Durham NC Building Permits in 2026

Last checked: September 9, 2026

Durham does not run the permitting system most North Carolina metros run. There is no city permits office on one side of the street and a county permits office on the other. One department — the City-County Building & Safety Department — reviews plans, issues permits, and conducts inspections for both the City of Durham and Durham County. If you are pulling a permit for a Durham address, you are most likely dealing with that single office, its Dplans plan-submission site, and its Land Development Office (LDO) portal.

This guide walks through who issues the permit, when one is required, how the two online systems divide the work, what the department's own fee schedule says (and why you should re-check it), and how inspections are sequenced. Everything below comes from the department's published pages and is dated where the source is dated. Fees, forms, and portal terms can change, so confirm anything that costs money with the department at 919-560-4144 before you act.

Verify by address first. Before you assume Durham is the permitting authority for a property, confirm that the parcel is actually inside Durham city limits or Durham County jurisdiction. Addresses in neighboring towns are handled by those towns' own departments — Raleigh, Cary, and Chapel Hill all run separate permitting operations — and fire-protection permitting inside Durham splits by address between city and county fire authorities.

Durham Building Permits: The Short Answer

Who issues the permit: the City-County Building & Safety Department, a single combined agency serving both the City of Durham and Durham County. The office is at 101 City Hall Plaza, Durham, NC 27701, the phone number is 919-560-4144, and the published office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The single biggest thing to understand: in Durham, a city permit and a county permit are the same permit. Unlike most North Carolina metros that split city and county inspections, Durham runs one department for both. An address inside the city limits and an address in unincorporated Durham County file with the same office for building, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing permits. There is no separate county-only building permits office to call.

When you need one: the department publishes a single trigger — a building permit is required for any project that includes load-bearing work or any project exceeding $40,000 in market value. On top of that, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing work each require their own trade permits, and fire protection permits are required for work on fire protection systems in every building except one- and two-family dwellings.

How you apply: applications are digital-first and split across two systems. Commercial and new-residential building plans are submitted through Dplans; paper plans are not accepted for those submittals. Trade permits, inspection scheduling, plan and permit status, and fee payments run through the Land Development Office (LDO) portal.

The catch on accounts: you cannot create an LDO account yourself. Staff must first issue a Client Identification Account (CID), requested by emailing permittechnicians@durhamnc.gov with the subject line CID Permitting Account Needed.

Quick Facts — Durham Permitting at a Glance

Detail	Information
Permitting authority	City-County Building & Safety Department (one office for city and county)
Address	101 City Hall Plaza, Durham, NC 27701
Phone	919-560-4144
Hours	Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
CID account requests	permittechnicians@durhamnc.gov, subject "CID Permitting Account Needed"
Planning & Development phone	919-560-4137
Development Infrastructure (water, sewer, stormwater)	919-560-4326
Permit trigger	Load-bearing work, or a project exceeding $40,000 in market value
Building plan submission	Dplans (digital; paper no longer accepted for commercial and new residential)
Trade permits, inspections, status, payments	Land Development Office (LDO) portal
Plan review fee	Paid at submittal; credited against the building permit fee at issuance
Permit application inactivity	Six months with no activity voids the application; plan review fee is not refunded
County	Durham County, NC

Who Issues Building Permits in Durham (Local Basics and Jurisdiction Lookup)

The City-County Building & Safety Department provides permit, plan review, and inspection services for the City and County of Durham. It administers and enforces the North Carolina State Building Code plus the zoning ordinances for both the city and the county. Its service list is broader than building permits alone: the department reviews applications for building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and fire permits; reviews plans; conducts inspections; issues Certificates of Compliance; and handles matters including manufactured homes, family care homes, day care facilities, floodplain management, and impact fees.

Zoning and site plan review sit inside the shared City-County Planning & Development structure rather than in separate city and county planning offices. The planning number published alongside the department's contacts is 919-560-4137, and water, sewer, and stormwater questions route to Development Infrastructure at 919-560-4326.

Before anything else, run the jurisdiction check. Three questions decide who you actually deal with:

1. Is the parcel inside Durham at all? Nearby towns operate their own departments. Raleigh, Cary, and Chapel Hill are not covered by Durham's office. If a listing, a mailing address, or a ZIP code is your only guide, you can be wrong about which town governs the property.
2. Is there fire protection work involved? If so, the city-versus-county fire question has to be settled by address. Durham County publishes a "Find My Jurisdiction" lookup for exactly this purpose, and the City of Durham and Durham County each maintain their own fire prevention and life safety teams. Do not guess the fire marshal from a ZIP code.
3. Is the work commercial or a new residence, or is it trade work on an existing property? That answer tells you whether you start in Dplans or in the LDO portal.

When You Need a Permit in Durham

The department's own wording is short, and it is worth reading twice: a building permit is required for any project that includes load-bearing work or any project exceeding $40,000 in market value. That is the published trigger, quoted as published.

On top of the building permit, scope creates additional permits of its own:

• Electrical work requires an electrical permit, and the department publishes electrical permit requirements separately.
• Mechanical work — heating, cooling, ventilation, ductwork — requires a mechanical permit.
• Plumbing work requires a plumbing permit.
• Fire protection systems require a fire prevention permit for work on those systems in all buildings and structures except one- and two-family dwellings.

One important limit: the department names this trigger but does not publish a complete written exemption list. If your project is cosmetic-only, or involves a small shed or a fence, you cannot rely on a general rule of thumb to decide it is exempt. The honest answer is that you confirm with the department before you start. A short call to 919-560-4144 with a plain description of the work is cheaper than discovering mid-project that a permit was required.

Which Permits You Need: Building, Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing, Fire

A single project can require several permits at once, and the department reviews applications for building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and fire permits. The building permit application itself carries a section for each trade, which is how the department keeps the trades tied to one project record.

Two rules matter for sequencing:

• Trade permits are not issued until the accompanying building permit is issued. If your project needs both, the building permit is the gate.
• Fire prevention permits are required for work performed on fire protection systems in all buildings and structures except one- and two-family dwellings. A single-family house with a residential sprinkler system is generally outside that fire permit requirement as the department states it, while commercial and multi-family fire system work is not.

Who signs the application. The building permit application carries a question asking whether the applicant is the homeowner, and the published fee schedule has separate residential lines for renovations and additions, so a homeowner-filed project is a normal path rather than an unusual one. What the department requires from a homeowner applicant beyond that question — an owner-occupancy affidavit, for example — is not spelled out on the published permitting pages, so ask at 919-560-4144 before you file instead of assuming that answering the application question settles it.

License questions are not answered by the city. The department points to the state boards: electrical licensing to the North Carolina Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors, building and general contracting to the North Carolina Board for General Contractors, and plumbing and mechanical to the North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors. Whether a specific job requires a licensed contractor depends on state law and the scope of work, and this guide does not assert a licensing threshold — confirm that with the department or the relevant state board.

How to Apply: Dplans Plan Submission Step by Step

All commercial and new-residential building plan reviews are submitted through Dplans. Paper plans are no longer accepted for those submittals. Here is the path in order.

1. Assemble a complete application. The department requires a completed and signed building permit application with no blank lines and nothing marked "TBD." An application with an unaddressed line is an incomplete application.

2. Attach the applicable checklist. Use the residential checklist or the commercial checklist for your project type; both live on the department's site under applications and forms.

3. Separate your plan sets by trade. Construction plans must be submitted as individual files for building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and fire. A single combined PDF of everything does not meet the published requirement.

4. Include the supporting documents that apply. That can mean a designated Lien Agent form when applicable, an executed contract, a letter of intent, or a cost breakdown where required, and an Affidavit of Workers Compensation where applicable.

5. Settle the site plan or plot plan question. Commercial submittals need an approved site plan number or written confirmation that no site plan is required. Residential submittals that involve an addition to or a change of footprint on the parcel need a scaled plot plan sealed by a North Carolina registered surveyor.

6. Meet the file rules. Files must be PDF with flattened layers, 200 MB or less, with protection and security removed so plans examiners can apply digital stamps and insert watermarks. Oversized or protected files cannot be processed and result in a disapproved application and a re-review fee.

7. Pay the plan review fee at submittal. The department requires the plan review fee at the time of building plan application submittal.

Incomplete submittals are rejected and must be resubmitted, with email notification sent. Commercial contractors with established accounts can also apply online for stocking permits and partial occupancy permits through Dplans.

The LDO Portal: CID Account, Trade Permits, Status, and Payments

The Land Development Office portal is the second system, and confusing it with Dplans is the most common process error. The LDO portal supports permit tracking from initial review through project completion, trade permit application submission, permit fee payments, and building and trade permit inspection scheduling. Most development-related permit application records, review comments, and inspection results for parcels in the City and County of Durham since October 2007 are available through it.

The division of labor is worth stating plainly: only trade permits are applied for through the LDO portal. Building permit applications follow the Dplans digital plan review path. If you go to the LDO portal looking for a building permit application form, you are in the wrong system.

Getting an account. Accounts cannot be created on the portal itself. A Client Identification Account must be created by staff. Request one by emailing permittechnicians@durhamnc.gov with the subject line CID Permitting Account Needed, and include your contact details and any construction licenses you hold. Do this early — nothing on the portal works until the CID exists.

Payments. LDO fee payments run through Paymentus. As published on the portal, credit card transactions carry a 3.3 percent convenience fee and electronic check transactions a $0.50 fee. These convenience fees are separate from the permit payment itself and are non-refundable. The portal also states that paper checks are not accepted for any permit-related fee payment, including impact fees. Payment terms are portal terms and can change, so read the portal's current payment page before you pay.

Numbers to keep straight. City-County Building & Safety is 919-560-4144, Planning & Development is 919-560-4137, and Development Infrastructure for water, sewer, and stormwater is 919-560-4326.

Step-by-Step: A Typical Durham Homeowner Project

Here is the full path, in the order that keeps you from spending money twice.

1. Confirm the jurisdiction. Verify the property is inside Durham city or Durham County and not inside a neighboring town. If fire protection work is involved, determine which fire authority applies to that address.
2. Determine whether a permit is triggered. Load-bearing work, a project market value above $40,000, or a separately regulated trade each point to a permit. If you are unsure, ask the department rather than assuming.
3. Sort out the site plan or plot plan. Commercial work may need an approved site plan of record. A residential addition or footprint change needs a surveyor-sealed scaled plot plan.
4. Complete the building permit application in full. No blank lines, no "TBD." Attach the applicable checklist, plans separated by trade, and any contract, cost breakdown, lien agent form, or workers compensation affidavit that applies.
5. Submit through Dplans and pay the plan review fee at submittal. Flattened PDFs, 200 MB or less, protection removed.
6. Obtain a CID. Email permittechnicians@durhamnc.gov with the subject line "CID Permitting Account Needed" so your account exists before you need it.
7. Apply for trade permits and pay remaining fees through the LDO portal.
8. Schedule inspections through the LDO portal at each required stage as construction reaches that point.
9. Keep the permit active. A building permit application with no activity for more than six months is voided, and the plan review fee is not refunded. A plan review with six months of no activity is voided without a refund.

What It Costs: Building and Plan Review Fees (Verify Before Quoting)

Two facts about money are more important than any dollar figure in this section.

First, the plan review fee rule. All building plan reviews require a plan review fee at the time of building plan application submittal. That fee is later subtracted from the cost of the building permit fee at permit issuance. So the plan review fee is not an extra charge on top of the permit — it is an early payment credited later. The financial risk is timing: pay at submittal, and if the application goes six months with no activity, it is voided and the plan review fee is not refunded.

Second, the dollar figures are dated. The Building Permit Fee Schedule PDF published by the department carries the header "Durham City-County Building & Safety Department Building Permit Fee Schedule, Effective 7/1/18 — Includes Technology Surcharge." The amounts below come from that dated schedule, shown so you understand how the department structures fees. They are not current quotes, and you must read the live Fee Schedules page before budgeting from any of them.

Schedule as published, effective July 1, 2018 (verify current amounts):

• New one- and two-family dwellings, building fee by floor area: up to 1,200 sq ft $146; 1,201–1,800 sq ft $325; 1,801–2,400 sq ft $400; 2,401–3,000 sq ft $456; 3,001–3,600 sq ft $537; 3,601–4,200 sq ft $650; 4,201–5,000 sq ft $740; 5,001 sq ft and above $810 — each with a flat $146 plan review fee.
• Additions: $125 for work valued at $10,000 or less, or $250 above $10,000, with a $125 plan review fee, plus $50 when a footing is required.
• Interior renovations: the same $125 and $250 bands with a $125 plan review fee.
• New multi-family (triplex, fourplex, apartments, condos): $300 for the first unit plus $450 plan review, then $150 per additional unit with no additional plan review fee.
• Nonresidential, on a construction contract value formula, with the building fee and the plan review fee published separately at each tier: up to $5,000 in contract value, $104 plus $104 plan review; $5,001–$50,000, $104 plus $7.80 per $1,000 over $5,000, plus $104 plan review; $50,001–$100,000, $456 plus $6.60 per $1,000 over $50,000, plus $230 plan review; $100,001–$500,000, $786 plus $4.32 per $1,000 over $100,000, plus $400 plan review; and over $500,000, $2,513 plus $1.25 per $1,000 over $500,000, plus $1,300 plan review.
• Mobile home installation and foundation, $150, and modular unit installation and foundation, $200, under the schedule's miscellaneous section.

Two official statements also conflict on payment method, and it is worth knowing that before you show up. The 2018 schedule text lists credit card, check, or cash for the plan review fee, while the current LDO portal states that paper checks are not accepted for permit-related fee payments. The portal guidance is the more recent of the two statements. Treat the current Fee Schedules page and the department itself as the authority for both the amount and the accepted payment method. Call 919-560-4144 rather than relying on any figure you read here or in an older schedule.

Inspections: Required Sequence and Scheduling

Inspections are scheduled through the LDO portal. The department has published that all inspections must be scheduled online through the portal and that inspection appointments are not accepted by email or phone.

Required residential building inspections for single-family homes, duplexes, and townhouses run in this order:

• Footing — before concrete is placed. If it does not pass on the first inspection, it is re-inspected after corrective action before concrete goes in.
• Foundation — with a closed or sealed crawlspace indicated on the job-site plans, interior grading complete, drain to daylight installed, and exterior waterproofing and perimeter drainage in place.
• Slab — with strings run corner to corner to show thickness; vapor barriers and insulation installed.
• Framing — full framing requires the foundation survey and air barriers, plus inspection of concealed insulation at bathtubs and fireplaces.
• Final — the impervious survey and sealed soil engineering where required, plus concrete tickets and the termite treatment report.

Open floor and sheathing inspections are courtesy inspections rather than mandatory stages.

Electrical stages run service pole (temporary construction power), rough-in after wiring and before covering, floor heat after wiring and before tile, and final after all wiring is complete. Mechanical stages run rough-in before ducts are covered, final after all equipment is installed, and a duct leakage test where the energy code requires one.

The department publishes sequences and ordering, not promised timeframes. Plan your construction schedule around the inspection holds — drywall over un-inspected rough-in is the classic expensive mistake — but do not expect a published turnaround window.

Durham City Limits vs Durham County, and Adjacent Towns

This is the check that comes before everything else.

Durham is a consolidated city-county permitting model. An address inside the city limits and an address in unincorporated Durham County both go to the same City-County Building & Safety Department for building, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing permits. There is no separate county-only building permits office to call, and you should not be told to find one — it does not exist.

Jurisdiction still matters in two adjacent areas:

• Fire protection permitting splits by address. Depending on where the property sits, fire protection permits are handled either by the City of Durham fire prevention team or by Durham County Fire Prevention and Life Safety. The county publishes a Find My Jurisdiction map for determining the correct fire marshal, and county tax data can help identify the applicable jurisdiction. County fire protection permits are required for work prescribed by the North Carolina Fire Code except single- and two-family dwellings, and the county publishes its own fire marshal fee schedule. County fire applications include construction and fire protection permit requests, routine and existing building inspection requests, and special use operational permits.
• Properties in neighboring municipalities are not covered by Durham at all. Raleigh and Wake County, Cary, and Chapel Hill each operate their own separate departments. If a property's true jurisdiction is one of those, everything in this guide is the wrong guide.

One more boundary: architectural review or community association approval, where a neighborhood has those requirements, is a separate private approval and is not part of the city or county permit. Nothing here should be read as stating any association rule — check with the association or architectural review body directly if one applies to your property.

Resident Scenarios

A homeowner adding a 300-square-foot deck. Load-bearing work puts this in permit territory regardless of cost. The application is a building permit with the residential checklist, and the deck framing has to be built to plans that show what the inspector will check at the framing stage.

A homeowner replacing a water heater. This is plumbing and electrical scope, so it is handled through trade permits on the LDO portal rather than a building plan submittal — but the CID account has to exist first, which means the email to permittechnicians@durhamnc.gov comes before the portal work, not during it.

An owner of a parcel in unincorporated Durham County building a detached garage. The instinct is to look for a county office. There isn't one. The same City-County Building & Safety Department handles it, with the same Dplans and LDO systems, and the fire-authority question is settled by address if fire protection work is involved.

A contractor starting a commercial tenant upfit. Building plans go through Dplans, trade plans come as separate files per trade, and the submittal needs an approved site plan number or written confirmation that no site plan is required. Missing site plan documentation is a rejection, not a later fix.

A homeowner adding a room and changing the footprint of the house. This residential submittal needs a scaled plot plan sealed by a North Carolina registered surveyor, plus an interior-grading-and-drainage-ready foundation stage and a final inspection with the impervious survey.

A new property owner who wants to see what has been permitted at the address before. Most development-related permit application records, review comments, and inspection results for Durham parcels going back to October 2007 are available through the LDO portal, which makes the pre-purchase permit history check a portal task rather than a records-request task.

Quick Answers to the Questions People Search For

• Durham NC building permit requirements — load-bearing work, or a project exceeding $40,000 in market value, plus separate trade permits.
• Durham building permit application — completed and signed, no blank or "TBD" lines, submitted with the applicable checklist and trade-separated plans.
• Durham building permit fee schedule — published on the department's Fee Schedules page; the schedule captured here is dated 7/1/18, so read the live page.
• City-County Building & Safety Department Durham — 101 City Hall Plaza, Durham, NC 27701, 919-560-4144, Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Dplans Durham plan submission — the digital plan submission site for all commercial and new-residential plan reviews.
• Durham LDO portal permit status — the Land Development Office portal, holding permit records, review comments, and inspection results from October 2007 forward.
• Durham CID permitting account — a staff-issued Client Identification Account, requested by email only.
• Durham electrical plumbing mechanical permit — separate trade permits, applied for through the LDO portal once the building permit is issued where one applies.
• Durham building permit inspection scheduling — through the LDO portal, not by email or phone.
• Durham County building permits — the same combined office; there is no separate county building permits department.
• Who issues building permits in Durham NC — the City-County Building & Safety Department.
• Durham building permit search by address — check the property's records through the LDO portal, then confirm jurisdiction by address.
• Durham residential addition permit — a building permit plus a surveyor-sealed scaled plot plan when the footprint changes.
• Durham building permit phone number — 919-560-4144.

Mistakes to Avoid

1. Looking for a separate Durham County building permits office. There isn't one. One combined department covers both.
2. Assuming a neighboring town is Durham. Raleigh, Cary, and Chapel Hill run their own departments.
3. Guessing the fire jurisdiction from a ZIP code. Use the county's jurisdiction lookup before fire protection work.
4. Treating "small project" as "no permit." The published trigger is load-bearing work or a project over $40,000 in market value, and the department does not publish a complete exemption list.
5. Trying to self-register on the LDO portal. A CID must be issued by staff, by email, with the exact subject line "CID Permitting Account Needed."
6. Submitting a building permit application through the LDO portal. Only trade permits go through LDO; building plan reviews go through Dplans.
7. Submitting one combined plan PDF. Plans must be separated by trade as individual files.
8. Leaving a PDF protected or oversized. Files must be flattened PDFs of 200 MB or less with protection removed; otherwise the application is disapproved and a re-review fee applies.
9. Leaving a line blank or marked "TBD" on the application. Incomplete submittals are rejected and must be resubmitted.
10. Letting the application sit. Six months of no activity voids the application and the plan review fee is not refunded.
11. Covering rough-in work before inspection. Electrical and mechanical rough-ins are inspected before ducts, insulation, or drywall go up.
12. Budgeting from an old schedule. The published fee schedule captured here is dated July 1, 2018; read the live Fee Schedules page or call 919-560-4144.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who issues building permits in Durham NC?

The City-County Building & Safety Department, a single combined agency covering both the City of Durham and Durham County, at 101 City Hall Plaza, Durham, NC 27701, phone 919-560-4144, open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It serves city and county addresses through the same office and the same online systems.

Do I need a county permit or a city permit in Durham?

Neither separately. Durham runs one combined City-County Building & Safety Department, so an address inside the city limits and an address in unincorporated Durham County both file with the same office for building, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing permits. Fire protection permitting is the exception, since it splits by address between the City of Durham and Durham County fire authorities.

When is a building permit required in Durham?

The department publishes a single trigger: a building permit is required for any project that includes load-bearing work or any project exceeding $40,000 in market value. Electrical, mechanical, and plumbing work each need their own trade permits, and fire protection permits are required for fire protection system work in every building except one- and two-family dwellings. The department does not publish a complete exemption list, so confirm unusual or small projects with the department.

How do I apply for a building permit in Durham?

Commercial and new-residential building plan reviews are submitted digitally through Dplans, where paper plans are no longer accepted. Trade permits, status checks, inspection scheduling, and fee payments run through the Land Development Office portal. Submit a complete package: a fully completed application with no blank or "TBD" lines, the applicable checklist, and plans separated by trade as flattened PDFs of 200 MB or less with protections removed.

How do I get an account for the Durham permit portal?

Accounts cannot be created on the portal. Staff must issue a Client Identification Account first. Email permittechnicians@durhamnc.gov with the subject line "CID Permitting Account Needed" and include your contact details and any construction licenses you hold.

How much does a Durham building permit cost?

The department publishes fee schedules on its Fee Schedules page, and a plan review fee is required at submittal and credited against the building permit fee at issuance. Dollar amounts circulating from older schedules — including the one marked effective July 1, 2018 — should be treated as dated rather than current, so read the live Fee Schedules page or call 919-560-4144 before budgeting from any published figure.

Are paper plans accepted in Durham?

No for commercial and new residential. All building plan reviews are submitted through Dplans, files must be flattened PDFs of 200 MB or less, and protection and security settings must be removed so plans examiners can apply digital stamps and watermarks. Oversized or protected files cause a disapproved application and a re-review fee.

Can a homeowner pull their own permit in Durham?

The building permit application includes a question asking whether the applicant is the homeowner, and the published fee schedule carries separate residential lines for renovations and additions, so a homeowner-filed residential project is a recognized path. What Durham requires from a homeowner applicant beyond that question — whether an owner-occupancy affidavit or another condition applies — is not spelled out on the department's published permitting pages, so confirm it at 919-560-4144 before you file. Whether a given job must be performed by a licensed contractor is a state-law question, not a city one, and this guide does not state a licensing threshold.

How do I schedule a Durham building inspection?

Schedule through the Land Development Office portal. The department has published that all inspections must be scheduled online through the portal and that inspection appointments are not accepted by email or phone. Required residential stages run footing, foundation, slab, framing, and final, with separate electrical and mechanical rough-in and final inspections.

Verify Before You Act

Five things are worth confirming before you pay anyone or start work:

1. Jurisdiction. The property is in Durham city or Durham County jurisdiction and not in a neighboring town. If fire protection work is involved, the correct fire authority for that address is confirmed.
2. Permit trigger. The planned work either includes load-bearing work, exceeds $40,000 in market value, or falls under a separately regulated trade permit.
3. Current fees. Building and plan review amounts are read off the live department Fee Schedules page — not from this article and not from a schedule dated July 1, 2018.
4. A complete submittal. No blank or "TBD" application lines, plans separated by trade, flattened PDFs of 200 MB or less with protection removed, and the applicable checklist and supporting documents attached.
5. A CID account. It exists before you attempt anything on the LDO portal.

The concrete steps: open the department's City-County Building & Safety page, read the current fee schedules, read the plans review requirements and checklists, email permittechnicians@durhamnc.gov for the CID, submit through Dplans, and track through the LDO portal.

This guide's sources were checked on September 9, 2026. Fees, forms, portal terms, and inspection procedures can change, and the payment-method statements in the department's own documents already show one dated conflict. Confirm with the department at 919-560-4144 before acting on anything that costs money or affects your schedule. If the property turns out to be in a neighboring town's jurisdiction, start over with that town's permitting department.

Sources

• City-County Building & Safety Department (Durham, NC): https://www.durhamnc.gov/293/City-County-Building-Safety
• Dplans — digital plan submission: https://www.durhamnc.gov/467/Dplans
• Plans Review Requirements: https://www.durhamnc.gov/325/Plans-Review-Requirements
• Inspection Requirements: https://www.durhamnc.gov/304/Inspection-Requirements
• Fee Schedules: https://www.durhamnc.gov/302/Fee-Schedules
• Building Permit Fee Schedule PDF (Effective 7/1/18): https://www.durhamnc.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2706/Building-Permits-PDF
• Permits & Licenses: https://www.durhamnc.gov/4147/Permits-Licenses
• Land Development Office (LDO) portal: https://ldo4.durhamnc.gov/DurhamWeb/
• Durham NC official site map: https://www.durhamnc.gov/SiteMap
• City-County Planning: https://www.durhamnc.gov/338/City-County-Planning
• Durham County Permits and Inspections (fire prevention and life safety): https://dconc.gov/Emergency-Services/Services-and-Special-Operations/Permits-and-Inspections

Last checked: September 9, 2026. All contact details, permit triggers, portal rules, and fee-schedule structure above are taken from the official sources listed. Fee amounts shown are from a schedule marked effective July 1, 2018 and are not current prices — verify current amounts and payment methods with the department at 919-560-4144 before budgeting or submitting.