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

At a glance

Building permit

Required for work covered by Pennsylvania's Uniform Construction Code; the COG publishes the building-permit application²¹

Building inspections

Required for UCC-regulated construction and changes to listed building systems⁷

Zoning

County ordinance in Cherry, Colley and Davidson townships; local ordinances in Dushore and Laporte boroughs³⁴

Septic

A local agency and Sewage Enforcement Officer handle on-lot permits⁵⁸

RV or tiny-home living

Private-land occupancy rules are unconfirmed; ask the township or borough before moving in⁹

Owner-builder exemption

Owners may perform work without compensation, but that does not waive UCC permits or inspections¹⁰¹¹

State-highway driveway

PennDOT permit required to build or change access on state highway land¹²

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 Sullivan County, Pennsylvania?

Yes. Property owners in Sullivan County must obtain a building permit before starting work covered by Pennsylvania's statewide Uniform Construction Code¹². The enforcing authority may be a municipality, a certified third-party agency or the state Department, depending on the municipality². The Sullivan County Council of Governments publishes the local building-permit application for its participating municipalities¹.

Building inspections are required for UCC-regulated construction and changes to residential buildings and listed electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing systems⁷. A residential building subject to the UCC may not be used until a certificate of occupancy has been issued after a compliant final inspection¹³. A property owner may perform uncompensated work on the owner's own primary residence, but that does not waive the building permit, building inspections or certificate of occupancy¹⁰²⁷¹³. A qualifying agricultural building without habitable space is excluded from the state Construction Code Act, but municipal land-use, fire, electrical, health and environmental rules may still apply¹⁴.

Who handles Sullivan County building permits, and how do you reach them?

Sullivan County does not direct applicants to a conventional county building department; the Sullivan County Council of Governments publishes the building-permit application for local use¹. The COG lists its physical office as 268 Overton Road, Dushore, PA. 18614, its email as sullivanctycog@gmail.com and its telephone as 407-818-9743¹⁵. Because that published telephone number carries an out-of-state area code, email is the prudent first contact if the call does not connect¹⁵.

Ask the COG which enforcing authority will review the building-permit application and what local building-permit fee applies. Pennsylvania's published UCC building-permit process identifies application documents, plan-submission choices, floodplain documentation, energy-code documentation and review checklists, but the actual enforcing authority depends on the municipality or certified third-party agency¹⁶. The state publishes building-permit fees only for applications within state jurisdiction, not a Sullivan County-specific amount¹⁷. For subdivision or land development, Sullivan County Planning & Development directs applicants to download, complete and submit the appropriate forms¹⁸. Zoning approval and septic permits remain separate: confirm zoning with the applicable county or borough authority and begin septic review with the local Sewage Enforcement Officer³⁴⁵.

Does Sullivan County, Pennsylvania have zoning?

Sullivan County has a county zoning ordinance used in Cherry Township, Colley Township and Davidson Township³. Dushore Borough and Laporte Borough use their own zoning ordinances, while the county's 2014 plan reported no local zoning ordinance in the other listed municipalities⁴. Because that municipality-by-municipality account comes from the 2014 plan, confirm the current zoning authority and zoning approval for the parcel before purchase or design⁴. Septic permits do not shift with zoning authority; the local Sewage Enforcement Officer handles on-lot sewage review⁵.

Subdivision review is separate from zoning approval. Sullivan County Planning & Development publishes subdivision and land-development applications and checklists, while Pennsylvania law allows a county subdivision ordinance to apply where a municipality has none in effect¹⁹²⁰. We could not confirm current county or municipal rules for setbacks, minimum dwelling size, lot size, building height, RV occupancy or tiny homes, so ask the applicable county or borough zoning authority about each item before relying on a parcel for a particular use³⁴.

How do septic permits work in Sullivan County?

On-lot septic permitting and enforcement in Sullivan County are local-agency responsibilities carried out through a Sewage Enforcement Officer⁵. Code Inspections, Inc. serves as the Sewage Enforcement Officer for COG member municipalities, with the COG office in Dushore as the starting contact²¹. Local agencies issue permits for retaining tanks and individual or community on-lot systems, with an exception for large-volume systems⁸.

Pennsylvania generally requires the local-agency permit before installing or constructing an on-lot system or occupying a building served by one²². A narrow exemption may apply to an owner or immediate-family residence on a contiguous tract of at least 10 acres, but it carries ownership-date, notice and siting conditions and may be displaced by local ordinance²². Sullivan County's soil survey rates 0% of soils as free from severe limits for a conventional drain field, so make the Sewage Enforcement Officer's site evaluation an early contingency rather than assuming a conventional system will work²³.

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

We could not confirm a countywide rule allowing long-term RV residence, temporary private-land camping or tiny-home occupancy in Sullivan County. Ask the county zoning authority for land in Cherry, Colley or Davidson township and the borough zoning authority in Dushore or Laporte about occupancy, setbacks, dwelling size and zoning approval before moving an RV or tiny home onto the parcel³⁴. For another municipality, first confirm whether its zoning status has changed since the county's 2014 plan⁴. Septic permits remain with the local Sewage Enforcement Officer regardless of which authority handles zoning⁵.

Pennsylvania's state-park campground limits answer only how long someone may camp in a state park; they do not authorize residential RV use on private land²⁴. A manufactured home also is not a shortcut around local land-use and utility review: although a new federally labeled unit installed to its approved design has limited treatment under the Uniform Construction Code, utility connections, grading, later additions, resale and relocation can bring state code requirements back into play²⁵. Any occupied dwelling still needs an approved sewage solution, and new residences using water-conservation toilets need an approved method for washwater or excess liquid²²²⁶.

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

1. Identify the township or borough and confirm whether zoning approval comes from the county ordinance, a borough ordinance or a newer municipal rule³⁴.
2. Contact the Sullivan County COG for the building-permit application, enforcing authority, submission requirements and building-permit fee^1161715.
3. Start the septic-permit review with the local Sewage Enforcement Officer before finalizing the house site⁵⁸.
4. Submit any subdivision or land-development plan to Sullivan County Planning & Development using its published applications and checklists¹⁹¹⁸.
5. Obtain a PennDOT Highway Occupancy Permit if the project builds or changes a driveway on state highway land¹².
6. If the site is in a Special Flood Hazard Area, obtain the municipality's floodplain-development permit before development begins⁶.
7. Schedule the required building inspections, obtain the certificate of occupancy before moving in and provide proof of passed inspections for a completed public electric or gas connection⁷¹³²⁷.

What should you check before buying land in Sullivan County?

Start with sewage feasibility: Sullivan County's mapped soils show 0% without severe limits for a conventional septic drain field, so a favorable site evaluation may affect both the building location and purchase decision²³. Check the flood map and ask the municipality for its current ordinance and administrator; development in a Special Flood Hazard Area requires a municipal floodplain-development permit before covered work begins²⁸⁶. Verify legal access as well; building or changing a driveway on Pennsylvania state highway land requires a PennDOT Highway Occupancy Permit¹².

The county is sparsely settled at about 13 people per square mile and is 89.5% wooded, useful context for utility planning and site clearing²⁹³⁰. Farmland averages about $4,619 per acre, while the median annual property-tax bill is $1,959 and the effective rate is about 1.1%³¹³²³³. Treat those countywide figures as context, then confirm the parcel's assessment, boundaries, easements, road status, private-well requirements and utility options before closing; Pennsylvania does not regulate private homeowner wells statewide, and we could not confirm a countywide private-well permit rule³⁴.

Watch-outs

• The COG contact page publishes 407-818-9743 for its Dushore office; because that is not a Pennsylvania area code, use sullivanctycog@gmail.com if the telephone number does not connect¹⁵.
• Development in a Special Flood Hazard Area requires a floodplain-development permit from the applicable municipality; ask that municipality for its current ordinance and administrator before planning site work⁶³⁵.
• The private-land rules for RV residence, tiny homes, setbacks and minimum dwelling size remain unconfirmed, so ask the applicable county or borough zoning authority before purchase³⁴.

Sources

1. Sullivan County Council of Governments — Permits (2026 county census)
2. Uniform Construction Code, quoted and re-checked
3. Sullivan County 2014 Hazard Mitigation Plan, quoted and re-checked
4. Sullivan County 2014 Hazard Mitigation Plan, quoted and re-checked
5. Act 537 Sewage Facilities, quoted and re-checked
6. Flood Map FAQs, quoted and re-checked
7. Apply for a Uniform Construction Code Building Permit, quoted and re-checked
8. Municipal On Lot Sewage Service Areas, quoted and re-checked
9. Local Registrations, Permits, Zoning (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
10. Contractor Licensing (2026 county census)
11. Apply for a Uniform Construction Code Building Permit, quoted and re-checked
12. Apply for a PennDOT Highway Occupancy Permit, quoted and re-checked
13. Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code, Chapter 403, quoted and re-checked
14. Pennsylvania Construction Code Act — Chapter 1 (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
15. Sullivan County Council of Governments (COG) (sullivancountycog.com)
16. Apply for a Uniform Construction Code Building Permit, quoted and re-checked
17. Apply for a Uniform Construction Code Building Permit, quoted and re-checked
18. Sullivan County Planning & Development (sullivancountypa.gov)
19. Planning & Development — Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, quoted and re-checked
20. Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
21. PA DEP — Sewage Enforcement Officers (Act 537) (2026 county census)
22. 25 Pa. Code § 72.22. Permit issuance (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
23. 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
24. RV and Tent Campsites (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
25. Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code, Chapter 403 (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
26. 25 Pa. Code § 73.65. Recycling toilet, incinerating toilet or composting toilet (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
27. Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code, Chapter 403, quoted and re-checked
28. Laws, Acts, and Regulations, quoted and re-checked
29. Population density: Bolthole Index county data
30. Wooded share of land: Bolthole Index county data
31. Farmland value per acre (USDA census): Bolthole Index county data
32. Median property tax bill: Bolthole Index county data
33. Effective property tax rate: Bolthole Index county data
34. Apply for a Water Well Drillers License and Rig Permit (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
35. Laws, Acts, and Regulations, 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.