Rowan County, NC Building Safety: Plumbing Permits (2026)

Sec. 7-108(b) bars anyone from commencing or proceeding with the installation, extension, or general repair of any plumbing system without a written permit from the plumbing inspector. It exempts only minor repairs or replacements on the house side of a trap to an installed water supply, waste, or ventilating system, and it separately requires local board of health approval for a septic tank where the sewage system cannot connect to a city sewer. The plumbing inspector, one of the positions created under Sec. 7-76, enforces the North Carolina State Building Code Volume II Plumbing and the North Carolina Uniform Residential Building Code per Sec.

7-77(b). Anyone carrying on business as a plumbing contractor in the county must register their name and place of business at the codes enforcement office under Sec. 7-106, and Sec. 7-107 requires a $1,000 bond from contractors billing permit fees monthly, waived for state-licensed general contractors. Plumbing permit fees are set under Sec. 7-115 on the schedule kept in the plumbing inspector's office, based on estimated project cost. A plumbing permit expires under Sec. 7-116 six months after issuance if the authorized work has not begun, or immediately if started work is discontinued for twelve months, and no further work may proceed until a new permit is obtained.