Story County's Planning and Zoning Department at 900 Sixth Street in Nevada permits and inspects construction in the unincorporated county. The county seat is Nevada, a town of some seven thousand around eight miles east of Ames — a distinction worth knowing, because Ames is by far the county's largest city and the natural assumption is that the county offices are there. They are not.
The county's own territory is farmland and small communities around the university city, with acreage residential development along the corridors serving it. As everywhere in Iowa, the county chooses what building code to adopt under chapter 103A while the statewide provisions — energy conservation, the state fire code, the state plumbing and electrical codes — apply regardless, and the energy compliance statement goes with every application except a one- or two-unit residential remodel.
This guide covers unincorporated Story County. Ames, Nevada, Huxley, Gilbert, Story City, Slater and Cambridge permit their own construction inside their limits.
The county seat is Nevada, not Ames. Story County's offices are at Nevada, around eight miles east of Ames — the county seat is not the county's largest city. It is a small thing that costs an afternoon, and it catches applicants who reason from the size of Ames to the location of the county government.
What requires a building permit in Story County?
Iowa splits its building code into a part that applies everywhere and a part that does not. The State of Iowa Building Code sits at 661 Iowa Administrative Code, adopted under Iowa Code chapter 103A by the Building Code Bureau within the State Fire Marshal Division of the Department of Public Safety. Under chapter 103A a local jurisdiction has discretion to adopt the state code, to adopt a different code, or to adopt no building code at all — but certain portions apply to construction statewide regardless, most notably the energy conservation requirements at 661 IAC chapter 303. The state fire code and the state plumbing and electrical codes likewise run statewide through their own chapters and their own authorities. In Story 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 rural zoning.
Where Story County has adopted a building code, that code draws the exemption line and the jurisdiction may amend it. Ordinary repairs generally need no permit; construction, alteration, repair, demolition and any change of occupancy generally do. The statewide provisions apply either way: an application for a building permit, other than one to renovate or remodel a residential building of one or two units, must include a statement that the construction will comply with all applicable energy conservation requirements.
Typically permit required
- Construction, alteration, repair, demolition or change of occupancy in unincorporated territory
- Zoning and subdivision approval from the county ahead of the building permit
- 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 Story 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 county's rural land around the university city and the seat at Nevada.
Who handles permitting in Story County?
Planning and Zoning is the permitting authority for unincorporated Story County, enforcing the code the county has adopted alongside its zoning and subdivision regulation. Ames and the smaller cities permit inside their own limits, the Building Code Bureau maintains the state code, the trades are licensed at state level, and the State Fire Marshal retains its own jurisdiction.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Department | Story County Planning and Zoning |
| Office | 900 Sixth Street, Nevada, IA 50201 |
| Phone | (515) 382-7245 |
| Hours | Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm |
| Scope | Unincorporated Story County; Ames and the towns permit their own |
| Energy statement | Required with the permit application |
Permit types
Residential permits
A house in unincorporated Story County is permitted by the county against the code it has adopted, with zoning cleared first, the energy compliance statement filed, and well and on-site wastewater approvals where the parcel is unserved. Acreage development along the corridors around Ames is the county's steady residential work.
How Iowa contractor credentials work
Iowa registers contractors with the Division of Labor and licenses the trades separately at state level. Electricians are licensed through the state electrical examining board and plumbers, mechanical and HVAC contractors through the plumbing and mechanical systems board, each valid across the state. A contractor doing business in Iowa registers with the Division of Labor, and out-of-state contractors face additional bonding requirements. Story County may require its own local licence or registration on top of the state credential, and that is the requirement to confirm before a permit is pulled.
Commercial permits
Commercial and agricultural work in unincorporated Story County — grain handling, agricultural research and processing, and the businesses along the highway corridors — clears county zoning, then plan review against the county's adopted code, with the statewide energy requirements applying to all commercial construction.
Establishing what applies to the site
The first step on an Iowa project is establishing whether the jurisdiction has adopted a building code and, if so, which. A city or county that has adopted the state code enforces it locally; one that has adopted a different code enforces that; one that has adopted nothing has no general building permit requirement at all, though the statewide energy, fire, plumbing and electrical provisions still apply and the State Fire Marshal retains its own jurisdiction. That question is answered by the jurisdiction rather than assumed from its size. In unincorporated Story County the Skunk River corridor brings floodplain review into the file, on-site wastewater governs most rural building, and agricultural land dominates the county's territory around its cities.
Story County permit costs and fees
Fees follow the county's schedule for unincorporated territory, with trade licensing handled at state level.
| Item | Fee or rule |
|---|---|
| Building permit | The county's fee schedule, for unincorporated territory |
| Zoning and subdivision | County approval ahead of the permit |
| 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 | Ames, Nevada and the smaller towns issue their own |
Rural means unserved, and unserved means two more approvals. Most unincorporated Story County parcels are on a well and an on-site wastewater system, each a separate approval with its own evaluation and its own timeline running alongside the building permit. On a rural build they are as likely to set the programme as the code review is.
Trade permits and who may pull them
Trade work is permitted separately, under state codes that apply across Iowa rather than under whatever the local jurisdiction has adopted for general building.
Permit required
- Unserved parcels — well and on-site wastewater approvals alongside the building permit
- Electrical — separate permit, under the state electrical code and state licensing
- Plumbing — separate permit, under the state plumbing code and state licensing
- Mechanical — separate permit, under the state mechanical code and state licensing
- Fire protection — under the state fire code and the State Fire Marshal's jurisdiction
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
How to apply for a Story County building permit
The state code, another code, or none at all; chapter 103A leaves the choice local.
Energy conservation, the state fire code and the state plumbing and electrical codes run statewide.
Zoning and subdivision are local in every case and precede the building permit.
Division of Labor registration, state trade licences, and any local requirement on top.
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.
Review, corrections and what actually causes delay
Story County reviews unincorporated work against its adopted code. What delays a file here is a wastewater approval started late, a trip to Ames instead of Nevada, and a missing energy compliance statement.
Inspections in Story 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. Story 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.
Story County permit search and official resources
- Story County — the county government, planning and zoning
- Iowa State Fire Marshal Division — the Building Code Bureau and the state fire code
- Iowa Code chapter 103A — the statute leaving general code adoption to local discretion
- Iowa State Fire Marshal Division — the Building Code Bureau, the state building code and the state fire code
- 661 IAC chapter 301 — state building code general provisions — the codes adopted by reference and the state's amendments
- Iowa Code chapter 103A — the statute leaving general code adoption to local discretion
Frequently asked questions
Where are the county offices?
At Nevada, around eight miles east of Ames — the county seat is not the county's largest city.
Does the county permit inside Ames?
No. Ames and the county's smaller cities permit inside their own limits.
Do I need a well and wastewater approval?
On most unincorporated parcels, yes — both are separate approvals alongside the building permit.
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 code Story County has adopted; under Iowa Code chapter 103A each jurisdiction chooses its own.
Who licenses electricians and plumbers?
State boards license the trades across Iowa.
Simplify Story County permitting with Alliance Permitting
Story County works from the county seat rather than its biggest city, and its parcels are mostly unserved. We go to the right town and start the wastewater approval early.
Ready to break ground in Story County sooner?
Send us the scope and the parcel. We confirm the review path with the Story County Planning and Zoning Department, assemble the submittal, file it, and track it through issuance — corrections included.
More Iowa permitting guides
More Iowa permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Story County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.