Permitting
Stein Service & Supply has held a general contractor license and managed high-piled storage permits since 2015. We prepare the permit documents and manage each permit through inspection and closeout.
Certified byRoss UllmanPresident, Stein Service & Supply
Permitting Services
We manage permitting for the storage systems we design and install. Each project starts with a code review of the building, the stored products, and the sprinkler system.
Our core service area is North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia, and in 2025 we completed projects in 24 other states. Our general contractor license covers North and South Carolina, where we pull permits for the systems we install. In other states, we prepare the code review and permit documents and work with each jurisdiction on its submission requirements.
- Code review of the building, the stored products, and the sprinkler system
- Structural drawings, life safety plan, commodity letter (a description of the stored products), and electrical plans
- Permit submission to the jurisdiction
- Responses to plan review comments
- Coordination of building, fire, and electrical inspections
- Permit closeout
The permit requirements should be known before the lease is signed and before the rack is ordered. When the code review happens at the start of a project, the building, the layout, and the schedule can all be planned around it.
When a Permit Is Required
Chapter 32 of the fire code governs high-piled combustible storage. A permit is required when stored material is combustible and the top of the storage is higher than 12 feet.
Cartons, wood pallets, and packaging are combustible, so steel parts stored on wood pallets are included.
Storage Height
12ft
Measured to the top of the highest load
The height limit applies to pallet rack, shelving, and floor-stacked storage.
Storage Area
500sq ft
High-piled storage area that requires a permit in most jurisdictions
The area includes the rack, the aisles between the rack, and a strip of approximately 4 feet at each end. In North and South Carolina, for example, storage above 12,000 square feet also requires smoke and heat removal, usually roof vents, unless the building has ESFR (early suppression, fast response) sprinklers.
Changes to Existing Rack
Changes to rack that is already installed can also require a permit. New rack requires a permit, including new bays on an existing row. Most other changes do not, as long as the uprights keep their rated capacity.
Permit Required
New rack in an empty building, new rack in a building with existing rack, and new bays on an existing row.
Permit Usually Not Required
Additional beam levels, wire decking, or pallet supports, and replacement beams or decks of the same type.
Engineering Review Required
Changes to beam elevations, and upright repairs or replacements. Because a larger gap between beams decreases the capacity of the upright, the installer or a structural engineer must approve the new spacing.
Permit Documents
A high-piled storage permit requires more than structural drawings. The jurisdiction’s building reviewer and fire reviewer must both approve the complete document set below.
| Document | Contents | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Structural drawings | Rack elevations, anchor details, and calculations, stamped by a professional engineer. Seismic calculations where the location requires them. | Every project |
| Life safety plan | The exits, exit signs, and egress paths of the building, redrawn with the rack in place. | Almost every project |
| Appendix B | The North Carolina building code summary, completed for the rack installation. | Every project in North Carolina |
| Commodity letter | A description of the products stored on the rack. | Most projects |
| Electrical plans | Light levels at the floor between rows, emergency lighting, and exit signs. Rack blocks overhead light, so fixtures often move. | Some jurisdictions |
| Fire engineer letter | A fire protection engineer’s confirmation that the sprinkler system is sufficient for the stored products. | Some jurisdictions |
| Permit application | The application form of the jurisdiction. | Every project |
Below are a few examples of permitting documents we have prepared for complex projects.
Many owners already have a life safety plan from the original building upfit. That plan does not show the rack. Rack rows create new aisles and change the egress paths, so the plan must be redrawn for every rack installation.
Commodity Classification and Sprinkler Review
The fire reviewer must confirm that the sprinkler system can control a fire in the stored products at the planned storage height. Chapter 32 refers this analysis to NFPA 13, the national standard for sprinkler systems. The standard sorts products into commodity classes by fire hazard and relates each class and storage height to a required sprinkler design. Under the same sprinkler system, one product can be permitted to 20 feet. Another may be limited to 12 feet.
Class I commodities are noncombustible products in cartons or on wood pallets. Classes II through IV burn more readily. Plastics and rubber are high-hazard commodities, and Group A plastics are the most hazardous. Packaging can change the class of a product. For example, frozen food in cartons is Class I, and the same food in plastic trays is Class III.
When the plans do not show that the sprinklers are sufficient, the reviewer can require a letter from a fire protection engineer, which typically costs $5,000 to $25,000 and adds time to the schedule. Unless the jurisdiction requires that letter, we match the stored products to the sprinkler design and provide the analysis to the reviewer ourselves.
Permitting Process
Site Review
We compare the building’s sprinklers, exits, emergency lighting, and signage to the proposed layout. In a new jurisdiction, we first confirm who reviews the plans and which documents they require.
Document Preparation
A professional engineer stamps the rack drawings, and an architect updates the life safety plan. We add the commodity letter and any electrical plans, and the owner reviews the complete set before we submit it.
Plan Review and Issue
We respond to reviewer comments and resubmit until the building and fire reviewers approve the plans. The jurisdiction then issues the permit and stamps the plans for the job site.
Installation and Inspection
We install and anchor the rack to the approved plans, and a licensed electrician completes the lighting work. Building, fire, and electrical inspectors then compare the installation to the plans.
Closeout
We confirm that each inspection is recorded as passed, clear any holds, and close the permit with the jurisdiction. A permit expires six months after issue unless an inspection is recorded.
Permit Schedule
A permit typically takes 30 to 60 days from the start of drawings to issue, depending on the jurisdiction. Mecklenburg County, which includes Charlotte, accepts a scheduled review date while the drawings are in progress. Most other jurisdictions require the complete document set before review.
Drawings
2–3weeks
To prepare the document set
Plan Review
15–30days
Longer when the reviewer issues comments
Inspections
1–1.5weeks
After installation is complete
Rack cannot hold product until it passes inspection. For facilities that must stay in operation, we install and inspect the system in phases, typically one third at a time. Most jurisdictions accept phased inspections.
Jurisdictional Requirements
Every state adopts the model fire code with its own amendments, and each city or county, the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ), then sets its own document requirements and review practices. The examples below are from North and South Carolina, where we permit most often.
Review Authority
Building, electrical, and fire review can be done by the city, the county, or both. In Charlotte, the county reviews building and electrical plans and the city reviews fire plans. In the surrounding towns, the county also reviews fire plans.
State Amendments
North Carolina requires an exterior access door every 100 feet of wall where a fire truck can approach the high-piled area. South Carolina requires one every 125 feet. For existing buildings with no change of use, North Carolina waives this rule and South Carolina allows 200 feet.
Anchor Inspections
Some jurisdictions, mostly in South Carolina, require a third-party inspector to observe a sample of the anchor installation. The owner hires this inspector.
Seismic Areas
Charleston is the principal seismic area in the four states where we do most of our work. Rack in this area usually requires larger base plates and more anchors, and a professional engineer must prepare the calculations.
Permitting Questions
Is a permit required for rack under 12 feet?
Can you permit rack that is already installed?
Can used rack be permitted?
What determines the cost of a permit?
What do inspectors check?
What must the owner maintain after the permit?
What applies to aerosols, flammable liquids, and other hazardous materials?
Do mezzanines and modular offices require permits?
Contact
Discuss a Permitting Project
Contact us with the building address and the products to be stored.