Building permits, zoning and septic in the Village of Godfrey, Illinois

At a glance

Building permits

Village Building and Zoning Department issues building permits for new homes, additions and alterations.¹

Zoning

Godfrey administers village zoning; requirements depend on the district.²

Septic

Plan approval from IDPH or the applicable local authority is required before construction.⁶

RV living

RV occupancy is prohibited in the R-1, R-2 and R-3 districts.³⁴⁵

Minimum home size

R-3 single-family dwellings need at least 620 square feet per unit under the specified measurement rules.⁷

Owner-builder

Illinois allows qualifying owner occupants to do plumbing work, subject to code, inspection and local permit requirements.⁸⁹

Wells

New well construction, well modification and abandoned-well sealing require a permit from IDPH or an approved local health department.¹⁰

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 11, 2026.

Do you need a building permit in the Village of Godfrey, IL?

Godfrey’s Building and Zoning Department issues building permits for new residential construction, additions and alterations, and reviews the plans related to those applications.¹ The department also lists plumbing, roofing, pools, decks, fences, electrical work and signs among the work requiring its permits.¹ Godfrey’s published adopted codes are the 2018 International Building Code and 2017 NEC electrical code.¹¹ Illinois also requires statewide baseline building codes, so ask the village which current requirements apply to your proposed home.¹² The village identifies Resolution 2024-15 as its current building permit and inspection fee resolution; request the applicable charges from Building and Zoning before budgeting the project.¹³

Who issues building permits and zoning approvals in the Village of Godfrey?

For a home inside Godfrey village limits, contact the Village of Godfrey Building and Zoning Department at (618) 466-1206 or buildingzoning@godfreyil.org.¹ The department verifies zoning classifications, reviews building plans, and processes rezoning and variance applications.¹ Ask the village to identify the parcel’s zoning before you select a house plan or locate a building on the lot.¹ Godfrey requires 24-hour notice for inspections and does not provide same-day inspections, so arrange inspection scheduling with the department ahead of the construction stage.¹ For land outside village limits, consult the Madison County guide: the county’s building permit requirements apply to unincorporated Madison County.¹⁴

Does the Village of Godfrey have zoning, lot limits and setbacks?

Godfrey has its own zoning ordinance, with separate single-family, multiple-family and manufactured-home/modular-home residential districts.² In Godfrey’s R-3 district, the minimum front yard is 25 feet and the minimum rear yard is 30 feet.¹⁵ R-3 side yards depend on building-line width, with a minimum of 10 feet on one side and a 25-foot street-side yard where the side yard adjoins a street; the general yard requirements also apply.¹⁵ Buildings and structures, including accessory structures, may cover no more than 35% of an R-3 lot.¹⁶ An R-3 single-family residence may not exceed 2 stories unless a variance is granted.¹⁷ These are R-3 requirements; ask village Building and Zoning to confirm the district and applicable dimensional rules for your parcel.¹

How do septic permits work inside the Village of Godfrey?

Illinois requires approval of a new private sewage disposal system’s plans from IDPH or the applicable local authority before construction begins.⁶ The rule also requires at least 48 hours’ notice before installation, repair or modification work begins.⁶ IDPH regulates private sewage disposal systems serving Godfrey, and local agencies may also review plans.¹⁸ Madison County Planning & Development states that it permits and inspects private sewage installation and allows private sewage only where public sewer is unavailable and cannot be extended to the property line, with acceptable soil conditions.¹⁹ We could not confirm the application routing specifically inside Godfrey village limits; ask the county’s private sewage office and village Building and Zoning which office will accept your address’s plans.¹⁸¹⁹¹

Can you live in an RV or tiny home in the Village of Godfrey?

Godfrey prohibits RV occupancy at any time in the R-1, R-2 and R-3 zoning districts, so those districts do not offer an RV-living option while you build.³⁴⁵ The same districts allow an unoccupied RV to be stored in a side or rear yard only if garaged or appropriately screened; storage permission does not authorize occupancy.³⁴⁵ In R-3, a single-family dwelling must have at least 620 square feet per unit, measured from outside walls with utility rooms included and nonliving or nonsleeping areas excluded.⁷ R-1 accessory buildings and structures cannot be used for residential purposes.²⁰ We could not confirm a separate Godfrey tiny-home rule; ask village Building and Zoning how the proposed dwelling would be classified.¹

Building a home in the Village of Godfrey: what are the steps?

1. Ask Godfrey Building and Zoning to verify the parcel’s district and review the proposed use; bring any rezoning or variance question to that office.¹
2. Resolve the sewage plan before construction: obtain approval from IDPH or the applicable local authority for a new private sewage system.⁶
3. If using a private well, obtain the required permit from IDPH or an approved local health department before construction, modification or abandoned-well sealing.¹⁰
4. Submit building plans to Godfrey’s Building and Zoning Department and arrange the applicable building permits.¹
5. Schedule village inspections with at least 24 hours’ notice.¹
6. When buying an existing property, arrange Godfrey’s required ownership-change occupancy permit; applications are online, but payment is not accepted online or by phone.²¹

What should you check before buying land in the Village of Godfrey?

Ask Godfrey Building and Zoning to confirm whether the proposed house, accessory buildings and intended use fit the parcel’s zoning classification.¹ If the parcel needs private sewage, ask Madison County Planning & Development about public sewer availability and acceptable soil conditions before relying on septic.¹⁹ Madison County’s soil data rate only 9.2% of soils “not limited” for conventional septic drain fields; this county-wide measure supports getting a site evaluation, not concluding that septic is impossible on a particular Godfrey lot.²² Illinois requires authorization for construction in regulated floodways and generally in floodplains without a delineated floodway, so establish whether the proposed building site triggers that review.²³ Work in a state-maintained highway right-of-way, including driveway access, requires IDOT permission.²⁴

Watch-outs

• A Godfrey ownership change requires an occupancy permit, even when the purchase does not involve new construction.²¹
• Illinois’s qualifying owner-occupant plumbing exemption still requires code compliance and inspections, and does not remove local plumbing permit requirements.⁸⁹
• Godfrey’s R-1, R-2 and R-3 RV storage provisions do not allow the stored RV to be occupied.³⁴⁵

Sources

1. Village of Godfrey Building and Zoning Department (godfreyil.org)
2. Godfrey Code, § 60.500 Residential districts (Village of Godfrey), quoted and re-checked
3. library.municode.com (Village of Godfrey), quoted and re-checked
4. library.municode.com (Village of Godfrey), quoted and re-checked
5. library.municode.com (Village of Godfrey), quoted and re-checked
6. 77 Ill. Adm. Code 905.190 Installation Approval (Illinois statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
7. Godfrey Code, § 60.518 R-3 single-family residence district requirements (Village of Godfrey), quoted and re-checked
8. HB5913 Enrolled — Illinois Plumbing License Law amendment (Illinois statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
9. 225 ILCS 320/18 — Local regulation; Department standards (Illinois statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
10. 77 Ill. Admin. Code 920.130, Water Well Permit Requirements (Illinois statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
11. Building and Zoning - Village of Godfrey (Village of Godfrey), quoted and re-checked
12. Building Codes and Regulations (Illinois statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
13. Village of Godfrey Fee Schedule (Village of Godfrey), quoted and re-checked
14. Building Permits & Inspections (2026 county census)
15. Section 60.518. R-3 single-family residence district requirements (Village of Godfrey), quoted and re-checked
16. Godfrey Code, § 60.518 R-3 single-family residence district requirements (Village of Godfrey), quoted and re-checked
17. Godfrey Code, § 60.518 R-3 single-family residence district requirements (Village of Godfrey), quoted and re-checked
18. Godfrey Ordinance 04-2021, amending the building code ordinance (Village of Godfrey), quoted and re-checked
19. Madison County Planning & Development — Private Sewage Permits & Inspections (madisoncountyil.gov)
20. Section 60.509. Standards applicable to accessory uses and structures (Village of Godfrey), quoted and re-checked
21. Village of Godfrey Building and Zoning Frequently Asked Questions (Village of Godfrey), quoted and re-checked
22. 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
23. Permit Program (Illinois statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
24. Highway Permits (Illinois statewide rule), quoted and re-checked

Written October 11, 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.