Building permits, zoning and land rules in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana

At a glance

Building permit

Required for construction, renovation and listed trade work¹

Zoning

Parish and St. Francisville zoning are separate; confirm the governing jurisdiction and district²⁵

Septic

A state health permit is required before installation, alteration or operation³

RV living

Not confirmed; ask Planning and Zoning about the parcel and proposed occupancy⁶

Tiny home

Not confirmed; zoning district and adopted building codes matter⁵⁷

Owner-builder

Allowed for a qualifying personal residence with an exemption affidavit⁸

Agricultural work

Farm construction has a contractor-license exemption, not a blanket exemption from building permits or zoning⁹

Water well

Use a licensed driller; state notification and registration rules apply¹⁰

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 West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana?

Yes. West Feliciana Parish requires a permit before beginning construction or renovation, electrical wiring, plumbing or gas piping, moving a manufactured, modular or portable building, reroofing or demolition.¹ The parish enforces its adopted building codes for structures within parish boundaries.⁷ Louisiana's local code-enforcement process includes plan review, inspections and permit decisions by building officials or certified third-party providers.¹¹

For a house, contact West Feliciana Parish Development Services before ordering plans or clearing the building pad. The parish permit page lists building, electrical, plumbing, manufactured-housing and roofing permits and directs applicants to apply online.¹² The published materials do not confirm a general local certificate-of-occupancy rule, so ask Development Services which inspections and closeout documents apply to your project.

Who issues building permits in West Feliciana Parish, and how do you reach them?

West Feliciana Parish Development Services is the practical first stop for building and zoning questions. Its official permit page lists the permit categories and provides the online application route.¹² Call the office at the contact shown above before submitting if the project involves a portable building, manufactured home, reroofing, demolition or multiple construction trades, because each is included in the parish permit requirement.¹

Planning and Zoning also publishes construction-plan, site-plan, zoning-verification, rezoning, variance and subdivision materials.¹³ The parish fee schedule publishes charges for planning and zoning applications, including zoning changes, minor subdivisions, variances, flood-elevation letters and zoning-verification letters; those are not necessarily the building-permit fee.¹⁴ Ask Development Services for the current building-permit charge and the required plan set before filing.

Does West Feliciana Parish have zoning?

Yes, but the governing ordinance depends on location. West Feliciana Parish and incorporated St. Francisville each have zoning, and the available parish material does not establish that the parish administers the town's ordinance.² For land outside St. Francisville, parish Planning and Zoning reviews land use and subdivision proposals.¹⁵ The parish's zoning-verification process asks for the current zone district and anticipated building type, so confirm both the jurisdiction and district before assuming a use is allowed.⁵

We could not confirm numeric rules for minimum dwelling size, minimum lot size, setbacks, lot coverage or building height. For unincorporated land, ask parish Planning and Zoning for written zoning verification tied to the parcel and proposed building; for property in St. Francisville, ask the town for its ordinance and approval process. Applicable zoning requirements depend on the governing jurisdiction and may vary by district.¹⁶¹⁷

How do septic permits work in West Feliciana Parish?

Louisiana requires a state-health permit before a private sewerage system is installed, altered or operated, and the permit process includes approval of the plans and specifications.³ Contact the West Feliciana Parish Health Unit's Environmental Health office before fixing the house location or buying a system.⁴ A conventional septic tank system may be used only where community sewer is unavailable and the sanitary-code requirements are met.¹⁸

Final approval requires verification that the installation complies with the sanitary code, through an onsite inspection and/or the licensed installer's certification.¹⁹ Only about 19.1% of parish soils are rated without severe limitations for a conventional drain field, so make the site evaluation an early contingency rather than assuming a standard field will work.²⁰

Can you live in an RV or tiny home on land in West Feliciana Parish?

We could not confirm a West Feliciana Parish rule that generally allows or forbids living in an RV on private land. The Louisiana rule for state-park stays does not answer private-land occupancy, so ask parish Planning and Zoning about the parcel's district, duration of occupancy, utility connections and whether construction must already be underway.⁶

We also could not confirm a parishwide tiny-home occupancy rule or minimum dwelling size. A tiny home intended as a residence still has to be evaluated against the parcel's zoning district and the parish's adopted building codes.⁵⁷ A manufactured or portable building is expressly among the moves that require a parish permit, but that fact alone does not establish residential occupancy approval.¹ Get the answer in writing from Development Services before purchasing or delivering the unit.

Building a home in West Feliciana Parish: what are the steps?

1. Confirm whether the parcel is governed by West Feliciana Parish or St. Francisville zoning, then ask the applicable office to confirm the district and proposed use.²

1. Contact the West Feliciana Parish Health Unit for the private-sewerage review before placing the house, well and driveway.³⁴

1. If building a personal residence as an owner-builder, submit the required exemption affidavit.⁸ A farmer constructing for agricultural purposes has a contractor-licensing exemption, but that exemption does not waive building permits, zoning, building codes, health rules or life-safety requirements.⁹

1. Apply for the building and applicable trade permits before starting work.¹

1. Obtain Public Works approval before installing a driveway pipe on a parish roadside ditch, or obtain a state access permit before work in a state-highway right-of-way.²¹²²

1. Schedule required code and septic verification with the issuing authorities and ask Development Services what closeout document is required.²³¹⁹

What should you check before buying land in West Feliciana Parish?

Start with written zoning verification from the governing jurisdiction: West Feliciana Parish and St. Francisville have separate zoning entries, so a parish answer should not be assumed to control land inside the town.² Confirm legal access and drainage before closing: a parish driveway pipe needs Public Works approval before installation, while access connecting to a state highway requires a signed state permit before construction.²¹²²

Make septic feasibility a contract contingency because only about 19.1% of parish soils are rated without severe limitations for conventional drain fields.²⁰ For a new water well, Louisiana generally requires a licensed driller, state notification and registration after completion, with different timing for domestic wells and other listed exceptions.¹⁰ Check flood status with Development Services because the parish enforces floodplain-management requirements for substantially improved or substantially damaged buildings.²⁴ Finally, budget around an effective property-tax rate of about 0.5% and a median annual property-tax bill of about $1,359, while verifying the actual assessment for the parcel.²⁵²⁶

Watch-outs

• Do not start construction, renovation or listed trade work before the parish permit is issued.¹
• Do not assume an RV or tiny home is approved for occupancy; ask the parcel's governing zoning office for a written answer.²⁵
• Do not install a parish-road driveway pipe before Public Works approves it.²¹
• Treat conventional septic feasibility as an early due-diligence item because most parish soils carry severe drain-field limitations.²⁰

Sources

1. West Feliciana Parish Hazard Mitigation Plan, quoted and re-checked
2. West Feliciana Parish Hazard Mitigation Plan, quoted and re-checked
3. Louisiana Administrative Code Title 51, Part XIII, Public Health—Sanitary Code (Louisiana statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
4. West Feliciana Parish Health Unit - Environmental Health (ldh.la.gov)
5. Apply for a Permit, quoted and re-checked
6. West Feliciana Parish Hazard Mitigation Plan, quoted and re-checked
7. West Feliciana Parish Hazard Mitigation Plan, quoted and re-checked
8. FAQ – Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors, quoted and re-checked
9. legis.la.gov, quoted and re-checked
10. Louisiana Administrative Code, Title 43, Part VI, §701 (Louisiana statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
11. RS 40:1730.23 — Enforcement of building codes by municipalities, parishes, and the fire marshal (Louisiana statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
12. West Feliciana Parish Development Services (wfparish.org)
13. Permits & Inspections, quoted and re-checked
14. Planning and Zoning Fees, quoted and re-checked
15. Planning and Zoning, quoted and re-checked
16. West Feliciana Parish Hazard Mitigation Plan, quoted and re-checked
17. Louisiana Laws — creation of parish zoning districts (Louisiana statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
18. Louisiana Administrative Code Title 51, Part XIII, Public Health—Sanitary Code (Louisiana statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
19. Louisiana Administrative Code Title 51, Part XIII, Public Health—Sanitary Code (Louisiana statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
20. 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
21. Apply for a Permit, quoted and re-checked
22. LaDOTD Access Connections Policy (Louisiana statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
23. R.S. 40:1730.23 — Enforcement of building codes by municipalities, parishes, and the fire marshal (Louisiana statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
24. West Feliciana Parish Hazard Mitigation Plan, quoted and re-checked
25. Effective property tax rate: Bolthole Index county data
26. Median property tax bill: 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.