Dallas County’s Department of Planning and Development, in the Administration Building at 800 Court Street, Room 220, Adel (515-993-5819, dcplandev@dallascountyiowa.gov), permits and inspects construction in the unincorporated county, immediately west of Des Moines. Building permit applications go in by email, post or in person; electrical, mechanical and plumbing sub-permits can also be filed through the county’s Citizen Self Service portal. Dallas County has grown faster than any other Iowa county since 2020 — 118,457 people in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate, up 19 percent — taking the metropolitan area’s westward expansion onto what was farmland, and its work is dominated by the conversion of agricultural land into subdivision — rezoning, platting and the infrastructure to serve it.
The cities inside it are growing outward at the same time. Waukee, Grimes, Van Meter and West Des Moines' Dallas County portion all annex steadily, so a parcel that is county jurisdiction today may be municipal jurisdiction by the time a permit is filed. Establishing the authority at filing rather than at purchase is the practical discipline here, and it matters more than in most Iowa counties.
This guide covers unincorporated Dallas County. Waukee, Adel, Perry, Van Meter, Grimes and the Dallas County portion of West Des Moines permit their own construction inside their limits.
Farmland becoming suburb, parcel by parcel. Dallas County's permitting is dominated by agricultural land converting to subdivision, with the cities annexing outward at the same time. A parcel that is county jurisdiction at purchase may be municipal jurisdiction by the time a permit is filed — and the two authorities may enforce different codes and charge different fees.
What requires a building permit in Dallas County?
In Dallas County the questions are what has been adopted locally, what applies whether or not it has been, and the county's adopted code and its subdivision regulation.
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- Construction, alteration, repair, demolition or change of occupancy in unincorporated territory
- Rezoning, platting and subdivision approval where agricultural land is being converted
- A statement of compliance with applicable energy conservation requirements, on every application except a one- or two-unit residential remodel
- New buildings, additions and structural work on an existing building
- Alterations, repairs and renovations, and any change of occupancy
- Decks, accessory structures above the local threshold, retaining walls and swimming pools
Often exempt
- Ordinary repairs and small accessory work below the county's adopted threshold, and one- and two-unit residential renovation from the energy statement requirement
- Ordinary repairs that do not alter structure, egress or systems
- Painting, papering, flooring, cabinets and similar finish work
- Small accessory structures below the locally adopted threshold — zoning still applies
- Renovation and remodelling of one- and two-unit residential buildings, from the energy statement requirement
What is local, and what applies regardless
The general building code is Dallas County's choice. It may adopt the state code by ordinance, adopt something else, or adopt nothing; where it adopts the state code it may also adopt its own administrative and enforcement provisions, establish a building department and designate a building official. What is not its choice is the statewide core: the energy conservation requirements, which apply to all commercial construction and to new one- and two-family residences whether or not a local code exists; the state fire code, enforced by the State Fire Marshal with local fire departments acting under agreement; and the state plumbing and electrical codes. Beyond those, the conversion of farmland to subdivision and the annexation pressure from the county's growing cities.
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
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Get a free quote →Who handles permitting in Dallas County?
Planning and Development is the permitting authority for unincorporated Dallas County, enforcing the county’s Uniform Construction Codes Ordinance (chapter 47 of the county code) and issuing the electrical, mechanical and plumbing sub-permits, alongside its zoning, rezoning, floodplain and subdivision regulation. Septic permits come from the county’s Environmental Health office (515-993-5803). The county’s cities permit inside their own limits, the Building Code Bureau maintains the state code, and the trades are licensed at state level.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Department | Dallas County Planning and Development |
| Office | Administration Building, 800 Court Street, Room 220, Adel, IA 50003 |
| Phone | (515) 993-5819 |
| Scope | Unincorporated Dallas County; the cities permit their own |
| Character | Agricultural land converting to subdivision |
| Energy statement | Required with the permit application |
In 2025, building permits issued in unincorporated Dallas County authorized 44 new privately owned housing units, all of them single-family homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey.
Permit types
Residential permits
A house in unincorporated Dallas County is permitted by the county against the code it has adopted, with zoning and subdivision cleared first and well and on-site wastewater approvals where the parcel is unserved. On converting farmland the rezoning and platting are the substantial work, and the building permit follows them rather than running alongside.
Commercial permits
Commercial and industrial work in unincorporated Dallas County — the interstate corridor, the distribution and data centre development following the metropolitan expansion, and the agricultural businesses beyond it — clears county zoning and subdivision, then plan review against the county's adopted code.
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In unincorporated Dallas County the Raccoon and North Raccoon river corridors bring floodplain review into the file, on-site wastewater governs the rural parcels, and annexation from the county's growing cities steadily reduces the unincorporated area.
Iowa contractors register with the state licensing department (DIAL), and electricians, plumbers and mechanical contractors hold state licences. Iowa rules
Dallas County permit costs and fees
Fees follow the county's schedule for unincorporated territory, with rezoning and subdivision charged through their own processes.
| Item | Fee or rule |
|---|---|
| Building permit | The county's fee schedule, for unincorporated territory |
| Rezoning and subdivision | County approvals, the substantial work on converting land |
| Well and on-site wastewater | Separate approvals where the parcel is unserved |
| Trade permits | Electrical, plumbing and mechanical, each separately |
| Energy statement | Required with the application; no separate fee |
| City permits | Waukee, Adel, Grimes and the others issue their own |
Rezoning is the project, the permit is the postscript. On land converting from agriculture, the rezoning, platting and infrastructure approvals are the substantial undertaking — measured in months and public hearings — and the building permit that follows is comparatively straightforward. A programme that budgets for the permit and not the rezoning has budgeted for the wrong thing.
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Permit required
- Converting agricultural land — rezoning and platting before any building permit
- Electrical — separate permit from the city or county, or from DIAL where there is no local electrical inspection; state-licensed electrician
- Plumbing — separate permit under the plumbing code the jurisdiction enforces; state-licensed plumber
- Mechanical — separate permit under the mechanical code the jurisdiction enforces; state-licensed mechanical contractor
- Fire protection — under the state fire code, enforced by DIAL’s fire safety bureau, or under a local fire code the state recognises
Typically exempt
- Like-for-like replacement the applicable trade code places below the permit threshold
- Work a property owner performs on their own residence, where the jurisdiction allows it
Trade work is permitted separately under state codes that apply across Iowa. Iowa rules
How to apply for a Dallas County building permit
The state code, another code, or none at all — though a city of more than 15,000 people must enforce at least the state code.
Energy conservation, accessibility, the state fire code and the state plumbing, mechanical and electrical codes run statewide.
Zoning and subdivision are local in every case and precede the building permit.
DIAL contractor registration, state trade licences, and any local registration for general contractors.
Required on every building permit application except one- and two-unit residential remodelling.
Footing to final, with the trades on their own permits, then the certificate of occupancy.
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Dallas County reviews unincorporated work against its adopted code, with rezoning and subdivision ahead of it. What delays a project here is a timeline built on the permit rather than the rezoning, and a parcel annexed between purchase and filing.
Inspections in Dallas County
Inspections follow the sequence of the code the jurisdiction has adopted — footing, foundation, framing, rough trades, insulation and final — requested from the local building department by permit number, with the trades inspected on their own permits. Work that passes final receives a certificate of occupancy for new buildings and changes of occupancy. Dallas County inspects the work it permits in the sequence its adopted code sets, with the trades inspected on their own permits; inside the cities, inspection is theirs.
Dallas County permit search and official resources
- Dallas County — the county government, planning and development
- Iowa DIAL Building Code Bureau — state plan review and the list of local code enforcement
- Iowa Code chapter 103A — the statute leaving general code adoption to local discretion
- 481 IAC chapter 280 — the state fire code (International Fire Code, 2024 edition, with Iowa amendments)
- 481 IAC chapter 301 — state building code — the codes adopted by reference and the state’s amendments
- Iowa Code chapter 103A — the statute leaving general code adoption to local discretion
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →Frequently asked questions
Why is the county growing so fast?
It sits immediately west of Des Moines and has absorbed the metropolitan area's westward expansion onto farmland for years.
Could my parcel be annexed before I build?
Yes. The county's cities annex steadily, so confirm the jurisdiction at the time of filing rather than at purchase.
What takes the longest on converting farmland?
The rezoning, platting and infrastructure approvals, which run to months and public hearings; the building permit that follows is comparatively straightforward.
What is the energy compliance statement?
A statement that the construction will comply with all applicable energy conservation requirements, required on every Iowa permit application except a one- or two-unit residential remodel.
Which code does the county enforce?
The codes adopted in the county’s Uniform Construction Codes Ordinance, chapter 47 of the Dallas County Code; under Iowa Code chapter 103A each jurisdiction chooses its own.
Which Dallas County is this?
Dallas County in central Iowa, with Adel as its seat. The Dallas Counties elsewhere in the country are unrelated jurisdictions.
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In Dallas County the rezoning is the project and the building permit is the postscript. We budget the programme around the approvals that actually take the time.
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More Iowa permitting guides
More Iowa permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Dallas County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.