Bolthole Index county-legal census · checked 2026-07-01
37 of Kansas's 105 counties — 35% — require no residential building permit and have no county-wide zoning in their unincorporated areas. That is the 6th-largest count of any state. The strongest of them on the Bolthole Index is Bourbon County (66/100). Every entry below cites the county’s own official source.
Rules change, and cities inside these counties set their own — treat this as a verified starting point, not legal advice. All 623 counties nationwide → Kansas: no building codes → Kansas: no zoning → Full Kansas profile →
37 of 105 Kansas counties · sorted by Index score
The county government lists no building/codes or planning department (only Public Works, Sanitation, Public Health, etc.); building permits and codes are handled by incorporated…
Bourbon County Kansas - Official Site (Departments) ↗Neosho County's official department list contains no building/codes department; the county regulates only sanitation/environmental health, so no countywide residential building …
Neosho County, KS – Departments ↗The county staff directory lists no building or code-enforcement department; only a floodplain 'Development Permit' is referenced, consistent with rural Kansas counties that do …
Atchison County Staff Directory (departments list) ↗Chautauqua County is a rural Kansas county with no county-wide building code, and Kansas has no statewide residential building code mandate for unincorporated areas.
Tiny Home Regulations in Kansas (Chautauqua County section) ↗Marshall County's official website lists many departments (Appraiser, Health, Public Works, Road & Bridge, Solid Waste, etc.) but no building/zoning/planning department, consist…
Marshall County, Kansas — official county website ↗Elk County's official department list includes no building/codes/inspection office; only Public Works issues construction permits, and those are for septic/lagoon systems, imply…
Elk County Kansas :: Departments ↗Cloud County's official departments listing includes no building-permit or code-enforcement office (building codes/permits exist only within cities such as Concordia), indicatin…
Cloud County, KS - official county government site ↗Brown County's official forms list includes no county residential building permit (only a Road & Bridge move-building permit); rural Kansas counties commonly do not require coun…
Brown County KS - Forms ↗The Jewell County department directory lists no building/codes department, consistent with rural Kansas counties that do not require building permits in unincorporated areas.
Jewell County, Kansas - County Directory ↗The county's department listing includes no building/codes office, consistent with rural Kansas counties that impose no residential building permit in unincorporated areas (city…
Mitchell County, KS - Official Website ↗Lincoln County's official department list includes no building, codes, planning, or zoning department, indicating the unincorporated county does not administer residential build…
Lincoln County, KS - Departments ↗The county's offices (Clerk, Appraiser, Attorney, Register of Deeds, Treasurer, Sheriff, Health) include no building or codes department, consistent with rural Kansas counties t…
Washington County, KS - County Departments ↗Osborne County's official departments list includes no building, permit, or inspection office, and the county issues no county-level residential building permits.
Osborne County - Departments ↗The county's official site states there are no defined regulations or permits required for construction or improvements within rural (unincorporated) Phillips County; only incor…
Phillips County, KS - Building Regulations & Permitting ↗Cheyenne County's government lists no building/permit office, and building permitting is handled at the municipal level (e.g., City of St. Francis); the rural unincorporated cou…
Cheyenne County, KS - Government ↗Smith County's official site lists its departments (Health, Road and Bridge, Landfill, Appraiser, etc.) with no building-permit, inspection, or code-enforcement office, consiste…
Smith County, Kansas (official county website) ↗Norton County's official department directory lists no building, permit, or code-enforcement department, consistent with rural Kansas counties that issue no countywide residenti…
Norton County KS - Departments ↗The official Chase County government site lists no planning, zoning, building-inspection, code-enforcement, or permit department, consistent with rural Kansas counties that requ…
Chase County, Kansas official website ↗Ellsworth County's official department listing includes no building/permit office or code enforcement; residential building permits are handled at the municipal level (e.g., Cit…
Ellsworth County, KS - Official Website ↗The county's official department list shows no building, planning, or zoning department for unincorporated areas, and no county building-permit program is documented; building p…
Edwards County, KS Official Website ↗The county's official site lists no building-inspection or permit department, consistent with rural Kansas counties that do not require building permits in unincorporated areas …
Comanche County, Kansas official website ↗The official county site lists no building department, building code, or permit program, consistent with rural Kansas counties that do not require residential building permits.
Barber County, Kansas - Home ↗The county's official department list includes no building/inspection/planning department (only City of Colby issues building permits), consistent with rural NW Kansas counties …
Thomas County, KS - Departments ↗The county's official departments list shows no building, codes, or planning department, consistent with rural Kansas counties that do not require residential building permits.
Wallace County, KS - County Departments ↗Gove County's official departments listing includes no building-permit or code-enforcement office, consistent with the county having no adopted building codes for unincorporated…
Gove County - Departments (official county site) ↗The county's own department directory lists no building, codes, or inspections department, consistent with rural Kansas counties that do not require a county building permit in …
Sheridan County KS Department Directory ↗No county planning/zoning or building-permit office is listed among Logan County departments; building permits are handled at the City of Oakley level, not for the unincorporate…
City of Oakley - Logan County Departments ↗Ness County's official department directory lists no building, codes, or permits department, indicating the rural county operates no county-wide building permit program.
Ness County, KS — Departments ↗Scott County government lists no county building/codes department; building permits are administered only within incorporated Scott City, so unincorporated county construction i…
Scott County, Kansas (county government) ↗Hodgeman County's official site lists no planning, zoning, or building-permit department, and Kansas does not mandate a residential building code in unincorporated areas.
Hodgeman County (official county website) ↗Rawlins County's official departments listing shows no building, codes, or permitting office, consistent with rural Kansas counties that do not administer residential building p…
Rawlins County Departments ↗The official Wichita County government site lists no planning, zoning, building-inspection, or permit department, consistent with rural Kansas counties that require no countywid…
Wichita County, Kansas official website ↗Grant County's official departments list includes no building, planning, or code-enforcement office, indicating no countywide residential building permit outside the City of Uly…
Grant County, KS - Departments ↗The Unified Greeley County government lists only Clerk, Treasurer, Appraiser, Sheriff and Register of Deeds - no building or code-enforcement office - and Kansas has no statewid…
Unified Greeley County, KS - Official Website ↗Meade County's official department list includes no building/codes office, consistent with rural Kansas counties that do not require residential building permits in unincorporat…
Meade County, KS - Departments ↗Rural Stanton County publishes no building-permit or building-inspection department; Kansas has no statewide residential building code for such counties.
Stanton County, KS official website ↗Morton County's official site lists no county building or code-enforcement department, and Kansas has no statewide residential building code; general building permits are not re…
Morton County, KS official website (departments) ↗Every county here has a full profile — water, land prices, hazard safety, seclusion, and the rest of its building rules. See the Kansas state page for all 105 counties ranked, or go back to the national list.
General guidance, not legal advice. Off-grid, building, and land-use rules are often set at the county level and change often. Verify with your county and state before acting. Data reviewed 2026-06-26.
