Building a home in Apex: permits, water and sewer, fees and who to call

Before anything else, find out where your lot sits: inside Apex town limits, in the town's extraterritorial jurisdiction (the ETJ, an area outside the limits where the town still sets zoning), or in Wake County's Apex long-range planning area. That one answer decides whether you can go straight to a permit, whether you must first ask to be annexed into the town, and which fees apply. The Apex Planning Department, at (919) 249-3426, is the place to start.

Is your lot inside Apex, in the ETJ, or in the county planning area?

The town's water and sewer connection page says to use the Apex Interactive Map to see whether a parcel is in the Corporate Limits, the ETJ, or the Wake County Apex Long Range Planning Area. Here is what each means, according to the town:

• Inside the Corporate Limits: you can go straight to Inspections & Permitting for a permit.
• In the ETJ: the parcel must be annexed into the town to get town water or sewer. The Annexation Petition Application fee is $300, or $200 when a well or septic system has failed.
• In the long-range planning area: you need both an Annexation Petition and a Rezoning Petition. The page lists the rezoning fee as $700 + $25/acre, or $1,000 + $25/acre for Conditional Zoning.

In an emergency, such as a dry well or failed septic system, the town says annexation may be sped up if the parcel is in the ETJ and needs no easement or encroachment agreement.

To reach Planning, you can call or email planninginfo@apexnc.org.

How do you get town water and sewer?

First, find out whether town lines can reach your property at all. The town asks you to email the Water Resources Program Coordinator at cross.connection@apexnc.org or call 919-372-7478. They can also tell you whether you need an easement or encroachment agreement (written permission to run lines across someone else's land or a right-of-way). Note that Apex sewer service is only for customers who already have town water or plan to connect to it.

The town lists seven steps, in this order:

1. Get any easement or encroachment agreement needed. This takes an attorney and a surveyor.
2. File any required annexation and rezoning petitions with the Planning Department.
3. After Planning or Town Council approval, file the One and Two Family Dwelling Permit Application and fees with Inspections & Permitting, (919) 249-3418.
4. Fill out a Connection Form to open a utility account.
5. The tap (the connection to the town's main line) is installed.
6. Schedule the tap and service-line inspections.
7. The water meter is installed once the account exists and all inspections have passed.

The utility account must be set up at the time of the permit, and no meter goes in until it exists. You can apply online through Utilities Connect or at the Finance Department in Town Hall, 73 Hunter Street; the permit application goes to Inspections & Permitting at the same address. For accounts, the Utilities Department is at (919) 362-8676.

After the tap is in, the town says a licensed plumber connects the line from the meter to the house, connects sewer if it applies, and schedules inspections. If the property has a well, it must be completely disconnected from the house before the meter is set. An old well may be kept for irrigation only, fully separated from the house.

What does connecting cost, and what are town taxes?

The connection page, undated but showing these fees as of February 2026, lists a Building (Plumbing) Permit at $75, a 3/4-inch water meter at $315, a Water Capital Reimbursement Fee of $1,788 and a Sewer Capital Reimbursement Fee of $4,290. It also lists tap, street cut and street bore charges, and notes that several items "may not be applicable depending upon location and service availability." The page also lists a phone number for Water Resources: (919) 362-8166.

For ongoing costs, the town's FY2026-27 budget ordinance, adopted June 9, 2026, sets the Apex property tax at $0.3735 per $100 of value. That ordinance also adopts the town's FY2026-27 fee schedule.

What if your lot needs a well or septic?

Wake County issues septic permits in unincorporated areas, meaning outside city and town limits. The county's septic permit page says to check jurisdiction by entering the address in iMaps (maps.raleighnc.gov/imaps); "WC" under GENERAL means Wake County. For town areas, the county says to contact the town planning department first for the order of steps. In county jurisdiction, you apply for the septic permit together with a building or zoning permit through the county Permit Portal.

For a new private well, Wake County lays out these steps: apply on the Permit Portal with a site plan and fee; Onsite Water Protection checks the site and, if suitable, issues a Construction Authorization, after which the building permit can be issued; a certified well contractor builds the well and calls for a grout inspection; after the pump goes in, the installer has 72 hours to call for the wellhead inspection; and water samples must pass before you get a Certificate of Occupancy (the sign-off to move in).

Build the testing time into your schedule. The county says bacteria samples take about 48 to 72 hours, nitrate samples about two weeks, and gross alpha tests (a check for natural radioactivity) three to four weeks, with "a 1 in 7 chance of requiring treatment and re-testing." Well inspections: 919-856-7481 or wellinspections@wake.gov.

Which schools would your kids attend?

Every Wake County student is assigned a base school by home address, and the school system's base schools page links to its address lookup tool. Some schools have an enrollment cap, and a student whose base school is capped still registers there.

Timing matters if your house is still being built. Accepted proof of address includes a utility bill within 30 days of its due date or a settlement statement no more than 60 days old. Families already living in Wake County cannot use an Offer to Purchase to establish residency, though they may attach it to a transfer request. Families moving from outside the county may use one only to pre-enroll for the next school year, only at a school that isn't capped, and only if pre-enrollment happens before June 30 and the scheduled closing is on or before June 30. The Office of Student Assignment is at 919-431-7333 or studentassignment@wcpss.net.