Building permits, zoning and land rules in Greene County, Indiana

At a glance

Building permit

No county building permit; state-adopted codes still apply¹³

Zoning

None; Greene County is not subject to planning or zoning ordinances²

Septic permit

Required through the Greene County Health Department before construction⁵⁶

Septic permit fee

$150 for new construction or modification (plus a $500 penalty if you start before the permit issues)⁷

Manufactured home occupancy

Allowed statewide as a suitable, necessary dwelling type⁸

RV in a regulated campground

Limited to one RV per designated campsite⁹

Private well permit

Depends on the local health department; several Indiana counties require one, so confirm before drilling¹⁰

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 Greene County, Indiana?

Greene County states that the only county permit required to plan, build, renovate or remodel residential or commercial property is a septic permit¹. That does not make Greene County code-free: the state-adopted Indiana Residential Code applies to one- and two-family dwellings, and the Indiana Building Code covers its listed building scope³. The residential code currently in effect is the 2020 edition, built on the 2018 International Residential Code¹¹. Indiana assigns inspection of one- and two-family dwellings to local government; public and commercial structures are inspected locally and/or by the Office of the State Building Commissioner when the local unit lacks an approved ordinance and building department⁴. State filing requirements depend on project classification and exemptions, and an exemption from state filing does not itself settle local permitting¹². We could not confirm a separate owner-builder exemption or generally applicable certificate-of-occupancy rule. A building used only for farming on the land where it stands is not a Class 1 structure under the state's classification¹³. Ask the county's general government contact about an unusual use or classification.

Who handles septic and other county permits in Greene County?

For septic, call the Greene County Health Department's Environmental Health – Habitation Division, which permits and inspects every onsite sewage system, new or repaired, in the county¹⁴. You can reach that office at 217 E Spring St., Suite 1, Bloomfield, IN 47424, phone (812) 384-4496, email health@co.greene.in.us¹⁴. For anything else that touches county government, including a subdivision plat outside a city or town's limits, the Greene County Auditor's Office at 1 E Main St., Bloomfield, IN 47424 is the general contact point, and it can direct you to the board of county commissioners, who approve subdivision plats under Indiana law¹⁵¹⁶.

Does Greene County have zoning?

Greene County states that unincorporated areas are not subject to county planning or zoning ordinances². That means there is no county zoning-permit step for an unincorporated parcel². It does not establish the rules inside an incorporated city or town, so verify the parcel's jurisdiction before relying on the county answer. We could not confirm separate county standards for minimum lot size, setbacks, building height, lot coverage or minimum dwelling size. For a subdivision plat or an unusual land division, start with the Greene County Auditor's Office, which can direct you to the board of county commissioners¹⁵. Floodway jurisdiction is separate from zoning: Indiana DNR approval may be required for construction, fill, excavation or another obstruction in a qualifying mapped floodway¹⁷.

How do septic permits work in Greene County?

Every residential and commercial onsite sewage system in Greene County goes through the Health Department's Environmental Health – Habitation Division⁵. You'll need a certified soil evaluation, a signed application with your parcel ID, and a floor plan for new construction; minimum specifications come back within 15 business days of a complete application, and the permit itself issues within 30 business days once your installer submits an approved design⁶. The application fee is $150 for new construction or a modification and $50 for a repair, and there's a $500 penalty fee if construction or a mobile-home placement starts before the permit is issued⁷. State rule requires a written construction permit, signed by the health officer, before building a residential onsite system on any dwelling not connected to a sanitary sewer¹⁸. Soil is worth taking seriously here: only about 4.4% of Greene County's soils carry no severe limits for a conventional septic drain field, so budget for an engineered or alternative system on much of the county's ground¹⁹. Statewide, Indiana bans drywells and cesspools outright and caps a holding tank used as your main disposal method at one year unless you document it's working properly²⁰.

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

Greene County has no county zoning ordinance for unincorporated land, but that fact alone does not confirm that full-time RV or tiny-home occupancy is allowed². We could not confirm a Greene County rule that expressly addresses either use, so ask the Greene County Health Department how the proposed wastewater arrangement would be treated before buying or moving a unit onto the parcel¹⁴. Indiana recognizes manufactured homes as suitable dwelling units, subject to applicable health, sanitation, building-code and local requirements⁸. Indiana's campground limits answer a different question: a regulated campground may have no more than one recreational vehicle or vacation mobile home on a designated campsite, while temporary-campground operation is time-limited⁹²¹. Those campground rules do not authorize long-term residence in an RV on ordinary private land⁹.

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

1. Confirm that the parcel is unincorporated; Greene County has no county zoning and requires only a septic permit, but municipal rules may differ²¹.
2. Identify the structure's code and inspection path before work begins: Indiana's residential and building codes apply statewide, while inspection responsibility differs for one- and two-family dwellings and public or commercial structures³⁴.
3. Check whether the building site or access work lies in a mapped floodway, because qualifying construction, fill or excavation may need Indiana DNR approval¹⁷.
4. Get a certified soil evaluation and file the onsite sewage application with the Greene County Health Department, including a floor plan for new construction⁶.
5. Have the septic installer submit the required design cover page and drawing; the county issues permits within 30 business days after receiving that complete package⁶.
6. Give the Health Department at least 24 hours' notice before excavation and 48 hours' notice before covering the system⁶.

What to check before you buy land in Greene County

Start with wastewater and flood exposure. Only about 4.4% of Greene County's soils have no severe limits for a conventional septic drain field, even though 73.9% of the land has a slope of 15% or less, so gentle ground does not guarantee an easy septic site¹⁹²². In a qualifying mapped floodway, Indiana DNR may require prior approval for construction, fill, excavation or another obstruction; floodplain-fringe work receives no state review, but local floodplain rules and federal flood-insurance requirements may still apply¹⁷. Also confirm legal access and ask the appropriate road authority about any driveway approval, because we could not confirm a Greene County-specific driveway rule. For carrying costs, the typical home insurance premium is about $1,534 a year, the effective property tax rate is about 0.7%, and the median annual property tax bill is about $895²³²⁴²⁵. The nearest city of 100,000 or more is about 65 miles from the county's center²⁶.

Watch-outs

• Only about 4.4% of Greene County's soils carry no severe limits for a conventional septic drain field, so get a soil evaluation from the Health Department early, before you fall in love with a specific tract¹⁹.
• Indiana's campground rules do not answer whether full-time RV living is allowed on ordinary private land in Greene County; ask the Health Department about wastewater requirements for the proposed use⁹¹⁴.
• Mapped floodway work may require Indiana DNR approval even though Greene County has no zoning permit; check flood status before placing a building, excavating or adding fill¹⁷.

Sources

1. Greene County, Indiana - FAQ (Planning/Zoning/Permits) (2026 county census)
2. Greene County, Indiana - FAQ (Planning/Zoning/Permits) (2026 county census)
3. Rules of the Indiana Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission, quoted and re-checked
4. DHS: Code Enforcement FAQs, quoted and re-checked
5. 410 IAC 6-8.3 Residential Onsite Sewage Systems, quoted and re-checked
6. Onsite Sewage System (OSS) Permit Instructions, quoted and re-checked
7. Onsite Sewage System (OSS) Permit Instructions, quoted and re-checked
8. Environmental Public Health: IC 16-41-27 Health Sanitation and Safety: Mobile homes and manufactured homes, quoted and re-checked
9. Environmental Public Health: 410 IAC 6-71 Campgrounds, quoted and re-checked
10. Recommended Standards For Private Water Wells (Indiana statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
11. Rules of the Indiana Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission, quoted and re-checked
12. in.gov, quoted and re-checked
13. DHS: Plan Review Process, quoted and re-checked
14. Greene County Health Department, Environmental Health – Habitation Division (co.greene.in.us)
15. Greene County Auditor's Office (general county government contact) (co.greene.in.us)
16. 2023 County Recorders Resource Library (Indiana statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
17. Water: Community Assistance & Information, quoted and re-checked
18. 410 IAC 6-8.3 Residential On-Site Sewage Systems, quoted and re-checked
19. 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
20. 410 IAC 6-8.3 Residential On-Site Sewage Systems (Indiana statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
21. Environmental Public Health: 410 IAC 6-71 Campgrounds, quoted and re-checked
22. Share of land at 15% slope or less: Bolthole Index county data
23. Typical home insurance premium: Bolthole Index county data
24. Effective property tax rate: Bolthole Index county data
25. Median property tax bill: Bolthole Index county data
26. Straight-line distance from the county center to the nearest city of 100,000+ people: 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.