Last checked: September 10, 2026 — written against the official City of Winston-Salem pages on cityofws.org, the city's Inspections Division fee schedule dated April 2026, and the city's own BuildIT and GeoCivix portals.

Verify by address before you act on anything in this guide. Building permits for Winston-Salem and most of Forsyth County come from one joint City-County office, but that office does not cover every address in the county. High Point, Kernersville and King run their own permitting, and a property inside another Forsyth town's limits still answers to that town's planning rules. The scope of your work picks the application; your exact address picks the issuing office. Confirm yours with the permit office at 336-727-2624 before you buy materials, hire a crew, or sign a contract.

Winston-Salem Building Permits: The Short Answer

Building permits are issued by the Inspections Division of the Planning and Development Services Department — a joint City-County agency at the Bryce A. Stuart Municipal Building, 100 E First Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101 (336-727-2624, askinspect@cityofws.org). It reviews plans and issues building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits consistent with the codes adopted by the State of North Carolina, and it covers all of Forsyth County except the town or city limits of High Point, Kernersville and King.

Applications split across two portals that are not the same system and need separate logins:

  • GeoCivix (winston-salem.geocivix.com) — all residential building permit submittals (new house, new manufactured or modular home, addition, alteration, accessory building, swimming pool) and all commercial plan review.
  • BuildIT (buildit.cityofws.org/wsfcpermit) — trade permits only (plumbing, electrical, mechanical/HVAC) for licensed contractors. BuildIT cannot be used to apply for a building (construction) permit. General contractors can schedule inspections there, but they cannot purchase a building permit in BuildIT.

Submittals are electronic, and no new paper plans are accepted — the city's own disclaimer on the Inspections Division page states that all permits must still be applied for electronically. Under the fee schedule dated April 2026, the building permit fee is never less than $100, and starting work without a permit costs double the permit fee.

The one rule that cannot be relaxed: work does not start before the permit is issued. Plan review comes first, so a project begun during review is unpermitted work even if your application is already in.

Quick Facts

FactDetail
Issuing officeInspections Division, Planning and Development Services Department (joint City-County)
AddressBryce A. Stuart Municipal Building, 100 E First Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101
Mailing addressP.O. Box 2511, Winston-Salem, NC 27102
Phone336-727-2624
Emailaskinspect@cityofws.org
Fax336-747-9428
CoverageAll of Forsyth County except the town or city limits of High Point, Kernersville and King
Zoning ordinances administeredClemmons, Forsyth County, Lewisville, Walkertown and Winston-Salem
Permits issuedBuilding, electrical, mechanical, plumbing
Residential building submittalsGeoCivix only (no paper plans)
Trade permitsBuildIT only, licensed contractors
Building permit fee floor$100 under the fee schedule dated April 2026
PenaltyWork started without a permit is charged double the permit fee
Septic lotsForsyth County Health Department approval also required (336-703-3225)
CityLink311 inside the city limits, 336-727-8000, text 855-481-LINK, citylink@cityofws.org
Office hoursMonday–Friday, 7:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. — confirm walk-in availability before travelling

Local Basics — Which Office Permits Your Address and Where to Look It Up

Start with the office, not the paperwork. The Inspections Division is a City-County agency, which trips up two kinds of people: city residents who assume the county has a separate counter, and county residents who assume they are outside the city's reach. In practice, one division handles both, so a Winston-Salem address and an unincorporated Forsyth County address usually reach the same office, the same review staff, and the same fee schedule.

What it does not reach matters just as much. High Point, Kernersville and King sit inside their own town or city limits and run their own permitting. A High Point address is not a Winston-Salem permit, whatever the mailing address says. And when a property sits inside another Forsyth town's limits — Clemmons, Lewisville or Walkertown, for example — the town's planning rules apply to land use even where the county's zoning ordinance may not.

That zoning piece is easy to miss, so here it is plainly: the division enforces zoning regulations for the Unified Development Ordinances of Clemmons, Forsyth County, Lewisville, Walkertown and Winston-Salem. Zoning review rides along with a building permit, and the fee schedule prices it as an add-on to your permit.

Three lookup routes, in order of usefulness:

  1. Ask the permit office directly. Call 336-727-2624 or email askinspect@cityofws.org with the street address and the scope of work. This is the only route that gives you a binding answer.
  2. Search the address in BuildIT's guest view. No account is needed to search permits, read inspection comments, or view permit status and plan review status at an address. If a permit already exists at your address, you will see it.
  3. Use CityLink for the surrounding questions — easements, right-of-way, which department owns a problem — at 311 inside the city limits or 336-727-8000, text 855-481-LINK, email citylink@cityofws.org.

One honest limitation: no single city page labels a project's permit type by address. No city page says "this address needs a deck permit" or "this address is exempt." The scope of work selects the application and the address selects the issuing office — so any source that names your permit for you from a ZIP code is guessing, and so is any source that offers a blanket exemption list. Winston-Salem does not publish a current list of work that needs no permit, so there is none here either. Edge cases go to 336-727-2624.

Related on this site: if you are new to the city and still sorting out service days, see our Winston-Salem trash pickup guide.

What Goes Through Permitting in Winston-Salem

Instead of a guess at what might be exempt, here is the division's own published scope. It issues building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits, consistent with the codes adopted by the State of North Carolina.

The residential building permit applications published on GeoCivix are:

  • New house
  • New manufactured home — private lot or mobile home park
  • New modular home
  • Addition
  • Alteration
  • Accessory building — storage building, carport, gazebo, freestanding deck
  • Swimming pool

The April 2026 fee schedule also prices these, which means they are permitted in their own right or added to a building permit: gas appliances and gas outlets, zoning review added to a building permit, sign plan review, erosion control ($40 added to a single-family building permit), structures in floodplain ($100 added to the building permit), and watershed permits.

Two practical consequences follow. First, each trade needs its own permit even when the owner is doing the work — a kitchen remodel is not one permit, it is a building permit plus whichever of electrical, plumbing and mechanical the job touches. Second, because no current exemption list was located, treat "I thought that was too small to need a permit" as an assumption to verify, not a fact to rely on.

Step-by-Step — Applying in Winston-Salem

This is the published path, in order. Nothing here describes a paper route, because there is not one.

  1. Confirm your address is inside the service area. Not High Point, not Kernersville, not King. Call 336-727-2624 if you are unsure — this is a two-minute call that prevents a fully wasted application.
  2. Decide the project type. New house, addition, alteration, accessory building, pool, manufactured or modular home, or commercial/multifamily. The type determines the checklist.
  3. Create a GeoCivix account for residential building work. Register with the button in the top-right of the portal. Existing sign-permit or commercial accounts are reused rather than recreated. Submit electronically — no paper plans.
  4. Upload the checklist documents as PDFs. On required fields where the information genuinely does not apply or is unavailable, enter N/A or 0. Do not leave required fields blank.
  5. Watch for automated GeoCivix email notifications. All plan-review correspondence arrives by email through the portal, so the address you register with has to be one you actually read. When reviewers send comments, you answer by resubmitting revisions inside GeoCivix.
  6. Commercial and multifamily plans go through the same GeoCivix portal. When plan review completes, the contractor contacts plan review staff at cpermitissuance@cityofws.org to move the permit to issuance.
  7. Trade permits go in BuildIT, and only licensed contractors can apply for them. Plumbing, electrical and mechanical/HVAC permits are applied for in BuildIT by a contractor with a Contractor ID. General contractors can schedule inspections in BuildIT but cannot purchase a building permit there.
  8. Pay the fees, then wait for issuance. The permit has to be issued before work begins. The city states plainly that all permits must still be applied for electronically.

Submittal Checklists and the Documents You Must Upload

These are the published single-family checklists. Arriving with them complete is the difference between one review cycle and several.

New house (stick built or modular):

  • An architect or engineer scaled site plan or survey showing property lines, all structures, and the footprint of the proposed structure — including decks, porches and garages — with dimensions and setbacks marked
  • A full scaled construction plan set
  • Heated square footage and total square footage
  • A Lien Agent
  • A completed Worker's Compensation Coverage Affidavit
  • A Single-Family Dwelling Erosion Control Affidavit
  • Forsyth County Health Department approval if the lot is served by a septic tank (336-703-3225)

Manufactured home on a private lot: the same core set, plus the Lien Agent when the cost exceeds $30,000 excluding the cost of the home. The mobile-home-park version needs only the Lien Agent, the affidavit and septic approval.

Accessory buildings (storage building, carport, gazebo, freestanding deck) and pools: a scaled site plan or survey and the Worker's Compensation Coverage Affidavit. Accessory structures also need an Accessory Structure Affidavit completed by the property owner.

Additions: the scaled site plan or survey plus the square footage of the area being added. Alterations: the square footage of the area being remodeled.

Two notes that save rework. The Worker's Compensation Coverage Affidavit is completed by whoever is listed as the contractor on the permit, and it has a published property-owner-as-contractor path — firm name left blank, the owner's name printed, signed, and titled "property owner." And on every checklist, the required entries are the bold ones, with N/A or 0 acceptable only when a value is genuinely unavailable.

On the Lien Agent generally: one is required when the property is not currently occupied by the owner and the project is $30,000 or greater, and for manufactured homes when the cost exceeds $30,000 excluding the cost of the home. Lien agent filings are handled through liensnc.com.

Permit Fees — What the April 2026 Schedule Actually Says

These figures come from the Inspections Division fee schedule dated April 2026. Open the current version of that PDF before you budget, because the city edits it without notice and the amounts below are not the official record.

Building permit fee floor: never less than $100.

Valuation-based fees:

Project valuationFee
$0–$5,000$100
$5,000.01–$50,000$100 plus $4 per $1,000 (or fraction) over $5,000
$50,000.01–$100,000$232 plus $3 per $1,000 over $50,000
$100,000.01–$500,000$388 plus $2.60 per $1,000 over $100,000
$500,000.01 and above$1,425 plus $2.40 per $1,000 over $500,000

Single-family new residential square-foot rates: building $0.15, electrical $0.09, plumbing $0.09, mechanical $0.09, gas appliances $100.

Single-family additions: the same square-foot rates, with a $100 building minimum and a $75 trade minimum.

Single-family alterations and repairs: building $0.08, electrical $0.05, plumbing $0.05, mechanical $0.05, gas appliances $100, with the same minimums.

Trade minimums and flat changeouts: no plumbing permit fee below $75; no mechanical permit fee below $75; plumbing water-heater changeout including electrical $100 flat; mechanical changeout including electrical $100 flat.

Add-ons to residential permits: zoning review residential $25; zoning review and inspection residential $65; zoning review and inspection commercial $100; erosion control single family $40; structures in floodplain $100; floodplain letter $25.

Homeowner's Recovery Fund: $10, collected under G.S. 87-15.6 on new single-family permits and on alterations to single-family dwellings issued to North Carolina licensed contractors.

Commercial plan review: nonresidential under 4,000 sq ft $100; 4,000–15,000 sq ft $125; 15,001–40,000 sq ft $325; 40,001 sq ft and above $800; condo/apartment projects $500; townhomes $100 per unit; sign plan review $50.

Erosion control permit: $642 minimum for 1 acre, plus $202 per additional acre, maximum $8,040.

And the penalty: starting work without a permit is charged double the permit fee.

Do not treat any of these as a project total. They are permit fees, not construction costs, and they do not include the trades, the erosion-control add-on, or anything your contractor separately pulls.

Inspections, Scheduling and Checking Status

Trade permits and inspections run through BuildIT, and what you can do there depends on which tier you are in.

  • Guest access (no account): pay by credit card on any permit, search permits, view inspection comments, and view permit status and plan review status. Guests cannot schedule inspections and cannot apply for trade permits.
  • Contractor access (Contractor ID): apply for trade permits, pay permit and other inspection fees, schedule inspections, and view permit status.

BuildIT is the tool for viewing permit and inspection comments and for scheduling inspections. The city does not publish a generic inspection sequence or a turnaround time, so none is quoted here — what your permit requires depends on the work. For anything specific to your permit, call 336-727-2624.

A payments warning worth taking seriously. The city warns that bogus invoices are circulating claiming to come from the City of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County. No invoices are sent from Cityworks or BuildIT, because payments are handled inside the system. If you receive one, do not pay it, and call 336-727-2624 if you are in doubt. Separately, the BuildIT page notes that pay-by-escrow services were discontinued effective July 31 at 5:00 p.m., with final invoices, collections and refunds to follow; the notice does not state a year.

City Limits vs Forsyth County — Where the Permit Line Falls

Stated as the division's own coverage rule: the Inspections Division covers building and zoning activity throughout Forsyth County except the town or city limits of High Point, Kernersville and King, which run their own permitting.

The practical consequences, address by address:

  • A Winston-Salem address → City-County Inspections Division, April 2026 fee schedule.
  • An unincorporated Forsyth County address → the same City-County office and the same fee schedule, which is the part most people get wrong.
  • A High Point, Kernersville or King address → not this division. Those limits run their own permitting, so start with that municipality.
  • A property inside another Forsyth town's limits → the town's planning rules apply to the use of the land, even though the county's zoning ordinance may not, and zoning review can still be added to the building permit.

And keep the two project paths distinct. Residential building work goes through GeoCivix with the single-family checklists above. Commercial and multifamily work goes through GeoCivix for electronic plan review as well, with no new paper plans accepted, and moves to issuance through cpermitissuance@cityofws.org after review. Commercial plan review questions go to Rebecca Gearren at 336-727-2328. One related service worth knowing about: the city publishes a Commercial Building Evaluation, a $250 written service that reviews how well a commercial space meets building and fire safety, ventilation, electrical, plumbing and Unified Development Ordinance zoning requirements for a proposed new use. That is a due-diligence product, not a permit.

One more edge case: if the job touches a floodplain or needs erosion control beyond what is added to a single-family permit, treat the fee schedule entries above as fee context only and confirm the separate process with the permit office rather than assuming it is included.

Resident Scenarios

The homeowner replacing a water heater. This is the clearest fee in the schedule: a plumbing water-heater changeout including electrical is $100 flat, and there is no plumbing permit fee below $75. The trade permit itself goes through BuildIT, and BuildIT requires a licensed contractor to apply — a guest account can pay and view, but cannot apply. If you are hiring, the plumber pulls it. If you are doing it yourself, that is exactly the kind of question to put to 336-727-2624 before you start.

The family adding a screened porch. An addition. GeoCivix, with a scaled site plan or survey plus the square footage being added, and the Worker's Compensation Coverage Affidavit for whoever is the contractor on the permit. Fees run at the addition rates — building $0.15 per square foot and trades at $0.09 — with a $100 building minimum and $75 trade minimums. If the lot is on septic, add Forsyth County Health Department approval.

The shed-and-deck household. A storage building, carport, gazebo or freestanding deck is an accessory building: scaled site plan or survey, Worker's Compensation Coverage Affidavit, and the Accessory Structure Affidavit completed by the property owner. A pool needs the site plan and the affidavit, not the accessory affidavit.

The buyer doing due diligence. A buyer planning a project, or a landlord pricing one, should read the address against the coverage rule first and then search BuildIT's guest view for existing permits, inspection comments, and plan review status at that address. Unpermitted work from a previous owner shows up in exactly those records — or fails to show up where it should.

The owner-builder. The Worker's Compensation Coverage Affidavit's property-owner-as-contractor fields are published — firm name blank, owner's name printed, signed, titled "property owner" — so an owner can be listed as the contractor on a permit. The city publishes no separate owner-builder eligibility policy, and neither the fee schedule nor the checklists state a cost threshold or a residency period. Confirm the conditions that apply to your project with the permit office rather than assuming any, and remember each trade still needs its own permit.

The commercial tenant improving a space. Electronic plan review through GeoCivix, plan review fees by square footage, and issuance through cpermitissuance@cityofws.org after review. If you are testing whether the space can legally host your new use, the $250 Commercial Building Evaluation is a separate written service you have to ask for.

The contractor working across the county line. BuildIT for trade permits, GeoCivix for anything that is a building permit, separate logins for each, and a jurisdiction check before every job — because the same crew, the same truck and the same address format can cross into Kernersville or King without the address changing enough for you to notice.

Mistakes to Avoid

  1. Assuming the city runs permitting alone. It is a joint City-County Inspections Division serving all of Forsyth County except High Point, Kernersville and King.
  2. Applying for a building permit in BuildIT. You cannot. BuildIT is trade permits for licensed contractors, plus permit and inspection viewing and scheduling.
  3. Bringing paper plans. No new paper plans are accepted, and all permits must still be applied for electronically.
  4. Using one login for both systems. BuildIT and GeoCivix are different programs with different accounts.
  5. Starting work while the application is under review. Plan review comes before issuance, and work started without a permit is charged double the permit fee.
  6. Pulling one permit for a multi-trade job. Each trade needs its own permit even when the owner does the work.
  7. Budgeting from a list like this one instead of the schedule itself. Open the current fee schedule PDF, and do not treat a permit fee as a project total.
  8. Assuming a septic lot needs nothing extra. Forsyth County Health Department approval is part of the package.
  9. Skipping the Lien Agent. The thresholds are real: owner-occupied status and the $30,000 figures above.
  10. Leaving required fields blank in GeoCivix. Enter N/A or 0 where a value genuinely does not apply.
  11. Registering GeoCivix with an email you do not read. Every notification arrives by email through the portal.
  12. Paying an invoice that claims to be from the city or county. No invoices are sent from Cityworks or BuildIT.
  13. Travelling to the office on assumed hours. The hours published across city pages conflict — see the note below.
  14. Trusting a permit-type answer that came from a ZIP code. Only your address plus your scope of work produces an answer.

Note on the hours and the monthly closure. The Inspections Division publishes walk-in hours of Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on the first floor of the Bryce A. Stuart Building, and notes that those times are subject to change for recognized holidays and staff availability. The same division's entry in the city staff directory has stated that no walk-in customers are accepted at this time, and the monthly Permit Office closure has appeared on different city pages as the first Tuesday 8:00–10:00 a.m. and as other windows. Walk-in service and closures are the kind of detail the city changes without notice, and the published versions have not always matched, so call 336-727-2624 before you travel. Phone calls are not received after 4:43 p.m., and general office hours are Monday through Friday, 7:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.

FAQ

Who issues building permits in Winston-Salem?

The Inspections Division of the City-County Planning and Development Services Department, at the Bryce A. Stuart Municipal Building, 100 E First Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101 (336-727-2624, askinspect@cityofws.org). It is a joint City-County agency that reviews plans and issues building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits throughout Forsyth County, except the town or city limits of High Point, Kernersville and King.

Do I apply through BuildIT or GeoCivix?

Both, for different things. GeoCivix takes all residential building permit submittals — new house, manufactured or modular home, addition, alteration, accessory building, swimming pool — plus all commercial plan review. BuildIT handles trade permits only (plumbing, electrical, mechanical/HVAC) for licensed contractors. BuildIT cannot be used to apply for a building (construction) permit, and the two systems use separate accounts and logins.

How much does a Winston-Salem building permit cost?

Under the fee schedule dated April 2026, the building permit fee is never less than $100. New single-family construction is priced at $0.15 per square foot for building, with electrical, plumbing and mechanical at $0.09 each and gas appliances at $100. Additions use the same rates with a $100 building minimum and $75 trade minimum; alterations and repairs drop to $0.08 building and $0.05 for trades. Plumbing and mechanical permits have no fee below $75. Valuated projects follow the valuation table, and starting work without a permit costs double the permit fee.

What do I need to submit for a new single-family house?

An architect or engineer scaled site plan or survey showing property lines, all structures and the proposed footprint with dimensions and setbacks; a full scaled construction plan set; heated and total square footage; a Lien Agent; a completed Worker's Compensation Coverage Affidavit; a Single-Family Dwelling Erosion Control Affidavit; and Forsyth County Health Department approval if the lot is served by a septic tank (336-703-3225). All of it goes in electronically through GeoCivix.

Can I pull my own permit as a homeowner in Winston-Salem?

The published Worker's Compensation Coverage Affidavit includes a property-owner-as-contractor path — firm name left blank, the owner's name printed, signed and titled "property owner" — so an owner can be listed as the contractor on a permit. The city publishes no separate owner-builder eligibility policy, so confirm the conditions that apply to your project with the permit office at 336-727-2624 before relying on it, and remember each trade still needs its own permit.

What happens if I start work without a permit?

The Inspections Division fee schedule states the penalty directly: starting work without a permit is charged double the permit fee. Plan review also comes before issuance, so work begun during review is unpermitted work.

How do I schedule an inspection in Winston-Salem?

Through BuildIT. Licensed contractors with a Contractor ID can apply for trade permits, pay permit and inspection fees, schedule inspections and view permit status. Guests can pay by credit card on any permit, search permits, read inspection comments and view permit and plan review status, but cannot schedule inspections. For permit questions call 336-727-2624.

I got an invoice for a Winston-Salem permit — is it real?

The city warns that bogus invoices are being sent that claim to come from the City of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County. No invoices are sent from Cityworks or BuildIT because payments are handled inside the system. Do not pay such an invoice, and call 336-727-2624 if you are unsure.

Verify Before You Act

This page is a starting point, not the official record. Before you spend money or schedule work, confirm five things:

  1. Your address is inside the division's coverage area — and specifically not inside the town or city limits of High Point, Kernersville or King.
  2. The current fee schedule amounts before budgeting, including the $100 building permit minimum and the double-fee penalty for work started without a permit. Open the current schedule PDF; figures on this page reflect the document dated April 2026.
  3. Your current document checklist inside GeoCivix, because required uploads can change. Confirm which trade portal your contractor uses, since BuildIT cannot be used for a building (construction) permit.
  4. Current office hours and whether walk-in service is available that week, because published hours and closures change without notice.
  5. Which code editions are in force. The BuildIT page states that the 2020 National Electrical Code took effect November 1, 2021, with the 2017 NEC remaining in effect for one- and two-family dwellings — confirm the editions that apply to your project rather than assuming a code year.

Use the permit office line 336-727-2624 or askinspect@cityofws.org, and CityLink at 311 inside the city limits or 336-727-8000, text 855-481-LINK, email citylink@cityofws.org.

And the rule that does not move: work does not start before the permit is issued. Last checked September 10, 2026.

Sources

All facts in this guide were taken from official City of Winston-Salem pages and the city's own permitting portals, checked on September 10, 2026:

  • Inspections Division — https://www.cityofws.org/343/Inspections-Division
  • Permits — https://www.cityofws.org/1566/Permits
  • Inspections Division fee schedule (PDF, dated April 2026) — https://www.cityofws.org/DocumentCenter/View/1012/Inspections-Division-Fee-Schedule-PDF
  • BuildIT — https://www.cityofws.org/470/BuildIT
  • BuildIT portal — https://buildit.cityofws.org/wsfcpermit
  • GeoCivix Digital Submission Portal — https://www.cityofws.org/2827/GeoCivix-Digital-Submission-Portal
  • GeoCivix portal — https://winston-salem.geocivix.com/secure/
  • Single-Family Building Permits — https://www.cityofws.org/2927/Single-Family-Building-Permits
  • Commercial Plan Review Submittals — https://www.cityofws.org/507/Commercial-Plan-Review-Submittals
  • Commercial and Multifamily Building Permits — https://www.cityofws.org/3674/Commercial-and-Multifamily-Building-Perm
  • Commercial Building Evaluation — https://www.cityofws.org/473/Commercial-Building-Evaluation
  • Affidavits — https://www.cityofws.org/2354/Affidavits
  • Inspections — https://www.cityofws.org/403/Inspections
  • Staff directory, Planning and Development Services — https://www.cityofws.org/m/directory/department?did=16
  • Lien agent filings (NC) — https://www.liensnc.com