Bolthole Index

Covington County, Alabama

Building permits, zoning and land rules in Andalusia, Alabama

Andalusia, Alabama requires city permits for various construction work and applies its own zoning inside city limits.12 The Planning and Development Department handles building-permit and zoning questions, while the Covington County Health Department handles septic permits for properties not connected to public sanitary sewer.134

At a glance

Building permit
Required for various construction work; confirm the permit type with Planning and Development1
Zoning
Andalusia applies its own zoning inside city limits2
Septic permit
Required through Covington County Health for a new or repaired onsite system off sewer34
RV living
Not allowed on a residential lot or at a location not approved for that use5
Tiny homes
No separate city approval path confirmed; ask Planning and Development to classify the proposal1
Owner-builder
A state licensing exemption may apply, but city building approvals still need confirmation61

Who to call

Building permits

City of Andalusia Planning and Development Department

Building permits, construction-code compliance, zoning and development questions inside Andalusia

(334) 222-3312

505 East Three Notch Street Andalusia, AL 36420

Septic permits

Covington County Health Department, Environmental Services

Onsite sewage and septic applications, permits and septic-tank requests in Covington County, including Andalusia

334-222-1175

23989 Alabama Highway 55, Andalusia, Alabama 36420

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 9, 2026.

Off-grid gear

Going off-grid in Andalusia means bringing your own water and power. The kit we’d start with:

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Do you need a building permit in Andalusia, Alabama?

Yes, for various construction work inside Andalusia, though the city's public page does not define every project that triggers a building permit.1 The city lists residential and commercial building permits along with electrical, plumbing, mechanical, sign, swimming-pool and moving permits.1 Contact Planning and Development with the parcel address and full scope of work before construction to confirm the applications, fees, plans and inspections required.1

The available city material confirms that Andalusia enforces building codes for residential and commercial structures, but we could not confirm the currently adopted code edition.1 Alabama's Division of Construction Management does not have ordinary residential jurisdiction, so its state code is not a substitute for Andalusia's local answer.7

Does Andalusia have zoning, and what does it mean for RVs?

Andalusia has its own zoning regulations inside city limits.2 The city identifies residential, business, industrial and agricultural districts, so confirm the parcel's district with Planning and Development before relying on a listing's description of allowed use.1

Andalusia does not allow a camper, travel trailer or recreational vehicle to be used for living, sleeping or housekeeping on a residential lot or at any location not approved for that use.5 Storage is allowed only in a side or rear yard or a conforming garage or accessory structure, and not in a side yard adjacent to a street.5 Storage permission therefore does not authorize temporary camping or full-time RV occupancy.8

What are Andalusia's rules for tiny homes and manufactured-home parks?

We could not confirm a separate Andalusia approval path for tiny homes or accessory dwelling units; ask Planning and Development how the proposed structure and use fit the parcel's zoning district and building-code requirements.1 Do not apply the manufactured-home-park dimensions to an ordinary residential lot, because the confirmed standards apply only within an approved manufactured-home park.9

An approved manufactured-home park must contain at least 8 acres, and each designated space must contain at least 5,000 square feet and be at least 50 feet wide.9 Each designated space requires front, rear and side yards at least 10 feet deep, and the manufactured home plus accessory buildings may cover no more than 40 percent of that space.1011 The one confirmed dwelling-size rule is also narrow: a conventional resident-manager unit in an approved manufactured-home park must contain at least 600 square feet.12

How do septic permits work inside Andalusia?

The Covington County Health Department handles onsite sewage and septic services inside Andalusia; city building and zoning approval does not replace the health-department process.3 A home or business not connected to public sanitary sewer must obtain a local health-department permit before installing a new onsite sewage system or repairing an existing one.4

The application can require soils information, a legal description, plot plan, vicinity map and, in some cases, a construction plan.4 Contact Environmental Services before installation begins and wait for approval of the application and soil results.4 Across Covington County, about 50 percent of soils are rated without severe limitations for a conventional septic drain field, but that countywide measure cannot determine whether a particular Andalusia lot will pass a site evaluation.13

Building a home in Andalusia: what are the steps?

  1. Ask the Andalusia Planning and Development Department to confirm the parcel's zoning district, allowed dwelling type and applicable dimensional rules.1
  1. Confirm which city building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits apply, along with plan, fee and inspection requirements.1
  1. If public sanitary sewer will not serve the lot, submit the onsite sewage application and required site information to the Covington County Health Department before septic construction.4
  1. If the project needs a zoning special exception, file with the zoning official at least 30 days before the hearing; adjacent owners receive written notice at least 15 days beforehand.14
  1. If acting as your own contractor under Alabama's licensing exemption, personally provide all material supervision for the qualifying owner-occupied one-family or two-family residence and do not offer it for sale.6 The licensing exemption does not remove Andalusia's building-permit or zoning requirements.1

What should you check before buying land in Andalusia?

Confirm city-limit status, the zoning district and the intended use with Andalusia Planning and Development before closing.1 Ask the department for the district's complete lot-size, setback, height and coverage schedule because the available rules do not establish citywide dimensions for ordinary home sites.1

For an off-sewer parcel, involve Covington County Health early because onsite sewage approval depends on the application, proposed layout and soil information.4 We could not confirm a general private-well construction permit, a certificate-of-occupancy requirement, driveway approval for city streets or building-permit fees; ask Planning and Development and Environmental Services which offices must review the particular site.115 A driveway connecting directly to an Alabama state highway requires an ALDOT access permit.16

Watch-outs

  • RV storage in Andalusia does not authorize living, sleeping or housekeeping in the unit on a residential lot or at an unapproved location.5
  • The confirmed manufactured-home park dimensions are not general minimums for every residential parcel in Andalusia.9
  • A city building permit does not replace the Covington County Health Department permit required before installing or repairing an onsite sewage system on property off public sewer.14
  • Andalusia's currently adopted building-code edition, building-permit fees and certificate-of-occupancy rules could not be confirmed; ask Planning and Development before budgeting or scheduling work.1

Sources

  1. City of Andalusia Planning and Development Department (andalusiaal.gov)
  2. Ordinance No. 2004-5 (Andalusia), quoted and re-checked
  3. Covington County Health Department Services (Andalusia), quoted and re-checked
  4. Onsite Sewage (Andalusia), quoted and re-checked
  5. library.municode.com (Andalusia), quoted and re-checked
  6. Exemptions (Alabama statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
  7. State Building Code, quoted and re-checked
  8. library.municode.com (Andalusia), quoted and re-checked
  9. library.municode.com (Andalusia), quoted and re-checked
  10. library.municode.com (Andalusia), quoted and re-checked
  11. Code of Ordinances, Appendix A Zoning, Article VII, Section 10 (Andalusia), quoted and re-checked
  12. library.municode.com (Andalusia), quoted and re-checked
  13. Share of soils USDA rates "not limited" for a conventional septic drain field (SSURGO). A strict rating: the median county is about 6% and a tenth of counties are 0%, so a low figure means most lots need a site evaluation or an engineered system, not that septic is impossible. Cite it only with that caveat: Bolthole Index county data
  14. Ordinance No. 2004-5 (Andalusia), quoted and re-checked
  15. Covington County Health Department, Environmental Services (alabamapublichealth.gov)
  16. ALDOT Permit Manual (Alabama statewide rule), quoted and re-checked

Written October 9, 2026 from the rules quoted below, each taken from an official source and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: rules change, so confirm with the office before you buy or build.

Answers from the rulebook for Andalusia

Andalusia’s own rules

  • Building permitLimited

    Building sites in Andalusia B-1, B-2, B-3, M-1, M-2, and PUD zoning districts when the city landscaping requirements apply.

    • A landscape plan is submitted with the building-permit application where the landscaping requirements apply.
    • The rule also applies where an owner/developer increases building square footage by a cumulative twenty-five percent or more.
    • Landscape installation must be completed before the development opens to the public.
    • The Planning and Development Department must be notified and decides compliance or noncompliance within seven working days.

    cumulative building-square-footage increase threshold: >= 25 percent · compliance decision period: 7 working days

    “A landscape plan shall be submitted for approval to the Department of Planning and Development”
  • InspectionsLimited

    Inspection and enforcement of dangerous or unsafe buildings inside Andalusia city limits.

    • The municipal official may inspect public buildings semiannually.
    • The official may inspect buildings on complaints or reports from the fire or police department.
    • Inspection authority is for enforcing the unsafe-structures and dangerous-buildings article.

    inspection frequency for listed public buildings: semiannual

    “Inspect, or cause to be inspected, semiannually all public buildings, halls, churches, theatres, hotels, tenements, commercial manufacturing or loft buildings”
  • Local zoningPresent

    Land inside Andalusia city limits; the city adopts Appendix A, Article VI of its Code of Ordinances as zoning regulations.

    “APPENDIX A – ZONING, Art. VI – General Provisions”
  • Zoning districtsPartial

    Zoning districts expressly identified in the opened Andalusia ordinance material.

    • The opened material identifies B-1, B-2, B-3, M-1, M-2, and PUD districts but is not the complete district schedule.
    • District-specific dimensional controls require the corresponding complete zoning schedule.
    “B-1, B-2, B-3, M-1, M-2, and PUD zoning districts”
  • Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

    One conventional resident-manager dwelling unit in an approved manufactured-home park.

    • The unit is an accessory use in a manufactured-home park and is intended for the resident manager.

    minimum floor area: >= 600 square feet

    “containing at least six hundred (600) square feet of floor space and intended for the use of a resident manager.”
  • Minimum lot sizeSpecified

    Approved manufactured-home parks and their designated spaces inside Andalusia city limits.

    • A manufactured-home park project must meet the minimum site-area and frontage standards.
    • Each manufactured-home designated space must meet the minimum area and width standards.

    manufactured-home park minimum area: >= 8 acres · designated-space minimum area: >= 5000 square feet · designated-space minimum width: >= 50 feet

    “Each manufactured home shall be placed upon an individual designated space that contains at least five thousand (5,000) square feet of area”
  • SetbacksSpecified

    Each designated manufactured-home space in an approved manufactured-home park inside Andalusia city limits.

    • The setback applies to each designated space in the manufactured-home park.

    front-yard depth: >= 10 feet · rear-yard depth: >= 10 feet · side-yard depth: >= 10 feet

    “The front, rear and side yards for each such designated space shall measure at least ten (10) feet in depth.”
  • Lot coverageSpecified

    Manufactured homes and accessory buildings on each designated space in an approved manufactured-home park.

    • The coverage limit applies to the total area of the designated space.

    maximum coverage: <= 40 percent

    “No manufactured home and/or accessory building shall cover more than forty (40) percent of the total area of the designated space.”
  • Living in an RVLimited

    Use of campers, travel trailers, or recreational vehicles for living, sleeping, or housekeeping on residential lots or at locations not approved for that use inside Andalusia city limits.

    • The equipment may be stored in any district only in a side or rear yard or in a conforming garage or accessory structure.
    • Storage is prohibited in a side yard adjacent to a street.
    • Living, sleeping, or housekeeping use is prohibited on a residential lot or any location not approved for such use.
    “No such equipment shall be used for living, sleeping, or housekeeping purposes when parked or stored on a residential lot”
  • Camping on your landLimited

    Camping or temporary habitation in campers, travel trailers, or recreational vehicles on residential lots inside Andalusia city limits.

    • No living, sleeping, or housekeeping use is allowed on a residential lot unless the location is approved for that use.
    • Storage is subject to side-yard, rear-yard, garage, and street-adjacent-side-yard restrictions.
    “or in any location not approved for such use.”
  • Who permits septicCounty

    Septic and onsite-sewage services for properties inside Andalusia city limits are administered through the Covington County Health Department.

    • The Covington County Health Department is an Alabama Department of Public Health county health department.
    • The page lists onsite-sewage applications and permits, septic tank permits, and related environmental services.
    “The Covington County Health Department provides the following services to the public. [...] Onsite Sewage (Applications/Permits)”
  • Septic permitRequired

    Homes and businesses inside Andalusia city limits that are not connected to a public sanitary sewer system and will install or repair onsite sewage disposal.

    • A permit from the local health department is required before installing a new system or repairing an existing system.
    • The application must include professional soils information, legal description, plot plan, vicinity map, and sometimes a construction plan.
    • The health department reviews the application and soil-test results; a permit is issued if approved.
    • The health department must be contacted before installation begins.
    “Alabama State Law requires homeowners and businesses not connected to a public sanitary sewer system to obtain a permit from the local health department”
  • Permit processPartial

    Applicable landscaping and special-exception processes inside Andalusia city limits.

    • Landscape plans are submitted with building-permit applications where the landscaping section applies.
    • The Planning and Development Department reviews landscape compliance before public opening.
    • Special-exception applications must be filed with the zoning official at least thirty days before the Board of Adjustment hearing.
    • Adjacent owners receive written notice at least fifteen days before the hearing.

    special-exception filing lead time: >= 30 days · adjacent-owner notice lead time: >= 15 days

    “Such application shall be filed with the zoning official at least thirty (30) days before the scheduled hearing date”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Andalusia or Covington County directly.

  • Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption from construction permitting inside Andalusia city limits.
  • Building code adopted — Building-code adoption inside Andalusia city limits.
  • Certificate of occupancy — Certificate-of-occupancy requirements inside Andalusia city limits.
  • Building height — Building-height limits inside Andalusia city limits.
  • Tiny homes — Tiny-home occupancy inside Andalusia city limits.
9 more unanswered
  • Accessory dwellings
  • Septic inspection
  • Off-grid sanitation
  • Well permit
  • Agricultural exemption
  • Subdividing land
  • Driveway access
  • Short-term rentals
  • Permit fees

Each answer was extracted from an official source and independently re-checked against that source by a second reviewer. That is an evidence check, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the authority before you buy or build.

Unanswered questions are usually a sign that Andalusia publishes no rule on the point, not that none exists. Covington County’s page lists the county offices to call.

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