North Charleston, SC Building Safety: Electrical Permits (2026)

Sec. 5-33(a) provides that only contractors and sub-contractors licensed with the city and state may apply for and receive permits to perform work in the City of North Charleston, and subsection (a)(3) specifically states that all electrical, gas, plumbing and mechanical work may only be permitted in the name of an appropriately licensed contractor or subcontractor. The ordinance carves out a narrow homeowner exception in Sec. 5-33(b)(1): homeowners may pull permits to directly and personally perform work on a primary residence, but that self-permitting option does not extend to work that involves electrical and/or gas.

A separate exception in Sec. 5-33(b)(2) lets employees of public utility corporations and of properties under annual industrial permits pull permits and perform work to the extent state law allows, provided the work still passes city inspection. Sec. 5-33(c) requires that any electrical work on rental property, commercial or residential, be permitted by a licensed contractor or subcontractor, and Sec. 5-33(d) clarifies that residential specialty contractors are not excused from county and municipal business license ordinances under Section 40-59-240(c) of state law. Once a licensed contractor is engaged, the work itself is measured against the National Electrical Code, listed as item (7) among the standardized codes currently adopted by the State of South Carolina in Sec.

5-75(c), which the city adopts along with Chapter 1 and the state's other permissive codes; Sec. 5-75(b) gives the building official authority to enforce those adopted codes and to interpret their application.