Builders who work in Johnston County are about to spend a lot less time on the phone with the county. Starting Jan. 11, 2027, the county will open an online customer portal where builders, developers, engineers and others can apply for most land-use and construction permits, book inspections, pay fees and track their jobs, and it's holding a free training session for users on Nov. 30 (via Johnston County).
The portal runs on Clariti software. Right now, the county says, most of these tasks take a phone call, an email or a trip to the office in Smithfield.
What moves online
The county lists a wide range of applications that will go through the portal:
- Rezonings
- Residential and commercial subdivisions
- Well and septic permits
- Building permits
- Stormwater permits
- Sedimentation and erosion control permits
- Public water and sewer extension permits
On top of the applications, users will be able to schedule inspections, pay permit fees and check the status of permits and inspections they already have open.
That's a meaningful change from how things work today. The county's Inspections Department page still describes a mix of web forms, a fillable PDF for residential trade permits, a separate commercial permits page and in-person visits to the Land Use Center at 309 E. Market St. in Smithfield, where walk-in applicants need to bring digital plans.
The Nov. 30 training
The county is hosting a hands-on session on Monday, Nov. 30, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Johnston County Agricultural Center, 2736 N.C. 210 in Smithfield. Sign-in starts at 8:30 a.m., and drinks and snacks are provided.
The agenda includes a live demo of the portal, an overview of its main features, help setting up an account, tips and best practices, and question-and-answer time with four departments: Building Inspections, Planning and Zoning, Environmental Health and Public Utilities. The release doesn't mention an RSVP. Questions go to the Inspections office at 919-989-5060 or inspections@johnstonnc.gov.
A project that's been a while coming
The new system has been in the works for some time. At their Dec. 1, 2025 meeting, county commissioners added $75,000 to the contract with the company writing the county's new permitting and land-management software, noting the work was taking longer than expected, according to the county's meeting recap. The recap didn't name the vendor. At the commissioners' Jan. 5, 2026 meeting, County Manager Rick Hester said the software project would include a public dashboard with up-to-date data, including building permits, and was then due for completion over the summer.
Volume is the reason it matters. The Johnston County Report, using county Inspections Department figures, reported 695 permits issued in January 2026 alone, including 191 single-family homes and 275 trade permits. Some builders may already know Clariti: the Town of Clayton, which sits inside Johnston County, picked the same company's software for its own permitting and inspections in 2023, according to the vendor.
Why it matters for Contractors
If you pull permits through Johnston County, plan on a new routine in January. Being able to book inspections and check status online should cut down on calls and drives to Smithfield, especially for small shops where the owner is also the one chasing permits.
The cutover is the risky part. Any new system has a learning curve, and the county is changing a lot at once, from building permits to septic to stormwater. The Nov. 30 session is the easiest way to get your account set up before you need it and to ask each department how jobs already in the pipeline will be handled. If you can't spare a morning, send whoever in your office handles permits. Keep the Inspections number handy for the first few weeks after Jan. 11, and expect a few bumps while everyone learns the system.