Certificate of Appropriateness

A Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) must be obtained prior to work commencing on the exterior of a resource within a local historic district.  A COA is a document issued by the Historic District Commission (HDC), that indicates the Commission has approved of the proposed work on a resource or property within a local historic district.  Work includes any exterior alterations, restoration, new construction, moving or demolition.  Landscaping and other site work may require a Certificate of Appropriateness.

HDC staff should be consulted before any exterior work (including tree removal and site work) is begun to determine if a Certificate of Appropriateness is needed. Normal repair and maintenance such as re-roofing with in-kind materials or planting flowers generally does not require approval, please contact HDC staff prior to starting any exterior work to confirm.

The City of Charlotte HDC requires electronic applications for a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA). Applications are processed via Accela to streamline plan submission, review, tracking and approval.  Project updates and review comments are communicated via email. At the conclusion of the review, an electronic Certificate of Appropriateness will be issued which will remain part of the electronic record. Only complete applications will be passed through Accela. Incomplete applications will no longer be accepted to hold a space on the HDC meeting agenda. Incomplete applications will receive an email stating what is needed in order for the application to be considered complete.

Please contact HDC staff with questions or guidance on proposed projects via email, telephone, or on a walk-in basis.

Pre-Submittal Meeting

Applicants with major projects that are being considered for the first time by the commission can request a pre-submittal meeting in order to discuss the project and get feedback in order to streamline the application process. Please submit a pre-submittal meeting request HDC Pre-Submittal Meeting Request. We are interested in your feedback on the pre-submittal process, please contact staff at the information below to provide feedback.

HDC COA Application 

Every application for a Certificate of Appropriateness must include one of the following signature & checklist forms:

• Minor Project Signature & Checklist Form(PDF, 297KB)
• • Required with an application for a minor project. Examples include fencing, driveways, accessory buildings that are not visible from the right-of-way (not including accessory dwelling units), and minor additions that are less than a 50% increase in square footage.
• Major Project Signature & Checklist Form(PDF, 332KB)
• • Required with an application for a major project. Examples include new construction, additions that are more than a 50% increase in square footage, Accessory Dwelling Units, and requests to paint previously unpainted brick.
• Demolition Project Signature & Checklist Form(PDF, 308KB)

For guidance on the electronic application process:

• 2023 User Guide - Accela(PDF, 4MB)
• HDC Application & Fee Payment Instructions(PDF, 571KB)

For full commission presentation examples, please see the following:

• Order of Presentation- First Review(PDF, 3MB)
• Order of Presentation-Resubmission(PDF, 6MB)

Need a final inspection of work completed for a HDC COA application? Please submit the request HDC Final Inspection Request Form.

Meetings

2nd Wednesday of each month at 1:00 p.m. (except where a City holiday requires a change in date).  Please consult the meeting schedule(PDF, 415KB) for details.

Location

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center

600 E. Fourth St.
Charlotte, NC 28202

Deadlines

The HDC COA application and final plan submission deadline for full commission review is the first Wednesday of each month. The first Wednesday deadline is for projects to be slated on the following month’s meeting agenda.  Please consult the meeting schedule(PDF, 415KB) for details.

*Administrative review applications do not have a deadline and can be submitted on a rolling basis.

Continued Cases: Applications that are continued during an HDC meeting will no longer be scheduled and heard at the following month's meeting due to the deadline change. Instead continued cases will be slated for the HDC agenda approximately two months from the meeting in which it was continued in order to provide the applicant with time to make any changes and meet the new submission deadline.

Cases scheduled on a HDC agenda that are postponed per the applicant's request will continue to be moved to the following month's agenda.

For More Information:

Charlotte Historic District Commission

600 East Fourth Street (8th Floor)
Charlotte, North Carolina 28202

704.336.2205

charlottehdc@charlottenc.gov