Building permits for unincorporated Sumter County are issued by the joint Sumter City-County Building Department at 12 West Liberty Street, Sumter (803-774-1600), which also covers the City of Sumter, Mayesville and Pinewood. You can apply through its online Permitting & Licensing Portal. On the department’s residential fee calculator, a home with a $200,000 contract price costs $875, review included.
What requires a permit in Sumter County?
The Building Department’s permit pages give examples of work that needs a permit and a short list of work that does not. Both apply in the unincorporated county as well as the city.
Permit required
- New homes, modular homes, additions and alterations
- Roof repair or replacement, windows and siding
- Sheetrock work that finishes or remodels a room, and new walls or openings
- Water heaters, new plumbing, sewer or water line replacement and irrigation systems
- Wiring, outlets, lights and breakers; solar panels
- Heating and air units, ductwork and gas lines
- Storage buildings, garages and carports
- Pools deeper than 24 inches or holding more than 5,000 gallons
- Demolition, moving a building, fences and signs
- Mobile and manufactured home installation
No permit
- Painting and wallpapering
- Tiling, flooring and carpeting
- Cabinets and countertops
- Retaining walls up to 4 feet that support no structure
- Above-ground pools under 24 inches deep and 5,000 gallons
Farm structures: barns, sheds and similar farm buildings can be exempted from the building code if the owner files the department’s Farm Structure Building Permit Affidavit before building. The only mandatory inspection is then the electrical point-of-delivery inspection for the power company; anything else is inspected only on request.
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Get a free quote →Who handles permitting in Sumter County?
Building codes in Sumter County are enforced by one joint office for four jurisdictions. Its 2025 dwelling application asks the applicant to tick City, County, Mayesville or Pinewood, and its letterhead carries both the City Manager and the County Administrator. Woody Avins is the Building Official. Zoning, placement certificates for manufactured homes and land disturbance permits come from the separate joint Sumter City-County Planning Department in the same building.
- Unincorporated Sumter County: Sumter City-County Building Department.
- City of Sumter: the same department (see our separate Sumter city guide for city-specific detail).
- Mayesville and Pinewood: the same department; both towns are listed as jurisdictions on its permit application.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Office | Liberty Center, 12 West Liberty Street, Sumter, SC 29150 (mail: P.O. Box 1449, Sumter, SC 29151) |
| Main line | 803-774-1600 (fax 803-774-1687) |
| Permit processing | 803-774-1617 |
| Inspection requests | 803-774-1634 only |
| Hours | Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. |
| Online | Permitting & Licensing Portal, sumter.govpossible.com |
| Planning and zoning | 803-774-1660 |
Trade permits, filing and local fees
Electrical, plumbing, HVAC, gas, solar, roofing, fire alarm and fire sprinkler work each have their own application on the department’s forms page, and each separately permitted trade contractor books its own inspections. Contractors need a Sumter City and/or County business licence as well as their state licence.
Building permit fees follow the department’s permit fee calculator. The valuation is the contract amount rounded up to the next whole $1,000. The forms page adds that, since March 1, 2019, the City of Sumter has required a copy of the contract for labor and materials, signed by contractor and owner, with every permit application except new dwellings and new commercial construction.
Not sure this scope needs a permit?
Get a free quote →| Valuation | Residential (review included) | Commercial (plus review at half) |
|---|---|---|
| Up to $1,000 | $30 | $60 |
| $1,001 to $50,000 | $30 plus $5 per $1,000 over $1,000 | $60 plus $7.50 per $1,000 over $1,000 |
| $50,001 to $250,000 | $275 plus $4 per $1,000 over $50,000 | $427.50 plus $6 per $1,000 over $50,000 |
| $250,001 to $750,000 | $1,075 plus $3 per $1,000 over $250,000 | $1,627.50 plus $4.50 per $1,000 over $250,000 |
| Over $750,000 | $2,575 plus $2 per $1,000 over $750,000 | $3,877.50 plus $3 per $1,000 over $750,000 |
A $500,000 commercial building therefore pays $2,752.50 for the permit plus $1,376.25 for plans review. Other charges: $72 for a manufactured home installation permit, $50 for a land disturbance application and $125 to appeal a Building Official’s decision to the Sumter City/County Board of Appeals. Work started without a permit can be fined or have its fee doubled.
Refunds: nothing is refunded on a permit of $50 or less, once an inspection has been made, or after 180 days. Otherwise an unissued application is refunded less a $50 processing fee, and an issued but uninspected permit less $100; where plans were reviewed, the plans review fee is also kept.
Application documents
The One and Two Family Dwelling application (updated March 2025) asks for the jurisdiction, owner and contractor, contractor licence number, contract price for material and labor, heated and unheated square footage, tax map number, lot details, construction type, heating and fuel, and whether the site uses well and septic or public water and sewer, with the septic tank permit number. A subcontractor list is part of the form, and planning staff record the zoning district, setbacks, flood hazard area and any overlay district before the Building Official signs.
Rather talk it over?
Call 1-855-478-4290 →- Commercial work: the commercial permit application and the department’s commercial development checklist; digitally sealed and signed plans are accepted.
- Fire sprinklers: the signed application, proof of a City-County business licence and a State Fire Marshal sprinkler installation licence, the sealed specification sheet and certificate of compliance, and 2 sets of shop drawings matching those sent to the State Fire Marshal.
- Owner-builders: an Owner/Builder Affidavit recorded with the Sumter County Register of Deeds before the permit is issued.
How to apply for a Sumter County building permit
Note whether the parcel is in the county, the city, Mayesville or Pinewood, and check its zoning and any overlay district with City-County Planning.
Sites without sewer need a state septic tank permit number for the application; land-disturbing work needs a Planning land disturbance permit.
For repairs and alterations, have the signed labor-and-materials contract ready; if you are building your own home, record the owner-builder affidavit first.
Use the Permitting & Licensing Portal or bring the paper application to 12 West Liberty Street.
The fee is worked out from the rounded contract value; call 803-774-1617 for help with the calculation.
Call 803-774-1634 before 3 p.m. for a next-workday inspection.
Rather not deal with the Sumter County building department?
Get a free quote →Inspections in Sumter County
All inspection requests go to one number, 803-774-1634; messages left on other lines are not processed. A request made before 3 p.m. on a workday is put on the next workday’s schedule if the load allows, while later or same-day requests are treated as emergencies at the Building Official’s discretion. Leave your name, phone number, site address, permit number and inspection type, and expect a call between 8:30 and 9:30 a.m. on the day to set the time.
Only the contractor of record, or someone from that company, can request an inspection, and a knowledgeable representative must be on site. Cancel or move an inspection before 10 a.m. on the scheduled day or it counts as failed.
A typical new home is inspected in this order: saw pole (ideally with the footing), footing, open floor for crawl-space foundations, plumbing and electrical under slab, a combined rough-in for framing, electrical, plumbing, gas and mechanical, temporary power, and the final, by which time fixtures must work and the water meter must be set.
Local Sumter County details
Manufactured homes: units more than 20 years old may be placed only in allowed districts of unincorporated Sumter County, not in the City of Sumter. Every move needs a $10 Planning placement certification, a $72 Building Department installation permit (valid 6 months) and the County Assessor’s $25 moving permit and $30 registration. Homes go only in the GR, AC or CP zoning districts, on a lot of record with no other dwelling.
Shaw Air Force Base overlays: the dwelling application asks whether the lot is in the accident potential zone (APZ) or a noise attenuation (DNL) overlay, along with the Swan Lake, RCD and historic or downtown overlays.
Flood zones: planning staff note whether the structure is in a flood hazard area and record the base flood elevation before approval.
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
Want this handled start to finish?
Get a free quote →Sumter County permit search and official resources
- Sumter County building department
- Sumter County permit applications and guidance
- Sumter County Building Inspections
- Sumter City-County Building Department and inspection policy
- Permitting & Licensing Portal
- Permit fee calculator (spreadsheet)
- One and Two Family Dwelling application (2025)
- Mobile and manufactured home fact sheet
- Sumter City-County Planning
Sumter County permit FAQ
Who issues building permits in unincorporated Sumter County?
The joint Sumter City-County Building Department at 12 West Liberty Street, Sumter, phone 803-774-1600. It also serves the City of Sumter, Mayesville and Pinewood.
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →How much is a residential building permit in Sumter County?
On the department’s calculator, $275 for the first $50,000 of contract value plus $4 per $1,000 up to $250,000, with the review fee included. A $200,000 home is $875.
Do I need a permit for a shed or carport?
Yes. The department lists storage buildings, garages and carports as work that needs a permit. A true farm structure can instead be covered by the farm structure affidavit.
Can I build or remodel my own home?
Only your primary residence, listed in your name in the county tax records, after recording an Owner/Builder Affidavit with the Register of Deeds. Rental property must be built by licensed contractors.
How do I schedule an inspection?
The contractor of record calls 803-774-1634 before 3 p.m. for the next workday. Cancel before 10 a.m. on the day or it counts as a failed inspection.
Can I place an older mobile home in Sumter County?
Homes more than 20 years old can go only in allowed zoning districts of unincorporated Sumter County, with a placement certification, installation permit and assessor’s moving permit.
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More South Carolina permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Sumter County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.