Do I need a permit for pavers, driveway, or hardscape in Guilford County?

It depends. Whether pavers, driveway, or hardscape needs a permit in Guilford County comes down to the details of your project.

Ground-level patios, walkways and driveways of pavers commonly fall under the NCGS 160D-1110(c) cost test and may not need a building permit, but added impervious surface can trigger stormwater, watershed or zoning review in many North Carolina jurisdictions. Confirm before you begin. A raised deck or any electrical for landscape lighting requires its own permit and is not exempt, because both are named exceptions to the cost test. Most North Carolina departments treat a retaining wall as structural work above a set height, commonly 4 feet or any height where the wall supports a surcharge. North Carolina publishes no statewide work-exempt list, so that figure comes from the model residential code rather than from state law. Confirm the height your inspections department uses. Guilford County's own permitting office is the Guilford County Inspections Department, reachable on 336-641-3707 at https://www.guilfordcountync.gov/government/departments-and-agencies/inspections. Its online permit portal is https://citizenaccess.guilfordcountync.gov/energov_prod/selfservice#/home. It issues permits for the unincorporated county. If your city does not run its own building department, this is the office that will handle the job, and that is more common in North Carolina than most states: the county is often the building authority even inside city limits, with the city handling only zoning. Patios are often exempt while driveway and right-of-way work is not, so confirm which side of that line your project falls on. Guilford County plot plans must show driveways, patios, pool decking, and walkways, with watershed boundaries, WCA tier lines, and allowable and proposed built-upon area, so added paving can count against watershed impervious limits. Retaining walls are permitted by the Inspections Department, with fees from $100 for walls valued under $10,000 up to $300 over $500,000. A county grading permit and sealed erosion and sediment control plan are required for land disturbance of 1 acre or more, including non-contiguous disturbance within a larger common plan. Guilford County's inspection guidance makes the under-slab inspection optional for non-habitable slabs such as driveways, walks, and porch slabs.