Mount Pleasant, SC Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- No-permit threshold
- $1,000 or less in material and labor (§150.002(B))
- Fee basis
- ICC valuation tables or contract price, whichever is higher
- Plan review discount
- 10% fee with an approved third-party reviewer
- Enforcing official
- Building Official, Engineering and Development Services
- Appeals body
- Construction Board of Adjustments (§150.003)
- Maximum penalty
- $500 fine or 30 days jail (§150.999)
Summary
In the Town of Mount Pleasant, the Building Official values every project with the ICC Building Valuation Tables or the contractor's price, whichever is higher, then sets the permit fee under the Engineering and Development Services fee schedule. Projects where material and labor together run $1,000 or less need no permit, unless the Building Official requires an inspection.
(A) Valuation for new construction. Building valuation for new construction will be determined by the Building Official, based on the most current Building Valuation Tables, as published by International Code Council (ICC) or contract amount, whichever is higher. Upon determination of valuation, the Building Official will set the amount of the permit fee pursuant to the latest Department of Engineering and Development Services fee schedule. All building permits are value-based permits. (B) Where valuation (material and labor) does not exceed $1,000. No permit is required, unless an inspection is required. (C) Work started without permit. Where work for which a permit is required by the code is started or proceeded with prior to obtaining the permit, per the latest Department of Engineering and Development Services fee schedule, but the payment shall not relieve any persons from fully complying with the requirements of the code in the execution of the work, nor from any other penalties prescribed herein.
Full Breakdown
001 adopts the International Building Code, International Residential Code, International Plumbing, Mechanical and Fuel Gas Codes, the National Electrical Code, the International Property Maintenance Code, the International Existing Building Code and the South Carolina Fire Code, each as amended by the South Carolina Building Codes Council, plus the town's own flood damage prevention rules in Chapter 152. 002 sets how the Building Official prices a permit: valuation comes from the ICC Building Valuation Tables or the signed contract amount, whichever is higher, and every building permit in the Town of Mount Pleasant is value-based.
Work valued at $1,000 or less in combined material and labor needs no permit unless the Building Official calls for an inspection. A structural plan review adds its own fee once valuation tops $1,000, due at submittal and non-refundable once review starts; using a town-approved third-party reviewer cuts that plan review fee to 10% of the standard amount. 002(C). 003 hears appeals from the Building Official's decisions and can vary a technical code requirement, but never the Board-of-Appeals sections the town excluded when it adopted each ICC code. 100.
Violations & Fines
Proceeding with work that needed a permit before obtaining one does not relieve the contractor of code compliance or of any other penalty, per § 150.002(C). Whoever violates Chapter 150 where no other penalty is set faces a fine up to $500, up to 30 days imprisonment, or both under § 150.999, with each day a separate offense capped at whatever a similar state offense carries. Occupying a building before its certificate of occupancy issues is a separate misdemeanor under § 150.100.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit for a small repair in Mount Pleasant?
How does the Town calculate my building permit fee?
What happens if I start construction before my permit is issued?
Who hears an appeal of the Building Official's decision?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Mount Pleasant
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