina State Building Code by reference as the city's own regulation for the design, construction, alteration, repair, moving, conversion, demolition, equipment, maintenance, use and occupancy of every building and structure in Concord. Subsection (a) adopts Volumes I through X of the 1996 North Carolina State Building Code Publications, plus "such amendments thereto as are prepared and published from time to time by the state building code council and approved by the state insurance commissioner," so the version actually enforced tracks whatever edition the state council currently publishes rather than freezing at 1996.
Subsection (b) separately adopts the 1993 edition with revisions of the state residential code, as amended, as the minimum building code specifically for one- and two-family dwellings. Because the standard itself is the state code, permit issuance in Concord runs through Cabarrus County rather than a separate city building department: section 14-39's housing-code definitions identify the "certificate of occupancy" as a permit issued by the Director of Cabarrus County Building Inspections certifying that a dwelling complies with the minimum requirements of the North Carolina State Building Code.
Section 14-2 separately maps a primary fire limits district in the historic downtown core where the adopted code's fire-limit construction restrictions apply with particular force. S. 14-68 for noncompliance with the orders of public authorities.
Violations & Fines
Building, altering or demolishing a structure in Concord outside the standards of the adopted North Carolina State Building Code, or failing to comply with an inspection order issued under it, is enforced through Cabarrus County Building Inspections and carries the misdemeanor exposure the state code framework attaches under G.S. 14-68 for noncompliance with the orders of public authorities, since Chapter 14, Article I sets no separate local penalty schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Concord have its own building code?
Who issues building permits in Concord, NC?
Does the 1996 code date in section 14-1 mean Concord uses outdated standards?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Concord
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