Winona County, Minnesota Building Permit Guide

In most of rural Winona County, Planning & Environmental Services at 202 West Third Street in Winona issues the development certificate needed to build, move or enlarge a structure or add a bedroom, plus septic, well and feedlot permits, all applied for and paid online through OpenGov. Under the 2026 fee schedule a new house is $500 with its address and a septic permit $350. Since early 2026 Saratoga, St. Charles and Utica townships file zoning and septic permits with a contracted administrator, and Wilson Township has run its own zoning since 2013.

What requires a permit in Winona County?

Section 6.11 of the Winona County Zoning Ordinance, adopted December 14, 2010 and in effect since March 15, 2011, bars anyone from erecting, altering or moving a permanent building without a development certificate, and no site work, including rough grading, driveway construction or footings, may start before the certificate issues unless the department authorizes it in writing.

Separate permits cover septic systems, land disturbance, feedlots, wetlands, timber harvesting and wells. Expanding a building toward a bluff or steep-slope setback, or one already inside it, needs a staff review with an erosion control plan, and floodplain and shoreland standards sit on top of the base district rules.

What the county decides and what the state holds

The County Board sets districts, setbacks and allowed uses for land outside the cities, and the department reviews development certificates against them. Its pages describe zoning certificates, septic permits and certificates of compliance; they do not describe county building permits for houses. Electrical work is permitted by the state, and the planning page links the Department of Labor and Industry’s electrical inspector directory.

Winona County building department: who handles permitting

Planning & Environmental Services, headed by director Ross Dunsmoor, covers zoning and land use, feedlots, well and septic control, water resources and sustainability, and prepares the conditional use, rezone, variance and ordinance amendment petitions heard by the Board of Adjustment and Planning Commission. Planners are often out on inspections, so the county recommends booking an appointment. Two exceptions change where you file in the townships.

Owners in the three contracted townships apply through the Winona Township Planning Association (WTPA) rather than OpenGov. WTPA describes itself as a joint-powers cooperative in which each member township adopts its own zoning ordinance, at least as restrictive as the county’s, and its staff issue building and septic permits and take inspection requests; county driveway, feedlot and well permits may still apply.

Cities in Winona County

The county lists 13 municipalities that run planning and zoning inside their own limits and should be asked directly about permits. Flood-program status is from FEMA’s Community Status Book.

Winona County permit types

OpenGov carries the development certificate, new address or sign replacement, soil verification request, septic system application, septic as-built inspection request, septic point of sale filing, conditional and interim use permits and variance or appeal requests, along with feedlot permits and closures, well construction and sealing notifications, environmental and dewatering well permits, and solid waste licenses. Applicants register with an email address, can save a draft and return to it, and follow each step’s comments in their account.

Residential permits

A new house needs a development certificate, which includes the new address, a soil verification and septic permit from a licensed septic professional, a notification of well construction for a new well and a driveway access permit for a county road. Adding a bedroom also needs a certificate. The site plan must be drawn at no smaller than 1 inch to 100 feet. Recreational cabins on parcels of at least 1 acre may be occupied no more than four continuous months a year.

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

Commercial and other permits

Conditional and interim uses, large solar of 1 megawatt or more, land disturbance, large assemblies, feedlots and home occupations each have their own fees. Commercial dog breeding kennels were banned by an amendment of March 11, 2025, and cannabis businesses are regulated under a January 7, 2025 amendment and a separate registration ordinance with its own fees.

What comes before the permit

• Check the township. Saratoga, St. Charles and Utica go to the contracted administrator, Wilson Township to its own zoning office.
• Township contacts. The county’s permitting page links the list of township officers and their meeting dates.
• Septic. A licensed septic professional completes the soil verification and design.
• Well. A licensed well contractor files the well construction notification.
• Driveway. The Highway Department issues county road access permits, with no fee and about two weeks to process.
• Hearings. Variances go to the Board of Adjustment; conditional uses and rezones to the Planning Commission, then the County Board.

Winona County permit fees

The figures below are from the 2026 Winona County Fee Schedule, approved as amended by the County Board on January 13, 2026 and amended again on June 23, 2026 (that amendment changed only human services, public health and sheriff fees). Fees are paid online by e-check or card, in person, or by check to the Winona County Auditor-Treasurer, and no permit is processed until they are paid.

After-the-fact permits cost an extra amount equal to the permit fee when obtained within 10 days of installation, and twice the fee after that, on top of the permit fee itself. The schedule lists the development certificate application and the dwelling, accessory and change-of-use charges on separate lines without saying whether they add together, so ask the office for the total on a new house; the well program’s own fee sheet, updated January 2022, matches the 2026 schedule except that it shows $1,650 rather than $1,620 for five or more dewatering wells.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Winona County issues no building, plumbing or mechanical permits in the townships, and it licenses no trades; contractors, electricians and plumbers are licensed by the Department of Labor and Industry, which also issues electrical permits through the inspector listed in its directory.

• Septic professionals. The county points applicants to the MPCA’s search for licensed septic businesses, and installers file the county as-built form.
• Well contractors. The county keeps lists of licensed well and well sealing contractors and takes well construction and sealing notifications and well permits online.
• Feedlots. The county feedlot program handles registration, permitting, inspection and compliance under authority delegated by the MPCA.

How to apply for a Winona County permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The Board of Adjustment meets at 1:00 p.m. and the Planning Commission at 6:00 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month in the County Office Building boardroom, and Planning Commission items go to the County Board for a vote; the county posts each year’s application deadlines, which in 2025 fell on a Friday at noon about four weeks before the meeting. Conditional use and variance fees are invoiced after staff find the application complete. A petitioner who cannot wait for the regular date can request a special meeting, at $1,350 for a conditional use permit, $1,650 for a variance and $2,700 for a zoning or map amendment. Starting site work before the certificate, or an expansion near a bluff that needs a design review, adds time.

Inspections in Winona County

Planners spend much of the season in the field checking sites, and the county issues certificates of compliance once improvements meet the ordinance. Septic systems are inspected through the as-built inspection request filed in OpenGov after installation, and a septic point of sale filing and certificate form are available for property transfers.

Unpermitted wetland disturbance carries a penalty of $100 per violation for the first 10 days after notice, then $500 a day, plus the permit fee, and shoreland buffer violations move from a corrective notice to monthly penalties per parcel. Wells are tracked through the county’s notification and sealing records. Electrical installations are inspected by the state electrical inspector.

Minnesota building code

Winona County’s own controls are its zoning ordinance with its septic, feedlot, shoreland, floodplain and natural features chapters, a buffer ordinance, a cannabis registration ordinance and the 2014 comprehensive plan. Amendments since 2011 include rules for mining and processing industrial minerals (November 22, 2016), recreational cabins and timber harvesting (December 27, 2022), cannabis (January 7, 2025) and the dog breeding kennel ban (March 11, 2025). FEMA’s Community Status Book lists the county as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program since January 18, 1984, with a current flood map of the same date.

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

Winona County permit search and official resources

OpenGov account holders see every application, its status and staff comments; parcel data is on the Beacon parcel viewer linked from the planning page, and County Board, Planning Commission and Board of Adjustment agendas, packets and minutes are in the county’s agenda center.

• Winona County Planning & Environmental Services
• Online permitting
• Winona County OpenGov permit portal
• Online permitting FAQ
• Planning and zoning
• Winona County Zoning Ordinance
• Zoning ordinance amendments
• June 23, 2026 Board packet with the 2026 fee schedule
• County news: interim ordinance hearing notice
• Septic systems
• Wells
• Feedlot program
• Board of Adjustment
• Planning Commission
• Highway permit applications
• Winona Township Planning Association (Saratoga, St. Charles, Utica)
• WTPA building and septic permit applications
• Agendas and minutes
• State electrical permits (DLI)
• FEMA Community Status Book, Minnesota

Winona County permit FAQs

Do I need a permit for a small shed?

Not if it is 200 square feet or less and no more than 10 feet tall, or worth $2,000 or less shown by receipt.

What does a development certificate for a new house cost?

The 2026 fee schedule lists $500 for a new dwelling, including the new address, and a separate $200 development certificate application line; the septic permit is $350.

Who handles permits in St. Charles or Utica Township?

Since early 2026, Construction Management Services administers zoning and septic permits in Saratoga, St. Charles and Utica townships; the Winona Township Planning Association website the county links for them also takes building permit applications.

Does Wilson Township use the county?

No. Wilson Township has had its own zoning ordinance since 2013, and applications go through the township.

Can I pay online?

Yes. OpenGov takes e-check or credit card; checks to the Winona County Auditor-Treasurer also work.

Is there a fee for a county road driveway permit?

No. The Highway Department currently charges no fee and asks for about two weeks to process it.

Is a scenic byway moratorium coming?

The County Board holds a hearing on November 10, 2026 on a proposed interim ordinance for commercial uses affecting scenic byway viewsheds.

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