Brunswick County Permit Portal

About the Program

Category: Information Technology (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

Brunswick County continues to be one of the fastest growing counties in the country according to U.S. Census Bureau data. This kind of growth poses opportunities and challenges to our county government. Over the last five years our Code Administration Department and Information Technology Department have worked collaboratively to develop a comprehensive digital platform to interface with the public for a more convenient and efficient medium. We were able to digitize most of our permitting process in 2017 through the development of Brunswick County Management System (BCMS) but still needed a system that would take us to the next level of integration and functionality.Before beginning this process, we looked at numerous commercially available off-the-shelf software that are commonly used by governments to determine if any could meet our needs. After a thorough evaluation, we realized that the cost and responsiveness to creating an in-house product would serve our needs more effectively and efficiently than going with a vendor supplied solution. In 2019, we began the coordinated effort to create what we initially referred to as a Contractor’s Portal. The concept was to have a digital interface with a unique self-determined username and password that would require the user to enter their license number for verification and vetting against our database. This would allow them to schedule building inspections and monitor their building permits via the portal while retaining a history of the activity.The Brunswick County Permit Portal beta version was released on a limited basis in early Q4 2020. After several months of testing and adjustments we released the first version for mandatory use on February 15, 2021. We are currently in the first phase of release but have multiple phases planned that will expand the tools and function of the portal.