Brunswick County building permits come from Code Administration in Bolivia — a single department carrying Building Inspections, Central Permitting, and the Fire Marshal together. On commercial work that consolidation is a genuine scheduling advantage, because building and fire review sit in the same building rather than in two agencies.
Brunswick has been among the fastest-growing counties in the United States, and it is a CAMA county — so the coastal permit question runs alongside the building one on its own clock. Eleven towns, the beach towns among them, inspect their own work.
Applies to unincorporated Brunswick County and to Belville, Bolivia, Navassa, Northwest, Sandy Creek, Shallotte, St. James and Varnamtown, which the county inspects. Bald Head Island, Boiling Spring Lakes, Calabash, Carolina Shores, Caswell Beach, Holden Beach, Leland, Oak Island, Ocean Isle Beach, Southport and Sunset Beach permit their own work.
A building permit is not a CAMA permit. Code Administration can issue a building permit for a project that still needs coastal clearance. Settle the Area of Environmental Concern question before the design is fixed.
What requires a permit in Brunswick County?
A Brunswick County building permit is required before most construction, alteration, repair, demolition, or change of occupancy in the county's jurisdiction. Brunswick has been among the fastest-growing counties in the United States, driven by coastal retirement and second-home construction along a shoreline that runs from the South Carolina line up to the Cape Fear.
Permit required
- New construction, additions, and accessory structures above the local size threshold
- Structural and load-bearing alterations, repairs, and demolition
- Electrical service changes, panel work, and most wiring alterations
- Plumbing additions, repipes, gas piping, and non-identical water heater swaps
- Mechanical and HVAC installations and changeouts
- Development inside an Area of Environmental Concern, which adds a CAMA permit
- Docks, piers, bulkheads, and shoreline structures
- Fire protection systems, reviewed by the Fire Marshal in the same department
Typically exempt
- Nonstructural work costing $40,000 or less in a single-family home, farm building, or commercial building (G.S. 160D-1110(c))
- Replacement windows, doors, exterior siding, and porch/deck pickets, railings, stair treads, and decking
- Like-for-like plumbing swaps that keep size and capacity, and like-kind light fixtures, receptacles, and switches
- Same-spec water heater changeouts installed by a licensed contractor
- Painting, flooring, cabinetry, and other cosmetic work
North Carolina enforces one State Building Code statewide; the 2018 edition still governs while the 2024 edition waits on the State Fire Marshal and the new Residential Code Council. North Carolina rules
Brunswick County building department: who handles permitting
Brunswick County Code Administration is a single department carrying Building Inspections, Central Permitting, and the Fire Marshal together, working from 75 Courthouse Drive, Building I, in Bolivia. Consolidating building and fire under one roof is genuinely useful on commercial work, where the two reviews otherwise run in different buildings on different clocks.
Brunswick contains a long list of municipalities, and the county’s Municipal Jurisdictions table shows who handles building inspection in each. The county inspects Belville, Bolivia, Navassa, Northwest, Sandy Creek, Shallotte, St. James and Varnamtown; Bald Head Island, Boiling Spring Lakes, Calabash, Carolina Shores, Caswell Beach, Holden Beach, Leland, Oak Island, Ocean Isle Beach, Southport and Sunset Beach run their own. Settle it before you prepare anything, because on this coast a mailing address and a permitting jurisdiction routinely disagree.
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Get a free quote →| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Office | Brunswick County Code Administration, 75 Courthouse Drive Building I, Bolivia, NC 28422 |
| Mailing | P.O. Box 249, Bolivia, NC 28422 |
| Phone | (910) 253-2021 (Central Permitting for building permit questions: option 2); Monday–Friday 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m. |
| Department scope | Building Inspections, Central Permitting, and the Fire Marshal |
| Online portal | Brunswick County Permit Portal — applications, fees and inspections; a Municipal Jurisdictions table on the county website |
| Coastal overlay | CAMA county — Areas of Environmental Concern trigger a separate permit |
Brunswick publishes its permit data openly, and it is worth using. Archived residential new-home and commercial building data is posted to the county open data site around the 25th of the following month, with live data available alongside it — so you can see exactly what is being built, where, and at what pace before you commit to a site or a bid.
This guide covers Brunswick County, North Carolina, seated in Bolivia. Brunswick County, Virginia is a separate jurisdiction, and there is also a Brunswick in Maine and in Georgia. Locally, note that the county seat Bolivia is a town of about 270 people — the population is on the coast, not at the courthouse.
In 2025, building permits issued in unincorporated Brunswick County authorized 2,682 new privately owned housing units, all of them single-family homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey.
Brunswick County permits: record types and what each covers
Brunswick's catalog carries coastal and fire records that inland counties never issue, and those are usually what governs a waterfront schedule. These are the records you will encounter:
Residential permit types
| Permit type | What triggers it | Review path | Fee basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| New construction | New dwellings, additions, and accessory structures above the local size threshold | Full plan review against the 2018 NC Residential Code, plus zoning | Valuation-based |
| Renovation / alteration | Load-bearing changes, work over $40,000, or added or redesigned plumbing, HVAC, or electrical | Plan review scaled to scope; 15-business-day residential clock applies | Valuation-based |
| Reroof | Roof covering replacement costing over $40,000, and any work that adds rather than replaces roofing | Inspections set by the local department; plan review rarely required | Valuation or squares |
| Solar photovoltaic | Rooftop or ground-mount PV, with or without battery storage | Electrical review led, with structural review of the attachment | Flat or system-size based |
| Battery energy storage | Wall or floor-mounted ESS added to a dwelling | Electrical review plus fire separation and location check | Flat or per-permit minimum |
| Electrical | Service changes, panel upgrades, new circuits, EV chargers, most rewiring | Trade review by the electrical inspector; filed as its own record | Per-permit minimum or per-device |
| Plumbing | New piping, repipes, fixtures, gas piping, and non-identical water heater swaps | Trade review; like-for-like same-capacity swaps are statutorily exempt | Per-permit minimum or per-fixture |
| Mechanical / HVAC | All HVAC equipment installs and changeouts, including like-for-like swaps, plus ductwork and refrigeration | Trade review by the mechanical inspector | Per-permit minimum or per-unit |
| Deck and porch | New decks and structural rebuilds; pickets, rails, treads, and decking are exempt replacements | Footing and framing review against the residential code | Flat or valuation-based |
| Pool and spa | In-ground and above-ground pools, spas, barriers, and bonding | Structural, barrier, and electrical bonding review | Valuation-based |
| Accessory structure | Sheds, detached garages, and carports above the local size threshold | Zoning first, then structural review where applicable | Flat or valuation-based |
| Demolition | Full or partial demolition of a structure | Utility disconnect verification and asbestos notification | Flat |
| CAMA minor permit | Residential development inside an Area of Environmental Concern | Issued locally by a designated Local Permit Officer | State-set, CPI-adjusted |
| Elevation certificate / flood review | Construction in a mapped flood zone | Elevation and flood-resistant construction review | Flat plus survey cost |
| Dock, pier, or bulkhead | Waterfront and shoreline structures | Structural review plus CAMA clearance where an AEC applies | Valuation-based |
Not sure this scope needs a permit?
Get a free quote →Commercial permit types
| Permit type | What triggers it | Review path | Fee basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| New construction | Ground-up commercial, industrial, and multifamily buildings | Full multi-discipline review; sealed plans required | Valuation-based |
| Upfit / tenant improvement | Interior build-outs and suite fit-ups in an existing shell | Concurrent building, trade, and fire review | Valuation-based |
| Renovation / alteration | Structural, envelope, or system changes to an existing building | Plan review scaled to scope; accessibility triggers attach | Valuation-based |
| Change of occupancy | Converting a building from one occupancy classification to another | Life-safety, accessibility, and zoning review | Valuation or flat |
| Shell building | A building permitted without a known tenant or use | Shell review only; no certificate of occupancy until an upfit closes | Valuation-based |
| Reroof | Commercial roof covering replacement or recover | Structural check on added dead load; fire review where applicable | Valuation or squares |
| Solar photovoltaic | Commercial rooftop, carport, and ground-mount arrays | Structural, electrical, and fire access review | Valuation or system-size based |
| Electrical | Service, distribution, and branch circuit work | Trade review; separate record from the building permit | Valuation or per-device |
| Plumbing | Supply, waste, vent, grease, and gas systems | Trade review; backflow and grease interceptor sign-offs attach | Valuation or per-fixture |
| Mechanical / HVAC | Rooftop units, ductwork, exhaust, and refrigeration | Trade review; energy compliance documentation required | Valuation or per-unit |
| Fire protection | Sprinkler, standpipe, alarm, hood, and suppression systems | Fire prevention review, often a separate submittal | Valuation or per-device |
| Sign | Wall, monument, and illuminated signage | Zoning review plus electrical where illuminated | Flat or per-sign |
| CAMA major permit | Coastal development needing other approvals, or dredge and fill | Issued by the NC Division of Coastal Management | State-set, CPI-adjusted |
| Fire Marshal permit | Sprinkler, alarm, hood, and suppression systems | Reviewed inside Code Administration alongside the building record | Valuation or per-device |
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- Single-discipline review in most cases
- One permit covers simultaneous same-address residential projects (G.S. 160D-1110(d))
- Initial review due within 15 business days; after 20, 10% of the fee is refunded for each business day late (up to 10 days)
- No engineer's or architect's seal may be demanded unless the code itself requires it
Commercial — multi-discipline
- Concurrent review across building, trades, fire, and zoning
- Signed and sealed plans where state law requires them; small commercial buildings can be exempt (G.S. 83A-13)
- Third-party plan review available under G.S. 160D-1110.1 when review stalls
- Accessibility and life-safety review attach to any change of occupancy
Records you will actually see in Brunswick
| Record | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Residential building permit | New dwellings, additions, and alterations in the county's jurisdiction |
| Commercial building permit | Ground-up commercial, upfits, and alterations with multi-discipline review |
| Fire Marshal permit | Sprinkler, alarm, hood, and suppression, reviewed inside the same department |
| CAMA minor permit | Development inside an Area of Environmental Concern, issued locally |
| CAMA major permit | Larger or multi-agency coastal development, via the Division of Coastal Management |
| Dock, pier, and bulkhead | Waterfront structures, frequently CAMA-triggering |
| Trade permits (electrical, plumbing, mechanical) | Filed by the state-licensed contractor for each trade |
| Flood zone and elevation review | Elevation certificates and flood-resistant construction in mapped zones |
Solar permits in Brunswick
Solar files through the county Permit Portal as an electrical-led record with structural review. On the coast the attachment detail carries the array into the roof's wind load path, so the structural review matters more here than it does inland.
Rather not deal with the Brunswick County building department?
Get a free quote →Roofing permits in Brunswick
Reroofs in the county's jurisdiction are county permits; in the beach towns that permit their own work they are not. Coastal wind requirements drive the fastening schedule regardless of which counter issues the permit.
Solar covenants and the roofing permit exemption are set by state law, and utilities run interconnection on their own timeline. North Carolina rules
Brunswick County permit cost
Brunswick County building permit fees are set by the county's adopted schedule and vary with record type and scope, with trade permits charged separately. Applications and payments run through the county Permit Portal, and the permit application help line is a separate option on the main number.
Coastal costs sit outside the county schedule. CAMA permit fees are set by the state and, under G.S. 143B-279.19, adjusted to the Consumer Price Index beginning July 1, 2025 and every four years afterwards, so a figure quoted from an older handbook will understate the current cost.
| Fee component | How it works |
|---|---|
| Building permit | County fee schedule by record type and scope |
| Trade permits (E/P/M) | Charged separately per trade record |
| Fire Marshal review | Charged separately, though administered in the same department |
| CAMA minor permit | State-set, CPI-adjusted from July 1, 2025 on a four-year cycle |
| CAMA major permit | State-set, through the Division of Coastal Management |
| Re-inspection | Charged on failed inspections before final or certificate |
Want a precise number for a specific Brunswick project? Send us the scope and we will price the permit path before you file.
Brunswick County trade permits
Brunswick County trade permits for electrical, plumbing, and mechanical work are separate records in the Brunswick County Permit Portal, pulled by the state-licensed contractor performing the work and filed against the building record for the same address.
Electrical permits
Required for services, panel upgrades, circuits, EV chargers, and solar interconnection. Electrical work takes a contractor licensed by the NC State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors, unless owners wire their own home that is not for sale or rent.
Plumbing permits
Required for new piping, repipes, fixtures, gas piping, and non-identical water heater changeouts by a state-licensed contractor.
Mechanical (HVAC) permits
Required for all installations and changeouts, including like-for-like swaps, plus ductwork and refrigeration. Salt-air exposure drives equipment selection here more than the code does.
Fire protection
Sprinkler, alarm, and suppression work is reviewed by the Fire Marshal inside Code Administration rather than by a separate agency — a real scheduling advantage on commercial jobs.
Want this handled start to finish?
Get a free quote →Brunswick County permit application: how to apply step by step
Here is how to get a building permit in Brunswick County, from confirming the requirement through to close-out. Each step below corresponds to a real decision point where projects commonly stall.
The county inspects unincorporated land and Belville, Bolivia, Navassa, Northwest, Sandy Creek, Shallotte, St. James and Varnamtown. Bald Head Island, Boiling Spring Lakes, Calabash, Carolina Shores, Caswell Beach, Holden Beach, Leland, Oak Island, Ocean Isle Beach, Southport and Sunset Beach permit their own work. Check the county’s Municipal Jurisdictions table against your parcel.
Determine whether the parcel sits inside an Area of Environmental Concern. If it does, the CAMA minor or major permit starts now, not after the building permit.
Mapped flood zones drive elevation and construction requirements. Get the elevation certificate question settled while the design is still fluid.
Submit the application with plans and supporting documents. Call the application help line if the portal is unfamiliar.
Because Code Administration carries the Fire Marshal, commercial building and fire review sit in the same department — use that rather than treating them as separate errands.
Pay in the portal, request inspections against the record, and run through to your certificate.
Inspections in Brunswick County
Brunswick County inspections are requested against your permit record through the county Permit Portal, which also publishes future inspections and a permit data download. Typical checkpoints run footing and foundation, rough-in trades, framing, insulation, and final.
Because building and fire sit in one department, commercial projects can sequence sprinkler and alarm inspections alongside the building trades rather than coordinating across agencies. If the local inspection department will not inspect within two business days of the request, the permit holder may ask the State Fire Marshal in writing to send an inspector (G.S. 143-139.4). G.S. 160D-1104 also requires the inspector to carry out every inspection requested for a scheduled visit and to point out each part of the work that fails the code.
State law sets how long a North Carolina permit stays valid and when changes need written approval. North Carolina rules
Brunswick County permit search and official resources
Run a Brunswick County permit search, open the county Permit Portal, or check whether your project sits in an Area of Environmental Concern with the official links below.
- Brunswick County Code Administration
- Brunswick County Permit Portal
- Brunswick County permit reports and open data
- Brunswick County CAMA information
- NC Division of Coastal Management
- NC Licensing Board for General Contractors
Frequently asked questions
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →Who issues building permits in Brunswick County?
Brunswick County Code Administration, at 75 Courthouse Drive Building I in Bolivia (910-253-2021), open Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The department combines Building Inspections, Central Permitting, and the Fire Marshal. It covers unincorporated land and Belville, Bolivia, Navassa, Northwest, Sandy Creek, Shallotte, St. James and Varnamtown; Bald Head Island, Boiling Spring Lakes, Calabash, Carolina Shores, Caswell Beach, Holden Beach, Leland, Oak Island, Ocean Isle Beach, Southport and Sunset Beach permit their own work.
Is Brunswick County a CAMA county?
Yes — one of North Carolina's 20. A CAMA permit attaches only where the project falls inside an Area of Environmental Concern, which is a measured test rather than a general coastal designation.
Does a Brunswick County building permit cover CAMA?
No. They are separate approvals on separate timelines, and Code Administration can issue a building permit for a project that still needs coastal clearance. The stop-work order that follows is the most avoidable delay on the North Carolina coast.
What makes a project fall inside an Area of Environmental Concern?
Being in or on state waters, a marsh, or a wetland; within 75 feet of the normal high water line along an estuarine shoreline; within 30 feet of the normal water level of designated inland fishing waters; or within 575 feet of the mean high water line along an Outstanding Resource Water shoreline.
How do I run a Brunswick County permit search?
Through the county Permit Portal, which carries permits, future inspections, and a permit data download. The county also publishes archived residential and commercial permit data on its open data site, updated around the 25th of the following month, alongside live data.
Does Brunswick County handle fire permits too?
Yes — the Fire Marshal sits inside Code Administration alongside Building Inspections and Central Permitting. On commercial projects that means building and fire review are in the same department rather than in two separate agencies.
Which Brunswick County towns issue their own permits?
Bald Head Island, Boiling Spring Lakes, Calabash, Carolina Shores, Caswell Beach, Holden Beach, Leland, Oak Island, Ocean Isle Beach, Southport and Sunset Beach run their own building inspection. The county inspects Belville, Bolivia, Navassa, Northwest, Sandy Creek, Shallotte, St. James and Varnamtown, plus unincorporated land. The county’s Municipal Jurisdictions table also shows who handles flood, CAMA, zoning and fire inspection in each town — check it against your parcel before preparing anything.
How do coastal wind and flood rules affect a Brunswick County build?
They shape the structure rather than decorate it. Flood zone elevation, elevation certificates, and coastal wind design all drive the design, and oceanfront parcels add ocean hazard setbacks measured from erosion rates.
Who do I call for help with a Brunswick County permit application?
Code Administration’s number is (910) 253-2021; for building permit questions, choose option 2 for Central Permitting.
When is a general contractor licence required in Brunswick County?
On projects of $40,000 or more, under G.S. 87-1 and the NC Licensing Board for General Contractors, with tiers capping single-project value at $750,000, $1,500,000, or without limit excluding land cost.
Do I need a lien agent for a Brunswick County project?
For work costing $40,000 or more, yes — designated through LiensNC before the permit issues. Improvements to an owner-occupied existing single-family residence and incidental accessory structures are exempt.
Where is Brunswick County's building department?
In Bolivia, the county seat — a town of about 270 people. That surprises people whose project is at Ocean Isle, Holden Beach, or Leland, because the population and the construction are on the coast while the courthouse is inland.
Simplify Brunswick County permitting with Alliance Permitting
One of the fastest-growing counties in the country, a coastal permit running on its own clock, and a municipal map that changes — Brunswick punishes assumption and rewards a filer who checks. A permit expediter for Brunswick County confirms the jurisdiction and the AEC question first, then files, tracks, and inspects through to certificate.
Trusted by leading builders, developers, and national contractors — 21+ years of filing in the jurisdictions we write about.
Contractors and builders choose Alliance for Brunswick because the work is done by people who have stood at the counter:
- Jurisdiction and AEC settled first — before a drawing is prepared, not after a stop-work order.
- Complete oversight — every Brunswick permit and inspection tracked across your jobs in one place.
- Building and fire sequenced together — using the fact that both sit in one department, rather than treating them as separate errands.
Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and expediting service. We are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice, and we are not the permitting authority.
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More North Carolina permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Brunswick County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.