Franklin County, Iowa Building Permit Guide

In unincorporated Franklin County, no building may be built, enlarged, moved or razed until the Planning & Zoning Administrator issues a zoning permit (the county’s online form calls it an Application for Zoning Certificate, or building permit). The same official runs Environmental Health, which issues septic permits for $200 and well permits for $150; call 641-456-4090. Farm buildings in the Agricultural district are exempt, each of the 10 cities handles its own permits, and the county adopted a moratorium on data center permit applications on March 31, 2026.

What requires a permit in rural Franklin County?

Section 70.04 of the county’s Zoning Code is broad: no building or part of one may be erected, constructed, reconstructed, converted, altered, enlarged, extended, razed, moved or used, and no land may be used, until the Zoning Administrator has issued a zoning permit. Razing a building is on the list, so demolition needs a permit as well.

The farm exemption follows Iowa Code 335.2 and covers land and buildings primarily adapted for agricultural use while so used; the code defines a farm as 10 or more acres. It does not reach floodplain work, where the county can still regulate any structure, dam, deposit or excavation. A non-farm house in the Agricultural district is allowed only on a severed farmstead, a lot with primary tree cover, or a lot where most of the soil rates below 60 on the corn suitability rating scale, and it must sit at least 500 feet from another person’s feedlot.

What the county decides and what the state holds

Franklin County’s permit checks land use: district, yards, lot size, sewage and flood risk. The county’s code chapters on its zoning and ordinance pages are zoning (70), subdivisions (71), Hampton airport height zoning (72) and floodplain management (74); none is a building code, and the county pages describe no structural inspections. The supervisors keep amending Chapter 70, with Ordinances 2026B and 2026C on conditional uses adopted on July 14, 2026 and Ordinance 2026D on wind-energy terms on August 25, 2026.

Franklin County building department: who handles permitting

Dan Tilkes, appointed by the supervisors for 2026 as Planning & Zoning Administrator, Sanitarian and Weed Commissioner, handles zoning, floodplain, septic and well permits from one office. The department page lists the Public Health building, 1600 Central Ave. E, Hampton, with hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays or by appointment; the county telephone directory still lists Zoning and Environmental Health at the Community Resource Center, 123 1st Ave SW. Both give 641-456-4090.

The secondary road system has about 213 miles of paved roads, 784 miles of granular roads, 12 miles of dirt roads, around 227 bridges and box culverts and as many as 5,000 pipe culverts. The Engineer’s main shop sits on the south edge of the county fairgrounds, with maintenance shops in Latimer, Sheffield, Hansell, Geneva, Bradford and Popejoy.

Cities in Franklin County

The county code applies only to unincorporated land. Each city handles building inside its limits, and addresses inside a city come from that city, not the county.

Franklin County permit types

The county takes zoning applications online through its GeoPermits forms, listed on the Ordinances and Zoning Applications page: the zoning certificate (building permit), the division of land form for subdivisions and subdivision waivers, a request for zoning change, variance and conditional use appeals to the Board of Adjustment, the floodplain development permit and a commercial wind energy conversion system application.

Residential permits

A house outside a city starts with Environmental Health: the code bars a zoning permit for any development using a private sewage system until the sanitarian has evaluated the site and given preliminary approval. The zoning application then needs a plot plan showing the lot size, foundation dimensions, front, side and rear yards, existing accessory buildings and the floodplain line on the lot, and that floodplain delineation must be approved by the County Engineer and the Soil Conservation Director. In the A district the yards are 50 feet in front, 25 feet at the sides and 30 feet at the rear; accessory buildings may stand in the rear yard 5 feet from a lot line, and the minimum lot is 21,780 square feet, or more if the sanitarian needs room for the septic system.

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

Commercial permits

Wind turbines, commercial battery systems and other listed conditional uses need Board of Adjustment approval. Commercial wind projects use an application form the supervisors approved by Resolution 2026-8 on January 13, 2026 under the wind standards adopted in 2023, and battery systems in the A district are limited to 60 decibels at the property line, a first-responder training program and an approved decommissioning plan. In April 2026 the supervisors determined that battery storage, solar and nuclear projects need a road use agreement with Secondary Roads.

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

What comes before the building permit

• Septic and well. Environmental Health’s site review and preliminary septic approval come first, and a private well needs its own construction permit.
• Entrance. A new driveway onto a county road needs the Engineer’s entrance permit, one entrance per permit.
• Floodplain. A floodplain development permit from the administrator before any floodplain work.
• Data centers. On March 31, 2026 the supervisors adopted Ordinance 2026A, a moratorium on new permit applications for data center projects in the unincorporated county, after the Planning & Zoning Commission asked for 18 months; the minutes declare it adopted upon publication but do not state an end date, so ask the Zoning Administrator.

Franklin County permit costs and fees

Section 70.04(7) says each zoning permit application carries the fee in the fee schedule most recently approved by the Board of Supervisors, and the permit issues only after that fee is paid. That schedule is not posted on the county site, so this guide cannot give the zoning permit fee: ask the Zoning Administrator (641-456-4090) for the current amount before you apply. The amounts the county does publish are below.

For a new rural home on its own septic system and well with one new driveway, the published county charges add up to $200 plus $150 plus $100, or $450, before the zoning permit fee. A second driveway to the same parcel is a second $100 permit; the Engineer will not group entrances, and an attempt to do so is denied in administrative review.

Building without a permit is costly. After a written notice of violation the owner has 20 days to correct it; if it is not corrected, the county files a citation with a $750 fine for the first offense and $1,000 for each later one, each day counts as a separate offense, and a stop work order can halt construction begun without a permit. Anyone cited three times in three years is a chronic offender and gets a citation without the 20-day notice.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Franklin County’s pages describe no county electrical, plumbing or mechanical permits, so electrical permits and inspections outside city limits come from the state program, which the electrician buys before wiring, and plumbing and HVAC work proceeds under state licenses.

• Septic contractors build systems under the county septic permit, which Environmental Health issues and inspects, and owners can ask for an on-site evaluation of an existing system before buying a rural property.
• Well contractors need the county’s private well construction permit, and the department handles well plugging records, shock chlorination and water testing through its online forms.
• Field tile and utility work in the county right-of-way needs the Engineer’s permit, $100 per request.

The zoning permit itself is filed by the owner or whoever is building, with the plot plan described above; the code names no contractor registration of its own.

How to apply for a Franklin County zoning permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

If the plans do not comply, the Zoning Administrator gives a signed statement of the reasons, and the applicant can appeal that refusal to the Board of Adjustment. Common holdups are a lot that cannot take a house under the A district rules, a septic site that fails evaluation, an unapproved floodplain line or a use that needs a conditional use permit and a hearing.

Inspections in Franklin County

The inspections the county publishes are for sewage: the sanitarian reviews the site before a new septic system is approved, inspects during construction before any part of the system is covered, and at the final inspection draws a diagram of the system’s exact location for the department’s file. Well sites are inspected too. The county pages list no framing or final building inspections for houses, and wiring is inspected by the state electrical inspector under the state permit.

In the floodplain, a home’s lowest floor, basement included, must be at least 1 foot above the base flood elevation. For the 911 address, the county places the blue E911 sign to the right of the driveway on the right-of-way line at its earliest convenience; an owner who puts in a post must call Iowa One Call at 811 at least 48 hours ahead, not counting weekends and holidays.

Iowa building code

Franklin County regulates rural building through its Zoning Code (Chapter 70 of the 2024 Code of Ordinances), its subdivision and floodplain chapters and its septic and well permits; none of these chapters adopts a building code. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists Franklin County as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program, with a current map dated December 18, 2012 that shows flood areas 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

Franklin County permit search and official resources

The Zoning Administrator must keep a record of every application, every permit issued or refused and the reasons for a refusal, so past permits and refusals for a parcel can be requested from the office. Supervisors’ agendas and minutes, including zoning ordinance votes, are posted on the county site.

• Franklin County zoning information
• Ordinances and zoning applications
• Chapter 70, Zoning Regulations
• Chapter 74, Floodplain Management
• Environmental Health, Sanitation, and Zoning
• Septic and well permits and inspections
• County Engineer permits and fees
• Engineer and Secondary Roads
• GIS and 911 address applications
• County telephone directory
• Supervisors agendas and minutes
• Minutes, March 31, 2026 (data center moratorium)
• State electrical permits (DIAL)
• FEMA Community Status Book, Iowa

Franklin County permit FAQs

Do I need a permit to build outside city limits in Franklin County?

Yes, for any non-farm building, addition, conversion, move or demolition. The Planning & Zoning Administrator issues the zoning permit, called a zoning certificate on the online form.

Are farm buildings exempt?

Farmhouses, farm buildings and farm uses in the Agricultural district are exempt from the zoning regulations and permit requirements, except for work in a floodplain.

How much are septic and well permits?

$200 for a septic permit and $150 for a well permit, both from Environmental Health.

What does a driveway permit cost?

$100 per entrance, non-refundable, under Resolution 2023-64; each new entrance needs its own permit.

Can I build a house anywhere in the Agricultural district?

No. A non-farm house is allowed only on a severed farmstead, a lot with primary tree cover or a lot where most of the soil rates below 60 CSR, and at least 500 feet from another person’s feedlot.

Is there a data center moratorium in Franklin County?

Yes. Ordinance 2026A, adopted on March 31, 2026, places a moratorium on new permit applications for data center projects in the unincorporated county. The minutes give no end date, so ask the Zoning Administrator how long it runs.

How much is a Franklin County zoning permit?

The county charges the fee in the schedule most recently approved by the supervisors, but that schedule is not posted online. Ask the Zoning Administrator at 641-456-4090 for the amount.

What is the fine for building without a permit?

If a violation is not corrected within 20 days of the notice, the county issues a citation of $750 for a first offense and $1,000 for the second and later offenses, and each day counts separately.

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