Winston-Salem building department

The Inspections Division of Winston-Salem’s Planning and Development Services Department is a joint City-County agency. It reviews plans, issues building, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing permits, and inspects construction throughout Forsyth County. The exceptions are the town and city limits of High Point, Kernersville, and King, which handle their own permits. The division also does zoning plan review, issues zoning permits, and enforces the Unified Development Ordinances of Winston-Salem, unincorporated Forsyth County, Clemmons, Lewisville, and Walkertown.

The permit office in the Bryce A. Stuart Municipal Building is open weekdays from 7:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. It stops taking calls at 4:43 p.m. It’s also closed from 8 to 10 a.m. on the first Tuesday of each month. Walk-in hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., but every permit still has to be applied for electronically. Paper applications are no longer accepted.

Two portals: GeoCivix and BuildIT

GeoCivix and BuildIT are separate systems with separate logins.

GeoCivix (formerly IDT) handles plan submittal and plan review. You see reviewer comments and upload revisions there. The division’s policies route these applications through it:

• All commercial and sign applications
• Single-family new houses, additions, alterations, swimming pools, and accessory buildings
• New manufactured and modular homes
• Demolitions, retaining walls, and fences over 6 feet
• Evaluations for family group homes and family day care
• Zoning Board of Adjustment special use and variance requests

BuildIT is for viewing permits, paying fees, scheduling inspections, and reading inspector comments. Anyone can use it as a guest to search permits, check plan review and permit status, view inspection comments, and pay by card. Guests can’t schedule inspections or apply for permits. Licensed plumbing, mechanical, electrical, and refrigeration contractors with a Contractor ID can buy trade permits and schedule their own inspections. General contractors can schedule inspections in BuildIT but can’t buy building permits there. BuildIT can’t be used to apply for a building permit at all.

Property owners, and anyone else without a Contractor ID, should call the permit office at 336-727-2624 to schedule inspections or get trade permits. Contractor IDs were only set up for contractors with an active state license or a bond/escrow account and recent permits. Pay-by-escrow has been discontinued.

Single-family submittal checklists

The division publishes typical checklists for GeoCivix submittals:

Project	Typical requirements
New house (stick-built or modular)	Scaled site plan or survey with setbacks, full set of scaled construction plans, heated and total square footage, lien agent, Workers’ Compensation Coverage Affidavit, Single-Family Dwelling Erosion Control Affidavit
Manufactured home on a private lot	Scaled site plan, workers’ comp affidavit, lien agent if the cost exceeds $30,000 excluding the home
Accessory building (sheds, carports, gazebos, freestanding decks)	Scaled site plan, workers’ comp affidavit, Accessory Structure Affidavit signed by the owner
Swimming pool	Scaled site plan showing the pool and any pool decking, workers’ comp affidavit
Addition (room or deck)	Scaled site plan, square footage being added, workers’ comp affidavit
Alteration (such as a kitchen remodel)	Square footage being remodeled, workers’ comp affidavit

Every project on a septic system also needs approval from the Forsyth County Health Department (336-703-3225). A lien agent is required when the owner doesn’t currently occupy the property and the project is $30,000 or more. A property owner acting as their own contractor signs the workers’ comp affidavit as “property owner” and leaves the firm name blank. See also owner-builder permits.

Electrical code note

The division says the 2020 National Electrical Code took effect November 1, 2021. The 2017 NEC still applies to one- and two-family dwellings.

Refunds and expired permits

Since July 1, 2024, you can request a refund or credit only if the permit hasn’t expired, no inspections have been done, and work hasn’t started. Requests must come within 60 days of issue, and the city keeps a $75 minimum fee. If a permit expires before all inspections are done, you need a new permit before work resumes. Put the expired permit number in the new permit title and the work description. A new contractor must file a Change of Contractor Affidavit.

Commercial building evaluation

For $250, a team of inspectors will walk a commercial space and report in writing what a new use would need. The report covers building and fire safety, ventilation, electrical, plumbing, and zoning. It’s meant for prospective tenants before they sign a lease.

Fire plan review

Sprinkler, fire alarm, extinguishing system, and emergency responder radio plans go to the Winston-Salem Fire Department through its own GeoCivix applications. Each costs $150, and a tank install costs $200. The fee covers two review cycles plus the rough-in and final fire inspections. Once plans are approved, the fire inspector’s calendar opens for scheduling.