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

Sec. 10-86(c) requires anyone installing, extending or generally repairing a plumbing system in unincorporated Buncombe County to first get a permit from the plumbing inspector at the county's Department of Permits and Inspections. The only exemption covers minor repairs or replacements on the house side of a trap, so long as the fix does not disrupt the original water supply, waste line or venting system. The technical standard the inspector applies is the North Carolina State Plumbing Code, which the county adopted by reference in Sec.

10-28 and which updates automatically as the state amends it. Applications must be made in writing on the department's forms under Sec. 10-90, naming the owner, any agent, and the licensed contractor doing the work, and adequate plans must accompany the application under Sec. 10-91 for anything beyond the simplest jobs. Skipping the permit does not avoid the fee: Sec. 10-87 and Sec. 10-99 impose a late fee equal to the permit fee that would otherwise have applied, charged as an administrative surcharge rather than a criminal penalty, and a bounced payment check draws its own added charge under Sec.

10-88. An unused permit can be refunded up to six months after issuance with the inspections director's approval, minus a service charge, under Sec. 10-89, with the county finance department disbursing refunds within 20 working days.