In some areas, you cannot perform your own electrical work.
Inspectors will only sign off on licensed electricians.
It varies by state and even county by county.
That is true. In ND, unless prohibited by another entity, you can get a self-wire permit for anything other than commercial or anything upstream of the service entrance main breaker. There are conditions to getting a self-wire permit such as personal ownership and use among others. Your work has to be inspected by a state electrical inspector or the local electrical inspector if a city does their own inspections. But yes, some ND towns do not allow any electrical work to be done other than by a licensed electrician. Speaking from personal experience as I obtained a self-wire permit when we added an addition to the house and a permit for wiring my shop.
