Jacksonville, NC Building Safety: Plumbing Permits (2026)

Jacksonville, North Carolina does not write its own plumbing code; instead § 5-115 adopts by reference the most recent edition of the North Carolina Plumbing Code as published by the North Carolina Building Code Council, along with its amendments, as the city's plumbing code, and § 5-116 makes state amendments effective locally as soon as they are filed with the city clerk. Official copies of the code and every amendment are kept on file in the city clerk's office under § 5-117, and the Appendix to the state plumbing code is separately adopted under § 5-121 for design, construction methods and material standards.

Before any plumber or other person connects a building to the public water or sewer system, § 5-118 requires that the person be duly authorized to do so and act in strict accordance with the chapter, which functions as the city's sewer-tap permit requirement, enforced through the building inspection department referenced in § 5-20. Section 5-119 conditions every water or sewer connection permit on proper execution of the work, and lets the mayor and city council revoke or annul the permit at any time before completion if the work is not being properly done, with no right to damages for the plumber if that happens.

Section 5-120 makes the plumber who taps into the public water or sewer personally responsible for any damage caused to the sewer or street, and requires the plumber to restore the street to the condition it was in before work began. Permit and inspection fees for this and other chapter 5 work are set by the city council from time to time and kept on file with the city clerk and the building inspection department under § 5-20, rather than being fixed in the ordinance text itself.