Contractor Records
Home › Durham › Remodels & repairs

Remodel and repair permits in Durham, NC

Data through September 2026 · updated 19 Oct 2026

1,695 remodel and repair permits were issued in Durham, October 2024 through September 2026: about 848 a year and 19% of all permits. 877 remodel and repair permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), 7% more than the 818 in the 12 months before. The busiest month is May. The usual one took 99 days from issue to the city's final.

What this file covers: Building permits only: electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits are not in the file.

1,695permits issued
877last 12 months
Maybusiest month
99days, usual issue to final
80%finished
$20,800usual declared value
Sep 2026records through

Remodel and repair permits by month

Permits issued each month, October 2024 through September 2026.

Oct 2024: 74Oct2024Nov 2024: 50Dec 2024: 63Jan 2025: 55Jan2025Feb 2025: 66Mar 2025: 62Apr 2025: 51May 2025: 132Jun 2025: 57Jul 2025: 80JulAug 2025: 52Sep 2025: 76Oct 2025: 93Nov 2025: 54Dec 2025: 53Jan 2026: 17Jan2026Feb 2026: 70Mar 2026: 74Apr 2026: 81May 2026: 98Jun 2026: 80Jul 2026: 91JulAug 2026: 67Sep 2026: 99
The same numbers as a table
MonthPermits
Oct 202474
Nov 202450
Dec 202463
Jan 202555
Feb 202566
Mar 202562
Apr 202551
May 2025132
Jun 202557
Jul 202580
Aug 202552
Sep 202576
Oct 202593
Nov 202554
Dec 202553
Jan 202617
Feb 202670
Mar 202674
Apr 202681
May 202698
Jun 202680
Jul 202691
Aug 202667
Sep 202699

Download this table (CSV)

When remodel and repair permits are filed

By calendar month, 100 = an average month (the thin line). May is the busiest (163), January the quietest (51). A busy month at the permit counter usually means a longer wait for a contractor.

January: 51 (100 = an average month)February: 96 (100 = an average month)March: 96 (100 = an average month)April: 93 (100 = an average month)May: 163 (100 = an average month)163June: 97 (100 = an average month)July: 121 (100 = an average month)August: 84 (100 = an average month)September: 124 (100 = an average month)October: 118 (100 = an average month)November: 74 (100 = an average month)December: 82 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND
The same numbers as a table
MonthIndex
January51
February96
March96
April93
May163
June97
July121
August84
September124
October118
November74
December82

Download this table (CSV)

How long a remodel and repair permit takes

Permits issued Oct 2024–Sep 2025, at least 12 months before the file ends. Usual days is the middle permit among the 652 with a final date.

MeasureValue
Permits issued Oct 2024–Sep 2025818
Finished79.7%
Usual days, issue to final99
Middle half, days46–159

Download this table (CSV)

What a remodel and repair permit is declared at

The value written on the permit at application, from 1,695 permits with one. Not a quote and not the final bill.

MeasureValue
Usual declared value$20,800
Middle half$10,000–$50,000

Download this table (CSV)

The city's own permit types

How the city filed these permits. We group its types into kinds of work; this is the split.

Permit typePermitsShare
Repair: Single Family House71642%
Alterations: Single Family House62937%
Interior Alterations: Single Family House26316%
Repair: Townhouse332%
Alterations: Townhouse211%
Alterations: Duplex14under 1%
Interior Alterations: Duplex5under 1%
Alterations: Accessory Dwelling4under 1%
Interior Alterations: Townhouse3under 1%
Repair: Duplex3under 1%

Download this table (CSV)

How Durham compares with other cities

From our cross-city data studies: the same measure, read the same way, for every city we cover.

Nearby permit data

Remodel and repair permits for other places in Raleigh–Durham. Each permit office keeps its own file, so the numbers are not added together.

How these numbers are made

Source: City and County of Durham GIS, All Building Permits (PublicServices/Inspections MapServer layer 12; Durham Open Data), read 19 Oct 2026. We count permits issued October 2024 through September 2026; denied and withdrawn permits are left out.

Residential building permits from Durham City-County Inspections, the joint office that issues permits for the City of Durham and for unincorporated Durham County: new houses, townhouses and duplexes, additions, alterations, repairs, decks, roofs, accessory buildings and demolitions. Commercial permits and buildings of five or more units in the same file are not counted. Electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits are not in this file. Chapel Hill, Raleigh and the other Triangle towns run their own permit offices and are not in this file.

  • The file names no contractor, so there are no contractor lists, rankings or firm pages for Durham.
  • This is the building permit file only. Electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits are published only as a list of permits still open, so they are not counted.
  • The file covers the City of Durham and unincorporated Durham County together and does not say which a permit is in.
  • A permit counts as finished once the office issues its certificate of occupancy or completion; the final date is that sign-off date. The file has no expired status.
  • Solar, roofing, pools, fences and additions are sorted out of the broad alteration and repair permits by their work description. Decks count under Other.
  • The value is the building cost declared on the permit. The file has no ZIP code we can publish, so there are no ZIP code pages.
  • Each new townhouse unit gets its own permit, so new homes count units, not buildings. Townhouses are about half of the new homes.

Counts are permits, not jobs: one job can need several permits. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can. Sources and definitions →

Cite this page

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0). Please credit Contractor Records and link to this page. Suggested citation:

Contractor Records, "Remodel and repair permits in Durham, NC", https://contractorrecords.com/durham/remodel-permits, data through September 2026, from Durham City-County Inspections building-permit records.

Link to a table: By month · Season · Days to final · Declared value · Permit types.

Download the tables (CSV): Remodels & repairs permits by month · Remodels & repairs permits by calendar month (index) · Remodels & repairs permits: days to final · Remodels & repairs permits: declared value · Remodels & repairs permits by permit type.

Common questions

  • How many remodel and repair permits does Durham issue a year?About 848 a year in Durham: 1,695 permits issued October 2024 through September 2026, 877 of them in the last 12 months.
  • How long does a remodel and repair permit take in Durham?The usual one took 99 days from issue to the city's final inspection, and the middle half took 46 to 159 days (652 permits issued Oct 2024–Sep 2025 that reached a final). The wait to get the permit issued is not in this file.
  • When do people in Durham file the most remodel and repair permits?May (163 against an average month of 100); January is the quietest (51). If you can choose, a quiet month at the permit counter can mean contractors have more room in their schedules.