Building permits, zoning and septic in Tobyhanna Township, Pennsylvania

At a glance

Building permits

Required before covered residential construction; Bureau Veritas handles building code enforcement¹²

Zoning

Township zoning applies³

Septic permits

Local-agency approval; contact the township septic department⁵⁶

RV living

Residential parking prohibited, with the stated mobile-home-park exception for mobile homes⁴

Owner-builder

State contractor licensing relief does not remove building-permit requirements⁷¹

Occupancy

Residential certificate of occupancy required for a UCC-regulated home⁸

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 15, 2026.

Do you need a building permit in Tobyhanna Township, PA?

A new home in Tobyhanna Township needs a building permit before covered residential construction begins under Pennsylvania’s Uniform Construction Code.¹ Bureau Veritas handles township building code enforcement, and the township directs building-permit questions to that agency.²

Building approval and zoning approval address different questions: the township describes building permits as regulating internal structural work and requires zoning permits for work on houses and accessory structures.² Ask Bureau Veritas to identify the building application and inspection requirements for your project, and ask the Zoning Department to confirm the proposed use and site layout before committing to a house plan.²⁹

Who handles building permits and zoning in Tobyhanna Township?

For Tobyhanna Township building-permit questions, call Bureau Veritas at (570) 894-2801; its listed office is at 105 Government Center Way, Suite 101 Pocono Pines, PA 18350.² For township zoning questions, call the Zoning Department at (570) 355-2236.⁹

Describe all planned work when you call: the township lists reroofing, certain decks, electrical work and plumbing work among building-permit examples, while sheds, deck repairs and additions appear among zoning-permit examples.² Keep the sewage inquiry separate: the township lists a septic-department contact at (570) 355-2221.⁶

Does Tobyhanna Township have zoning, lot-size rules and setbacks?

Tobyhanna Township has its own zoning chapter administered through a zoning officer; the absence of county-administered zoning does not answer what a township parcel allows.³¹⁰ The township specifically identifies sheds, deck repairs and additions as work requiring zoning permits.²

Before buying, ask the Township Zoning Department to identify the parcel’s district and the applicable minimum lot area, setbacks, lot coverage and dwelling-size requirements.⁹ We could not confirm those dimensional requirements or a township-specific tiny-home or accessory-dwelling approval route; take the proposed dwelling type and a site sketch to the Zoning Department before relying on a seller’s description.⁹

How do septic permits work inside Tobyhanna Township?

Pennsylvania requires local-agency sewage approval before installing or contracting for an on-lot system, or constructing or occupying a building served by that system, subject to statutory exceptions.¹¹ Start with Tobyhanna Township’s septic department for the Sewage Enforcement Officer and parcel-specific application instructions.⁶ A completed system generally must remain uncovered until the permit issuer or authorized representative approves covering it.¹²

A composting toilet does not by itself resolve sanitation for a new home: Pennsylvania still requires approved treatment or disposal of washwater and excess liquid.¹³ Monroe County’s soil data rates only 3.4% of soils “not limited” for conventional drain fields; that countywide screening supports a site evaluation, not a conclusion that a particular township lot cannot support septic.¹⁴

Can you live in an RV or tiny home in Tobyhanna Township?

Tobyhanna Township prohibits parking a mobile home, house car or travel trailer for residential purposes, with the stated exception allowing a mobile home in a mobile home park.⁴ The township also allows a licensed motor home or trailer to be parked on a lot with a principal building only when no living quarters are maintained and no business is conducted.⁴ Storage permission therefore does not provide an RV-living route while a home is built.⁴

We could not confirm a separate tiny-home or temporary-camping approval route; ask the Township Zoning Department about the exact structure and proposed use before purchasing either.⁹ A UCC-regulated residential building cannot be occupied without a certificate of occupancy.⁸

Building a home in Tobyhanna Township: what comes first?

1. Ask the Township Zoning Department to confirm the parcel’s zoning and review the proposed dwelling and layout.³⁹
2. Contact the township septic department about sewage approval before contracting for an on-lot system or beginning construction served by it.⁶¹¹
3. Obtain the required building approval through the township’s building-code process before covered construction; direct application questions to Bureau Veritas.¹²
4. Arrange required inspections, keep work accessible, and obtain the residential certificate of occupancy before moving in.¹⁵⁸

Before buying, also ask the Zoning Department about floodplain review and local driveway and well requirements, which we could not confirm for the township.⁹ Work involving state highway land or a PennDOT drainage facility requires the applicable PennDOT highway occupancy approval.¹⁶ For property outside the township, use the Monroe County guide to start with the county context.

Watch-outs

• Tobyhanna Township’s RV storage allowance does not authorize maintaining living quarters in the stored vehicle.⁴
• We could not confirm township building-permit fees; request the applicable schedule from Bureau Veritas before budgeting.²
• Pennsylvania’s owner-builder contractor-licensing provisions do not waive the building permit required for covered residential work.⁷¹

Sources

1. Part XIV, Uniform Construction Code, Chapter 403 Administration (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
2. Bureau Veritas — Tobyhanna Township building code enforcement (tobyhannatownshippa.gov)
3. Township of Tobyhanna Code, Ch. 155 Zoning, Article XII Special Regulations (Tobyhanna Township), quoted and re-checked
4. Township of Tobyhanna Code, Ch. 155 Zoning, Article XII Special Regulations (Tobyhanna Township), quoted and re-checked
5. Act 537 Sewage Facilities (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
6. Tobyhanna Township Septic Department (tobyhannatownshippa.gov)
7. Contractor Licensing (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
8. Part XIV, Uniform Construction Code, Chapter 403 Administration (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
9. Tobyhanna Township Zoning Department (tobyhannatownshippa.gov)
10. Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Section 602 (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
11. 25 Pa. Code § 72.22. Permit issuance (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
12. Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
13. 25 Pa. Code § 73.65. Recycling toilet, incinerating toilet or composting toilet (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
14. 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
15. Part XIV, Uniform Construction Code, Chapter 403 Administration (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
16. Apply for a PennDOT Highway Occupancy Permit (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked

Written October 15, 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.