Chickasaw County, Iowa Building Permit Guide

Rural Chickasaw County is unzoned: the county says it has no zoning ordinance in effect, and its posted ordinances include no building code. The Land Use office in the courthouse at 8 E. Prospect Street, New Hampton (641-394-2813), applies the subdivision ordinance to every land division and issues floodplain development permits. A new rural home still needs a $250 septic permit from Environmental Health, a free driveway permit from the County Engineer for any entrance onto a county road, and a state electrical permit.

What requires a permit in unincorporated Chickasaw County?

With no zoning in place, the county posts no general building or zoning permit for houses, garages or sheds outside city limits. The approvals it does require attach to the land, the road, the floodplain and the septic system rather than to the building itself.

One county document reads differently. The 2024 multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan states that the county does not have or enforce zoning ordinances and that it issues building permits for the unincorporated areas only, while its own table lists no building code for the unincorporated county. The Land Use office, which posts no building permit form or fee, is the office to ask if a project may need one.

What Chickasaw County decides and what the state holds

The county’s land use law is a short list in its readopted code of ordinances: on-site sewage treatment, water wells, a uniform rural address system, floodplain management, subdivisions, commercial wind energy, and since August 11, 2025, utility-scale solar (Ordinance VI-8). The old Title VI-1 slot is marked repealed, and no building code appears. Electrical inspection, trade licensing and statewide energy and fire rules are state matters.

Chickasaw County building department: who handles permitting

Ray Armel, the Land Use Administrator and Flood Plain Manager, handles all divisions of property in the unincorporated county and floodplain questions. Septic and well matters go to Environmental Health in the Public Health building, and road access to the County Engineer, whose office is at the secondary roads facility on Mission Avenue.

Cities in Chickasaw County

Each city handles permits inside its own limits; the county’s hazard plan lists building codes in Alta Vista, Lawler and Nashua and zoning in Fredericksburg, Ionia and New Hampton, but the city itself is the place to ask.

Chickasaw County permit types

The Land Use page posts two applications, one for a proposed division of land and one for floodplain development; the subdivision ordinance, its amendment and the comprehensive land use plan sit beside them. Environmental Health posts the septic permit application, and the Engineer’s Office posts its right-of-way permits, all emailed or returned to the issuing office.

Residential permits

A home on a newly created rural lot starts with a land division. The subdivision ordinance covers every plat, re-plat or division that creates a parcel under 35 acres or a quarter of a quarter section in the unincorporated county, including land within 2 miles of a city, and amendment VI-3.1 removed the old exemption for agricultural divisions. The division application, filed with every survey plat, asks whether a driveway exists or must be built and names the attorney and the Iowa-licensed land surveyor, and the Assessor, Auditor, Engineer, Environmental Health and the Administrator each sign off on it. A lot with no public sewer or water must be at least 1 acre and 100 feet wide at the building line, and septic systems and wells must meet county standards.

The septic application asks for the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, basement fixtures, garbage disposals, water softeners and other water uses, and whether the home uses a private well. An easement is required if any part of the system will be on land the owner does not own, with a copy of the recorded easement, and any discharge permit or maintenance agreement must be in place before the permit issues.

Building or remodeling a home here? Alliance handles residential permit applications, so the crew isn't waiting on the counter.

Commercial permits

Commercial buildings, like homes, have no county zoning review, but large energy projects do. Utility-scale solar installations follow Ordinance VI-8: the developer gives the Land Use Administrator a site plan with a plat of survey showing easements and floodplain areas, the contractors, panel layout, power lines, a timeline for informing neighbors, owners within 500 feet, the interconnection agreement and operation, maintenance and decommissioning plans. The Administrator reviews it within 30 days and makes a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors, which gives final approval, within the next 14 days. Concentrating solar power is banned. Commercial wind turbines follow Ordinance VI-6.

Larger residential or commercial subdivisions carry their own engineering duties under the ordinance. Where lots cannot be served by public sewer, the developer’s engineer must run soil percolation tests on each lot to Board of Health requirements and submit them with the plat; utility systems and stormwater facilities need the County Engineer’s and the supervisors’ approval; and a development covering 1 acre or more needs the Iowa Department of Natural Resources permits that apply. Environmental studies may be required near environmentally sensitive areas, and private streets are allowed if they are platted as such and controlled by the subdivision or a homeowners association.

For tenant improvements and new commercial builds, Alliance handles commercial building permits through issuance. More on this: commercial building permits explained.

What comes before the building

• Land division approval from the Land Use office when a new parcel is created.
• Septic permit from Environmental Health, after a site and soil evaluation or percolation test.
• Well construction under the state permit form linked from Environmental Health.
• Driveway permit from the Engineer’s Office before an entrance is built.
• Floodplain permit before any development in a mapped flood area.

Chickasaw County permit costs and fees

Land division fees were raised by Resolution 08-11-25-32 on August 11, 2025, which supersedes the 2007 fee resolution still linked from the Land Use page; they are non-refundable and due when the paperwork is filed. Septic fees are printed on the Environmental Health application, and driveway permits are free.

Under the 2007 resolution, which the Land Use page still links, a minor subdivision cost $100, a preliminary plat $50 and a final plat $100. A typical new rural home site created by a simple split pays $100 to the Land Use office and $250 for the septic permit, or $350 in county fees, before the surveyor, the well contractor and the state electrical permit. Residents may also buy corrugated metal driveway culverts from the Engineer’s Office, paid in full before they leave county property.

Trade permits and who may pull them

• Electrical: the county pages describe no electrical permit or inspection program, so wiring in the unincorporated county is permitted and inspected through DIAL.
• Septic installers: the county requires certification to install a septic system and keeps a list of certified installers; the installer signs the permit application, attesting that the work will follow the state’s chapter 567-69 rules and county Board of Health regulations.
• Time-of-transfer inspectors: the county posts the state’s certified inspectors for septic inspections at sale.
• Plumbing and mechanical: state licensed trades; no county permit.

Homeowners replacing or repairing a failed septic system can ask about the Onsite Wastewater Loan Program on the application; it is not available for new construction.

How to build on rural land in Chickasaw County

Review, corrections and what causes delay

A land division is not processed until the application, every survey plat and the fee are in, and the five county offices that review it can each hold it, the Engineer for access and Environmental Health for septic suitability. Driveway permits are refused where sight distance is too short, and a septic permit waits for any discharge permit or maintenance agreement an alternative system needs. Floodplain applications need a base flood elevation; the county’s current flood map shows none, so the form asks which engineering firm supplied the figure.

Inspections in Chickasaw County

No county inspector checks footings, framing or finished buildings. Environmental Health inspects every new septic system: it must be told 24 hours before construction or alteration so the finished work can be inspected before backfilling, and a septic permit is good for one year. The office also runs time-of-transfer septic inspections and monitors maintenance contracts for alternative systems.

For driveways, the maintenance superintendent or a foreman reviews the site for sight distance and sizes any culvert, the applicant calls Iowa One Call at 1-800-292-8989 at least 48 hours ahead (weekends excluded), and the inspection sheet goes back to the Engineer’s Office within 30 days of completion; the county then maintains the entrance, except where plastic pipe was used. The access policy, Resolution 02-22-22-17 of February 22, 2022, sets the minimum sight distance an entrance must have, by the posted speed of the road:

The County Engineer may grant exceptions in extraordinary cases. Keeping brush and tall grass cut so drivers can see approaching traffic is the landowner’s job, and anything placed in the right of way against the permit’s terms is treated as an obstruction, removed at the cost of whoever put it there. A floodplain permit requires a registered engineer, architect or land surveyor to certify the as-built lowest floor elevation, basement included.

Iowa building code

Chickasaw County has no zoning ordinance in effect, its posted code of ordinances includes no building code, and its 2024 hazard plan lists none for the unincorporated county; its posted rules cover land division, floodplain development, septic systems, wells and road access. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists Chickasaw County as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program; its current flood map, dated September 28, 2012, is a map without base flood elevations.

Iowa lets most cities and counties adopt the state building code, another code or none (a city of more than 15,000 must enforce at least the state code), but the energy, accessibility, fire, plumbing, mechanical and electrical rules apply statewide. Iowa rules

Chickasaw County permit records and official resources

Land division and floodplain files are kept by the Land Use office and septic records by Environmental Health; ask the Land Use office (641-394-2813) or Environmental Health (641-394-4053) for copies. Board of Supervisors agendas and minutes are posted weekly, and recorded plats are held by the County Recorder.

• Chickasaw County Land Use office
• Application for proposed division of land
• Subdivision fees, Resolution 08-11-25-32 (2025)
• Subdivision Ordinance VI-3
• Subdivision Ordinance amendment VI-3.1
• Flood plain development permit application
• Utility-scale solar ordinance VI-8
• Commercial wind energy ordinance VI-6
• County ordinances
• Code of ordinances readoption, Ordinance I-3
• Board of Supervisors resolutions
• Board of Supervisors meetings and minutes
• Waste water and septic systems
• Septic permit application
• Water well construction permit
• Engineer permits and policies
• Access policy for driveways and field entrances
• 2024 hazard mitigation plan
• DIAL electrical permits and inspections
• FEMA Community Status Book, Iowa

Chickasaw County permit FAQs

Does Chickasaw County have zoning?

No. The county says it has no zoning ordinance in effect, and the land division form describes the county as unzoned.

Do I need a county building permit to build a house in the country?

The county posts no building permit form or fee, though its 2024 hazard plan says it issues building permits for unincorporated areas; ask the Land Use office at 641-394-2813.

How much does it cost to split off a building lot?

$100 for a simple split and $150 for a minor subdivision under the August 2025 fee resolution.

How much is a septic permit?

$250, valid for one year, with an inspection before backfilling.

Is a driveway permit free?

Yes. The Engineer’s Office issues it at no cost, and it expires one year after issue.

Can a utility-scale solar farm be built in Chickasaw County?

Yes, with Board of Supervisors approval under Ordinance VI-8; concentrating solar power is prohibited.

Who issues electrical permits?

The State of Iowa through DIAL.

Simplify Chickasaw County permitting with Alliance Permitting

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in Iowa. We prepare your paperwork, file it correctly and coordinate with the permitting authority through issuance. We are not a contractor and we do not perform licensed plan review or inspections; that work stays with your licensed team and the jurisdiction.

This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Chickasaw County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.