Which addresses this covers
Wake County Permits and Inspections covers unincorporated Wake County and the towns of Knightdale, Wendell, Zebulon and Rolesville. Raleigh and Cary have their own offices (see the Raleigh and Cary permit search guides), and so do Apex, Wake Forest, Garner, Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina and Morrisville.
| Tool | Records | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Permit Portal (Search Public Records) | July 1, 2018 on | Plans, permits and inspections; no account needed to search |
| Older Records Search (linked from Search Permit Records) | Before July 1, 2018 | Building and trade, planning, watershed, groundwater, wastewater and food services records; no account needed |
| Building Permits (Wake County Open Data) | Building permits, geocoded nightly | Permit type, status, issue and finaled dates, valuation, PIN; our source |
How to look up the permits on a Wake County address
- Open the Permit Portal and click Search Public Records.
- Pick what to search from the drop-down (permits, plans or inspections), then click Advanced to enter the address.
- Click Search; results show at the bottom. Click a permit number to open it.
- Read the permit's status and its inspections. The county's non-registered user guide and Permit Portal tutorials walk through the same steps.
- For work before July 2018, repeat the search in the Older Records Search.
What the statuses mean
| PERMIT_STATUS in the county's file | What it means | In our data |
|---|---|---|
| Complete | Finaled; the file records a finaled date | Finished |
| Issued | Issued, not yet finaled | Open |
| Expired | Lapsed without a final | Expired |
| Stop Work Order | Work halted by the county | Open |
| Void / Withdrawn | Cancelled | Not counted |
Of permits issued October 2024 to September 2025, 87.1% were Complete, 10.2% still open and 2.7% expired by our count.
When the record you want is not online
The county's pages we read do not describe a separate records request for permits; they send you to the Permit Portal for July 2018 on and the Older Records Search before that. For help, the county lists its Permitting and Inspections team at 919-856-6222 and Wake.Permitting@wake.gov (read 24 October 2026).
What our Wake County pages add
Our Wake County page counts the county's building permits by kind of work, with the usual days from issue to final, for permits issued October 2024 to September 2026:
| Kind of work | Permits | Last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026) | Usual days to final |
|---|---|---|---|
| New homes | 5,757 | 3,085 | 172 |
| Remodels and repairs | 1,524 | 746 | 115 |
| Garages, sheds and decks | 929 | 509 | 138 |
| Additions | 588 | 306 | 171 |
| Pools and spas | 461 | 235 | 202 |
| Solar | 420 | 202 | 113 |
| Demolition | 173 | 94 | 64 |
The usual permit took 163 days to final in that window (how long a permit takes); 90% of the 11,002 permits were for homes. The busiest ZIP codes were 27591 (2,220 permits), 27545 (1,618) and 27587 (1,237); every ZIP is on the ZIP code pages. The permit statistics page has counts by year and month, and browse permits lists the rows. To check a licence, see how to check a contractor's license in North Carolina.
What this does not tell you
The county publishes building permits only, so separate electrical, plumbing, HVAC and roofing permits are not in our counts. The contractor column is empty, so we show no firm lists. The valuation is the figure declared on the permit to set the fee, not the final cost.
How we know this
Portal and older-records details are quoted from Wake County's Search Permit Records and Permit Portal Guide pages and its non-registered user search guide, read 24 October 2026. Statuses and counts are from Wake County Open Data's Building Permits layer, read 20 October 2026: building permits issued October 2024 to September 2026 by Wake County Permits and Inspections, excluding Raleigh and Cary.
Numbers come from public permit records in 57 cities, data through October 20, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- How do I find out if a permit was pulled on my house in Wake County?
For permits from July 1, 2018 on, open the county's Permit Portal, click Search Public Records and search for the address; no account is needed. For older permits use the county's Older Records Search. If the house is in Raleigh, Cary, Apex or another town with its own inspections office, search that town instead.
- Which towns use Wake County for building permits?
Wake County Permits and Inspections covers unincorporated Wake County plus Knightdale, Wendell, Zebulon and Rolesville. Raleigh, Cary, Apex, Wake Forest, Garner, Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina and Morrisville issue their own permits.
- How long does a Wake County building permit take to final?
For permits issued October 2024 to September 2026, the usual time from issue to final was 163 days: 172 for a new home, 171 for an addition, 115 for a remodel and 64 for a demolition.
- Can I search Wake County permits by contractor?
The county's published permit file has a contractor column, but it is empty on every permit. Ask the contractor for the permit number and check their licence with the North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors.
- Who can help me find a Wake County permit?
The county lists its Permitting and Inspections team at 919-856-6222 and Wake.Permitting@wake.gov.
Build your own list
Pick your city and the kind of work. Every firm with a permit on record, sorted by what you value.
Related guides
- Adams County, CO building permit search: the e-Permit Center, statuses and CORA
- Alachua County building permit search: Citizenserve, statuses and old records
- Anaheim building permit search: Anaheim NEXT and the Building Permit Report
- Arlington, VA building permit search: Permit Arlington lookups and FOIA requests