Building permits, zoning and land rules in Wasco County, Oregon

At a glance

Building permit

Required for regulated construction⁴¹

Zoning

County zoning applies outside incorporated communities⁵²

Septic

A permit is required from North Central Public Health District⁶³⁷

RV living

Allowed only in qualifying circumstances; parcel-specific rules still apply⁸

Tiny home

Occupancy rules were not confirmed; ask the Planning Division⁹

Owner-builder

A narrow structural-code exemption exists, but a permit is still required¹⁰

Private well

A landowner who constructs a well needs a state permit and bond¹¹

Scenic Area setbacks & height

A-1 zone: 25 ft front and side, 40 ft rear, 35 ft maximum height; R-R zone: 25 ft front, 20 ft rear¹²¹³¹⁴

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 Wasco County, Oregon?

Yes. Oregon requires local permits before new residential construction and specified structural, plumbing, mechanical and electrical alterations begin, including in Wasco County.¹ Homes are built to the Oregon Residential Specialty Code, based on the 2021 International Residential Code and mandatory since April 1, 2024.¹⁵ Some work is exempt, so describe the exact project to Wasco County Building Codes Services before assuming a permit is unnecessary.¹

Wasco County Building Codes Services reviews applications and issues building permits; its official page directs licensed contractors to Oregon ePermitting for online applications.¹⁶ The county's building-code ordinance covers the whole county, including inside the limits of its cities, and the same office runs inspections.¹⁷ Permitted work must remain accessible and exposed for inspection, and work cannot advance beyond each required inspection point without approval.¹⁸ A new dwelling or townhouse cannot be occupied until the building official issues a certificate of occupancy, unless a temporary certificate is issued; permit-exempt work and accessory buildings do not need one.¹⁹ Oregon's owner-builder provision does not eliminate the building permit: for a qualifying owner-built home and adjacent outbuildings, it only exempts structural-code rules for ceiling heights, room sizes and maintaining specified temperatures, and the owner cannot have used the exemption in the previous 5 years.¹⁰

Who issues building and land-use permits in Wasco County?

Wasco County Building Codes Services is the contact for building permits, plan review and inspections; the office is at 2705 East 2nd St. in The Dalles and uses Oregon ePermitting for online contractor applications.¹⁶ Wasco County Planning Division handles zoning, land-use permits and parcel-specific development questions from its office at 2705 E 2nd St. in The Dalles.²⁰

Call Planning before commissioning plans because the applicable land-use ordinance changes if the parcel lies in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.² Building applications, plans, specifications and supporting data are reviewed by the Building Official, and other county departments may review the project for laws within their jurisdiction.²¹ Wasco County permit and plan-review fees vary: the county sets fees by resolution, and the Building Official determines the construction valuation used to calculate them.²² Ask Building Codes Services for a project-specific fee estimate rather than budgeting from a single flat permit price.²²

Does Wasco County have zoning?

Yes. Wasco County's land-use ordinances and zoning maps regulate new development outside incorporated communities.² To find a parcel's zone, locate it on the county's online map tool, then read the matching Land Use and Development Ordinance.²³ Inside The Dalles, The Dalles sets its own zoning under its Land Use and Development Ordinance, which also reaches the urbanizable area between city limits and the urban growth boundary.²⁴ In unincorporated Wasco County outside the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, the county ordinance applies; inside the Scenic Area, the Scenic Area ordinance applies.² Septic permits stay with North Central Public Health District for every address, city or not.³

Scenic Area rules are the most specific the county publishes. In the A-1 agriculture zone, structures need 25 feet of front and side setback and 40 feet at the rear, and height tops out at 35 feet unless Scenic Area Review restricts it further.¹²¹³ In the R-R rural residential zone the setbacks are 25 feet front, 15 feet interior side, 20 feet exterior side and 20 feet rear.¹⁴ Any dwelling or structure without an easement must sit at least 50 feet from the centerline of an irrigation ditch or pipeline that continues past the parcel.²⁵

Parcel size is district-specific: A-1 parcels start at 40 acres, with 60, 80 and 160 acre variants, and F-1 forest parcels need at least 80 acres.²⁶²⁷ In the Special Management Area, no new dwelling or related major structure is permitted on fewer than 40 contiguous acres of agricultural land.²⁸ Subdivisions are prohibited in F-1, and land divisions in the Special Management Area are generally barred unless a new parcel facilitates federal acquisition.²⁹³⁰ Where subdivision is allowed, preliminary approval is valid for 24 months.³¹ Ask the Planning Division to confirm the parcel's jurisdiction, zone, overlays and land-division options before relying on a purchase plan.²⁰

How do septic permits work in Wasco County?

North Central Public Health District administers onsite wastewater permitting in Wasco County as Oregon DEQ's local agent.³ A septic permit is required to install a new system or alter or repair an existing system.⁷ After an Environmental Health Specialist reviews the application and confirms that the site-evaluation conditions and applicable rules are satisfied, the district can issue the separate installation permit required before construction.⁷ The installation permit is valid for one year from issuance.⁷ Applications and permits are processed through Oregon ePermitting, with phone assistance available for applicants who cannot use the online system.³² The completed system must be inspected and approved.³³

Only 6.8% of mapped soils are rated without severe limitations for a conventional septic drain field, so make a site evaluation an early purchase contingency rather than assuming a standard system will work.³⁴ A composting toilet does not remove the wastewater question: a home installation requires a plumbing permit, and other plumbing fixtures still need an approved wastewater treatment connection.³⁵ A building inside a sewer district still needs a sewer connection even if it uses a composting toilet.³⁶

Can you live in an RV or tiny home in Wasco County?

Oregon protects RV occupancy in limited circumstances, including qualifying park settings with lawful utility connections and temporary placement after a dwelling becomes uninhabitable in a natural disaster.⁸ That rule does not create unrestricted long-term RV living on every private parcel, and local governments may impose additional conditions.⁸

Wasco County's rule for ordinary temporary camping on private land could not be confirmed, so ask the Planning Division about the parcel, proposed duration and utility connections before moving an RV onto the land.²⁰ Wasco County's occupancy rule for tiny homes, including a tiny home on wheels used as a dwelling, also could not be confirmed; zoning still regulates new development outside incorporated communities.⁹ A manufactured dwelling may be occupied on private Oregon land with the owner's consent only when water, sewage and other applicable state and local standards are satisfied.³⁷

How do you build a home in Wasco County?

1. Ask the Wasco County Planning Division to identify the zone and whether the ordinary county ordinance or a Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area ordinance applies.²
2. Confirm legal access and ask Planning which road authority must approve the approach; the county-road approach requirement could not be confirmed.²⁰
3. Arrange water and wastewater early; North Central Public Health District handles septic site evaluations and permits in Wasco County.³
4. Submit building plans to Wasco County Building Codes Services and request the calculated permit and plan-review fees for the project.¹⁶²²
5. Wait for permit issuance before starting work that requires a permit.¹
6. Keep the work accessible for each required inspection and do not build past an inspection point without approval.¹⁸
7. Complete the final inspection and obtain a certificate of occupancy before occupying a new dwelling.¹⁸¹⁹

What should you check before buying land in Wasco County?

Confirm jurisdiction and zoning first because county rules apply outside incorporated communities, incorporated municipalities administer their own local rules, and the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area has a separate county ordinance.³⁸² If subdivision is part of the plan, verify feasibility before closing: F-1 forest zones prohibit subdivisions, and Special Management Area divisions are generally barred.²⁹³⁰ Make septic feasibility a contract contingency because only 6.8% of mapped soils lack severe limitations for a conventional drain field.³⁴ Check where irrigation ditches cross the parcel, since structures need a 50-foot setback from a ditch centerline where no easement exists.²⁵ Confirm the legal water source and well budget; an owner who personally constructs, alters or abandons a water-supply well needs a state permit and bond unless licensed and bonded as a Water Supply Well Constructor.¹¹

Verify recorded access and the responsible road authority with the Planning Division before closing.²⁰ Wasco County's median property-tax bill is about $2,784 per year, but the parcel's actual assessment can differ.³⁹

Watch-outs

• A rural Wasco County address does not mean unrestricted land: county zoning applies outside incorporated communities, and the applicable ordinance changes inside the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.²
• A qualifying agricultural building can be exempt from structural-code requirements, but electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits still apply, and a dwelling does not qualify as an agricultural building.⁴⁰ Inside the Scenic Area, farming other than new cultivation may be allowed without review, but Special Management Area uses must stay within previously disturbed and regularly worked fields.⁴¹
• Wasco County's private-land camping and tiny-home occupancy rules could not be confirmed; ask the Planning Division before purchase or occupancy.²⁰

Sources

1. About Oregon residential building permits, quoted and re-checked
2. Zoning & Permits, quoted and re-checked
3. Septic Systems — North Central Public Health, quoted and re-checked
4. Wasco County Building Codes Services (2026 county census)
5. Zoning & Permits (2026 county census)
6. North Central Public Health District - Septic Systems (2026 county census)
7. Septic Systems — North Central Public Health, quoted and re-checked
8. Oregon Revised Statutes, ORS 197.493, quoted and re-checked
9. Zoning & Permits, quoted and re-checked
10. 2023 Oregon Residential Specialty Code, Chapter 1, quoted and re-checked
11. Landowner’s Well Permit Application Form, quoted and re-checked
12. Chapter 3 – Basic Provisions, quoted and re-checked
13. Chapter 3 – Basic Provisions, A-1 Zone, quoted and re-checked
14. Chapter 3 – Basic Provisions, quoted and re-checked
15. Oregon State Building Code, quoted and re-checked
16. Wasco County Building Codes Services (wascocountyor.gov)
17. Wasco County Ordinance 19-002, quoted and re-checked
18. 2023 Oregon Residential Specialty Code, Chapter 1, quoted and re-checked
19. 2023 Oregon Residential Specialty Code, Chapter 1, quoted and re-checked
20. Wasco County Planning Division (wascocountyor.gov)
21. Building Codes Services, quoted and re-checked
22. Ordinance 19-002: Administration of the Building Inspection Program, quoted and re-checked
23. Zoning & Permits, quoted and re-checked
24. The Dalles: The Dalles Code Chapter 10.1 General Provisions (Land Use and Development Ordinance) (Wasco County), quoted and re-checked
25. Chapter 3 – Basic Provisions, quoted and re-checked
26. cms5.revize.com, quoted and re-checked
27. cms5.revize.com, quoted and re-checked
28. Chapter 3 – Basic Provisions, A-1 Zone, Special Management Area, quoted and re-checked
29. cms5.revize.com, quoted and re-checked
30. Chapter 3 – Basic Provisions, quoted and re-checked
31. Wasco County National Scenic Area Land Use and Development Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
32. North Central Public Health District (ncphd.org)
33. Septic Systems — North Central Public Health, quoted and re-checked
34. 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
35. Composting Toilets, quoted and re-checked
36. Composting Toilets, quoted and re-checked
37. Oregon Revised Statutes, ORS 446.125 (Oregon statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
38. Zoning & Permits, quoted and re-checked
39. Median property tax bill: Bolthole Index county data
40. Statewide Statutory Interpretation 13-03, quoted and re-checked
41. Chapter 3 – Basic Provisions, 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.