Building permits, zoning and land rules in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania

At a glance

Building permit

Required for covered work under Pennsylvania's UCC; the municipality or its certified agency administers residential permits¹²

Building inspections

Required for covered work; passed inspections are needed for completed public electric or gas connection⁷⁸

Zoning

No county zoning ordinance; zoning requirements vary by municipality³⁴

Septic permit

Required from the applicable Act 537 local agency for most on-lot systems; the ten-acre exception is narrow⁹⁶¹⁰

RV or tiny-home living

No county tiny-home land-use restriction; municipal zoning may restrict tiny homes and RV occupancy remains unconfirmed¹¹¹²

Owner-builder exemption

No general exemption confirmed; a qualifying recreational cabin has a narrow conditional exemption¹³

Private water well

Commercial drillers need state licensing and rig permits; owner-drillers are exempt from that licensing rule¹⁴

Conventional septic soils

No mapped soil share is rated free of severe limitations¹⁵

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 9, 2026.

Do you need a building permit in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania?

Yes. Pennsylvania's statewide Uniform Construction Code requires a UCC building permit before covered construction or building work begins in Lackawanna County¹². A municipality that elected local enforcement uses municipal staff or a certified third-party agency; in an opt-out municipality, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry handles commercial enforcement and a certified third-party agency handles residential enforcement¹. The permit holder must provide access and call when foundation, systems, framing, wallboard and final work are ready for required building inspections⁷. A covered residential building cannot be occupied until the building code official issues a certificate of occupancy, and completed public electric or gas service requires written proof that the structure passed inspection¹⁶⁸. A qualifying agricultural building without habitable space is excluded from the Construction Code Act, but zoning, fire, electrical, health and environmental requirements can still apply¹⁷.

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

Start with the city, borough or township containing the parcel because Lackawanna County does not provide one countywide building-permit office; local administration or a certified third-party agency handles residential UCC building permits¹². Building-permit fees also vary by enforcing authority: each opt-in municipality must publish a fee schedule, and municipal or third-party fees are not fixed by state law¹⁸. Covington Township illustrates the local model: its Building Code Office lists (570) 842-4607, covingtonbuildingcode@gmail.com and 20 Moffat Drive, Covington Township, PA 18444, but that office serves only Covington Township¹⁹. Municipal zoning approval stays with the parcel's city, borough or township, septic permits stay with the applicable Act 537 local agency, and Lackawanna County Planning provides advisory review of subdivision and land-development proposals⁴⁵²⁰.

Does Lackawanna County have zoning?

Lackawanna County has no county zoning ordinance, but local zoning varies across its municipalities, so parcel-specific zoning approval comes from the city, borough or township where the land lies³⁴. Scott Township, for example, states that it has its own zoning ordinance and Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, but Scott Township's rules do not answer questions for land elsewhere in Lackawanna County²¹. Lackawanna County itself has no zoning-based minimum dwelling size, minimum lot size or setbacks, yet a municipality may impose each of those standards²²²³²⁴. Ask the correct municipal zoning office about zoning approval for RV placement, tiny-home use, building height, lot coverage and accessory dwellings⁴. Building permits remain a separate UCC process, and septic permits remain with the applicable Act 537 local agency¹⁵.

How do septic permits work in Lackawanna County?

Most on-lot sewage work in Lackawanna County requires a septic permit before installation, construction, alteration, repair, connection or occupancy of the served building⁹. The applicable Act 537 local agency issues septic permits and may be a municipality, cooperating municipalities, a county or a county health department, so ask the parcel's municipality to identify its Sewage Enforcement Officer or shared agency⁵⁶. The ten-acre exception is narrow: the home must be for the owner or immediate family, the ownership and siting conditions must be met, the local agency must be notified, and a local ordinance can still require a septic permit¹⁰. Lackawanna County's mapped soils show 0% without severe limitations for a conventional drain field, making an early site and soil evaluation especially valuable¹⁵. A new residence using a composting, recycling or incinerating toilet still needs an approved method for washwater or excess liquid²⁵.

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

Lackawanna County has no county land-use restriction on tiny-home occupancy, but municipal zoning may restrict it, and building-code, occupancy, septic and floodplain requirements still apply¹¹. We could not confirm a countywide answer for long-term RV occupancy or temporary private-land camping; ask the city, borough or township zoning office for a written parcel-specific answer¹². Pennsylvania's published campground stay limits concern state park campgrounds and do not establish a right to live in an RV on private land²⁶. New labeled manufactured housing installed to its approved design has a limited UCC exclusion, but site preparation, utility connections, additions and certain later alterations or relocations remain subject to the UCC²⁷. A qualifying recreational cabin has a narrow exemption after the owner supplies required safety equipment and files the prescribed documentation with the municipality; this is not a general owner-builder exemption¹³.

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

1. Identify the parcel's city, borough or township, then ask which municipal zoning office and UCC code official or certified residential agency serves it¹⁴.

1. Obtain written municipal zoning approval for the proposed house, accessory structures, setbacks and occupancy⁴²⁴.

1. Ask the municipality to identify the applicable Act 537 local agency, then arrange soil testing and obtain the septic permit before relying on the site for a home⁵⁶.

1. Complete any subdivision or land-development submission required by the municipality; Lackawanna County Planning reviews proposals, while the municipality gives final approval²⁸²⁰.

1. Obtain the UCC building permit before work begins, schedule the required building inspections, and secure the certificate of occupancy before using the completed home¹⁷¹⁶.

1. Provide the utility with written proof of passed inspections before completed public electric or gas service is connected⁸.

1. Obtain a PennDOT Highway Occupancy Permit if the driveway is built or changed on state-highway land or connects to PennDOT drainage²⁹.

1. Obtain the municipal floodplain-development permit before work in a Special Flood Hazard Area³⁰.

What should you check before buying land in Lackawanna County?

Confirm municipal zoning, subdivision status, legal road access, floodplain status, buildability and septic feasibility before closing. The parcel's municipality controls the zoning answer and final subdivision or land-development approval, while Lackawanna County Planning reviews subdivision and land-development proposals¹²²⁸²⁰. Septic feasibility deserves early attention because 0% of mapped county soils are rated free of severe limitations for a conventional drain field¹⁵. A driveway involving state-highway land or PennDOT drainage requires a state Highway Occupancy Permit, while this rule does not establish requirements for access from a municipal road²⁹. Development in a Special Flood Hazard Area requires municipal permit review before work begins³⁰. Commercial water-well drillers need state licenses and permits, but that requirement does not apply to a homeowner drilling on owned or leased land; Pennsylvania does not set construction standards for private water wells¹⁴. A home-use gas well, unlike an ordinary domestic water well, must have a well permit or registration³¹.

Watch-outs

• Building-permit, zoning-approval and septic-permit contacts vary by municipality, so verify the parcel's city, borough or township before contacting an example office¹⁴⁵.
• Lackawanna County sets no zoning-based tiny-home restriction, minimum dwelling size or setbacks, but municipal rules may do so; RV occupancy remains unconfirmed, so request a parcel-specific answer from the municipal zoning office^11222412.
• Lackawanna County's mapped soils show 0% without severe limitations for a conventional septic drain field, so complete the site evaluation before assuming a lot can support the planned system¹⁵.

Sources

1. Apply for a Uniform Construction Code Building Permit, quoted and re-checked
2. Uniform Construction Code, quoted and re-checked
3. Lackawanna County Land-Use Planning Annual Report 2019, quoted and re-checked
4. Planning, quoted and re-checked
5. Municipal On Lot Sewage Service Areas, quoted and re-checked
6. Municipal On Lot Sewage Service Areas, quoted and re-checked
7. Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code regulations, Chapter 403, quoted and re-checked
8. Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code Regulations, quoted and re-checked
9. Municipal On Lot Sewage Service Areas, quoted and re-checked
10. Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act, Section 7 — Permits, quoted and re-checked
11. Lackawanna County Land-Use Planning Annual Report 2019, quoted and re-checked
12. Lackawanna County Land-Use Planning Annual Report 2019, quoted and re-checked
13. pacodeandbulletin.gov, quoted and re-checked
14. Apply for a Water Well Drillers License and Rig Permit, quoted and re-checked
15. 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
16. Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code regulations, Chapter 403, quoted and re-checked
17. Pennsylvania Construction Code Act — Chapter 1 (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
18. Municipal Election Information and Forms, quoted and re-checked
19. Covington Township Building Code Office (municipal example) (covingtontwp.org)
20. Lackawanna County Department of Planning (ww2.lackawannacounty.org)
21. Scott Township Zoning & Code Enforcement (municipal example) (scotttownship.org)
22. Lackawanna County Land-Use Planning Annual Report 2019, quoted and re-checked
23. Lackawanna County Land-Use Planning Annual Report 2019, quoted and re-checked
24. Lackawanna County Land-Use Planning Annual Report 2019, quoted and re-checked
25. 25 Pa. Code § 73.65. Recycling toilet, incinerating toilet or composting toilet (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
26. RV and Tent Campsites (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
27. Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code, Chapter 403 (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
28. Planning, quoted and re-checked
29. Apply for a PennDOT Highway Occupancy Permit, quoted and re-checked
30. Pennsylvania Floodplain Development Guide, quoted and re-checked
31. Home Use Gas Wells, quoted and re-checked

Written October 9, 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.