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

At a glance

Building permit

Plan approval is required only where a certified residential building department has jurisdiction; no county department appears to exist¹²

Zoning

Set by townships and municipalities, not the county; Clay and Valley townships have published zoning³

Septic permits

Required from the Scioto County Health Department before construction or repair⁴

Private wells

Board of health permit required before construction, alteration or sealing⁵

RV living

Long-term occupancy of one RV on private land not confirmed; ask the township or municipality⁶

County-road driveway

Permit from the County Engineer for a new driveway or major alteration⁷

Agricultural buildings

Township zoning limits are narrow; the building-code exemption needs an agricultural-use zoning certificate⁸⁹

Land splits

Divisions of no more than 5 lots on an existing public street can be approved without a plat¹⁰

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 Scioto County, Ohio?

Scioto County appears to have no county residential building department, so no single county office issues residential building permits¹. Ohio's residential code is uniform wherever a certified department exists, and plan approval depends on whether a certified municipal, township or county department has jurisdiction over the parcel¹¹. If none does, the owner is not required to submit residential plans; if one does, plans go to that department before covered work begins².

We could not confirm which department serves a given unincorporated parcel, so ask the township and the Scioto County commissioners before treating a project as permit-free. Where a certified department has jurisdiction, a new home cannot be occupied until its building official issues a certificate of occupancy or completion; where none does, the Residential Code does not require that certificate¹². Nonresidential buildings follow separate state approval and occupancy rules¹³¹⁴.

Who issues building permits in Scioto County, and how do you reach them?

No verified county office answers every residential building-permit question; the certified department, if any, depends on the parcel's jurisdiction, so start with the township or municipality². A certified department may inspect only the building types and subjects for which it is certified¹⁵. Where it applies, the owner must notify the department when work is ready for inspection, and work may proceed to the next required inspection if inspectors do not respond within 4 days, excluding weekends and legal holidays¹⁶.

Building authority does not move septic or wells. The Scioto County Health Department issues household septic permits throughout the county and offers site and soil evaluations at 612 6th Street, Suite D, Portsmouth, Ohio 45662; call 740-355-8358¹⁷⁴. The board of health also issues private-well permits⁵. For driveway culverts and right-of-way work on county roads, the Scioto County Engineer is at 602 7th Street, Room 401, Portsmouth, Ohio 45662, (740) 355-8265¹⁸⁷.

Does Scioto County have zoning?

Scioto County itself has no countywide zoning that we could confirm; zoning is set by townships and municipalities. Like most counties around it in Ohio, Scioto County has no county zoning¹⁹. The County Engineer publishes zoning documents for Clay and Valley townships, and its mapping service shows Portsmouth and Clay Township layers while warning that the inventory is incomplete³²⁰. The Village of New Boston has its own zoning code²¹. Septic and wells for every address stay with the county health department⁴.

Ask the parcel's township or municipality about permitted uses, setbacks, lot size, dwelling size and RV occupancy. Township zoning generally cannot prohibit agriculture or require a zoning certificate for an agricultural building, with exceptions in platted, small-lot areas⁸. The separate building-code exemption for agricultural structures applies when the zoning inspector issues a certificate declaring the structure agricultural, and it does not waive zoning, subdivision, septic or health rules⁹.

How do septic permits work in Scioto County?

The Scioto County Health Department is the first contact for installing, altering, replacing or abandoning a sewage treatment system, and a permit is required before construction or repair begins⁴. A site review comes first, covering the application and fee, soil evaluation, system design and any incremental replacement plan²². After installation, the board of health inspects the system and again no later than 12 months after approval²³. New or altered systems are enrolled in the department's operation-and-maintenance program²⁴.

Soils make early testing important: only 0.7% of county land is rated not limited for a conventional drain field, so expect a site evaluation and possibly an engineered system²⁵. Ohio has no permit-free alternative: all sewage must go to an approved system or a sanitary sewer, and a private system generally cannot be sited where a sewer is accessible²⁶²⁷. If a county sewer later becomes available, connection and abandonment of the private system are required²⁸.

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

We could not confirm a Scioto County rule that allows or bars long-term occupancy of one RV on an ordinary private parcel. Ohio's temporary park-camp limits, 21 days per calendar year, apply to land used for parking at least 5 recreational vehicles or camping units, so they do not answer the single-RV question⁶. Ask the township or municipality about zoning and occupancy before relying on an RV while you build.

We also could not confirm a countywide tiny-home or minimum-dwelling-size rule, because local zoning varies³. Where a certified residential building department has jurisdiction, occupancy waits for its certificate of occupancy or completion¹². A qualifying permanently sited manufactured home must be allowed where the township or municipality permits single-family homes, though uniform zoning and deed restrictions may still apply²⁹.

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

1. Identify the township or municipality and get its current zoning rules³.
2. Ask which certified residential building department, if any, serves the parcel².
3. Order the septic site and soil evaluation early²²²⁵.
4. Apply to the Scioto County Health Department for the septic permit before construction¹⁷⁴.
5. Apply to the board of health for the private-well permit⁵.
6. For a county-road driveway, get the County Engineer's permit and set stakes showing the location when you apply⁷¹⁸.
7. Where building approval applies, schedule inspections and obtain the certificate of occupancy or completion before moving in¹⁶¹².

What should you check before buying land in Scioto County?

Check septic feasibility first: only 0.7% of Scioto County land is rated not limited for a conventional drain field²⁵. Terrain matters too, since 34.8% of county land has a slope of 15% or less and 77.1% is wooded³⁰³¹.

Access comes next. A driveway must be present before a parcel can receive a new address, and county-road driveways need a culvert permit; if a culvert is required, the owner furnishes it, at least 15 inches in diameter and 30 feet long³²⁷. A county-road permit does not cover state, township or private roads³².

If you plan to split a parcel, a division along an existing public street of no more than 5 lots, with no new street, can be approved without a plat by the planning authority¹⁰. Otherwise a division creating a parcel under 5 acres is generally a subdivision; we could not confirm which authority administers that rule locally³³. In mapped Zone A flood areas, construction and manufactured-home placement need floodplain review; the local administrator could not be confirmed³⁴. The typical effective property-tax rate is about 1.1%, and the median annual bill is about $1,417³⁵³⁶.

Watch-outs

• Do not assume a county-level answer settles a parcel's requirements; ask the township or municipality which certified residential building department has jurisdiction¹².
• The county's zoning map warns that its zoning inventory is incomplete, so verify zoning approval and dimensional standards with the parcel's township or municipality²⁰.
• Long-term occupancy of one RV or a tiny home on ordinary private land could not be confirmed; Ohio's temporary-campground limits do not answer that question⁶.
• The agricultural building-code exemption depends on a zoning certificate declaring the structure agricultural, and it does not waive septic, subdivision or zoning rules⁹.
• A county-road driveway permit does not answer access for state, township, municipal or private roads; first identify who maintains the road³².

Sources

1. Scioto County Engineer - Zoning Standards (2026 county census)
2. Section 3791.04 | Submission of plan - approvals - prohibition - fine, quoted and re-checked
3. Regulations, Standards, and Zoning, quoted and re-checked
4. Sewage Treatment Systems, quoted and re-checked
5. Rule 3701-28-03 | Permits, system approval and sampling requirements, quoted and re-checked
6. Ohio Revised Code Section 3729.01 Definitions, quoted and re-checked
7. Scioto County Driveway Culvert Permit Application Instructions and General Rules, quoted and re-checked
8. Section 519.21 | Powers not conferred on township zoning commission by chapter, quoted and re-checked
9. Section 3781.061 | Exemption for building or structure used in agriculture, quoted and re-checked
10. Section 711.131 | Approval without plat, quoted and re-checked
11. Section 3781.10 | Board of building standards - powers and duties, quoted and re-checked
12. Ohio Residential Code, Rule 4101:8-1-01, quoted and re-checked
13. Section 3791.04 | Submission of plan - approvals - prohibition - fine (Ohio statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
14. Ohio Building Code, Rule 4101:1-1-01, quoted and re-checked
15. Section 3781.10 | Board of building standards - powers and duties, quoted and re-checked
16. Ohio Residential Code, Section 108 — Inspection Process, quoted and re-checked
17. Scioto County Health Department (sciotocountyhealth.com)
18. Scioto County Engineer (sciotocountyengineer.org)
19. Scioto County Engineer - Zoning Standards (2026 county census)
20. Welcome to the Scioto County Engineer's Website — Regulations, Standards, and Zoning, quoted and re-checked
21. Village of New Boston: Codified Ordinances of New Boston, Ohio - Overview (Scioto County), quoted and re-checked
22. Rule 3701-29-09 | Site review and permits for STS installation and operation, quoted and re-checked
23. Rule 3701-29-09 | Site review and permits for STS installation and operation, quoted and re-checked
24. Scioto County’s O&M Management Program, quoted and re-checked
25. 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
26. Rule 3701-29-06 | General provisions and prohibitions, quoted and re-checked
27. Rule 3701-29-06 | General provisions and prohibitions, quoted and re-checked
28. Scioto County Sanitary Sewer Rules & Regulations, quoted and re-checked
29. Chapter 3781 - Ohio Revised Code, quoted and re-checked
30. Share of land at 15% slope or less: Bolthole Index county data
31. Wooded share of land: Bolthole Index county data
32. Permits and Forms, quoted and re-checked
33. Section 711.001 | Plat definitions, quoted and re-checked
34. Rule 1501:22-1-04 | Floodplain management criteria, quoted and re-checked
35. Effective property tax rate: Bolthole Index county data
36. Median property tax bill: Bolthole Index county data

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.