Fayette County, Iowa Building Permit Guide

For land outside the cities, Fayette County Planning & Zoning (PO Box 269, West Union; 563-422-3767) administers the county’s zoning, subdivision and floodplain development rules, and farm buildings are exempt only after the farmer is granted an ag-exemption certificate. The same office, as Environmental Health, issues the permit every new well and septic system needs; the county posts no fee schedule, so call before you file.

What requires a permit in rural Fayette County?

Planning and Development is responsible for current and future land use in all unincorporated parts of Fayette County, and the department says it regulates that land by enforcing the county’s zoning, building code, subdivision and floodplain development ordinances under a comprehensive development plan. Those ordinances are not posted online: the department’s forms and documents folders are empty, and the supervisors’ ordinance folder, which lists Ordinances 5, 7, 12, 24 to 26, 30 to 32, 37 to 39 and 41 along with county policies, contains no zoning, building code, floodplain or fee ordinance. What the county does publish draws these lines:

What the county decides and what the state holds

The county sets its own zoning districts, subdivision rules and floodplain rules through the Board of Supervisors, on the advice of the Planning and Zoning Commission. The department’s page mentions a building code among the ordinances it enforces, but the county posts no building code text, adopting ordinance or code edition; ask the Administrator what review a building gets. The department’s page sets out the ag-exemption as a two-part test and defines a farm and a farmer.

First, the person must show active, day-to-day involvement in a farming operation and income from it, or be retired from farming. Second, the buildings and land must be primarily adapted and used for agriculture. A request has to meet both parts, and the farmer must apply for and be granted an ag-exemption certificate. The exemption does not let a farmer put up non-farm buildings or use land for non-farm purposes without meeting the zoning rules, and farmers stay subject to the floodplain development and subdivision regulations.

Fayette County building department: who handles permitting

Catherine Miller serves as both Planning & Zoning Administrator and Environmental Health Administrator, so zoning questions, ag-exemption certificates, well permits and septic permits are handled by one office with one phone number. The office is open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., but it warns that on-site inspections and evaluations can leave it unstaffed during those hours and suggests calling before a visit.

The Planning and Zoning Commission, created by the supervisors in 1972, has nine county residents appointed to five-year terms, most of them living outside the cities. It advises the supervisors on the development plan, the zoning and subdivision ordinances, zoning and rezoning of land, subdivision planning and site plan reviews. The Board of Adjustment is a quasi-judicial body of five residents, also appointed for five years with a rural majority.

Cities in Fayette County

County rules cover only unincorporated land. Each city regulates building inside its own limits under its own ordinances.

Fayette County permit types

Because the department’s forms folder is empty, every application starts with a call to 563-422-3767; the Environmental Health page says the same for well and septic permit applications, which the office sends on request. The approvals the county describes are:

• Ag-exemption certificate for a farmer’s agricultural buildings and land.
• Zoning approval for non-farm buildings and uses, under the zoning ordinance.
• Rezoning and site plan review, through the Planning and Zoning Commission and the supervisors.
• Variance or special use permit, decided by the Board of Adjustment.
• Subdivision approval when land is divided.
• Well and septic permits from Environmental Health.

Residential permits

A house on an acreage that is not a qualifying farm falls under the zoning ordinance, and if it has its own new well and septic system, each needs an Environmental Health permit first. A home on a farm is a different case only if the owner meets both parts of the farmer test and holds the ag-exemption certificate. On a tract under 40 acres that is assessed as agricultural and claimed as exempt, the Zoning Administrator reviews the claim, and the Administrator or the Board of Adjustment decides whether the farming on the land, existing or proposed, makes it primarily adapted for agriculture.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial and industrial projects outside the cities go through the zoning ordinance, with site plan review by the Planning and Zoning Commission and, where the ordinance lists the use as a special use, a Board of Adjustment permit. A rezoning is recommended by the Commission and decided by the supervisors. A new private well or septic system serving the business needs its Environmental Health permit as well, since that office issues permits for construction that may affect environmental health in the county.

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

What comes before the building permit

• Farm status. Settle whether the land qualifies as a farm (40 acres or more, assessed as agricultural by the Fayette County Assessor, owned or rented by a farmer).
• Well. A permit for every new well.
• Septic. A permit for every new on-site wastewater treatment and dispersal system.
• Floodplain. Development in the floodplain is regulated for farmers and non-farmers alike.
• Land division. Subdivision rules apply before new lots are created.
• Driveway and address. Talk to the Road Department about the entrance and the 911 Coordinator about the address marker.

Fayette County permit costs and fees

Fayette County posts no zoning fee schedule or fee ordinance, so ask Planning & Zoning for the zoning, variance, rezoning, well and septic permit fees before you apply. The Environmental Health page does print two prices.

The county urges residents to test their homes for radon every two years. For an old well, ask the office about the cost-share programs before plugging or rebuilding it.

Trade permits and who may pull them

The county pages describe no electrical program, so DIAL issues electrical permits outside the cities and its inspectors check the wiring. Plumbers and HVAC contractors work under state licenses, and contractors who earn $2,000 or more a year from construction register with DIAL. A county zoning approval or ag-exemption certificate does not cover any trade work.

• Wells. Every new well needs an Environmental Health permit; request the application from the office.
• Septic systems. Every new on-site wastewater treatment and dispersal system needs a permit from the same office.
• Roads and culverts. The County Engineer’s Road Department builds and maintains the secondary roads, bridges, culverts and gravel.
• Address markers. Owners are responsible for keeping the 911 sign visible to emergency vehicles approaching from either direction; call the 911 Coordinator or the Road Department to replace a damaged one.
• Digging. The Engineer and 911 pages both point to Iowa One Call before excavation; a cut phone line can cut an exchange off from 911.

Complaints about a property’s environmental conditions go to Environmental Health with the property address, the owner’s or occupant’s name and phone number, the details, and what has already been done with the owner; the complaint must be signed.

How to get a Fayette County approval

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Farm status can need its own review: a tract under 40 acres claimed as agricultural is reviewed by the Zoning Administrator, and the decision may go to the Board of Adjustment. Projects that need a rezoning go to the Planning and Zoning Commission for a recommendation and then to the supervisors, who meet every Monday at 9:00 a.m. A variance needs proof of an unusual hardship to the particular parcel, and when an applicant and the Zoning Administrator disagree on what the ordinance means, the Board of Adjustment makes the final decision.

Inspections in Fayette County

The office’s own hours notice says its staff carry out on-site inspections and evaluations. The county publishes no inspection schedule or list of stages, so ask which visits your permit needs when it is issued.

• Wells and septic. Environmental Health issues the permits, and the same notice about site visits appears on its page.
• Wiring. State electrical inspectors from DIAL.
• Assessment. The Assessor sets a full or partial value for new construction according to how much is complete on January 1, and real property is revalued every two years; owners must report new buildings and improvements.

The Fayette County Board of Health, with the Environmental Health Administrator as its liaison, meets in February, April, June, August, October and December at 8:00 a.m. in the Boeke-Freed Meeting Room at Gundersen Palmer hospital.

Iowa building code

Fayette County’s department page lists a building code among the ordinances it enforces, but the county posts no building code text or edition. Floodplain rules reach farmers as well as everyone else. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists Fayette County as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program: its first flood hazard boundary map is dated August 16, 1977, its first flood insurance rate map took effect on July 1, 1991, the day it entered the regular program, and the current effective map is dated March 13, 2024.

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

Fayette County permit search and official resources

There is no online permit search. Ag-exemption certificates, zoning decisions and well and septic permits are kept by Planning & Zoning and Environmental Health, so a parcel’s file is a request to 563-422-3767. Parcel boundaries and values are on the county’s Beacon GIS, also used for property valuations by the Assessor. The Engineer’s page posts 2026 construction updates (most recently October 29, 2026), the 2026–2031 five-year road program map, road closures and plat book information.

• Fayette County Planning & Zoning
• Environmental Health (wells, septic, water tests)
• County Engineer and Road Department
• Fayette County 911 (address signs)
• GIS and Beacon map
• Assessor
• Board of Supervisors
• Board of Health
• State electrical permits (DIAL)
• FEMA Community Status Book, Iowa

Fayette County permit FAQs

Who handles permits in rural Fayette County?

Planning & Zoning, PO Box 269, West Union (563-422-3767), which also runs Environmental Health. Call ahead, as staff may be out on site visits.

Are farm buildings exempt from county zoning?

Only for a farmer who meets both parts of the county’s test and is granted an ag-exemption certificate. Floodplain and subdivision rules still apply.

What counts as a farm in Fayette County?

A tract of 40 acres or more, owned or rented by a farmer, primarily adapted for agriculture and assessed as agricultural. Smaller tracts are reviewed case by case.

Do I need a permit for a new well or septic system?

Yes. Every new well and every new on-site wastewater system needs an Environmental Health permit; the office sends the application on request.

How much are Fayette County zoning fees?

The county posts no fee schedule. Ask Planning & Zoning for the current fee.

How much is a well water test?

$8 per test, for coliform bacteria, E. coli and nitrates. Radon kits cost $10.

Who decides variances and special use permits?

The five-member Board of Adjustment, which also settles disputes over how the zoning ordinance is read.

Who issues electrical permits outside the cities?

DIAL. The county pages describe no county electrical permit.

Simplify Fayette 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 Fayette County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.