Rice County, Minnesota Building Permit Guide

Rice County enforces the Minnesota State Building Code in its unincorporated areas: the Building Division of Environmental Services, in the Government Services Building at 320 Third Street NW in Faribault, requires a building permit for all construction there and inspects it. Dundas, Faribault, Lonsdale, Morristown, Northfield and Bridgewater Township handle their own building and zoning. Applications are online only, and review typically takes 10 to 15 working days.

What requires a permit in rural Rice County?

The Building Division’s rule is short: all construction projects in the county’s unincorporated areas require a building permit, and demolishing a structure needs a permit too, at no charge. Smaller site work that is not a building gets a land use permit, and farm buildings have their own permit at a lower fee.

An agricultural building, for Rice County’s purposes, stands on an agricultural-classed parcel of at least 10 acres and is used only to store agricultural goods or equipment or to house animals. A grain bin needs only a site plan, but a livestock building may also need a feedlot permit.

What the county decides and what the state holds

The Building Division administers the state codes and checks fireplaces, footings, foundations, heating, plumbing and structural components in the field, on homes and commercial buildings alike. Planning and Zoning writes the local layer: the Zoning Ordinance (chapters 501 to 522, from the Agricultural and Urban Reserve districts to Shoreland, the Wild and Scenic River District, transfer of development rights and cluster development), the shoreland and floodplain regulations and the subdivision rules. The county has been revising the zoning ordinance since 2022 to match its 2040 Comprehensive Plan, adopted amendments in 2022, 2023 and 2024, and adopted a new subdivision ordinance in 2026.

Rice County building department: who handles permitting

Environmental Services, directed by Julie Runkel, has six divisions: Building, Environmental Health, Feedlots and Agriculture, Planning and Zoning, the Solid Waste Facility and Water Resource Management. The department asks residents to email, call or make an appointment, with the parcel ID or address ready.

Cities and Bridgewater Township

The county’s pages name five cities and one township where it handles neither building nor zoning; for an address anywhere else, including Nerstrand, ask Environmental Services which office applies. Each city makes its own zoning and building-code decisions.

Rice County permit types

Every building and zoning application for the unincorporated county, Bridgewater Township excepted, goes through the RTVision OneGov online permitting system. Supporting forms posted with it include an authorized agent form, an erosion control plan, impervious surface calculations, a site plan, mechanical information, a fire protection system application, the new house energy certificate, a property owner waiver, a conservation easement, a base density calculation and the criteria sheets for CUPs, IUPs and variances.

Residential permits

For a new house the county’s April 2025 fact sheet asks for a survey or site plan, an erosion control site plan, two full sets of building plans, roof and floor truss specifications, energy code and mechanical code compliance forms with the contractor’s details, plumbing and radon contractor information, the septic permit or design and, where the road authority requires one, a driveway permit. The plans show elevations, floor plans with room uses, windows and doors with safety glazing, headers, stairs and the plumbing and mechanical equipment, and sections through the footing and foundation with drainage, waterproofing and insulation.

An accessory building needs a survey or site plan, its plans and truss specifications, a statement of its use (personal, business or other), an erosion control plan and a septic certificate of compliance where required; walls 10 feet high or more need a complete set of plans designed by a licensed engineer. A land use permit for a patio, slab, hoop structure or small shed needs a site plan, plans or a picture, the dimensions, a valuation and the purpose.

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

Commercial and other permits

Commercial buildings, communication towers and solar projects have their own fact sheets, and the posted forms include a fire protection system application. Zoning permits include administrative splits and combinations, conditional and interim uses, plats and waivers of plat, minor boundary adjustments, grading and filling, temporary equipment placement, wildlife ponds, rezonings and variances.

What comes before the permit

• Zoning first. If the project needs a variance, conditional use permit or special evaluation, a zoning permit application comes first, and no building permit is issued until every zoning requirement is approved.
• Hearings. Variances go to the Board of Adjustment; other zoning permits to the Planning Commission and then the Board of Commissioners.
• Septic. Environmental Health reviews the design and issues the septic permit.
• Shoreland and floodplain. Planning and Zoning posts shoreland setback sheets and a FEMA flood map search by address; call 507-332-6113 with floodplain questions.
• Driveway. MnDOT, the Rice County Highway Department or the township clerk, depending on the road.
• Address. A rural address sign is $85.

Rice County permit costs and fees

The 2026 Rice County Fee Schedule, effective April 1, 2026, bases building permit fees on Table 1A of the 1997 Uniform Building Code, by valuation; the schedule cites the table without printing its rows, and the county invoices the amount after review. Exterior maintenance and mechanical, fireplace and wood stove permits are paid and issued at application. Every other building permit takes two payments: an initial application fee, then a second invoice by project type and size, paid before the permit issues. Zoning fees are paid in full at application.

Larger septic systems step up to $575 for 2,501 to 4,999 gallons a day and $775 for 5,000 to 10,000, and feedlot permits are $265 for 300 to 499 animal units and $370 or more, plus a $125 notification fee, from 500. A utility permit in the county right of way is $150 with a $10,000 bond or deposit and insurance, and a tile line permit $150 with a $1,000 deposit and insurance. A water test is $160.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical permits are applied for online through the state, and a state electrical inspector, not the county, inspects and approves the wiring of a new house; the Department of Labor and Industry applies the 2026 National Electrical Code to permits filed on or after August 17, 2026.

• Plumbing and heating. These stay with the county: the Building Division posts plumbing and mechanical fact sheets and inspects heating and plumbing in the field, and a new house file lists its plumbing, mechanical and radon contractors.
• Fireplaces and wood stoves. A county permit issued at application.
• Contractors. Builders, electricians and plumbers hold state licenses from the Department of Labor and Industry; the county licenses none of them.
• Septic. A homeowner may install a system under a $425 homeowner-installation permit; other septic permits are priced by system size.

How to apply for a Rice County permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Staff review typically takes 10 to 15 working days, and the permit issues only after the second invoice is paid. A project needing a variance or conditional use waits for the Board of Adjustment or for the Planning Commission and the Board of Commissioners, and the building permit cannot issue until those approvals are in place. Each fact sheet lists what a complete file holds, from truss specifications and an erosion control plan to engineer-designed plans for tall walls, so gather those before applying.

Inspections in Rice County

Building Division inspectors carry out field inspections of homes and commercial buildings, covering footings, foundations, structural components, heating, plumbing and fireplaces. A new house must have a certificate of occupancy before anyone lives in it, and its wiring must pass a state electrical inspection; the fact sheet says the state inspector takes calls on weekday mornings from 7:00 to 8:30.

Environmental Health inspects septic installations and runs compliance inspections through the same online system. The county posts when a septic evaluation is required at a property transfer, and lists additional septic inspections at $85. Holding tanks need an operating permit, and a septic revolving loan program is offered.

A house moved onto a new lot is inspected before the move for $175 plus mileage.

Minnesota building code

Rice County’s Building Division administers the State Building Code across the unincorporated county outside Bridgewater Township. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists the county as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program since February 4, 1981, on a current flood map dated April 6, 2022.

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

Rice County permit search and official resources

Building, zoning and septic permits and septic compliance inspections all run through the online permitting system. For questions about a property, the department asks residents to email, call 507-332-6113 or make an appointment, giving the parcel ID or address. Wells are regulated by the Minnesota Department of Health, and water test kits come through the Southeastern Minnesota Water Analysis Laboratory.

• Rice County Environmental Services
• Building Division and fact sheets
• Online permitting: payments, review times, forms
• Online permitting system (RTVision OneGov)
• Single-family house fact sheet (April 2025)
• Accessory buildings fact sheet
• Land use permit fact sheet
• Agricultural structures fact sheet
• 2026 Rice County fee schedule (effective April 1, 2026)
• Planning and Zoning
• Rice County Zoning Ordinance chapters
• Zoning ordinance revisions and 2026 subdivision ordinance
• Environmental Health: septic systems
• Feedlots and agriculture
• DLI electrical code adoption (2026 NEC)
• FEMA Community Status Book, Minnesota

Rice County permit FAQs

Does Rice County issue building permits?

Yes, for all construction in the unincorporated county except Bridgewater Township, under the State Building Code.

I live in Faribault or Northfield. Is the county my office?

No. The county handles neither building nor zoning in Dundas, Faribault, Lonsdale, Morristown, Northfield or Bridgewater Township.

How much does a re-roof permit cost?

$85, paid and issued at application; siding and windows are $85 each as well.

How long does a building permit take?

Typically 10 to 15 working days of staff review, then the second invoice must be paid.

Do I need a permit for a small shed or a patio?

Yes, a land use permit for a shed under 200 square feet, a patio, a slab or a hoop structure.

Do farm buildings need a permit?

Yes, an agricultural structure permit from $60, for a building on an agricultural parcel of at least 10 acres used only for farm storage or animals.

Who issues the electrical permit?

The State of Minnesota, online; a state inspector approves the wiring.

Can I install my own septic system?

The fee schedule has a $425 homeowner-installation septic permit; Environmental Health reviews the design and inspects the work.

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