Greenwood, South Carolina Building Permit Guide

The Building & Code Enforcement office at 1025 Deadfall Road East (864-942-8424) reviews plans, issues permits and inspects work in the City of Greenwood, and its inspectors also cover Greenwood County. Every application, payment and inspection request goes through CitizenServe, and fees follow a valuation table that starts at $30 for work worth $1,000 or less.

What requires a permit in Greenwood?

The City states that permits are required before any work begins. Its forms cover building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical and land disturbance permits, and the building application lists the classes of work it covers.

Who issues building permits in Greenwood?

The City’s Building Department handles plan review, permits and inspections for new construction, remodels and additions inside city limits, along with unsafe-building and property maintenance enforcement. Travis Lathren is the Building Official, and his office also provides countywide inspections, so the same inspectors work on both sides of the city line.

The licence rule changes at the city limits. Inside the City, the contractor needs a state licence from SC LLR and a City of Greenwood business license; outside the City, Greenwood County requires the permit but no business license. Before releasing a permit, the City checks that the contractor is licensed, insured and bonded.

How Greenwood permits are issued

Since August 18, 2025, every permit application, inspection request and payment has gone through CitizenServe. Log in or create an account, choose Apply for a permit, pick the permit type, complete the form and upload the documents. Staff then set up the file and call or email you with the permit number and the fee.

Pay through Pay Online > Permits on the City website, which takes you back into CitizenServe. Once payment is confirmed the department emails the permit, and it stays in your CitizenServe account. Contractors who already have billing accounts with the City keep their existing payment arrangement.

The building application is only an application: the permit is issued once the Planning Department and the Building Official have approved it, and payment is due when it is issued.

Greenwood permit fees

The Greenwood City/County Building Department fee structure, based on the August 2025 ICC Building Valuation Data, sets fees by total valuation. For new buildings and additions the City uses the higher of two figures: the square-foot value in its BVD table (adjusted by South Carolina’s 0.85 cost modifier) or the value you give on the application. Alterations and repairs use your estimated value, and the Building Official may ask for proof of it.

For example, the table values a typical wood-frame (type VB) house at $145.18 per sq ft, so a 2,000 sq ft house is valued at $290,360 unless the contract price is higher. That gives a building permit fee of $475 plus 191 × $3, or $1,048. Starting work before the permit doubles the fees.

Electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits

The same office issues electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits, each on its own Greenwood City/County form that asks for the contractor’s state and City licence numbers and the value of the work; the electrical form also asks for the service size. Inside the City, every subcontractor needs a City business license as well as the state licence.

On commercial projects, fire sprinkler plans go to the State Fire Marshal’s office rather than to the City.

What to upload with a Greenwood application

The City accepts a building permit application only when it has all of the following, uploaded in CitizenServe:

• A site sketch approved by Planning and Zoning, with the structure’s dimensions and setbacks, for new construction, additions or enclosing an exterior area
• A job-site address assigned by GIS, and the owner’s name
• State licence numbers and City business licenses for the contractor and every subcontractor
• Two sets of drawings for residential work, or four sets for new commercial buildings, additions and commercial or manufacturing renovations
• A site plan for all new construction and additions
• A South Carolina architect’s seal for Assembly, Educational and Institutional occupancies, for buildings of three or more stories other than one- and two-family homes, and for buildings of 5,000 sq ft or more
• The land disturbance form where the lot is in a Lake Greenwood land disturbance area

Larger projects also use the Plan Review Application cover sheet: four complete sets of building and site plans plus one digital set, reviewed by planning and zoning, engineering, building inspection and the fire chief.

How to get a Greenwood building permit

Inspections in Greenwood

All inspection requests must go through CitizenServe: open the permit, choose Schedule Inspection, pick from the dates shown and follow the status online. The office phone, 864-942-8424, is for questions, not for booking. The City’s older residential checklist asked builders to phone before 4:00 p.m. for a next-day visit; the August 2025 portal rule replaced phone booking.

For a house, that checklist lists the footing inspection before concrete, plumbing under-slab with the test on, rough-in once the house is dried in with framing, mechanical, plumbing and electrical roughed in and the meter base and grounding rods in place, an electrical panel inspection with breakers installed, and the final. The Certificate of Occupancy is issued the business day after the final is approved.

A $50 fee applies to every re-inspection, including trips for failed work, work not ready or no access, and it must be paid before the re-inspection is done. Any unpaid re-inspection fees must be cleared before a Certificate of Occupancy is issued.

South Carolina building code

Every South Carolina county and municipality enforces the 2021 South Carolina Building Codes, in force since 1 January 2023; the 2024 editions take effect statewide on 1 January 2027, and the energy code stays the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code. South Carolina building codes

Greenwood permit search and official resources

These are the primary sources behind this guide. Codes, fee schedules and procedures change — confirm the position for your filing date.

• Greenwood online permitting instructions
• Greenwood permits and application requirements
• Greenwood inspection scheduling
• Greenwood City/County Building Department fee structure (August 2025 BVD)
• Greenwood building permit forms
• Greenwood residential inspection checklist

Greenwood permit FAQs

Who issues building permits in the City of Greenwood?

The City’s Building & Code Enforcement office at 1025 Deadfall Road East (864-942-8424). The same office provides inspections across Greenwood County.

How much is a building permit in Greenwood?

$30 for work valued at $1,000 or less, rising to $475 plus $3 per $1,000 above $100,000. A 2,000 sq ft wood-frame house valued at the City’s table rate pays about $1,048. Commercial plan review adds 50%.

Can a homeowner pull a permit in Greenwood?

The City says obtaining a permit is the contractor’s responsibility, not the homeowner’s, and it checks the contractor’s licence, insurance and bond before releasing the permit.

Do contractors need a City business license?

Yes, for work inside city limits, together with the state licence. Work in unincorporated Greenwood County needs a permit but no business license.

How do I schedule an inspection?

Only through CitizenServe: open the permit and choose Schedule Inspection.

What does a failed inspection cost?

$50 for each re-inspection, paid before the inspector returns.

Simplify Greenwood permitting with Alliance Permitting

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in South 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.

This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Greenwood permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.