Licensing and permit resources
When a water heater job needs a permit in North Carolina, who issues it, and how to check a plumber’s license.
When is a permit required?
Under N.C. General Statute 160D-1110, replacing a water heater in a one- or two-family home doesn’t need a permit when all of the following are true:
- The work is done by a licensed contractor, who checks it at completion (and, for gas, makes sure the gas piping was leak tested)
- The new heater’s energy input or electrical rating is no higher than the old one
- There’s no change in fuel, location, or capacity, or in how venting and piping are sized and routed
- The installation meets the current North Carolina State Building Code
If any of those don’t apply, for example switching from electric to gas, moving the heater, going to a bigger tank, or installing tankless, the job needs a permit and inspection. A separate part of the same law covers the electrical hookup for a same-size electric heater in the same spot, done by a licensed electrician.
Who issues permits
- Inside Goldsboro city limits: City of Goldsboro Inspections Department, 200 N. Center St., Goldsboro, 919-580-4346. The city’s plumbing permit application has a box for water heaters.City of Goldsboro Inspections
- Mount Olive: the Town of Mount Olive issues its own building, plumbing, and mechanical permits at Town Hall, 114 E. James St., 919-658-9538.Mount Olive permits
- The rest of Wayne County (including Dudley, Grantham, Pikeville, Fremont, and Seven Springs): Wayne County Inspections Department, 134 N. John St., Goldsboro, 919-731-1169.Wayne County Inspections
- La Grange (Lenoir County): Lenoir County Planning & Inspections, 252-559-2260, after zoning approval from the Town of La Grange.
- Princeton (Johnston County): check with Princeton Town Hall about zoning, 919-936-8171, and Johnston County Building Inspections, 919-989-5060.
Your plumber normally pulls the permit as part of the job.
Checking a plumber’s license
Plumbing contractors in North Carolina are licensed by theState Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating & Fire Sprinkler Contractors. You can ask any contractor for their license number and look it up on the board’s website. Electrical work on electric water heaters falls under a licensed electrical contractor.
Water utilities
- City of Goldsboro water, drawn from the Neuse River
- Wayne Water Districts, 919-731-2310, for much of rural Wayne County
- Fork Township Sanitary District, 919-736-2551, west of Goldsboro
- Southern Wayne Sanitary District, 919-731-2520
- Town water systems in Mount Olive, Pikeville, and Fremont
Gas safety
If you smell gas, leave the building right away and call your gas utility or 911 from outside. Don’t use switches, phones, or anything that could make a spark inside.