The Montgomery County Inspections Department issues building and trade permits, and carries out the inspections, for the unincorporated county and for all five towns: Biscoe, Candor, Mount Gilead, Star and Troy. Apply online through the County’s iWorQ portal or at Central Permitting, 444 North Main Street in Troy (910-572-3304); new homes are charged $0.30 per sq ft, with trade permits extra.
What needs a permit in Montgomery County?
A zoning permit, from the County or from the town, comes before any new structure or new use of a building or land. The County’s fee schedule then lists the building and trade permits it issues.
Residential
- New homes, remodels, additions and decks
- Modular homes and single-, double- and triple-wide mobile homes
- Moving a building
- Swimming pools
- Electrical, plumbing, heating and air conditioning, insulation
- Service upgrades, reconnects and generators
- Solar panel arrays
- Gas lines and gas logs
- Piers, bulkheads and other waterway structures
- Demolition
Commercial
- New buildings, priced by occupancy group
- Renovations, remodels and up-fits
- Commercial modular structures
- Change of use
- Non-structural re-roofs
- Fire sprinkler systems
- Elevators
- Solar farms
- Daycare and nursing or group home inspections
Residential handicap ramps are permitted at no charge. Prefabricated metal buildings and pole barns need engineered plans.
Who handles permitting in Montgomery County?
All building permits in the county come from one office. The Inspections Department enforces the North Carolina State Building Code and the Fire Prevention Code, and it works out of the Central Permitting office in Troy alongside the Planning Department and Environmental Health.
| Area | Building permits and inspections | Zoning permit |
|---|---|---|
| Unincorporated county | County Inspections Department | County Planning Department |
| Biscoe, Candor (Montgomery County part), Mount Gilead, Star and Troy | County Inspections Department | The town’s own zoning program |
Short on time to read all of this?
Get a free quote →| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Address | 444 North Main Street, Troy, NC 27371 |
| Inspections phone / fax | 910-572-3304 / 910-576-0043 |
| Office hours | Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.; state holidays observed |
| Inspectors in the office | Usually 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. and back around 4:00 p.m. |
| Planning Director | Dan Jones, 910-572-3304 ext. 1432 |
The iWorQ portal and County forms
The County’s iWorQ citizen portal has three uses: the Building Permit Application, the Single Trade Permit Application for electrical, mechanical or plumbing jobs that need no plan approval, zoning permit or construction permit (new receptacles, change-outs, water heater replacement, a water or sewer line), and a permit search where inspections are requested. Contractors need their access code to use it.
The Inspections Documents page also has the paper Application for Permits, on which the building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical and insulation contractors each sign; a Workers Compensation Affidavit; the Owners Exemption Affidavit for a homeowner acting as general contractor; the 90-day temporary power and pole service agreements; a power reconnect checklist; and a fire inspection application. Commercial jobs must include the completed Appendix B.
Fees can be paid in cash, by check or card at the counter, or online; the office does not take card payments by phone.
Montgomery County permit fees
The fee schedule the Inspections Department links is its 2022–2023 schedule. Every building permit has a $50 non-refundable minimum, and building permit fees do not include the trade permits unless a row says so.
Not sure this scope needs a permit?
Get a free quote →| Project | Fee |
|---|---|
| New home, remodel, addition or deck | $0.30 per sq ft |
| Residential modular home | $500, all trades included |
| Single-wide / double-wide / triple-wide mobile home | $200 / $250 / $300, all trades and set-up porches or decks included |
| Commercial residential, assembly, educational, institutional | $0.30 per sq ft |
| Commercial business and mercantile | $0.20 per sq ft |
| Factory, industrial, hazardous, storage and utility | $0.10 per sq ft |
| Commercial renovation, remodel or up-fit | 0.4% of the project cost |
| Commercial modular structure | $500 |
| Moving a building | $0.30 per sq ft, all trades included |
| Swimming pool | $100, electrical included |
| Pier, bulkhead or waterway structure | $100 |
| Demolition / change of use | $100 each |
On that schedule a 2,000 sq ft house costs $600 for the building permit; the new-construction electrical, plumbing and heating and air permits add $100 each and residential insulation $50, for $950 in all.
Re-inspections cost $50 when 1 to 5 violations are found, $100 for 6 to 10 and $150 for more than 10. Starting work without a permit adds a $100 penalty per permit, and the permit is still required. Reviving an expired permit costs its original fee, up to $100.
Electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits
The same County department issues and inspects every trade, in the towns as well as the county.
Rather talk it over?
Call 1-855-478-4290 →| Permit | Fee |
|---|---|
| Electrical, new home / remodel or addition | $100 / $75 |
| Electrical, commercial | $100 per panel |
| Residential reconnect, service move or upgrade, generator | $50 per service |
| 90-day temporary power / temporary construction pole | $100 / $50 |
| Solar array / solar farm | $150 / $800 per MW |
| Plumbing, new home / remodel or addition / commercial | $100 / $75 / $100 |
| Water or sewer line | $50 per line |
| Fire sprinkler system | $50 per system |
| Heating and air, new home / replacement | $100 / $75 |
| Heating and air, commercial | $100 per independent system |
| Ductwork change only | $50 |
| Gas line or gas logs | $50 |
A heating and air change-out or new unit permit already covers the electrical reconnect.
What the building permit checklist asks for
Central Permitting will not issue a building permit until it has:
- Wastewater approval: an Environmental Health permit with the Construction Authorization line signed (a signed Improvement Permit line is not enough), proof of a connection to the Handy Sanitary District, or a sewer connection authorization from the town.
- A signed zoning permit from the County or the town.
- A 911 address for every new home.
- A state erosion control permit when 1 acre or more is disturbed.
- Plans or a scaled drawing with elevations; pole barn and prefabricated metal building plans stamped by a North Carolina engineer, and Appendix B for commercial work.
- Contractor signatures on the application, including every subcontractor, plus the workers’ compensation affidavit.
- Lien agent details from LiensNC for every application that is not exempt from the lien agent rule.
- An owner’s exemption affidavit if the homeowner is the general contractor.
Rather not deal with the Montgomery County building department?
Get a free quote →Getting a permit in Montgomery County, step by step
From the County Planning Department in the unincorporated area, or from Biscoe, Candor, Mount Gilead, Star or Troy inside town limits.
Apply to Environmental Health at Central Permitting for a soil evaluation and Construction Authorization, or get the sanitary district or town sewer authorization.
Every new house needs one before the permit, and it must be posted on site before the first inspection.
Upload the plans, contractor details, affidavits and lien agent information with the Building Permit Application.
A permit is not treated as approved, and no inspection is made, until every fee is paid. Post the permit on site.
Request inspections through the portal with your permit number, and have the Environmental Health operation permit approved before the final.
Inspections in Montgomery County
The permit holder is responsible for requesting every inspection and giving the inspector access. The County’s Inspection Stages sheet lists them in order: footing, under-slab for habitable space, foundation, rough-in, building framing, insulation, fire protection where used, and a final for each trade.
A portable toilet must be on the job and the 911 address temporarily posted before the first inspection; by the final, the number must be fixed permanently in figures at least 4 inches high. A permit expires after 6 months without an inspection and stays active for 12 months after each one. When an exempt owner-builder holds the permit, the owner must be present at each inspection unless an architect drew and sealed the plans.
Local Montgomery County details
Zoning and land use: the Planning Department administers the County Zoning Ordinance, the Subdivision Ordinance, the RV Resort Ordinance and the Twin Harbor Campground Ordinance in the unincorporated area.
Floodplain and watershed: the Planning Department is also the County’s Flood Prevention Administrator and Watershed Administrator.
Wells and septic: Environmental Health, at the same Central Permitting address, takes applications for new septic systems, reconnecting an existing system or adding to a property, and new wells. It is moving its permit records online, so copies of older permits can take several days.
Want this handled start to finish?
Get a free quote →North Carolina building code
The 2018 North Carolina State Building Code family applies statewide, with the 2020 North Carolina Electrical Code; one- and two-family homes and townhouses still use the 2017 edition. The 2024 code has been delayed and cannot take effect before late 2027. The NC State Building Code and the delayed 2024 edition
Montgomery County permit search and official resources
- Montgomery County Environmental Health (septic and well applications)
- Montgomery County Planning Department documents
- Montgomery County Planning Department (zoning)
- Montgomery County Inspections documents and forms
- Montgomery County Inspections Department
- Montgomery County iWorQ permit portal
- Inspections Department fee schedule 2022–2023 (PDF)
- Building Permit Checklist (PDF)
- Inspection Stages (PDF)
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →Montgomery County permit FAQ
Who issues building permits in Troy, Biscoe, Star, Candor and Mount Gilead?
Montgomery County’s Inspections Department, which permits and inspects in all five towns as well as the unincorporated county. The zoning permit comes from the town.
How much does a building permit cost in Montgomery County?
Homes, additions and decks are $0.30 per sq ft with a $50 minimum, and trade permits are extra: $100 each for new-home electrical, plumbing and heating and air.
Do I need a permit to put a mobile home on my land?
Yes. A single-wide costs $200, a double-wide $250 and a triple-wide $300, covering all trades and any porch or deck built during set-up.
Can a homeowner pull a permit?
Yes, by signing the owner’s exemption affidavit. The owner must then be at every inspection unless an architect sealed the plans.
Can I apply online?
Yes, through the iWorQ portal: a full building permit application, or a single trade permit for small electrical, mechanical or plumbing jobs that need no plans or zoning permit.
What does a re-inspection cost?
$50 for 1 to 5 violations, $100 for 6 to 10, and $150 for more than 10.
How long is a permit good for?
Six months if no inspection is made, then 12 months after each inspection.
Simplify Montgomery County permitting with Alliance Permitting
Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in North Carolina. We prepare your paperwork, file it correctly and coordinate with the permitting authority through issuance. We are not a contractor and we do not perform licensed plan review or inspections; that work stays with your licensed team and the jurisdiction.
Ready to break ground in Montgomery County sooner?
Let Alliance prepare, file, and track your Montgomery County permits while your crew stays on the job.
More North Carolina permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Montgomery County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.