Anderson County, SC Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

Anderson County's building permit system sits in Article III of Chapter 8 and grew out of a 1984 ordinance meant to help the county assessor list new construction on the tax rolls (§ 8-110). Under § 8-111, the assessor or codes director presumes a construction cost over $1,000 whenever an owner will not produce cost records, which triggers the permit requirement; the personal labor of the owner or immediate family is excluded from that $1,000 count, and the exemption applies only once per person per year.

A permit stays valid for 12 months, with one six-month renewal at the codes director's discretion; if work is not finished within 18 months total, the applicant must start the permitting process over under whatever codes are then in force. Applications must state the owner's name, school district, street or road address, estimated cost, floor area, construction type, roof type, number of stories and rooms, distance to the nearest municipality, intended use, and the width of the abutting right-of-way (§ 8-113). No public utility or electric cooperative may connect power to a building or mobile home requiring a permit until the permit is obtained and the building codes department issues a release for power (§ 8-114), and the county treasurer must certify that all county taxes on the property are paid before any permit is issued (§ 8-115).

Section 8-116 exempts property inside a municipality's corporate limits (unless that municipality asks the county to apply the article), owner-performed work under $1,000, re-roofing or roof repair regardless of cost, addition of siding, and removal of the remains of a burned home. The fee schedule for building, construction and repair permits is adopted by reference and kept on file at the county offices (§ 8-117).