General building work permit checklist — Cary, North Carolina
Assembled from Cary’s own published permit rules. Every line below is quoted from a city document and linked to it. Nothing here is generated, estimated, or inferred from another jurisdiction.
Do you need a permit?
Cary requires a permit for general building work.
Projects that require no residential permit include plug-in low-voltage exterior landscape lighting and plug-in low-voltage security systems; outdoor fireplaces more than ten feet from buildings or lot lines; replacement or repair of non-structural cosmetic building elements such as cabinets and casework, deck boards, floor and wall coverings, moldings and trim, roof coverings replaced with the same materials, open-roof trellises and pergolas, pickets, railings, and treads, and windows and doors replaced in existing openings; patios at grade that remain at least 5 feet from property lines; residential accessory buildings, not structures, no more than 12 feet in any dimension; play structures that do not include an enclosed building larger than 12 by 12 feet, and recreation courts; replacement of electrical fixtures and components when work is not done within the wall or ceiling cavity or behind the finished wall or ceiling surface; and replacement of plumbing fixtures when the work does not change the design or capacity. Most fences are exempt unless located on a collector street or thoroughfare.
Loading the full checklist…
Sources
- building — permit rules ↗verified August 2026
Other permits Cary publishes rules for
Listed because the city publishes a separate rule for each type — not because this project necessarily triggers one. Whether it does depends on your scope of work.
- Deck permit checklist
- Fence permit checklist
- Shed permit checklist
- Water heater permit checklist
- Re-roof permit checklist
- Retaining wall permit checklist
- Electrical work permit checklist
BuildSpec is a reference, not the authority having jurisdiction. Confirm requirements with Cary before you build.