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Plumbing permits in Charlotte and the rest of Mecklenburg County, NC

Data through September 2026 · updated 26 Oct 2026

17,920 plumbing permits were issued in Charlotte and the rest of Mecklenburg County, June 2025 through September 2026: about 13,440 a year and 12% of all permits. The busiest month is May. The usual one took 118 days from issue to the county's final. 28078 has the most, 1,440.

17,920permits issued
14,832last 12 months
Maybusiest month
118days, usual issue to final
85%finished
$3,200usual declared value
Sep 2026records through

Plumbing permits by month

Permits issued each month, June 2025 through September 2026.

Jun 2025: 652Jun2025Jul 2025: 724JulAug 2025: 793Sep 2025: 919Oct 2025: 956Nov 2025: 680Dec 2025: 1,283Jan 2026: 1,034Jan2026Feb 2026: 1,027Mar 2026: 1,403Apr 2026: 1,516May 2026: 1,564Jun 2026: 1,357Jul 2026: 1,408JulAug 2026: 1,336Sep 2026: 1,268
The same numbers as a table
MonthPermits
Jun 2025652
Jul 2025724
Aug 2025793
Sep 2025919
Oct 2025956
Nov 2025680
Dec 20251,283
Jan 20261,034
Feb 20261,027
Mar 20261,403
Apr 20261,516
May 20261,564
Jun 20261,357
Jul 20261,408
Aug 20261,336
Sep 20261,268

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When plumbing permits are filed

By calendar month, 100 = an average month (the thin line). May is the busiest (140), November the quietest (61). A busy month at the permit counter usually means a longer wait for a contractor.

January: 92 (100 = an average month)February: 92 (100 = an average month)March: 125 (100 = an average month)April: 135 (100 = an average month)May: 140 (100 = an average month)140June: 90 (100 = an average month)July: 95 (100 = an average month)August: 95 (100 = an average month)September: 98 (100 = an average month)October: 85 (100 = an average month)November: 61 (100 = an average month)December: 115 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND
The same numbers as a table
MonthIndex
January92
February92
March125
April135
May140
June90
July95
August95
September98
October85
November61
December115

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How long a plumbing permit takes

Permits issued Jun 2025–Sep 2025, at least 12 months before the file ends. Usual days is the middle permit among the 2,617 with a final date.

MeasureValue
Permits issued Jun 2025–Sep 20253,088
Finished84.7%
Expired10.0%
Usual days, issue to final118
Middle half, days33–211

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What a plumbing permit is declared at

The value written on the permit at application, from 4,963 permits with one. Not a quote and not the final bill.

MeasureValue
Usual declared value$3,200
Middle half$1,600–$7,200

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ZIP codes with the most plumbing permits

Counted at the property's ZIP code. Share is the part of the county's 17,920 plumbing permits.

ZIP codePermitsShare
280781,4408%
282691,0846%
282151,0686%
282169825%
282119395%
282788955%
282778875%
282147844%
282267684%
282087564%

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The county's own permit types

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

Permit typePermitsShare
Plumbing - 434 - RES DWELLING (ADD, ALTERATION, REPAIR, REPLACE)7,09840%
Plumbing - 102 - ONE FAMILY ATTACHED/TOWNHOUSE (LAND SOLD W/UNIT)3,47419%
Plumbing - 101 - ONE FAMILY DETACHED3,45319%
Plumbing - 437 - COMMERCIAL - PLAN REVIEW (UPFITS, ADDITIONS, REPAIR)1,4838%
Plumbing - 437 - COMMERCIAL - NO PLAN REVIEW (SMALL CTAC PROJECTS)1,0866%
Plumbing - 434 - RES DWELLING - CO REQUIRED (ADD, ALTERATION, REPAIR)2531%
Plumbing - 105 - 5 OR MORE FAMILY APARTMENTS (NO LAND SOLD W/UNIT)164under 1%
Plumbing - 329 - COMMERCIAL NEW STRUCTURES - NOT BLDGS (RETAINING WALL)156under 1%
Plumbing - 328 - RESIDENTIAL - NEW ACCESSORY BLDG (SHEDS, BARNS)154under 1%
Plumbing - 103 - TWO FAMILY / DUPLEX136under 1%

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How Mecklenburg County 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

Plumbing permits for other places in Charlotte. Each permit office keeps its own file, so the numbers are not added together.

How these numbers are made

Source: Mecklenburg County GIS, AccelaAllPermits FeatureServer layer 0, with the older BuildingPermits layer for permits still issued in the old system, read 26 Oct 2026. We count permits issued June 2025 through September 2026; denied and withdrawn permits are left out.

Building and trade permits that Mecklenburg County Code Enforcement issued anywhere in the county: Charlotte, the towns of Huntersville, Cornelius, Matthews, Mint Hill, Davidson and Pineville, and unincorporated land. The county issues building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits for every town, so this one file covers them all. Fire, sign and site-work permits count as other.

  • The county's file names no contractor, so there are no contractor lists, rankings or firm pages for Mecklenburg County or Charlotte.
  • The county moved its permits to a new system (Accela) in spring 2025. The window starts in June 2025, once the new system's file was filling at its usual rate, so it covers 16 months and there is no comparison with the 12 months before. Permits still issued under the old system for older projects come from the county's older building permit layer and are counted too.
  • Electrical, mechanical (HVAC) and plumbing permits are only in the new system's file. Each new home gets its own electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits, and those count under those trades. Monthly plumbing and electrical counts keep rising through early 2026 as projects started under the old system finish.
  • The new system files an equipment changeout as an umbrella record with separate mechanical, electrical or plumbing permits under it; we count the trade permits, not the umbrella record.
  • The kind of work comes from the county's type of work and census building code; roofing, solar, pools, additions and decks are picked out of residential alteration permits by their descriptions.
  • Job value is the building cost the applicant declared on the permit; most trade permits have none. A final date is the county's completion date.
  • Apartment, condo and hotel buildings count as other, not as homes. Cancelled, withdrawn and replaced permits are not counted.

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, "Plumbing permits in Charlotte and the rest of Mecklenburg County, NC", https://contractorrecords.com/mecklenburg-county/plumbing-permits, data through September 2026, from Mecklenburg County Code Enforcement building-permit records.

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

Download the tables (CSV): Plumbing permits by month · Plumbing permits by calendar month (index) · Plumbing permits: days to final · Plumbing permits: declared value · Plumbing permits by ZIP code · Plumbing permits by permit type.

Common questions

  • How many plumbing permits does Mecklenburg County issue a year?About 13,440 a year in Charlotte and the rest of Mecklenburg County: 17,920 permits issued June 2025 through September 2026, 14,832 of them in the last 12 months.
  • How long does a plumbing permit take in Mecklenburg County?The usual one took 118 days from issue to the county's final inspection, and the middle half took 33 to 211 days (2,617 permits issued Jun 2025–Sep 2025 that reached a final). The wait to get the permit issued is not in this file.
  • When do people in Mecklenburg County file the most plumbing permits?May (140 against an average month of 100); November is the quietest (61). If you can choose, a quiet month at the permit counter can mean contractors have more room in their schedules.
  • Which ZIP code has the most plumbing permits in Mecklenburg County?28078, with 1,440 of the 17,920 (8%); then 28269 (1,084).