Greenwood County, SC Building Safety: Electrical Permits (2026)

Greenwood County adopted the National Electrical Code, latest edition, published by the National Fire Protection Association, for all unincorporated areas under Greenwood County Code § 6-1-1(b). Anyone doing electrical work on a building, structure or alteration must pay the electrical permit fee listed on the county's official fee schedule at the time of filing the application, per § 6-1-2(a). Beyond the permit itself, § 6-1-4(a) requires anyone providing electrical services in the unincorporated county to present a current contractor license or a certification card issued by the county or the Municipal Association of South Carolina under the journeyman-master program, which took effect July 1, 2001.

Tradesmen who had worked in the county for at least five years before that date could apply to the Greenwood City/County Building Inspection Department by June 30, 2002, for written documentation exempting them from the certification requirement, per § 6-1-4(b). The city and county building official administers and enforces the electrical code and the permit and certification requirements together, and the board of planning and zoning appeals hears disputes arising under the adopted codes. Doing electrical work without the required license, certification or permit exposes a contractor to the same fine-and-imprisonment penalty that applies to violations of any adopted technical code, and it can also cost a builder the temporary and final electrical certificates needed to get utility power connected, since the county will not issue those certificates over work it has not approved.