If its your property and your building, you don't need a GC license, regardless of the $$$ of the building. The owner can act as the "GC" and therefore does not need a license. You must act as the GC and hire, procure, etc. all aspects of the project, including permits and subcontractors.
The GC license only applies to a contractor you hire to perform the work. Contractors and subcontractors do not need a GC license unless their individual portion of the job is over $50K.
Pole barns fall under the same building code as any other type of garage. NC codes are not published online, you must pay for the copy of the text. NC has adopted the IBC as its code. I have a copy of it at the office. I can take a look at it when I get there on Monday if you need me to.
You, more than likely, will need a building permit in your county. If you do this, you will prob. need to have varying stages of inspection by the county inspector (elec., plumbing, rebar, etc.) and finally a certificate of occupancy may need to be obtained from the county. You can pull from your existing electrical panel with a 240V breaker to a sub panel in the shop for lights, etc. However, you can install a new meter box with additional breakers in it, one main for the house, and another main for the shop, all off of one meeter. To install a new meter box, the meter must be pulled, which will require an electrial permit. More than likely, if you have to do this, the inspector will notice what you are doing and you will then be required to get building permits if you haven't already.
Building permits are easy to get, but you need some sort of rough sketch or drawing of what you are going to build with measurements and location on a plot plan. In some instances, I've seen them issue permits with hand sketches on a napkin, but it depends on how lenient the county is.
Not knowing the size of your property, you may need Environmental Health there to locate and flag your septic system and repair area to ensure the building footprint does/doesn't interfere with these septic areas. Environmental Health can usually re-establish your repair area (depending on size of your shop and lot and new or recent perk tests) if your shop interferes with it.
If you live in a neighborhood, contact your HOA as some may require approval before groundbreaking, regardless of conformance to local or state requirements.
...........Neck!
