Digital permit application gateway
Start with the issuing authority’s own submission lane. A complete application package, accurate valuation, and accessible inspection path are the fastest route through statutory plan review.
Recommended first click
Use the official digital gateway to submit plans, monitor review comments, pay required charges, and request inspections when the permit is issued. If the link is unavailable, use the agency website or phone number on the administrative profile to confirm the current lane.
Typical review lane
N/A; no standard building-permit review timeline is published. Permit applications and plans are submitted electronically, while the inspection office handles status, fees, and scheduling through the applicable portal and customer-service channels.
Treat this as a planning signal, not a guaranteed approval date. Completeness, corrections, resubmittals, and agency workload control the actual clock.
Verify the parcel is inside this agency’s service area and note whether a city, state, fire marshal, septic authority, or utility district also has approval authority.
Prepare legible plans, site information, project valuation, ownership authorization, contractor information, and any energy, floodplain, zoning, or utility documentation the issuing office requires.
Keep the permit number, approved plan set, correction comments, fee receipts, and inspection results together. Those records establish the compliance trail for the next trade.
Application documents
Before submission, call 336-727-2624 if the project involves a change of occupancy, structural alteration, accessory structure, demolition, or work near a regulated environmental feature.
Source trail
Use these direct agency or licensing links to confirm current instructions before you file, pay, or schedule work. External pages control if their information differs from this directory.
Project questions
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Inspections Division, Planning & Development Services is the identified county-level authority for this profile. Confirm that the property is in its service area before filing.
Begin with the online permit gateway listed in the application guide. If the portal does not recognize the address or project type, contact 336-727-2624.
N/A; no standard building-permit review timeline is published. Permit applications and plans are submitted electronically, while the inspection office handles status, fees, and scheduling through the applicable portal and customer-service channels.
Use BuildIT for trade-permit inspections and inspection status; general contractors may schedule inspections but must purchase building permits through the office. Contact the Inspections Division at 336-727-2624 or askinspect@cityofws.org. The current fee schedule applies extra-trip charges after a failed inspection, and the permit card, approved plans, and visible job-site address must be maintained for inspections.
The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Inspections Division permits and inspects building, electrical, plumbing, and heating construction within the City of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, excluding the Town of Kernersville. It enforces the North Carolina State Building Code and local Unified Development Ordinances; the Division identifies a local amendment to 2018 International Plumbing Code sections 202, 604.3, 1304, and Appendix E effective January 1, 2024. N/A for a consolidated minor or cosmetic building-permit exemption list. The Division states that roofs or re-roofing, house wrap, sheathing, and temporary construction power poles may not require separate inspections, but those inspection policies are not a blanket exemption from an otherwise-required permit. Farm-use and owner-builder questions should be confirmed with the Permit Office before work begins.
What makes an application complete
Before you click submit, make sure the drawings agree with the site plan, project description, valuation, ownership authorization, and contractor information. If the work changes structure, occupancy, drainage, fire protection, energy performance, or utility demand, describe that scope plainly. Ambiguous narratives create correction cycles and delay the field schedule.
Save the confirmation number, payment receipt, uploaded plan set, and every correction comment. Those records are the backbone of a defensible compliance file when multiple trades or agencies share responsibility.
Submission quality check
Site: address, parcel, access, setbacks, and existing conditions are consistent.
Scope: structural, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, fire, and energy work is identified.
Closeout: inspection contacts and the final approval path are understood before work begins.