Greenville building department

The City of Greenville Building and Permit Center issues building, trade, demolition, retaining wall, site plan, grading, and certificate of occupancy permits for property in the City of Greenville. It sits at the Public Safety Campus, 204 Halton Road. Walk-up hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

What needs a permit

City code requires a permit to build, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy of a building, or to change regulated electrical, gas, mechanical, or plumbing systems. The city’s “Do You Need A Permit?” page lists exemptions taken from the International Building Code. Several of them still need city approval:

Project	Permit exemption	City note
One-story detached accessory building	Up to 200 sq ft	Application and approval still required
Fence	Up to 7 ft high	All fences need an application and planning approval
Retaining wall	Up to 4 ft, footing bottom to wall top, no surcharge	Any wall with backfill against it must be permitted
Deck	Up to 200 sq ft, 30 in. or less above grade, not attached, not serving a required exit door	Must be approved before construction
Sidewalks and driveways	Exempt	Must be approved before installation
Prefabricated pool	Less than 24 in. deep	—
Window awning	Projects 54 in. or less from the wall	—

Finish work and ordinary repairs are exempt. Ordinary repairs exclude cutting walls, structural supports, exits, piping, or wiring. For emergency equipment repairs, submit the application by the next business day. See also do I need a permit for a deck.

Site plan permit first

Under Section 19-2.3.9 of the city code, all development or redevelopment of a structure or parcel needs a Site Plan Permit before any other building or construction permit is issued. Single-family site plans go in with the building permit application. Other projects use a separate site e-form. Since July 15, 2023, projects that add 100 square feet or more of impervious area face additional rules. Engineering takes questions at (864) 467-4400. A grading or land disturbance permit can’t be bought until the site plan permit, and any required stormwater permit, are approved.

Applying online

The city prefers online applications. Each permit type has its own CivicPlus e-form. The building e-form also covers decks, driveways, sidewalks, and fences.

Plans that miss the city’s electronic submittal standards fail the sufficiency review. Key rules:

• two files: Plans.pdf for drawings and Docs.pdf for reports and calculations
• a cover sheet with the parcel ID/tax map number and address
• searchable (not scanned) landscape PDFs, bookmarked to match the index sheet
• a blank 4” x 4” area in the bottom right corner of every sheet for the city’s stamp
• the digital SC seal of an architect or engineer on building plans

One- and two-family dwellings that meet the SC Residential Code are exempt from the architect/engineer requirement. Revisions must be a complete set with a response letter. Once approved, print the stamped plans and keep a copy on site.

Fees

The fee schedule PDF the city links today (building schedule dated 2016) sets building permit fees by job valuation:

Valuation	Building permit fee
$0–$2,000	$45
$2,000.01–$3,000	$50
$3,000.01–$50,000	$50 + $6 per additional $1,000
$50,000.01–$100,000	$327 + $5.30 per additional $1,000
$100,000.01–$500,000	$593 + $4 per additional $1,000
Over $500,000	$2,190 + $2.66 per additional $1,000

New buildings, additions, decks, and alterations also pay a plan review fee. It starts at $50 for work up to $50,000. Electrical, mechanical, and plumbing permits have a $44 minimum, and re-inspections for code violations cost $40 each. The online portal adds a 2.65% third-party fee on card payments.

Inspections

Inspections, fee payment, and permit printing run through the city’s Click2Gov Online Permit Center at permits.greenvillesc.gov. Anyone can look up a permit by application number, address, parcel, or name. To schedule or cancel, choose Schedule/Cancel Inspections and enter the PIN printed on your permit. You pick a date, not a time of day. Inspections follow a set order: each Min/Max group must pass before the next can be scheduled. For help, call (864) 467-4550, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Special cases

• Retaining walls: Every retaining wall needs its own permit. Walls 4 feet or taller, or any wall carrying a surcharge, need an SC engineer’s design. A licensed contractor pulls the permit. A third-party special inspector certifies the work before the project’s CO.
• Solar: Installers must be licensed through SC LLR. Apply on the electrical e-form with a sealed structural letter from an SC engineer who visited the site, a one-line diagram, and the utility’s interconnection approval. Roof structural work needs a separate building permit.
• Demolition: A December 2023 Engineering memo limits demolition permits to the structure and capping its utilities. Removing slabs or footings, or other ground disturbance over 10,000 square feet, needs stormwater and grading permits. Single-family homes are exempt.

Contractors and owner-builders

Commercial building permits go only to state-licensed contractors who also hold a City of Greenville business license. State license thresholds:

• General and mechanical contractors: a license for jobs over $10,000.
• Residential builders: a license for jobs over $5,000, on buildings up to three floors and 16 units.
• Residential specialty contractors: a license or registration for jobs over $500.

S.C. Code § 40-59-260 lets owners build or improve their own one- or two-family home without a license. The home can’t be for sale or rent. The city’s Homeowner Builder exemption form must be notarized and recorded with the Greenville County Register of Deeds first. Then email it to [email protected]. Selling or renting within two years is presumed to violate the exemption. See owner-builder permits.

Adopted codes

Greenville enforces the 2021 South Carolina codes, in effect since January 1, 2023. The state Building Codes Council adopted the 2024 IBC, IRC, IFC, IPC, IMC, and IFGC and the 2023 NEC on August 26, 2025. Local enforcement starts January 1, 2027. The 2026 ICC/ANSI A117.1 accessibility standard took effect statewide in September 2026.

Certificates of occupancy

You need a CO before occupying any building, or part of one, for nonresidential use. Apply on the CO e-form anytime. The CO is issued only after inspections on all other permits pass. It needs its own inspection, usually requested by the tenant or owner, and the city needs 24 hours to process the application first.