Fayetteville Building Permit Office
Fayetteville
City of Fayetteville
479-575-8238
Office Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.; inspection hours 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
125 W Mountain Street, Fayetteville, Arkansas, 72701
For property inside the City of Fayetteville, North Carolina, building permits, construction plan review and trade inspections are handled by the City of Fayetteville Development Services Department through its Permitting & Inspections Division. The division enforces the North Carolina State Building Code within Fayetteville’s municipal jurisdiction.
Location matters in Cumberland County. Cumberland County Planning & Inspections states that its building and trade inspection service covers the county apart from the City of Fayetteville, Hope Mills and Spring Lake. A property with a Fayetteville mailing address is therefore not enough by itself to determine the permitting authority; the actual municipal boundary controls which office handles the project.
City Permit Office or Cumberland County?
The City of Fayetteville provides permitting, building plan review and inspections. Building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permit forms are maintained by the City’s Permitting & Inspections Division.
Cumberland County Planning & Inspections handles building and trade inspection services for areas within its jurisdiction. County permitting uses a separate customer self-service system, so City of Fayetteville applications should not be used merely because the project’s mailing address says Fayetteville.
The City’s Building Plan Review & Inspections operation expressly limits its authority to the jurisdictional boundaries of the City of Fayetteville. Confirming whether the parcel is actually inside those boundaries can prevent an application from being started with the wrong permitting authority.
Fayetteville Uses the E-Development Portal
The City uses its E-Development Portal for building and zoning permit submissions. The City’s portal instructions direct applicants to create an account, create the project, enter project information and upload the documents associated with the selected application type.
The portal includes commercial and residential plan review/building permits, trade permits for electrical, mechanical and plumbing work, changes of occupancy or tenant, and certificate-related applications.
The same system is used for City zoning applications such as zoning compliance, sign permits, verification or separation requests, and temporary use or special-event zoning permits when applicable.
Project documents are submitted electronically with the application. Depending on the work, the City’s published permit materials include building applications, building code summaries, electrical, mechanical and plumbing applications, demolition applications, change-of-occupancy documents, manufactured or modular building placement forms and other project-specific forms.
From Project Setup to Permit Issuance
Confirm the property is under City jurisdiction
Determine that the project is within Fayetteville’s municipal boundaries rather than Cumberland County’s permitting jurisdiction.
Resolve planning and zoning requirements
Zoning staff review matters such as permitted uses, setbacks, fences, signs and other site standards. Larger development may also require site-plan or subdivision review through the City’s Technical Review Committee process.
Create the E-Development project
Select the relevant building or zoning application, complete the project and contact information, identify utilities and upload the plans or supporting documents required for that project.
Complete plan review and permit processing
Projects requiring construction plan review must receive the applicable approvals before permit issuance. The City’s current building permit application specifically states that commercial projects require approved plan review before a building permit is issued.
Use the project page for inspections and records
After issuance, the E-Development project page remains the working location for inspection requests and project records. City instructions state that permits, inspection results, payment receipts and Certificate of Occupancy or Compliance records can be available from the project page.
Building Review Is Not the Only Development Review
A Fayetteville project can involve several City functions rather than a single permit review. Development Services identifies Planning & Zoning and Permitting & Inspections as development-approval participants, while the Fire Marshal’s Office and Public Services functions may also become involved depending on the project.
Handles land-development review, allowed uses, setbacks, sign and fence matters, site-plan review, subdivisions and other approvals under the City’s Unified Development Ordinance.
The Fayetteville Fire Marshal’s Office performs fire-code functions that include plan review for new construction and inspections for new construction and existing commercial structures.
Public Services Engineering administers separate infrastructure and right-of-way-related processes. City requirements include permits for certain driveway, sidewalk and excavation work within City right-of-way.
When Technical Review Committee Approval Applies
New development and redevelopment can require a site or subdivision review separate from building-code review. Fayetteville processes these applications through its Technical Review Committee (TRC), which includes City staff and representatives of outside agencies that may be affected by the development.
The City’s process allows a pre-submittal TRC conference and can involve preliminary and final plan review. Plans may be distributed among City departments and external agencies, so approval of a construction drawing by one discipline does not automatically replace the other development approvals associated with the site.
Requesting Fayetteville Building and Trade Inspections
Construction must be inspected at required stages and before regulated work is concealed. For E-Development projects, the City’s primary online method is the Request Inspection function on the specific project page. The permit holder may also contact the appropriate inspector as provided by the City.
- Building inspections: performed by City building inspectors for work within Fayetteville’s jurisdiction.
- Electrical inspections: handled by the City’s electrical inspection staff.
- Plumbing inspections: handled by City plumbing inspectors.
- Mechanical inspections: handled by City mechanical inspectors.
- Fire inspections: certain fire-code inspections and fire-related reviews are handled through the Fayetteville Fire Marshal’s Office rather than ordinary building inspection alone.
The City’s Building Plan Review & Inspections division lists performing inspections within 48 hours of the request as an operating goal. This is a stated departmental goal rather than a guaranteed completion time for every inspection.
Certificate of Occupancy or Compliance
Fayetteville does not treat permit issuance as the final construction approval. The City states that a new building or portion of a building, an addition or enlargement, or a change of occupancy cannot be occupied until the Permitting & Inspections Department has issued the required Certificate of Occupancy/Compliance.
The inspection process therefore continues through the applicable construction phases and final approval. Temporary and stocking certificate forms are also published by the City for projects where those procedures apply.
Searching Fayetteville Permit and Inspection Records
The City separates online records by the period in which the project was submitted. Its public permitting information directs searches for projects submitted after 2021 to the E-Development system. Fayetteville also maintains the older Fayworx portal for permit records from 2015 through 2021.
A recent permit should be searched through E-Development. For a project dating from 2015–2021, the City’s legacy Fayworx portal is the relevant public search system. The City also directs formal public-record requests to its public-record request service when the needed material is not available through the permit portals.
Fayetteville Permit Resources
E-Development Portal
City portal for building and zoning applications, project document uploads and project-based inspection functions.
Permitting & Inspections
City information for permitting, plan review, inspections, public permit records and development resources.
Permit Applications
Building and trade permit forms, current permitting resources, fee information and City submission guidance.
Planning & Zoning
Zoning, site-plan, subdivision, land-use and development-review information for property within Fayetteville.
Building Plan Review & Inspections
City information covering building-code review, construction inspections and Certificate of Occupancy/Compliance requirements.
Cumberland County Permits & Inspections
County permitting and inspection information for projects under Cumberland County jurisdiction rather than the City of Fayetteville.