How to get the complete permit and inspection file for your project from the county
The county file is the most neutral record of your project that exists. Nobody involved in the dispute wrote it. Ask for all of it.
Where this comes from
My project record
Under North Carolina’s public records law, the documents a county creates and receives in permitting your project are generally public and available on request. I have requested mine from Alexander County. Here is what to ask for and how.
Find the right office and your permit number
The inspections office that issued the permit holds the file. Have the permit number, the parcel ID and the property address. The county guides on this site have the offices.
Ask for the complete file, and list what that means
Application; issued permit; any owner exemption affidavit; all inspection requests and results, passed and failed; reinspection records; inspector notes and photos; approved plans and engineering; revisions; contractor and subcontractor information on file; workers’ compensation affidavits; records of who requested each inspection; current status; and any correspondence with the owner, the company, engineers or trades.
Put it in writing, by email
A short email citing the North Carolina Public Records Act, naming the permit and parcel, and listing the items above. Ask for electronic copies. Ask what the fee is, if any, before they copy anything.
Ask who called the inspections
This is the single most useful line in the file for a dispute over who was really running the job. If the company’s staff requested the footing inspection on a permit in your name, the file will show it.
Read the inspection results against the plans
A failed footing inspection will usually say what was measured. Compare it to the foundation sheet. On my project that comparison is the difference between “the inspector wanted deeper” and “the crew dug less than the plans.”
Keep the file with your evidence manifest
Save it as received, add each document to your manifest, and link the relevant ones to the claims they support. Then post the ones that matter, as this site will when Alexander County releases mine.
Why a customer wrote this
In February 2026 I signed a $98,750 contract with L&G Building & Concrete of Asheboro, North Carolina. By September I had a cracked slab, damaged plumbing and half a steel frame. This site documents it, with the contract, photos, texts and public records. The resources exist so the next buyer does not need to learn the same things the same way.
General information from one customer’s experience and research. Not legal, engineering or financial advice.