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

At a glance

Building permit

No general county residential building permit confirmed for unincorporated land; a Highway Department permit is required for work in a road right-of-way¹

Zoning

No county plan commission or zoning department; towns such as Ferdinand zone inside their own limits²³

Septic permits

Dubois County Health Department, Environmental Health; written construction permit required before building a home on septic⁴⁶

Building code

The 2020 Indiana Residential Code applies to one- and two-family homes statewide; inspection is left to local government⁷⁸

Subdivision setbacks

In county-regulated subdivisions: 35 feet front, 10 feet each side, 20 feet rear⁹

Agricultural building exemption

A building used only for an agricultural purpose on its own farm is exempt from state design-release requirements¹⁰

Subdivision plat

Land outside city and town limits must be platted and approved by the county commissioners before lots are sold¹¹

Septic soil difficulty

Only 2.9% of county soils are free of severe limits for a conventional drain field¹²

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 Dubois County, Indiana?

We could not confirm a general residential building permit for unincorporated Dubois County. The one county permit its code spells out is for structures or improvements placed in a public street, highway or road right-of-way, which requires a permit from the Supervisor of the County Highway Department¹. That code section does not create a general building permit for a house on private land¹. Indiana's 2020 Residential Code still sets how one- and two-family homes are built statewide⁷, and the state says counties and towns may add their own permit and plan-review requirements¹³. Inspection of one- and two-family dwellings is assigned to local government, and the sources we reviewed did not establish who does that for unincorporated Dubois County⁸. Before you build, ask the Dubois County Auditor's office or the Health Department whether any permit applies to your parcel.

Who issues building permits in Dubois County, and who do you call?

Dubois County's department directory lists no building department and no plan commission². The one county office with a documented permitting role for a land buyer is the Dubois County Health Department's Environmental Health division, which handles septic inspection and permitting⁵⁴. Driveways or other work inside a county road right-of-way go through the County Highway Department¹. A driveway that connects to a state highway needs permission through INDOT's Electronic Permit System¹⁴. Incorporated towns can run their own building and zoning offices, so a parcel inside a town's limits answers to that town first, while septic still comes from the county Health Department.

Does Dubois County have zoning?

Dubois County has no plan commission and no zoning department, so no countywide zoning ordinance applies to unincorporated land; only municipalities administer zoning inside their own jurisdictions². The Town of Ferdinand, for one, maintains a comprehensive plan, a zoning ordinance and a board of zoning appeals³. Outside towns, the county does regulate subdivisions. In county-regulated subdivisions the ordinance sets building setbacks of 35 feet from the right-of-way line at the front, 10 feet on each side and 20 feet at the rear⁹. Lots served by public sewer need at least 10,000 square feet¹⁵. We found no published rule on tiny homes, accessory dwellings, minimum home size, building height or lot coverage, so ask the Health Department before you assume any of these is unrestricted.

How do septic permits work in Dubois County, Indiana?

The Dubois County Health Department's Environmental Health division handles inspection and permitting of onsite sewage systems countywide⁴⁵. A written construction permit signed by the health officer is required before residence construction begins, before a manufactured, modular or mobile home is placed, and before a system is repaired, altered or expanded⁶. When work is ready, you notify the health officer for inspection, and without a published local procedure that notice must come at least forty-eight hours before subsurface parts are covered¹⁶. If a sanitary sewer is available within a reasonable distance, onsite disposal is prohibited and you must connect to the sewer¹⁷. Soils matter here: only 2.9% of the county's soils are free of severe limits for a conventional drain field, so plan for a site evaluation and possibly a more complex system¹².

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

We could not confirm a Dubois County rule on living in an RV or tiny home on private land. Indiana's campground rule covers sites that are leased or rented for ten or more tents or RVs and excludes tracts divided into individually deeded lots, so it does not settle the question for a single parcel you own¹⁸. A temporary campground may run no more than ten consecutive days per event and thirty days in a calendar year, under local health officers¹⁹. Manufactured homes are recognized as dwellings subject to state health and sanitation standards, and a manufactured home placed on a lot needs a septic construction permit first²⁰⁶. For a tiny home or RV, call the Health Department, since any dwelling that will not be on sewer runs through its septic process⁵.

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

1. Confirm whether your parcel is inside an incorporated town such as Ferdinand, which can set its own zoning³.
2. Get a soils evaluation and apply to the Dubois County Health Department for the septic construction permit before you finalize house plans, since only 2.9% of county soils are free of severe septic limits⁵⁶¹².
3. If you are splitting a tract outside a city or town, have it surveyed and platted, with county commissioner approval, before selling lots¹¹.
4. Apply to the County Highway Department for any work in a county road right-of-way¹, or to INDOT for a state highway driveway¹⁴.
5. If the parcel touches a floodway, get DNR approval before any structure, fill or excavation²¹.
6. Build to the 2020 Indiana Residential Code⁷.
7. Give the Health Department at least forty-eight hours' notice before backfilling the septic system¹⁶.

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

Start with jurisdiction: a parcel inside a town like Ferdinand follows that town's zoning, and one outside follows the county's subdivision standards if it sits in a platted subdivision³⁹. Check soils early, because only 2.9% of the county is free of severe septic limits and a site evaluation comes before the Health Department issues a permit¹²⁶. Terrain is moderate and well wooded: 60.8% of the county sits at 15% slope or less and 41.4% is forested²²²³. If the tract was recently split from a larger parcel, confirm it was platted and approved by the county commissioners¹¹. Ask about floodway status near waterways, since DNR approval governs construction there²¹. Property tax runs about 0.7% effectively, with a median bill near $1,382 a year on a typical home value around $266,632²⁴²⁵²⁶.

Watch-outs

• We could not confirm whether Dubois County requires a building permit or inspection for a house on private unincorporated land; the only county permit we found is for work in a road right-of-way, so confirm with the County Highway Department and Health Department before you build¹.
• Indiana says local governments may adopt their own permit and plan-review rules, so a town or a platted subdivision can add requirements the county itself does not¹³.
• No rule on RV living, tiny homes, accessory dwellings, minimum home size, building height or lot coverage was found for unincorporated Dubois County; do not assume any of them is unrestricted².
• Inside incorporated towns such as Ferdinand, the town's zoning applies instead of the county's subdivision standards, while septic permits still come from the county Health Department³⁴.

Sources

1. § 150.03 Placement of Structures, Improvements, Barriers, quoted and re-checked
2. Dubois County IN - Departments (2026 county census)
3. Town of Ferdinand Municipal Code, quoted and re-checked
4. Environmental Health, quoted and re-checked
5. Dubois County Health Department, Environmental Health (duboiscounty.in.gov)
6. Environmental Health, quoted and re-checked
7. DHS: Rules of the Indiana Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission, quoted and re-checked
8. DHS: Code Enforcement FAQs, quoted and re-checked
9. § 151.02 Applicable Areas, quoted and re-checked
10. Class 1 Structure Agricultural Purpose Exemption, quoted and re-checked
11. Resource Library: 2024 County Recorders, quoted and re-checked
12. 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
13. in.gov (Indiana statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
14. INDOT Driveway Permit Guide 2024, quoted and re-checked
15. § 151.02 Applicable Areas, quoted and re-checked
16. Environmental Health, quoted and re-checked
17. Environmental Public Health: Onsite Sewage Systems Program, quoted and re-checked
18. Environmental Public Health: 410 IAC 6-71 Campgrounds, quoted and re-checked
19. Environmental Public Health: 410 IAC 6-71 Campgrounds, quoted and re-checked
20. Environmental Public Health: IC 16-41-27 Health Sanitation and Safety: Mobile homes and manufactured homes, quoted and re-checked
21. Water: Regulatory Programs, quoted and re-checked
22. Share of land at 15% slope or less: Bolthole Index county data
23. Wooded share of land: Bolthole Index county data
24. Effective property tax rate: Bolthole Index county data
25. Median property tax bill: Bolthole Index county data
26. Typical home value (Zillow): Bolthole Index county data

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.