Water heater permit checklist — Raleigh, North Carolina
Assembled from Raleigh’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?
Raleigh requires a permit for a water heater.
North Carolina General Statute § 160D-1110 provides that in any one- or two-family dwelling unit a plumbing permit is not required for the connection of a water heater that is being replaced if the work is performed by a person licensed under G.S. 87-21 who personally examines the work at completion and ensures that a leak test has been performed on the gas piping, and the energy use rate or thermal input is not greater than that of the water heater being replaced, there is no change in fuel, energy source, location, capacity, or routing or sizing of venting and piping, and the replacement is installed in accordance with the current edition of the North Carolina State Building Code. The same statute provides that an electrical permit is not required for the connection of an existing branch circuit to an electric water heater that is being replaced if all of the following requirements are met: the replacement water heater is placed in the same location and is of the same or less capacity and electrical rating as the original; the work is performed by a person licensed under G.S. 87-43; and the replacement installation meets the current edition of the North Carolina State Building Code, including the North Carolina Electrical Code. The City of Raleigh's How to Get a Residential Permit page lists water heater replacement among projects that require a permit but do not require plans.
Loading the full checklist…
Sources
- water heater — permit rules ↗verified August 2026
Other permits Raleigh 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
- Re-roof permit checklist
- Retaining wall permit checklist
- Electrical work permit checklist
- General building work permit checklist
BuildSpec is a reference, not the authority having jurisdiction. Confirm requirements with Raleigh before you build.