Building permits, zoning and land rules in Gwinnett County, Georgia

At a glance

Building permit

Required for covered construction; listed exceptions include limited minor work⁸

Zoning

Yes, under the county's Unified Development Ordinance⁹

Septic

Environmental Health permit and inspection required; Level 3 soil report required⁵⁶

Owner-builder exemption

Conditional; proof of ownership and a signed county affidavit are required⁷

RV living

General residential use is unconfirmed; special limits apply in regulated floodplains¹⁰¹¹

Driveway access

No county driveway permit, but sidewalk and drainage standards may apply¹²

Soils suitable for conventional septic

55.9% of the county's soils have no severe limits¹³

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 10, 2026.

Do you need a building permit in unincorporated Gwinnett County?

Yes, for covered work. Planning and Development issues building permits for all construction projects in the unincorporated areas of Gwinnett County¹. The county issues a construction permit after successful plan review, payment of applicable fees and submission of contractor information⁸. Listed exceptions include cosmetic work, storage buildings of 120 square feet or less, certain concrete work and fences 8 feet or less⁸. The Gwinnett County Construction Code incorporates referenced Georgia minimum standard codes, although the current amendment or edition should be confirmed before designing to a specific version¹⁴. Permitted construction requires inspections, scheduled through the ZIP Portal with the permit case number². An eligible owner-builder must provide proof of ownership and a signed Property Owner as Contractor Affidavit; the project must be for the owner and family, and the owner cannot have used this route for a building on property sold or transferred within the prior 24 months measured from its certificate of occupancy⁷. A farm building that qualifies under Georgia law is exempt from the state minimum standard building codes, but that exemption does not cover zoning, septic or floodplain rules, so confirm with Building Services¹⁵. Inside a city, that city's rules apply rather than the county's, and the county notes that Mulberry took over planning and zoning within its limits effective January 1, 2025, subject to litigation⁴.

Who is the Gwinnett County building department and how do you reach them?

Gwinnett County Planning and Development's Building Services division handles building permits, plan review and inspections¹⁶. The office is at 75 Langley Drive, Lawrenceville, GA 30046, can be reached at 770.822.8000, and lists P&D-BuildingPermits@GwinnettCounty.com for building-permit questions¹⁶. Construction-permit applications and inspection requests go through the ZIP Portal; plan review, fee payment and contractor information come before permit issuance¹⁷. Building permit fees for a new complete building are calculated from International Code Council Building Valuation Data at $4 per $1,000 of estimated construction cost, and the fee includes plan review and inspections¹⁸. The county publishes a Planning and Development Fee Schedule updated each January, so confirm the current schedule rather than assuming a flat permit price¹⁹. Planning & Zoning handles zoning-district and Unified Development Ordinance questions at the same address, with phone 678.518.6000 and email P&D-PlanningZoning@GwinnettCounty.com¹¹.

Does Gwinnett County have zoning?

Yes, in unincorporated Gwinnett County. The Unified Development Ordinance divides unincorporated land into zoning districts and regulates land use and development, and it does not set zoning for incorporated cities, whose rules must be checked with the city³⁴. Gwinnett publishes its zoning districts and Official Zoning Map, so identify the parcel's mapped district before designing or choosing a use²⁰. We could not confirm countywide rules for RV residence, temporary camping, tiny-home occupancy, manufactured-home occupancy, accessory dwellings, minimum dwelling size, minimum lot size, setbacks, lot coverage or building height; ask Planning & Zoning for the parcel-specific standards¹¹. The confirmed RV and manufactured-home rules are limited to regulated floodplains: an RV there must satisfy the temporary highway-ready standard or residential-building requirements, and a new manufactured home cannot be placed in the future-conditions floodplain¹⁰²¹. Subdivision and development-plan review also has separate paths for projects with no subdivision, a small subdivision or a subdivision²².

How do septic and well permits work in Gwinnett County?

Where municipal sewer is unavailable, a properly functioning septic system can provide sewage disposal in Gwinnett County, subject to Environmental Health requirements²³. Gwinnett Environmental Health requires a Level 3 soil report before permitting a new system, repair or addition that modifies an existing system⁵. Environmental Health inspects development involving septic properties and investigates failing-system complaints⁶. Georgia requires a final inspection and written approval from the county board of health before a new, repaired or enlarged system is backfilled or used²⁴. Septic permits come from the county board of health through Environmental Health, not from Planning and Development or a city zoning office²⁵. Reach the Gwinnett Environmental Health Department at 455 Grayson Hwy, Suite 600, Lawrenceville, GA 30046 or 770.963.5132²⁶. About 55.9% of county soils have no severe limits for a conventional septic drain field, but the parcel's required soil work controls feasibility¹³⁵. Georgia generally requires a sewer connection when an available public or community system is within 200 feet of the property line or in an abutting public right-of-way, subject to the stated failing-system exception²⁷. We could not confirm a separate Gwinnett well-construction permit; ask Environmental Health before scheduling drilling²⁶.

Can you live in an RV or tiny home in Gwinnett County?

We could not confirm a general Gwinnett County rule allowing long-term RV residence or temporary camping on private land; ask Planning & Zoning about the parcel, duration and construction status before relying on an RV as housing¹¹. Within regulated floodplains, an RV must be on site fewer than 180 consecutive days, remain licensed and highway-ready, or satisfy the residential-building requirements, including anchoring and elevation¹⁰. A tiny home is not automatically exempt from ordinary rules: Georgia guidance addresses code-compliant modular or site-built tiny houses, while Gwinnett zoning controls local siting and use²⁸³. Countywide tiny-home and manufactured-home occupancy rules remain unconfirmed, but new manufactured homes are barred from the future-conditions floodplain²¹. For off-grid sanitation, Georgia allows approved privies, approved alternative systems and certified composting toilets, with county board of health permits and inspections still required where the system is an onsite sewage management system²⁹. Any unit using septic remains subject to soil-report, permit and inspection requirements⁵⁶.

Building a home in Gwinnett County: the steps, in order

1. Confirm the parcel's zoning district, proposed use and dimensional standards with Planning & Zoning before design begins³²⁰¹¹.
2. Resolve access, floodplain and subdivision review; a county driveway permit is not required, but sidewalk and drainage requirements can apply, while floodplain plans or a flood study may be required for applicable projects¹²³⁰²².
3. Confirm sewer and water availability; where sewer is unavailable, obtain the soil report and septic permit through Environmental Health²³⁵.
4. Choose a contractor or confirm eligibility for the owner-builder route, then complete the ownership proof and county affidavit⁷.
5. Submit the construction plans through the ZIP Portal, complete plan review, pay the applicable published fees and provide contractor information¹⁷¹⁹.
6. Schedule building inspections through the ZIP Portal using the permit case number².
7. Complete septic inspection when the property will use an onsite system⁶.
8. Do not connect a regulated building to permanent utilities until the county authorizes the connection through a certificate of occupancy³¹.

What to check before you buy land in Gwinnett County

Start with zoning, sewer and water availability, legal access, floodplain status and whether a lot split will require subdivision review; a floodplain management plan or flood study may be required depending on the project³³⁰²². Gwinnett County does not require a driveway permit, but a driveway crossing an existing sidewalk must follow the county standard, and a drainage easement in the right-of-way triggers an 18-inch-minimum pipe requirement¹². For an unsewered parcel, budget for the required soil report; about 55.9% of county soils have no severe limits for a conventional septic drain field, but parcel evaluation controls feasibility²³¹³⁵. Gwinnett County has about 2,283 people per square mile, and the nearest city of 100,000 or more is about 18 miles from the county center, so buyers seeking isolation should verify surrounding development plans³²³³. Farmland averages about $16,242 an acre, a typical home value is about $411,190, and the median annual property-tax bill is $3,381³⁴³⁵³⁶.

Watch-outs

• We could not confirm a general right to live in an RV or camp temporarily on unincorporated land; the confirmed RV limits apply only in regulated floodplains, so ask Planning & Zoning about the parcel and proposed duration¹⁰¹¹.
• Gwinnett Environmental Health inspects development involving septic properties, so include that review in the project schedule⁶.
• We could not confirm whether Gwinnett requires a separate well-construction permit, so ask Environmental Health before scheduling a driller²⁶³⁷.

Sources

1. Building Permits Issued, quoted and re-checked
2. Planning and Development Building Services, quoted and re-checked
3. Unified Development Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
4. Unified Development Ordinance, Title 1, quoted and re-checked
5. Septic Systems, quoted and re-checked
6. Septic Systems, quoted and re-checked
7. Planning and Development Building Services, quoted and re-checked
8. Planning and Development Building Services, quoted and re-checked
9. Unified Development Ordinance (2026 county census)
10. Title 3: Development and Permitting, quoted and re-checked
11. Gwinnett County Planning and Development — Planning & Zoning (gwinnettcounty.com)
12. Frequently Asked Questions, Department of Planning & Development, quoted and re-checked
13. Share of soils USDA rates "not limited" for a conventional septic drain field (SSURGO). A strict rating: the median county is about 6% and a tenth of counties are 0%, so a low figure means most lots need a site evaluation or an engineered system, not that septic is impossible. Cite it only with that caveat: Bolthole Index county data
14. Planning and Development Building Services, quoted and re-checked
15. Codes Update Newsletter Spring 2011 (Georgia statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
16. Gwinnett County Planning and Development — Building Services (gwinnettcounty.com)
17. Planning and Development Building Services, quoted and re-checked
18. Building Permit Fees (Effective July 1, 2024), quoted and re-checked
19. Planning and Development Building Services, quoted and re-checked
20. Unified Development Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
21. gwinnettcounty.com, quoted and re-checked
22. Planning and Development Building Services, quoted and re-checked
23. Septic Systems, quoted and re-checked
24. Manual for On-Site Sewage Management Systems (Georgia statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
25. Background and Use of Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems in Georgia, quoted and re-checked
26. Gwinnett Environmental Health Department (GNR Health) (gnrhealth.com)
27. GA DPH Onsite Sewage Manual (Georgia statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
28. Georgia Tiny House Fact Sheet (Georgia statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
29. Manual for On-Site Sewage Management Systems (Georgia statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
30. Planning and Development Building Services, quoted and re-checked
31. Gwinnett County Construction Code, quoted and re-checked
32. Population density: Bolthole Index county data
33. Straight-line distance from the county center to the nearest city of 100,000+ people: Bolthole Index county data
34. Farmland value per acre (USDA census): Bolthole Index county data
35. Typical home value (Zillow): Bolthole Index county data
36. Median property tax bill: Bolthole Index county data
37. Water Well Standards (Georgia statewide rule), quoted and re-checked

Written October 10, 2026 from the rules quoted below, each taken from an official source and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: rules change, so confirm with the office before you buy or build.