Expired Permits
Mecklenburg County is proud to partner with contractors and homeowners to build a safe and thriving community. Unresolved expired permits represent the potential for danger in our built environment, and as such, should be properly addressed by the responsible parties.
About Expired Permits
Contractors, or homeowners acting as contractors, set the schedule for permitted projects in Mecklenburg County. Inspections are performed as the contractor requests them. The number of required inspections can vary widely depending on the scope of the permit – some may only require one inspection, while others may require dozens or more.
If a permit is pulled and no inspections are ever requested or performed, the permit expires six months after the issue date. If inspections are begun for a permit, but inspections are not completed and a Certificate of Occupancy or Certificate of Compliance is not issued, the permit expires one year after the latest inspection.
Review our frequently asked questions about resolving expired permits.
Who Is Responsible for Expired Permits?
Contractors are required to perform work and obtain necessary inspections through the completion of the work as described in the North Carolina Administrative Code, as described below:
Per 21 NCAC 50.0402 Permits
A licensed contractor shall ensure that a permit is obtained from the local Code Enforcement official before commencing any work for which a license is required by the Board, except as set out in paragraph (c) of this Rule. The contractor shall also ensure that a request for final inspection of the work for which a license is required is made by himself, the general contractor or the owner within 10 days of the earlier of the system being made operational or placed in service, absent agreement with the owner and the local Code Enforcement official. Absent agreement with the local Code Enforcement official the licensee is not relieved by the Board of responsibility to arrange inspection until a certificate of compliance or the equivalent is obtained from the local code enforcement official or the licensee has clear and convincing evidence of his effort to obtain same.
A licensed contractor shall not allow a permit to be obtained or his license number to appear upon a permit except for work which he or his employees perform, over which he or a properly licensed technician will provide general supervision until the completion of the work for which he holds an executed contract with the licensed general contractor or property owner and for which he receives all contractual payments.
A plumbing permit is not required for replacement of a water heater in a one or two-family dwelling under circumstances set out in GS 153A-357 or GS 160A-417.
The failure of a licensee to comply with the permit and inspection obligations outlined in the Rule is considered by the Board as evidence of incompetence or misconduct in the use of license from the Board.
History Note: Authority GS 87-18; 87-21; 87-26
Eff. February 1, 1976
Readopted Eff. September 29, 1977
Amended Eff. December 31, 2011; January 1, 2010; December 1, 2003; August 1, 2000; September 1, 1995; November 1, 1993; May 1, 1989;
Pursuant to GS 150B-21.3A, rule is necessary without substantive public interest Eff. August 22, 2015.
Note: Item C will change to 160D effective 1/1/2021, Item D, the EC requirements are GS 87, Article 4 and Title 21 NCAC 18 B.0909
Homeowners acting as contractors bear the same responsibility for obtaining permits and inspections.
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR HOMEOWNERS: While the contractor is responsible for obtaining permits and inspections, homeowners have a shared responsibility in this process by allowing inspections to be performed on the work to ensure that the permitted work has been performed to code standards. Requesting and passing these inspections is the responsibility of the contractor, or homeowner if he or she is acting as the contractor. The homeowner is responsible for providing access to the property if the inspections must be performed in a secured area, such as inside the home, and monitoring to ensure that all required inspections have been completed and passed by the contractor.
Permit details and inspections results are available for viewing online and are updated same-day. Bookmark this site to view permits and inspections, complete with inspector's notes.
How Do I Know if I Have Expired Permits?
Property Owners
Details of any and all permits issued in the last seven years and related to your property are accessible online. Enter the address to view all permits on the property – resolved, active and expired. In accordance with North Carolina law, these records are kept for a maximum of seven years. The permits contain detailed notes on the scope of permit, the job, and any inspections that were performed. Only expired permits require action.
Contractors
Expired permits may be found on the online contractor's dashboard.
Resolving Expired Permits
Expired permits can be resolved in a number of ways, which are detailed below.
Code Enforcement has dedicated resources to assist contractors with the resolution of these expired permits. An Expired Permit Technician (EPT) will serve as a direct contact within the department to receive documentation on expired permits, issue replacement permits, schedule inspections and answer questions regarding expired permits.
Details of any and all permits issued in the last seven years and related to a property are accessible online. Contractors may also access them through the online contractor's dashboard.
Expired permits may be resolved through one of the following options. Please review them carefully to find the options that applies to your situation.
Options for Expired Permits
The contractor may sign and submit an affidavit attesting that the work was not performed.
- The contractor will e-mail the affidavit along with a permit cancellation form to [email protected].
- The permit will be cancelled and considered resolved if all information is found to be correct.
OR
The property owner may sign and submit an affidavit attesting that the work was not performed.
- The homeowner will e-mail the affidavit along with a permit cancellation form to [email protected].
- The permit will be cancelled and considered resolved if all information is found to be correct.
The contractor will apply for a replacement permit and request necessary inspections.
- Contractors applying for replacement permits through the contractor's dashboard must note that the application is to replace an expired permit. Once issued, the contractor must notify the EPT of the new permit number by emailing [email protected] with the expired permit number and the replacement permit number so the permits can be properly connected and closed. The permit will not be considered resolved until all required inspections have been passed and a certificate of occupancy or compliance has been issued.
- Contractors applying for replacement permits via a permit application can email completed applications to [email protected]. Please note the expired permit number the replacement permit is intended to replace.
OR
The property owner should contact the contractor of record. If the contractor is ready to complete the work and the property owner is willing to allow inspections and facilitate access to any secure areas of the property, such as inside a home, new permits will be issued to the contractor, if the steps above are completed, and inspections will be performed. Once all required inspections are successfully completed, the expired permit will be resolved. It is important that property owners speak to their contractors and tell them of their desire that the contractor pursue a replacement permit.
Please note: Mecklenburg County Code Enforcement is also contacting contractors with expired permits to inform them of the need resolve these permits.
The property owner may replace the permits with a new contractor.
- A permit cancellation form along with new permit applications need to be submitted by the new contractor to [email protected].
- The new contractor will apply for a replacement permit and request necessary inspections.
- Contractors applying for replacement permits through the contractor's dashboard must note that the application is to replace an expired permit. Once issued, the contractor must notify the EPT of the new permit number by emailing [email protected] with the expired permit number and the replacement permit number so the permits can be properly connected and closed. The permit will not be considered resolved until all required inspections have been passed and a certificate of occupancy or compliance has been issued.
- Contractors applying for replacement permits via a permit application can email completed applications to [email protected]. Please note the expired permit number the replacement permit is intended to replace.
- If no action is taken within 20 business days, a Notice of Violation will be issued to the property and the property owner will be notified.
- The contractor may sign and submit an affidavit attesting to the work and the attempts to contact the property owner. This must include two attempts to contact the property owner by certified mail.
- This contractor will submit the affidavit along with the documented attempts and the property owner's name and contact information to [email protected].
- Code Enforcement staff will send a notification to the property owner to alert him or her of the need to make efforts to have the work inspected and the permit closed.
- If the owner agrees to allow inspections, new permits will be issued and inspections performed, and the expired permit will be resolved. The contractor will be notified of the agreement and the need to submit a replacement permit.
- Contractors applying for replacement permits through the contractor's dashboard must note that the application is to replace an expired permit. Once issued, the contractor must notify the EPT of the new permit number by emailing [email protected] with the expired permit number and the replacement permit number so the permits can be properly connected and closed. The permit will not be considered resolved until all required inspections have been passed and a certificate of occupancy or compliance has been issued.
- Contractors applying for replacement permits via a permit application can email completed applications to [email protected]. Please note the expired permit number the replacement permit is intended to replace.
- If no action is taken within 20 business days, a Notice of Violation will be issued to the property and the property owner will be notified. At that point, the permit will be considered resolved for the contractor.
- If the only inspection needed is a final, the property owner may request the final inspection.
- The property owner will submit an affidavit, two attempts to contact the contractor by certified mail, along with the request for the final inspection.
- If the work fails and further changes are necessary, the property owner will need to work with the contractor to complete the changes OR reassign the original permit and have a replacement permit issued to a new contractor to complete the project.
- If no action is taken within 20 business days, a Notice of Violation will be issued to the property and the property owner will be notified.
- If the work is not at the final stage, the property owner will follow the guidelines under For permits that have been issued and work was performed but the property owner and contractor have parted ways, above.
- Email [email protected] with the expired permit number and the replacement permit number.
- The EPT will review the scope of work for both and if it is the same, the expired permit will be closed and considered resolved.
Here to Help
It is critically important that expired permits be addressed to ensure life safety. Repeated failure to resolve expired permits addressed will result in Mecklenburg County Code Enforcement making a report to the appropriate licensing board.
We are dedicated to providing guidance and assistance as our customers resolve expired permits, and we understand that some situations may have inherent difficulties. For questions regarding the expired permits initiative or if you have received a letter, please contact our Expired Permits Team at 980-314-3247 or [email protected].
Thank you for your prompt attention to resolving these expired permits. We are proud to partner with our customers to build a safe and thriving Mecklenburg County.