Harrison County, Mississippi Building Permit Guide

Harrison County’s five cities are Gulfport (76506 by the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025 estimate), Biloxi (48516), Long Beach (17309), D’Iberville (13557) and Pass Christian (6459). The unincorporated balance, where the county rather than a city is the permitting authority, had 54789 of the county’s 217136 residents.

Harrison County’s own website blocked automated checks, so the county building office, its address, fees and inspections could not be verified; contact the county directly. This guide covers the state and health offices that serve the whole county and the Gulfport and Biloxi offices.

What requires a permit in Harrison County?

Since House Bill 1163 of 2022, every Mississippi county must require a permit for construction in its unincorporated areas. Harrison is one of the five coastal counties that, with the municipalities in them, have had to enforce wind and flood mitigation requirements and adopt the latest International Building and Residential Codes since House Bill 1406 of 2006.

Work in coastal wetlands also needs a state wetlands permit, because Harrison County is in the Mississippi Coastal Zone.

Some work is exempt statewide: farm structures once the owner files an affidavit (Mississippi Code §17-2-7), and manufactured housing built to federal standards, certain industrial and utility facilities, buildings on non-public fairgrounds and hunting or fishing camps with an owner’s affidavit (§17-2-9). None of these exemptions reaches floodplain rules. The state minimum codes are the Mississippi Building Code and Mississippi Residential Code, the residential code drawn from the 2021 International Residential Code. How building codes apply in Mississippi

Who handles permitting in Harrison County?

Long Beach permits through its Building Department at City Hall, 201 Jeff Davis Avenue (228-863-1554), and D’Iberville through its Building Department at 10383 Automall Parkway (228-392-7966, ext. 6001); ask Pass Christian about its permit office.

Coastal wetlands and septic permits in Harrison County

Wetlands

In the Coastal Zone (Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties) the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources is the point of contact for wetlands permits. Applications go to MDMR electronically through its Wetlands Permitting Portal or on the Joint Application and Notification Form. The department’s office is at 1141 Bayview Avenue, Biloxi (228-374-5000).

Septic

For on-site wastewater (septic) permits, the Mississippi State Department of Health places Harrison County in its South Region; its Wastewater Call Center (1-855-220-0192) helps with applications.

City permits in Gulfport and Biloxi

Gulfport

Applications are uploaded as a single PDF to the city’s Online Drop Box, or delivered in person or by mail. Gulfport treats all areas of the city as High Wind Areas, with residential neighborhoods at 160 mph (3 second gust), and requires 1 foot of freeboard above base flood elevation under its flood ordinance.

Biloxi

The Department of Community Development handles building permits, inspections and floodplain management inside the city.

Harrison County permit costs and fees

No county fee schedule could be checked. In Gulfport, building permits cost a Base Fee of $30.00 plus $24.00 for the first $1,000.00 of valuation and $4.00 for each additional thousand up to $500,001.00.

Fee schedules in Mississippi are set locally and revised on each jurisdiction’s own cycle, so ask Harrison County for the schedule in force on your filing date, and ask separately about plan review, trade, re-inspection and revision charges. How Mississippi permit fees work

How to get a permit in Harrison County

In Mississippi, correction cycles turn mostly on the local layer: which code edition Harrison County enforces, whether a coastal or flood-zone parcel triggers wind and elevation requirements, whether the project value crosses a state licensing threshold, and whether the submittal has the sets and forms the office requires. Permits also carry a validity period set by the issuing jurisdiction, so confirm the expiry on phased or delayed work. Review and corrections in Mississippi

Official Harrison County permitting resources

These are the primary sources behind this guide. Codes, fee schedules and procedures change — confirm the position for your filing date.

• Mississippi Department of Marine Resources permitting
• Harrison County Health Department
• MSDH on-site wastewater (septic) permits
• Gulfport Building Code Services
• Biloxi Community Development
• Census Bureau Vintage 2025 city and town estimates (Mississippi)

Frequently asked questions

Who issues permits outside the cities in Harrison County?

The county is the permitting authority in the unincorporated area. Its website could not be checked for this guide, so contact the county directly.

Who handles wetlands permits in Harrison County?

The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources Wetlands Permitting Bureau, 228-523-4106, dmrpermitting@dmr.ms.gov.

Which MSDH region handles Harrison County septic permits?

The South Region; the Wastewater Call Center is 1-855-220-0192.

Simplify Harrison County permitting with Alliance Permitting

• Confirm whether a parcel is inside one of the five cities or in the unincorporated county
• Prepare the building application and any MDMR wetlands or septic paperwork
• Track each approval through to the final inspection

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