Building permits, zoning and septic rules in Bartholomew County, Indiana

At a glance

Building permit

Required for covered work costing more than $300¹

Zoning

Yes, within the county plan commission's jurisdiction³

Septic permits

Written construction permit required through the county Health Department⁴

Tiny home as primary residence

Limited by zoning, dwelling-size, building and health rules⁶

Accessory dwelling unit

Conditional use in agricultural and single-family residential districts⁷

Owner-builder exemption

Owner-occupant sign-off available; owner must do the work personally, and permits and inspections still apply⁸

Minimum home size

District-specific; primary tiny-home standards generally start at 950 or 1,000 sq ft⁹

New-home building fee

$200 plus $0.10 per square foot of gross floor area, including attached garage/carport and basement¹⁰

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 12, 2026.

Do you need a building permit in Bartholomew County, Indiana?

Unincorporated Bartholomew County requires a building permit before construction, alteration or repair costing more than $300.¹ New homes, accessory buildings larger than 200 square feet, in-ground pools, and above-ground pools on lots smaller than 2 acres require a surveyor-certified site plan.¹ The published fee for a new one- or two-family dwelling is $200 plus $0.10 per square foot of gross floor area, including attached garage/carport and basement; that fee includes all required permits.¹⁰ Confirm the current charge with Technical Code Enforcement because the posted code compilation may lag legislation.¹⁰ An owner-occupant doing the work personally can file an Owner Occupant Sign-Off, but building permits and inspections still apply.⁸ Columbus has its own building-permit requirement; Edinburgh, mainly in Johnson County but extending into Bartholomew County, issues its own building permits.¹¹¹² Septic administration remains with the Bartholomew County Health Department for county addresses.⁵

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

The Department of Technical Code Enforcement of Columbus/Bartholomew County issues building permits, reviews plans, assigns addresses, and answers code, floodplain and permit-record questions.² Call 812-379-1535 for building-permit questions or inspections, which require 24-hour advance scheduling.² Bartholomew County has adopted a building code.¹³ All fees and fines must be paid before a final building inspection is scheduled, and occupancy must wait for that inspection.¹⁴ An improvement requiring an Improvement Location Permit also needs successful final site and building inspections and a certificate of occupancy from the Chief Code Enforcement Officer before use.¹⁵ For zoning and subdivision questions, contact the Columbus-Bartholomew County Planning Department at 812-376-2550 or planning@columbus.in.gov.¹⁶

Does Bartholomew County, Indiana have zoning?

County zoning governs unincorporated Bartholomew County within the county plan commission’s jurisdiction, excluding municipal planning jurisdictions.³ Columbus sets its own zoning, as does Edinburgh, a town mainly in Johnson County that reaches into Bartholomew County.¹⁷¹⁸ Septic administration remains with the Bartholomew County Health Department for county addresses.⁵ The joint district has separately adopted zoning; Hartsville contracts with the county to administer Hartsville’s zoning and subdivision rules.¹⁹ Use the official zoning map to identify the district before applying dimensional standards.²⁰ In Agricultural: Voluntary Protection, nonagricultural structures have 25% maximum lot coverage and primary structures a 40-foot height limit.²¹²² In Commercial: Professional Office (CO), maximum coverage is 65%, primary/accessory height limits are 40/25 feet, and side and rear setbacks are 10 feet.²³²⁴²⁵ CO front setbacks vary by road or street classification and vehicle-access features.²⁵

How do septic permits work in Bartholomew County?

The Bartholomew County Health Department administers onsite sewage and provides the county's permit, extension, and subdivision forms⁵. A dwelling that will not connect to sanitary sewer needs a written septic construction permit signed by the health officer before a new system, replacement, expansion, alteration, or repair⁴. The application includes property and bedroom information, an onsite soils evaluation, plans, and any other information the health officer requires; the local health department must issue or deny it in writing within 45 days after receiving the application and plans⁴. Published fees are $200 for a new system permit, $100 for a repair permit, and $50 for a minor repair²⁶. Only about 0.2% of county soils are rated without severe limitations for a conventional drain field, so make sewage feasibility an early purchase contingency²⁷.

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

In unincorporated Bartholomew County, a primary tiny home in a single-family residential district generally needs 950 square feet if manufactured or 1,000 if site-built, with RE district exceptions.²⁸ Agricultural: Voluntary Protection has a 1,000-square-foot dwelling minimum, subject to its manufactured-home provision.²⁹ Outside manufactured-home communities, manufactured homes are allowed only where single-family dwellings are allowed; mobile homes are prohibited.³⁰ Manufactured homes must meet installation, anchoring, travel-equipment removal, utility and applicable district standards.³⁰ An ADU requires conditional-use approval; residential ADUs have a 400-square-foot minimum and a maximum of 1,000 square feet or 65% of the primary home, whichever is less.⁷ Only 1 ADU is allowed per property, without an additional driveway, using public sewer or Health Department-approved septic arrangements.³¹ The campground/RV-park provisions cover short-term or seasonal occupancy and do not establish permission for year-round RV dwelling on private land.³² We could not confirm temporary camping on a private lot; ask Planning about the proposed use.¹⁶

Building a home in Bartholomew County: what are the steps, in order?

1. Confirm which zoning authority governs the parcel, then use the official map to identify its district and allowed use³³²⁰.
2. Check the district's lot size, setbacks, lot coverage, height, and utility rules before fixing the site plan^3435212236.
3. If the home will not connect to sanitary sewer, complete the soils evaluation and obtain the written septic construction permit before settling the layout⁴.
4. Submit the planning application through the OpenGov services portal with each property owner's authorization, and obtain any applicable driveway or utility-connection approval³⁷³⁸³⁶.
5. Apply to Technical Code Enforcement before starting covered work costing more than $300¹.
6. Pay all fees and fines before scheduling the final building inspection, complete required inspections and obtain the certificate of occupancy before using or occupying an improvement that required an Improvement Location Permit¹⁴¹⁵.

What should you check before you buy land in Bartholomew County?

In Bartholomew County’s Agricultural: Preferred and Agricultural: General Rural districts, a septic-served lot generally needs at least 1 acre or enough area for 2 viable septic sites, whichever is greater.³⁴ Only about 0.2% of county soils are rated without severe limitations for conventional drain fields, making sewage feasibility an early purchase concern.²⁷ RM Residential Multi-Family and CO Commercial: Professional Office require public water and sewer, so a well and septic system cannot simply replace those connections.³⁹²³ Indiana’s high-capacity-well guidance generally requires no state permit except in the Great Lakes Basin, but significant-withdrawal registration may apply; that guidance does not settle a domestic-well project’s requirements.⁴⁰ Ask Planning about floodplain development approval and minor-subdivision plat, physical-features and sewage documentation before buying or dividing land.⁴¹⁴² Agricultural accessory-structure zoning exemptions do not waive other applicable building, health, septic or floodplain rules.⁴³

Watch-outs

• County zoning stops at incorporated areas and municipal planning jurisdictions; ask Planning which authority governs the parcel.³³¹⁶
• All development in a regulated Bartholomew County floodplain requires a local permit, and local rules are more restrictive than federal and state minimums⁴¹.
• Bartholomew County short-term rentals with 6 or more unrelated occupants are treated as shared housing, requiring conditional-use review in most districts; parking and septic capacity also matter.⁴⁴
• The ordinance describes RV occupancy only as short-term or seasonal campground use and does not establish year-round RV living on a private lot; we could not confirm a temporary-camping rule, so ask Planning about the parcel.³²¹⁶

Sources

1. Code Enforcement, quoted and re-checked
2. Department of Technical Code Enforcement of Columbus/Bartholomew County (bartholomew.in.gov)
3. Columbus & Bartholomew County Zoning Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
4. 410 IAC 6-8.3 Residential Onsite Sewage Systems, quoted and re-checked
5. Onsite Sewage System, quoted and re-checked
6. Tiny Homes, quoted and re-checked
7. Accessory Dwellings, quoted and re-checked
8. Owner Occupant Sign-Off, quoted and re-checked
9. Tiny Homes, quoted and re-checked
10. § 150.20 Residential Structures, quoted and re-checked
11. Columbus: 15.04.080 Permit required when (Bartholomew County), quoted and re-checked
12. Town of Edinburgh: Building & Improvement Permits (Bartholomew County), quoted and re-checked
13. Code Enforcement, quoted and re-checked
14. Development & Building Services, quoted and re-checked
15. Columbus & Bartholomew County Zoning Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
16. Columbus-Bartholomew County Planning Department (columbus.in.gov)
17. Columbus: 17.02.010 Zoning ordinance adopted by reference (Bartholomew County), quoted and re-checked
18. Town of Edinburgh: § 156.01 Adoption by Reference (Bartholomew County), quoted and re-checked
19. Columbus & Bartholomew County Zoning Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
20. Columbus & Bartholomew County Zoning Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
21. Columbus & Bartholomew County Zoning Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
22. Columbus & Bartholomew County Zoning Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
23. Columbus & Bartholomew County Zoning Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
24. Columbus & Bartholomew County Zoning Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
25. Columbus & Bartholomew County Zoning Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
26. Bartholomew County Health Department – Environmental Health Division (bartholomew.in.gov)
27. 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
28. Tiny Homes, quoted and re-checked
29. Columbus & Bartholomew County Zoning Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
30. Columbus & Bartholomew County Zoning Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
31. Columbus & Bartholomew County Zoning Ordinance, Accessory Dwelling Standards, quoted and re-checked
32. Columbus and Bartholomew County Zoning Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
33. Columbus & Bartholomew County Zoning Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
34. Columbus & Bartholomew County Zoning Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
35. Columbus & Bartholomew County Zoning Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
36. Applications & Forms, quoted and re-checked
37. Applications & Forms, quoted and re-checked
38. Code Enforcement, quoted and re-checked
39. Columbus & Bartholomew County Zoning Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
40. Water Availability Use/Rights Frequently Asked Questions, quoted and re-checked
41. Floodplain Regulations, quoted and re-checked
42. Bartholomew County Minor Subdivision Checklist, quoted and re-checked
43. Columbus & Bartholomew County Zoning Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
44. Short Term Rentals, quoted and re-checked

Written October 12, 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.