Building permits, zoning and septic rules across Indiana's counties

At a glance

Residential building permits

3 counties: not required; 6: required in some cases; 83: required¹²³

Countywide zoning

6 counties without; 84 with zoning⁴⁸

No building permit and no countywide zoning

Greene, Crawford and Pike counties⁹

Residential septic permits

Local health departments administer the state rule⁵

RV living

31 counties have answers: 1 allowed, 4 temporary only, 20 limited, 6 prohibited⁶

Tiny homes

18 counties have answers: 2 allowed and 16 limited⁷

Residential wells

Some local health departments require construction or pump-installation permits; use a DNR-licensed driller¹⁰

Property tax

Median county effective rate: 0.7%; median county bill: $1,106 per year¹¹

Who to call

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

Which Indiana counties don't require a building permit?

Indiana has 3 counties without a residential building-permit requirement: Greene County, Crawford County, Pike County.¹ These county counts concern unincorporated land; cities set their own rules inside city limits.¹ Another 6 counties require building permits only in some cases: Orange County, Dubois County, Gibson County, Martin County, Starke County, Vanderburgh County.² The remaining 83 counties require residential building permits.³

Use the Indiana no-building-codes list to find the no-permit counties, but distinguish the local building-permit requirement from Indiana's adopted building and fire-safety codes.¹¹² Residential inspections fall under local government, rather than the state's inspection program for Class I structures.¹³ Ask IDHS Building Plan Review about a project's state filing exemption at 317-232-6422.¹⁴ We could not confirm a statewide owner-builder exemption; ask the local building office about work you will perform yourself.

Which Indiana counties have no zoning?

Indiana has 6 counties without countywide zoning: Greene County, Crawford County, Pike County, Dubois County, Gibson County, Lawrence County.⁴ Indiana has 84 counties with zoning; we could not confirm zoning in Orange County or Sullivan County.⁸¹⁵

Only 3 counties combine no residential building-permit requirement with no countywide zoning: Greene County, Crawford County, Pike County.⁹ Compare the no-zoning list with the no-building-permit and no-zoning list before choosing a county.⁴⁹ No countywide zoning does not remove Indiana's residential sewage requirements or state floodway oversight.¹⁶¹⁷ Subdivision plats outside municipalities must be approved and recorded before lots are sold, with plan-commission control where an applicable subdivision-control ordinance exists.¹⁸ We could not confirm statewide minimum lot sizes or setback distances; ask the planning office serving the parcel for the applicable standards.

Who issues septic permits in Indiana?

Indiana local health departments issue residential septic permits, while the Indiana Department of Health establishes and reviews the statewide residential sewage rule.⁵ County offices handle septic permits in 85 counties, and multi-county health districts serve 7 counties.¹⁹ Start with the local health department for the property; the state Environmental Public Health Division can answer program questions at (317) 233-7177 or eph@health.in.gov.⁵²⁰

An Indiana dwelling that is not connected, or cannot connect, to sanitary sewer must have a compliant residential sewage system with a septic tank and a functioning soil absorption system.¹⁶ Drywells and cesspools are not allowed, and temporary holding tanks are subject to state approval and specified exceptions.¹⁶ Off-grid power therefore does not remove the residential sewage obligation.¹⁶ Ask the local health department for residential septic application requirements and fees before committing to a house site.

Can you live in an RV or tiny home on your land in Indiana?

Indiana's RV answers cover 31 counties: 1 allows RV living, 4 allow temporary use only, 20 impose limitations and 6 prohibit it within the stated scope of their rules.⁶ The other 61 counties have no confirmed answer here; that does not establish permission to occupy an RV.⁶ Lawrence County has no county zoning rule setting RV occupancy in unincorporated areas, but septic, floodplain, subdivision and health requirements still apply.⁶

Indiana's tiny-home answers cover 18 counties: 2 allow the use and 16 impose limitations; 74 counties remain unanswered.⁷ Gibson County and Lawrence County have no county zoning rule setting tiny-home occupancy in unincorporated areas, with other applicable requirements remaining.⁷ Use the RV-living list and tiny-home list to read the conditions for the intended use.⁶⁷ Indiana's campground rules do not establish statewide permission for long-term residential RV occupancy on an individually deeded lot.²¹ Ask the parcel's planning and building offices specifically about residential occupancy, including living there while building.

Where are the best Indiana counties for a bolthole?

Greene County leads Indiana's Bolthole Index at 83, followed by Orange County at 80, Crawford County and Pike County at 79, Dubois County and Gibson County at 77, Sullivan County at 75 and Clay County at 74.²²

Among that group, Greene, Crawford and Pike require no residential building permit and have no countywide zoning; Orange, Dubois and Gibson require building permits in some cases, while Sullivan and Clay require them.²² Dubois and Gibson also have no countywide zoning, Clay has zoning, and Orange and Sullivan's zoning remains unconfirmed; county offices handle septic permits throughout this group.²²

Indiana's median county farmland value is $8,103 per acre, with Crawford County at $4,347 per acre; these are farmland values rather than prices for a particular buildable parcel.²³ The median county effective property-tax rate is 0.7%, and the median county property-tax bill is $1,106 annually.¹¹

What should you check about Indiana water wells and road access?

Indiana follows a riparian water-rights regime, with domestic and farm groundwater use described as unregulated.²⁴ That water-use answer does not remove local well-construction requirements: some local health departments require a permit before constructing a residential well or installing a well pump, and water-well drillers must be licensed by Indiana DNR.¹⁰ Ask the property's local health department about well permits, and contact DNR's Division of Water at 317-232-4160 for state water-program questions.¹⁰²⁵

A driveway connection to an INDOT-controlled roadway needs an INDOT driveway permit, covering residential as well as commercial connections.²⁶ Apply through INDOT's Electronic Permit System; the published private-driveway application fee is $55.²⁷²⁸ INDOT's jurisdiction covers state highways, so permission for a road under another government's jurisdiction comes from that government.²⁷ DNR oversees most floodway development, while floodplain-fringe development has no state review or permit but may still need local approval.¹⁷²⁹

Watch-outs

• The county building-permit counts apply to unincorporated land; city rules may differ inside city limits.¹
• No residential building permit does not remove Indiana residential sewage requirements or DNR oversight of most floodway development.¹¹⁶¹⁷
• An agricultural state design-release exemption does not establish exemption from local building inspections or zoning requirements.³⁰
• Indiana campground occupancy rules do not answer whether you may live in an RV on your own individually deeded lot.²¹
• We could not confirm a statewide owner-builder exemption or uniform tiny-home occupancy rule; ask IDHS Building Plan Review about state filing exemptions and the parcel’s local planning office about dwelling use.¹⁴⁷

Sources

1. Bolthole Index county rulebook, 92 Indiana counties, as of October 10, 2026: Indiana counties that do not require a residential building permit in unincorporated areas
2. Bolthole Index county rulebook, 92 Indiana counties, as of October 10, 2026: Indiana counties that require a residential building permit only in some cases (for example floodplain or certain structures)
3. Bolthole Index county rulebook, 92 Indiana counties, as of October 10, 2026: Indiana counties that require a residential building permit in unincorporated areas
4. Bolthole Index county rulebook, 92 Indiana counties, as of October 10, 2026: Indiana counties with no county-wide zoning
5. Indiana: 410 IAC 6-8.3 Residential On-Site Sewage Systems, quoted and re-checked
6. Bolthole Index county rulebook, 92 Indiana counties, as of October 10, 2026: Indiana counties' answers on living in an RV on your own land
7. Bolthole Index county rulebook, 92 Indiana counties, as of October 10, 2026: Indiana counties' answers on living in a tiny home on your own land
8. Bolthole Index county rulebook, 92 Indiana counties, as of October 10, 2026: Indiana counties with county zoning
9. Bolthole Index county rulebook, 92 Indiana counties, as of October 10, 2026: Indiana counties with neither a residential building permit nor county-wide zoning
10. Indiana: Recommended Standards For Private Water Wells, quoted and re-checked
11. Bolthole Index county rulebook, 92 Indiana counties, as of October 10, 2026: Median of Indiana's county effective property tax rates and median county property tax bills
12. Indiana: DHS Code Enforcement FAQs, quoted and re-checked
13. Indiana: DHS: Code Enforcement, quoted and re-checked
14. Indiana Department of Homeland Security — Building Plan Review (in.gov)
15. Bolthole Index county rulebook, 92 Indiana counties, as of October 10, 2026: Indiana counties whose building-permit or zoning answer we could not confirm
16. Indiana: 410 IAC 6-8.3 Residential On-Site Sewage Systems, quoted and re-checked
17. Indiana: Water: Community Assistance & Information, quoted and re-checked
18. Indiana: 2023 County Recorders Resource Library, quoted and re-checked
19. Bolthole Index county rulebook, 92 Indiana counties, as of October 10, 2026: Who issues septic permits across Indiana's counties: a state agency, a multi-county health district, or the county
20. Indiana Department of Health — Environmental Public Health Division (in.gov)
21. Indiana: Environmental Public Health: 410 IAC 6-71 Campgrounds, quoted and re-checked
22. Bolthole Index county rulebook, 92 Indiana counties, as of October 10, 2026: The 8 highest-scoring Indiana counties on the Bolthole Index (off-grid and homestead land score out of 100), with each one's building-permit, zoning and septic answers
23. Bolthole Index county rulebook, 92 Indiana counties, as of October 10, 2026: Median farmland value per acre across Indiana's counties (USDA census, the middle county's value; USD/acre), with the five least expensive counties
24. Indiana water rights and groundwater management: National Agricultural Law Center and Bolthole Index groundwater review
25. Indiana Department of Natural Resources — Division of Water (in.gov)
26. Indiana Department of Transportation — Permits Division (in.gov)
27. Indiana: INDOT Driveway Permit Guide 2024, quoted and re-checked
28. Indiana: Permit Application Fees, quoted and re-checked
29. Indiana: Water: Community Assistance & Information, quoted and re-checked
30. Indiana: Plan Review FAQs, 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.