Redwood County, Minnesota Building Permit Guide

Outside city limits, Redwood County’s Environmental Office in the Government Center at 403 South Mill Street, Redwood Falls, issues the zoning permit (its form calls it a building permit) that any new, altered or moved building of 100 square feet or more needs, along with septic, shoreland, grading, variance and conditional use approvals. A zoning permit is $40 plus 0.1 percent for construction of $150,000 or more, a new home permit is $100 and a septic permit $200, and the permit counts only once the Zoning Administrator signs it. Each city in the county handles its own zoning.

What requires a permit in Redwood County?

Title XV of the Redwood County Code of Ordinances governs land use in the unincorporated county. Section 153.006 says no one may erect, alter or move a building, or part of one, without first getting a permit from the Zoning Administrator. The one size break is at 100 square feet: a building with a smaller footprint needs no permit but must still meet every other zoning rule, such as setbacks. The 2026 application asks whether the work is for commercial, farm or personal use, so farm buildings and grain bins go through the same form, with the bin’s bushel capacity listed.

Before the office approves any zoning permit, county staff look at the site’s septic system for an imminent threat to public health or safety as defined in Minnesota Rules 7081.0080. The ordinance stresses that this check is not a code compliance inspection, and the Zoning Administrator keeps written guidelines for how it is done.

What the county decides and what the state holds

The county sets zoning districts, lot sizes, setbacks, allowed uses, shoreland and floodplain rules and septic standards. Its permit is a land-use approval: the Environmental Office’s pages and Title XV describe no State Building Code plan review or construction inspections for unincorporated land. Electrical work is permitted and inspected by the Department of Labor and Industry, and wells by the Minnesota Department of Health.

Redwood County building department: who handles permitting

The Environmental Office administers and enforces the zoning ordinance and also runs the county’s septic, feedlot, drainage ditch, buffer, noxious weed and GIS programs. It is headed by the Director of Planning and Environmental Services, Nick Brozek. The office warns that it never asks for fee payments by wire; emails demanding a wire transfer for permit fees are a scam.

Cities in Redwood County

County zoning stops at city limits, so each city below sets its own zoning and decides whether to enforce the State Building Code. The septic chapter covers all county land except incorporated areas or townships that run their own county-approved program. Flood-program status is from FEMA’s Community Status Book.

Redwood County permit types

Section 153.006 lists 14 permits the Zoning Administrator issues: zoning permits for buildings and structures, new home permits, holding tank permits, septic system permits, septic operating permits for some larger or non-residential systems, conditional use permits, interim use permits for mining, variances, shoreland alteration permits, temporary filling and grading permits, handicap accessibility permits for conditional uses open to the public, home occupation permits, rezonings and subdivision permits. A permit from the county does not replace any other permit the work needs.

Residential permits

A house takes the new home permit plus a septic permit, and an E-911 address if the parcel has none; the address request form asks whether a driveway is already in place. In the A Agricultural District a buildable lot needs 2.5 acres, 150 feet of width and 200 feet of depth, buildings sit 67 feet back from a public road right-of-way (100 feet from a four-lane highway) and 10 feet from side and rear lines, and buildings may not top 35 feet, with farm buildings exempt from the height cap. Near lakes and streams, structures and septic systems keep 150 feet from the ordinary high water mark of the waterbodies listed in section 153.245(A)(2)(b) and (c), stay 30 feet back from the top of a bluff, and put the lowest floor at least 3 feet above the highest known water level. Along the Minnesota River the Scenic River District calls for 5-acre lots with 250 feet of width.

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

Commercial and other permits

Commercial, industrial and agricultural buildings use the same zoning permit, and uses the district does not list as permitted go to the Planning Commission as conditional uses. Feedlots need a conditional use permit when they pass 300 animal units, when one under a permit grows by more than 200 units, when a liquid manure storage structure is planned, or when a site converts fully from one animal type to another. Gravel pits and quarries run on extraction interim use permits; the County Board approved several in 2026, including Charlestown, Vesta and Granite Rock township pits.

What comes before the permit

• Septic first. Where a septic permit is required, it must be issued before the building or land use permit.
• Land splits. A parcel split pre-approval form goes to the office before a division of land is recorded.
• Hearings. Conditional uses, rezonings and subdivisions go to the Planning Commission and then the County Board; variances and appeals go to the Board of Adjustment.
• County road access. A new, widened or moved driveway onto a county highway needs the County Engineer’s permit.
• Floodplain and Scenic River land. The FP and S districts carry their own use lists and standards, and grading or filling there needs county review.

Redwood County permit fees

Fees are set by the County Board, which approved the 2026 County Fee Schedule on January 6, 2026; the Environmental Office posts its part of the schedule on its page. Government agencies are exempt from zoning fees under the ordinance.

Two discounts are written into the schedule. If a conditional use permit has already been granted, the zoning permit fee for buildings covered by it and built within a year may be reduced by up to the cost of the conditional use permit, and the conditional use fee is halved for a home occupation. Because the schedule does not spell out how the 0.1 percent applies above $150,000, the office calculates the zoning fee for large projects.

Trade permits and who may pull them

The Environmental Office lists no electrical, plumbing or mechanical permits among its forms. Electrical permits come from the Department of Labor and Industry, which applies the 2026 National Electrical Code to permits filed on or after August 17, 2026; residential builders, electricians and plumbers hold state licenses, and the county licenses none of them.

• Septic professionals. The septic application is signed by the landowner or a licensed designer and lists the designer’s license number and expiry date, and installation is done by certified practitioners.
• Septic maintenance. Type IV, Type V and mid-size systems need an operating permit, and sewage may not enter a new system of that kind until the county certifies it.
• Wells. Well construction and sealing are handled through the Minnesota Department of Health; the Environmental Office lists no county well permit among its forms.

How to apply for a Redwood County permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

An incomplete or non-conforming application gets a written explanation within 15 business days. The Planning Commission meets at 1 p.m. on a Tuesday most months of 2026, with an application deadline about four weeks before each meeting, and hears no more than four items at a meeting; an applicant who misses the deadline and cannot wait pays double for a special hearing. Commission recommendations then go to the County Board. A permit expires after a year unless extended, and an extension of up to six months, or to the end of the construction season, is possible only if work has started.

Inspections in Redwood County

County inspections are about siting and sewage rather than construction. Staff may visit a building site before a zoning permit to confirm the application, and the septic program inspects three times on a new system: the soil before design, the tank when it is set, and the distribution pipes before they are covered. The owner or installer must notify the office 24 hours before permitted septic work, and nothing may be backfilled before the inspection without written arrangements.

A new or replacement system receives a certificate of compliance valid for five years; a compliance certificate on an existing system lasts three years. Electrical work is inspected under the state permit. Work that departs from what the permit allows is a violation of the zoning chapter, and work done before a permit is issued pays double fees.

Minnesota building code

The posted Title XV text dates from 2019, and the County Board amended the Land Usage title again with Ordinance 2024-03, adopted March 5, 2024. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists Redwood County as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program since December 4, 1985, with a current flood map dated July 16, 2013.

Minnesota has one State Building Code that applies statewide and overrides local building codes, but enforcement is local: whether a building permit is needed depends on whether the city, township or county enforces the code there. Electrical permits come from the Department of Labor and Industry unless the local government runs its own electrical inspection. Minnesota rules

Redwood County permit search and official resources

Parcel, road, drainage and political-boundary layers are public in the county’s Beacon map, which the zoning form suggests for drawing a site plan. Copies of past permits and other records are requested from the Environmental Office on its data request form, and County Board minutes, including permit approvals, are posted on the county site.

• Redwood County Environmental Office
• Zoning permit application (building permit)
• Septic permit application
• Conditional use permit application
• Variance application
• E-911 address request form
• Planning Commission meeting dates for 2026
• Code of Ordinances, Title XV Land Usage
• Ordinance 2024-03 amending the Code of Ordinances
• County Board minutes
• Highway Department permits
• Rural driveway permit
• Minnesota Department of Health well programs
• State electrical permits (DLI)
• FEMA Community Status Book, Minnesota

Redwood County permit FAQs

Do I need a permit for a garden shed?

Not if its footprint is under 100 square feet, though it must still meet setbacks; anything larger needs a zoning permit.

How much is a permit for a new house?

The new home permit is $100 and a septic system permit $200 under the posted Environmental Office schedule.

Does the county inspect framing or plumbing?

Its pages describe no building-code inspections in rural areas; the county inspects septic installations and zoning compliance.

Is a deck permit required?

Yes, but it is free when obtained in advance and $40 if applied for after the deck is built.

When does the Planning Commission meet?

At 1 p.m. on scheduled Tuesdays, with applications due about four weeks earlier and up to four hearings per meeting.

Can a data center be built in rural Redwood County?

Not under the current ordinance; county staff told the board on August 4, 2026 that data centers are not an allowed use.

Who issues driveway permits on county roads?

The Highway Department in Redwood Falls; a new entrance needs a $1,500 refundable deposit by certified check.

Simplify Redwood County permitting with Alliance Permitting

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in Minnesota. 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 Redwood County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.