Cherokee County, SC Building Safety: Building Inspections (2026)

Building work in unincorporated Cherokee County, South Carolina starts with a permit. Section 6-2 requires anyone who wants to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, improve, demolish or change a building or structure, or to work on a regulated electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system, to apply to the building official first. Work whose total value is less than $1,000 falls outside the permit requirement. Section 6-9 applies the article and every code in Section 6-1 to the entire unincorporated area.

The building official doubles as the inspector. Section 6-4 creates the office, allows it to be known as building inspector, requires certification as a qualified building inspector under South Carolina law, and has the county administrator make the appointment. Section 6-3 links inspection to the permit card: post it in front of the premises where it is visible from the adjacent public right-of-way, protect it from weather, and leave it up until the work is completed and approved. On demand, the person in charge must produce the permit for the building official, and continuing work after that demand without producing it is unlawful.

Chapter 6 does not number inspection stages. Section 6-1 adopts the 2021 building, residential, fire, plumbing, mechanical and fuel gas codes, each including Chapter 1, Administration, plus the 2020 National Electrical Code (NFPA 70). Section 6-5 lets the county charge fees for permits, inspections and appeals by council resolution, and no activity proceeds until the related fees are paid in full.

Floodplain work has its own written inspection rule. Under Section 8-135, as work under a permit progresses, the local floodplain administrator makes as many inspections as are necessary to confirm the work follows the flood ordinance and the permit, entering any premises at any reasonable hour on presenting proper credentials. A written notice of violation leads to a hearing not later than 10 days after the notice, and a corrective order allows not less than 60 days unless there is imminent danger to life or other property.