Stone County, Mississippi Building Permit Guide

Stone County has one incorporated city, Wiggins, whose Planning and Building Department issues construction permits inside the city (City Hall, 117 North First Street, 601-928-7221). Everything outside Wiggins is unincorporated county land, where state law requires the county to require a permit for construction; septic systems are permitted by the Mississippi State Department of Health.

Who issues construction permits in Stone County?

For land inside Wiggins, the City’s Planning and Building Department handles construction permits, zoning and certificates of occupancy under the City’s Land Development Code. For unincorporated land, the Stone County Board of Supervisors is the local government: Mississippi law requires every county to require a permit for construction in its unincorporated area (Miss. Code §19-5-9(11)), and Stone County is one of the five counties, with Jackson, Harrison, Hancock and Pearl River, that House Bill 1406 of 2006 (Miss. Code §17-2-1) directed to enforce wind and flood mitigation requirements and adopt the International Building and Residential Codes, though the act let a county board opt out by a resolution entered in its minutes within 60 days. Ask the county at the courthouse in Wiggins which county office issues the permit and what it requires.

Steps for a project in Stone County

Other approvals in Stone County

Septic systems: the Mississippi State Department of Health permits individual onsite wastewater systems. Apply online, by fax, by mail or by e-mail to wastewater@msdh.ms.gov; after the application is complete the Department e-mails a payment link, and county health offices do not take cash or checks for these fees. The call center number is 1-855-220-0192.

Manufactured homes: the State Fire Marshal’s Office licenses manufactured home installers and transporters and monitors anchoring and blocking, and it advises having a home set up by an installer it licenses.

Building in Wiggins: the City of Wiggins posts its construction permit application, residential and commercial certificate of occupancy applications, a sign permit application, a utility site plan review application and its fee schedule on its Planning & Building page. That undated schedule bases the construction permit on total valuation ($15 for work of $1,000 or less, $260 for the first $50,000 plus $4 per additional $1,000 up to $100,000, and $460 for the first $100,000 plus $3.50 per $1,000 up to $500,000), adds a plan review fee of half the permit fee that is credited toward the permit, and charges $65 per inspection, $25 for a residential certificate of occupancy and $50 for a residential floodplain development permit, with fees doubled if construction has already started. Minor repairs that meet every criterion on the City’s exemption certificate, including no work in a flood zone, no change to the footprint or use, no structural change and no added plumbing fixtures or electrical circuits, are exempt from a construction permit under Section 4.4.1 of the Land Development Code once the department signs the certificate. Power and gas are connected only after the department approves the connection to the utility; the approval form names Pearl River Valley Electric Power Association, Mississippi Power and CenterPoint Energy, and cites the 2003 International Building and Residential Codes. The City’s ordinances are published on Municode.

Mississippi building code

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

Official Stone County permit resources

• Mississippi State Fire Marshal: factory-built housing
• State Fire Marshal building plan review
• Mississippi Insurance Department: Mississippi Uniform Building Codes
• House Bill 1406 (2006): coastal county wind and flood code law
• House Bill 1163 (2022): county and city permit requirement
• Mississippi State Department of Health: On-Site Wastewater
• City of Wiggins Planning & Building
• City of Wiggins construction permit application
• City of Wiggins fee schedule
• City of Wiggins Code of Ordinances (Municode)

Stone County permit FAQs

Who issues building permits in Stone County?

Inside Wiggins, the City’s Planning and Building Department (City Hall, 601-928-7221). For unincorporated land, Stone County, which state law requires to require a permit for construction.

Is Stone County one of the coastal code counties?

Yes. House Bill 1406 of 2006 (Miss. Code §17-2-1) named Stone with Jackson, Harrison, Hancock and Pearl River counties for wind and flood mitigation requirements and adoption of the International Building and Residential Codes, subject to a 60-day opt-out by board resolution.

Can a small repair in Wiggins skip the permit?

Only if it meets every criterion on the City’s exemption certificate, including no flood zone work, no structural change and no new plumbing fixtures or circuits, and the department signs it.

Who approves septic systems in Stone County?

The Mississippi State Department of Health, which takes applications online and by fax, mail or e-mail.

Simplify Stone County permitting with Alliance Permitting

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