Building permits, zoning and land rules in Harrison County, Ohio

At a glance

Building permit

Required for residential new construction and additions under the county instructions; confirm the parcel is covered¹⁸

Building permit office

Harrison County Commissioners (questions); Village of Cadiz inside village limits⁹⁶

Permit fee

$360 plus $4 per 100 sq ft; $150 reinspection²

Zoning

Local only: Archer, Freeport, Moorefield and North Townships and Cadiz Village³

Septic permits

Harrison County Health Department, inspected before the system is covered⁵⁴¹⁰

Private wells

Permit required from the Health Department before installing, altering or sealing¹¹

RV / tiny home living

No rule confirmed; ask the township or village zoning contact¹²

Septic soil difficulty

Only 0.4% of county soils lack severe limits for a conventional drain field¹³

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 14, 2026.

Do you need a building permit in Harrison County, Ohio?

Harrison County's building permit instructions state that permits are required for residential new construction and additions¹. Unlike most counties around it in Ohio, Harrison County requires a county building permit¹⁴. The instructions do not say which parcels the county department covers or address incorporated places, so confirm coverage for a specific parcel with the Harrison County Commissioners before starting work¹⁹. Ohio's residential code applies where a certified municipal, township or county building department has jurisdiction; without one, the code's construction-document, approval, inspection and occupancy-certificate steps do not apply⁸. An owner-builder is not universally exempt: where a certified department has jurisdiction, the owner must submit plans and get approval before work begins¹⁵. A qualifying agricultural building may follow a separate route after a county or township zoning inspector issues an agricultural-use certificate¹⁶.

Who issues building permits in Harrison County, and what do they cost?

The Harrison County Commissioners are the published contact for building permit questions, at 740-942-4623⁹. The county schedule lists a $360 base fee plus $4 per 100 square feet for residential new construction and additions, and $150 for a reinspection; the source does not state its geographic scope². Covered residential work needs three inspections (footer, rough-in before interior wall coverings, and final), and all must be approved before a certificate of occupancy is issued¹⁷. The permit holder is responsible for inspections, should allow 24 to 48 hours, and must keep the permit at the building site¹⁸. Inside the Village of Cadiz, the village's housing inspector issues construction certificates for primary residences, and a separate village zoning permit is also required⁶. The county's rules apply to land outside the village; septic permits stay with the Health Department either way⁴.

Does Harrison County have zoning?

Harrison County's zoning page lists local zoning in Archer Township, Cadiz Village, Freeport Township, Moorefield Township and North Township; it does not present a single county zoning authority³. The page does not publish those local regulations or their dimensional standards, so lot size, setbacks and RV or tiny-home rules must come from the township or village itself¹⁹²⁰. The Village of Cadiz administers its own zoning, and a zoning permit is required there before work⁷. Ohio law lets county commissioners zone unincorporated land by resolution and separately regulate residential building; zoning and building permits are different questions²¹²². We could not confirm a countywide minimum lot size, setback or height limit for parcels outside those five jurisdictions.

How do septic permits work in Harrison County?

The Harrison County Health Department reviews plans, issues installation permits and inspects residential septic systems under Ohio Department of Health rules, for city and country addresses alike⁵²³. Where public sewer is not available, a new or altered system needs a soil evaluation, design blueprint, application and fee, and work cannot begin until the Permit to Install or Alter is issued²⁴. A Registered Sewage System Installer must build it, and Health Department inspectors inspect before the system is covered with soil¹⁰. Soils are the main constraint: only 0.4% of Harrison County soils are rated not limited for a conventional drain field, so expect a site evaluation and possibly an engineered system¹³. In the Freeport sanitary-sewer service area, residents and businesses were required to connect by September 2026, so confirm sewer status before planning onsite treatment there²⁵.

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

We could not confirm a countywide Harrison County rule on living in an RV, camping, tiny homes or accessory dwellings on private land. Ask the zoning contact if the parcel lies in Archer Township, Cadiz Village, Freeport Township, Moorefield Township or North Township, and ask the Harrison County Commissioners whether a building permit applies²⁰⁹. Ohio's campground rule governs RVs in licensed campgrounds and does not answer whether someone may occupy an RV on a private parcel²⁶. A manufactured home is different: Ohio generally bars occupancy until an inspector issues the inspection seal, subject to a temporary-occupancy exception²⁷. Any occupied dwelling still needs a lawful wastewater solution through the Health Department⁴.

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

1. Identify the township or village, and ask its zoning contact about use, setbacks and lot standards³²⁰.

1. Ask the Harrison County Commissioners whether the county building department covers the parcel; inside Cadiz, apply to the village instead¹⁹⁶.

1. Where no public sewer serves the parcel, arrange the soil evaluation and design, then submit the application and fee to the Harrison County Health Department²⁴²⁸.

1. Get the Health Department's permit before installing, altering or sealing a private water system¹¹.

1. Obtain the residential building permit, keep it at the site and budget the $360 base fee plus $4 per 100 square feet¹⁸².

1. Schedule the footer, rough-in and final inspections, and the septic inspection before the system is covered¹⁷¹⁰.

What should you check before buying land in Harrison County?

Start with wastewater: only 0.4% of Harrison County soils are rated not limited for a conventional drain field, so get a site-specific evaluation before treating a listing as buildable¹³. Terrain adds to it, because only 26.8% of county land is at a slope of 15% or less and 59.4% is wooded²⁹³⁰. Development in an identified special flood-hazard area needs a county floodplain permit, which expires if work does not begin within one year³¹. The County Engineer's permit list includes driveway county right-of-way permits, but we could not confirm when one is required, so ask the County Engineer³². Check whether public sewer serves the parcel, particularly in the Freeport service area²⁵.

Watch-outs

• Do not assume the county's building permit covers every parcel: the instructions do not define geographic jurisdiction, and the Village of Cadiz runs its own building permits and zoning¹⁶.
• Do not assume one zoning answer covers Harrison County: Archer Township, Cadiz Village, Freeport Township, Moorefield Township and North Township have local zoning regulations³.
• Only 0.4% of Harrison County soils are rated not limited for a conventional septic drain field, so make the soil and site evaluation an early contingency¹³.
• A Harrison County floodplain permit for work in an identified special flood-hazard area expires if work does not begin within one year³¹.

Sources

1. Building Department Instructional Information, quoted and re-checked
2. Building Department Instructional Information, quoted and re-checked
3. Zoning, quoted and re-checked
4. Sewage & Septic Systems, quoted and re-checked
5. Sewage & Septic Systems, quoted and re-checked
6. Village of Cadiz: Cadiz Codified Ordinances, Chapter 1317 Residential Structures (Harrison County), quoted and re-checked
7. Village of Cadiz: Cadiz Codified Ordinances, Chapter 1127 Administration, Fees, Enforcement and Penalties (Harrison County), quoted and re-checked
8. Residential Code of Ohio Administration, quoted and re-checked
9. Harrison County Commissioners (harrisoncountyohio.gov)
10. Sewage & Septic Systems, quoted and re-checked
11. Private Water Systems, quoted and re-checked
12. Harrison County Zoning (2026 county census)
13. 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
14. Harrison County Building Permit Instructions (2026 county census)
15. Section 3791.04 | Submission of plan - approvals - prohibition - fine (Ohio statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
16. Section 3781.061 | Exemption for building or structure used in agriculture, quoted and re-checked
17. Building Department Instructional Information, quoted and re-checked
18. Building Department Instructional Information, quoted and re-checked
19. Zoning, quoted and re-checked
20. Harrison County zoning information (harrisoncountyohio.gov)
21. Section 303.02 | County commissioners may regulate building and land use in unincorporated territory (Ohio statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
22. Section 307.37 | Adoption of county building code (Ohio statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
23. Harrison County Health Department (harrisonpublichealth.org)
24. Sewage & Septic Systems, quoted and re-checked
25. County Water-Sewer, quoted and re-checked
26. Rule 3701-26-04 | Campground requirements (Ohio statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
27. Chapter 4781-7 | Manufactured home inspections (Ohio statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
28. Sewage & Septic Systems, quoted and re-checked
29. Share of land at 15% slope or less: Bolthole Index county data
30. Wooded share of land: Bolthole Index county data
31. Flood Hazard Area Development Permit Application, quoted and re-checked
32. Building Permit Instructions, quoted and re-checked

Written October 14, 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.