North Carolina’s $40,000 license rule, and what happens when you pull the permit yourself

I learned these rules after I signed. If you are buying a metal building and slab in North Carolina for $40,000 or more, learn them before.

The $40,000 rule

Official record

The North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors says a general contractor must hold a state license when the cost of the project is $40,000 or more. The threshold was $30,000 until October 2023. The board also accepts complaints about unlicensed contracting when the contract is at or above that figure.

A licensed contractor has passed an exam and shown the board a minimum level of financial strength, either through its balance sheet or by posting a surety bond: $175,000 for a limited license, $500,000 for intermediate and $1,000,000 for unlimited. A limited license covers single projects up to $750,000. North Carolina does not require every licensed contractor to carry a bond or liability insurance, so you still have to ask for a certificate of insurance yourself.

You can look up any company or person on the board’s website in about a minute. Search the exact legal name on your contract, the owner’s name, and any other company name that appears on the paperwork or the trucks.

NCLBGC consumer FAQ License classifications and limits License search

The owner-builder exemption

Official record

North Carolina lets a property owner act as their own general contractor on their own land. To do it you sign an Owner Exemption Affidavit at the permit office. Alexander County’s version has the owner swear that they will personally superintend and manage all aspects of the construction, that they will not hand that duty to anyone who is not properly licensed, and that they will be present for the inspections.

The licensing board’s guidance to permit clerks describes what a real owner-builder does: hires the subcontractors and suppliers, manages them, gets invoiced by them and pays them directly, schedules the inspections and shows up for them.

Put plainly, the exemption is for an owner who is running the job. It is a sworn statement, and the person swearing it is you. When your name is on the permit as owner-contractor, the county looks to you when an inspection fails.

Alexander County Owner Exemption Affidavit (PDF)NCLBGC FAQ for permit clerks

How this played out on my project

My project record

My contract with L&G Building & Concrete totals $98,750. It covers grading, footers, three concrete pads, and the supply and erection of an engineered steel building. One company priced all of it and took payment for all of it.

Company statement

The same contract says: “L&G Building and Concrete LLC will not provide permits, we are manufacturers not contractors.” It makes the customer solely responsible for the permit and has the customer indemnify L&G for any code violation. So I pulled the permit, in my own name.

I do not know yet whether L&G holds a North Carolina general contractor license that covered this work, and I am not going to say it does not until the licensing board tells me. I have asked. I have also asked Alexander County for my complete permit file, which will show what was signed at the counter and who called in each inspection. Both answers will be published on the public records page.

Here is the practical lesson, and it holds no matter how my questions get answered. If a company that is doing $40,000 or more of work on your land asks you to pull the permit yourself, stop and ask why, ask for its license number, and call your county permit office before you sign anything. It takes ten minutes.

Questions to ask any metal building seller in North Carolina

What is the exact legal name of the company I am contracting with, and what is its NC general contractor license number?
Will the crews on my land be your employees or another company’s? Which company?
Who pulls the permit? If you want me to, why?
Who schedules inspections and who meets the inspector?
Can I have a certificate of general liability insurance and workers’ compensation naming my project?
If an inspection fails, who pays to correct it, and where does the contract say so?

This page describes my understanding of public rules and is not legal advice. For your own situation, talk to a North Carolina construction attorney or the licensing board.