Story County’s Planning and Development Department, on the bottom level of the county Administration Building at 900 Sixth Street in Nevada (515-382-7245), regulates development in the unincorporated county: a Zoning Permit is required for all new construction and any change in use of land or a building, and the department reviews site plans and carries out on-site inspections. The county seat is Nevada, a town of some 7,000 around 8 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 8 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?
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.
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- 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.
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
Who handles permitting in Story County?
Planning and Development is the permitting authority for unincorporated Story County, issuing zoning permits under the Story County Land Development Regulations, together with floodplain permits and site plan approval. The county’s pages do not describe building-code plan review, and the county states that state electrical permits and inspections are not performed by it, so confirm with the department what is checked beyond zoning. 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.
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Get a free quote →| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Department | Story County Planning and Development Department |
| 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 |
In 2025, building permits issued in unincorporated Story County authorized 20 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 Story County needs a county Zoning Permit, with 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.
Commercial permits
Commercial work in unincorporated Story County — grain elevators, agricultural research and processing, and the businesses along the highway corridors — needs a commercial Zoning Permit and site plan approval, with the statewide energy requirements applying to all commercial construction. Farm buildings used for agriculture sit outside county zoning except in floodplains (Iowa Code 335.2).
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Call 1-855-478-4290 →Establishing what applies to the site
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.
Iowa contractors register with the state licensing department (DIAL), and electricians, plumbers and mechanical contractors hold state licences. Iowa rules
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 zoning permit is.
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Permit required
- Unserved parcels — well and on-site wastewater approvals alongside the 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 Story 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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Story County checks unincorporated work against its land development regulations. 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 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
Where are the county offices?
At Nevada, around 8 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 county’s pages describe zoning permits under its Land Development Regulations rather than a building-code review, and state electrical permits and inspections are not performed by the county; confirm with Planning and Development what applies to your project. Under Iowa Code chapter 103A each county chooses whether to adopt a building code.
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.
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Send us the scope and the parcel. We confirm the review path with the Story County Planning and Development 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.