(a)        Any person, firm, or corporation, upon making application to the building inspector or other authority of any incorporated city, town, or county in North Carolina charged with the duty of issuing building or other permits for the construction of any building, highway, sewer, grading, or any improvement or structure where the cost is to be thirty thousand dollars ($30,000) or more, shall, before being entitled to a permit, satisfy the following:

(1)        Furnish satisfactory proof to the inspector or authority that the applicant seeking the permit or another person contracting to superintend or manage the construction is licensed under this Article to carry out or superintend the construction or is exempt from licensure under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 87-1(b). If an applicant claims an exemption from licensure pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 87-1(b)(2), the applicant for the building permit shall execute a verified affidavit attesting to the following:

a.         That the applicant is the owner of the property on which the building is being constructed and, if the applicant is a firm or corporation, that the person submitting the application is an owner, officer, or member of the firm or corporation that owns the property.

b.         That the applicant will personally superintend and manage all aspects of the construction of the building and that the duty will not be delegated to any other person not licensed under this Article.

c.         That the applicant will be personally present for all inspections required by the North Carolina State Building Code, unless the plans for the building were drawn and sealed by an architect licensed pursuant to Chapter 83A of the N.C. Gen. Stat..

The building inspector or other authority shall transmit a copy of the affidavit to the Board, which shall verify that the applicant was validly entitled to claim the exemption under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 87-1(b)(2). If the Board determines that the applicant was not entitled to claim the exemption under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 87-1(b)(2), the building permit shall be revoked pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160D-1115

(2)        Furnish proof that the applicant has in effect Workers’ Compensation insurance as required by Chapter 97 of the N.C. Gen. Stat..

(3)        Redesignated as subsection (a1) by Session Laws 2022-62, s. 8, effective July 8, 2022.

(a1)      Any person, firm, or corporation, upon making application to the building inspector or other authority of any incorporated city, town, or county in North Carolina charged with the duty of issuing building permits pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160D-1110 for any improvements for which the combined cost is to be thirty thousand dollars ($30,000) or more, other than for improvements to an existing single-family residential dwelling unit as defined in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 87-15.5(7) that the owner occupies as a residence, or for the addition of an accessory building or accessory structure as defined in the North Carolina Uniform Residential Building Code, the use of which is incidental to that residential dwelling unit, shall be required to provide to the building inspector or other authority the name, physical and mailing address, telephone number, facsimile number, and email address of the lien agent designated by the owner pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 44A-11.1(a).

(b)        It is unlawful for the building inspector or other authority to issue or allow the issuance of a building permit pursuant to this section unless and until the applicant has furnished evidence that the applicant has complied with subsection (a) of this section. Any building inspector or other authority that is subject to and violates this section is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor and subject only to a fine of not more than fifty dollars ($50.00). ?(1925, c. 318, s. 13; 1931, c. 62, s. 4; 1937, c. 429, s. 7; 1949, c. 934; 1953, c. 809; 1969, c. 1063, s. 6; 1971, c. 246, s. 4; 1981, c. 783, s. 2; 1989, c. 109, s. 2; 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 840, s. 2; 1993, c. 539, s. 603; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c); 2011-376, s. 2; 2012-158, s. 4; 2013-117, s. 4; 2022-62, s. 8.)

Attorney's Note

Under the N.C. Gen. Statutes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class 3 misdemeanorup to 20 daysup to $200
For details, see § 15A-1340.23

Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 87-14

  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • following: when used by way of reference to any section of a statute, shall be construed to mean the section next preceding or next following that in which such reference is made; unless when some other section is expressly designated in such reference. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • property: shall include all property, both real and personal. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3