Commercial Demolition

Before Submitting an Application

Detailed code review will not begin until application submittals have been deemed complete by customer service staff. It is important that all required information is submitted for a project, and it is the applicant’s responsibility to be informed on the prerequisites below:

1. You must be registered in the permit portal before you can manage your project, pay fees, or schedule inspections. Learn more about how to register on our portal help page.
2. All contractor information (General contractor and sub-contractors) must be entered into the portal when submitting the project.
3. Is your home located in a Historic District or designated as a Raleigh Historic Landmark? If so, you are required to submit a Certificate of Appropriateness to the Raleigh Historic Development Commission (RHDC). Approval from the RHDC may be required prior to submitting your permit application.
4. If your property contains a private well or septic services, approval from Wake County Environmental Services is required prior to applying with the City of Raleigh.
5. If you have requested a variance, it needs to be approved by the Board of Adjustment.
6. The property should have a legally recorded map at the Durham or Wake County Register of Deeds.

Prepare Application Materials

The below application forms and supporting documents are required for this project type:

1. Non-Residential Permit Application to include all General Contractor and Sub-Contractor information.
2. Site plan or survey with all structures clearly identified for removal, disturbed areas identified and any structures or conditions that will remain.

Submittal Instructions

Please note each building address will require a separate submittal. Clearly identify these structure(s) and their respective square footages on your application and site plan. 

If you are disturbing 12,000 sf or more a Mass Grading may be required prior to demolition approval.

Prior to plan review, an on-site pre-demolition meeting is required. Please see the ‘Plan Review and Permitting’ section below for additional information.

At this step, your application materials should be ready to assemble. Please take note of the instructions below, applications that do not meet these criteria will not be accepted: 

1. Only PDF file types will be accepted unless other file types (such as image, Excel, or CAD) are specifically called for as part of the application submittal process. 
2. .ZIP files are not allowed. 
3. Only one file should be associated with each discrete document included with the application package. For example, if an application requires 1) an application form, 2) a set of plans, and 3) a calculation report, the applicant should transmit these as three separate files. 
4. City of Raleigh limits email attachments to 30 MB. To send larger files, you may send a file-sharing link (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.) to a folder with all required documents. Staff must be given direct access to your files and cannot accept links that require access codes, passwords, or logins. 

All application forms and supporting documents listed above must be attached as PDFs. Please send a PDF of the entire application packet (with all documents) to DowntownDS@raleighnc.gov.

Project Review and Permitting

A pre-demolition meeting is required prior to plan review to discuss utility disconnects and areas of disturbance, address any job site site concerns, and to verify the demolition plan and sub-contractors assigned to the project.

Please ensure all requisites above are met prior to applying. A staff member will reach out to the applicant within 3-business days of acceptance of your submittal to schedule the pre-demolition meeting on-site. Please monitor the permit portal for a submittal update.

Upon successful completion of the pre-demolition meeting, your plans will be routed for formal review. Standard review times are available to view online. Plan review comments can be viewed any time via a registered account in the Permit and Development Portal. 

Plans that are ready for permit issuance but have incomplete contractor information will be kept at the Planning and Development Customer Service Center for up to six months. After six months, the plans will be considered invalid, and the application will be voided. An administrative fee may be incurred when projects are voided. 

Inspections can be scheduled via the permit portal.

Paying Fees

The Development Fee Guide provides a detailed list of specific development fees.

• It is recommended that fees be paid via the Permit Portal.
• All major credit cards and eCheck payments are accepted.
• If you have questions, please contact the Customer Service Center.

A  fee calculator may be used to obtain an estimate of some building and trade permit fees.