Home remodeling in North Myrtle Beach runs through its own city permit office, not the Myrtle Beach or Horry County office a search result might point you to, and the city changed one of its permit rules in 2025.
Home remodeling in North Myrtle Beach runs through its own city permit office, not the Myrtle Beach or Horry County office a search result might point you to, and the city changed one of its permit rules in 2025. If you are planning a kitchen, bathroom, addition or whole home project at a North Myrtle Beach address, three things are worth knowing before you call a contractor: which department reviews your permit, a survey rule that took effect on September 1, 2025, and how the city handles flood zone construction. All three are specific to North Myrtle Beach, not generic Grand Strand facts, and each one can move your timeline.
Top GM Construction is a licensed and insured general contractor with more than 17 years of experience, offering whole home renovation and room by room remodeling in the North Myrtle Beach area, among the areas we serve, as noted in our kitchen remodeling guide. What follows comes from the city’s own published pages and a local news report, with the source named each time, the kind of clear sourcing we think every part of a remodel deserves, so you can use it to plan your project and to ask any contractor the right questions.
In this article:
- North Myrtle Beach has its own permit department
- New since September 2025: a survey comes before the permit application
- Flood zone construction and the 50 percent rule, administered locally
- What this means for your project timeline
- Whole home remodeling, one room or one project at a time
- Frequently asked questions
North Myrtle Beach has its own permit department
North Myrtle Beach is an incorporated city with its own Planning and Development Department, and the Building Division inside that department is the office that reviews residential permits inside city limits. The office is at 1018 Second Avenue S, North Myrtle Beach, SC 29582, and the phone number is (843) 280-5560. The city accepts permit applications online through its OpenGov portal, so most of the back and forth happens without a trip to City Hall.
That matters because a remodel at a North Myrtle Beach address does not go through a neighboring city’s building department, a county office, or a generic "Myrtle Beach area" process. It goes through this specific department. If you are comparing quotes and a contractor talks about permitting in general terms, ask them to name the office that will actually review your application and issue the permit for your address.
New since September 2025: a survey comes before the permit application
Since September 1, 2025, North Myrtle Beach requires an updated property survey before it will accept a permit application for a growing list of project types, including additions such as a garage or storage building, a pool, a sidewalk, a patio, a retaining wall, and a fence placed closer than 5 feet to the property line. An application that arrives without a current survey is not accepted. The survey is valid for up to 12 months and is evaluated case by case.
Suzanne Pritchard, who was assistant director of planning and development for the city at the time, told WMBF News the rule responds to a real history of problems: projects built on someone else’s property, fences that cross property lines, and additions that violate zoning setbacks. A survey settles the question before construction starts, instead of after a neighbor raises it.
The practical effect lands before the permit office even sees your application. Surveyors serving the area were already reporting schedules booked out as much as 6 weeks ahead of the rule taking effect.
Heads up: If your project is on the list above, request your survey as one of your first calls, around the same time you start getting remodeling quotes, not after your contract is signed. A late survey can hold up your permit application before it even starts.
Flood zone construction and the 50 percent rule, administered locally
Floodplain development in North Myrtle Beach needs its own local permit, administered by the Building Division of the Planning and Development Department, the same office that handles the survey rule above. The city sits along the Atlantic Ocean, the Intracoastal Waterway and the Waccamaw River, and its "Know Your Hazard" page names storm surge, exceptionally high tides and flooding on saturated ground after a fire as additional risks beyond those three water sources.
The city’s elevation standards, stated on its "Build Responsibly" page, require that in Zone AE, the lowest floor of a building sits at least 12 inches above the base flood level, and in Zone VE, the lowest supporting horizontal member sits at least 12 inches above the base flood level. The city also applies the standard substantial improvement threshold: when the cost of reconstruction, rehabilitation, an addition or another improvement reaches 50 percent or more of the market value of the structure, the project is reviewed against the stricter standards that apply to new construction. The city’s page notes two exemptions: work that corrects an existing health or safety code violation, and alterations that preserve a structure’s historic designation.
The city names a specific contact for this part of the process: Kendra Elliott, Floodplain Manager, at (843) 280-5622. The same Planning and Development office, at (843) 280-5560, also provides FEMA flood maps and elevation certificates for a specific address. If your remodel is anywhere near the water, or you are not sure whether your lot sits in a mapped flood zone, that is the call to make before you finalize scope or budget.
North Myrtle Beach also sits within the state’s highest coastal wind design bands, the same as the rest of Horry County’s oceanfront, so remodeling work that touches windows or siding often needs to meet a specific wind design category. That number is assigned by the local building official for your exact address, not printed on a product label, so it is worth asking about directly rather than assuming a "hurricane rated" tag covers it.
What this means for your project timeline
Put together, these facts change the order of a North Myrtle Beach remodel more than they change the scope. Before you lock in a contract date:
- Ask whether your project type needs a survey under the rule above, and if so, request one early. A booked out surveyor can add weeks you did not plan for.
- Confirm which office is reviewing your permit. For a North Myrtle Beach address, that is the city’s own Planning and Development Department, not a county or neighboring city office.
- If your address is near the water, call North Myrtle Beach’s Floodplain Manager before the scope is finalized, especially if the project could approach the 50 percent threshold.
- Ask any contractor you are considering for their South Carolina license number, so you can verify it yourself, and whether they hold a North Myrtle Beach business license, which the city requires of contractors doing work inside its limits, even those based elsewhere. Our guide on how to choose a licensed general contractor walks through exactly how to check.
Whole home remodeling, one room or one project at a time
"Home remodeling" covers a wide range of scope, from a single room to a full whole home renovation, and the permit and survey questions above apply at whatever scale the project reaches. Top GM Construction works on kitchen remodeling, bathroom remodeling, home additions, custom decks, siding and windows, carrying every job through the same six step process from start to finish: Initial Consultation, Detailed Estimate, Contract Signing, Pre-Construction Meeting, Execution and Final Walkthrough. For a project that touches an addition, a fence line or anything near the water, the Detailed Estimate step is where the survey and flood zone questions above belong, before the Contract Signing.
Frequently asked questions
Is the North Myrtle Beach permit office the same as the Myrtle Beach permit office?
No. North Myrtle Beach is a separate incorporated city with its own Planning and Development Department and Building Division, located at 1018 Second Avenue S. A remodel at a North Myrtle Beach address is reviewed by this office, not by a department in a neighboring city.
Do I need a survey before I apply for a remodeling permit in North Myrtle Beach?
Yes, for a specific list of project types: since September 1, 2025, North Myrtle Beach has required an updated property survey before it will accept a permit application for an addition, a pool, a sidewalk, a patio, a retaining wall, or a fence closer than 5 feet to the property line. The city will not accept the application without a current survey, valid for up to 12 months. Projects outside that list should still confirm the requirement directly with the Planning and Development Department, since the rule is evaluated case by case.
What is the 50 percent rule in North Myrtle Beach, and who decides if it applies?
It is a substantial improvement threshold applied locally: when the cost of your project reaches 50 percent or more of your structure’s market value, the project is reviewed against new construction standards. North Myrtle Beach’s Building Division makes that determination for your address, and the city’s Floodplain Manager, Kendra Elliott, is the named contact for flood zone questions tied to it.
Does Top GM Construction hold a North Myrtle Beach business license?
North Myrtle Beach requires every contractor working inside the city, including those based elsewhere, to hold a city business license in addition to their state contractor license. That requirement applies to Top GM Construction the same as any other contractor working in the city: ask for a state license number and proof of the North Myrtle Beach business license before signing a contract, with Top GM or with any other contractor, and expect a straight answer.
Sources: City of North Myrtle Beach, Planning and Development; City of North Myrtle Beach, Build Responsibly; City of North Myrtle Beach, Know Your Hazard; WMBF News, "New survey requirement for development in North Myrtle Beach" (July 17, 2025).