Building permits, zoning and septic rules in Sherwood, Arkansas

At a glance

Building permit fee (new home)

$0.16 per square foot under roof¹

Septic tanks inside city limits

Prohibited for human waste: no new, altered or relocated tanks²

Building code

City adopted the 2021 International Mechanical Code; statewide Arkansas Fire Prevention Code, 2021 Edition³⁴

Plumbing

Fixtures must connect to a public sewer or an approved private sewage disposal system⁵

Owner-builder

Statewide licensing exemption for building your own residence, not a permit exemption⁶

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 16, 2026.

Does Sherwood, Arkansas have zoning, and what does it mean for RVs, tiny homes and lot size?

We could not confirm Sherwood's zoning districts, setbacks, minimum lot sizes or any rule on long-term RV, tiny-home or accessory-dwelling use inside city limits, so none of those answers are given here. Ask the city's Permits & Planning office for the zoning district of any parcel before you make an offer.

The city has adopted at least part of a building code: Sherwood adopted the 2021 International Mechanical Code for mechanical installations inside city limits³. That is one component, not the whole building code. Statewide, Arkansas requires local governments to adopt and enforce only the Arkansas Fire Prevention Code, 2021 Edition⁴.

Do you need a building permit in Sherwood, and who issues it?

Sherwood publishes a fee for new-home building permits: $0.16 per square foot under roof¹. A city fee schedule for new homes means building permits for houses are issued by the city, not by Pulaski County. The ordinance sets the fee but does not list which work needs a permit, so call the City of Sherwood Permits & Planning office⁷ to confirm before you start any project.

Arkansas building code minimums apply statewide even in places where no permit or inspection is required⁸.

How do septic permits work inside Sherwood?

Inside Sherwood city limits, new septic tanks are off the table. The city code makes it unlawful to construct, install, remodel, alter, enlarge or move a septic tank for the treatment of human waste on the same lot². The ordinance bans that work and does not describe a city septic-permit process⁹.

Plumbing fixtures in Sherwood structures must connect to a public sewer or an approved private sewage disposal system⁵. In practice, a lot inside the city without sewer access is a problem to solve before you buy: ask the city whether sewer reaches the parcel.

Statewide, an Arkansas home within 300 feet of an available sanitary sewer must connect to it¹⁰.

Building a home in Sherwood: the steps, in order

1. Ask Sherwood Permits & Planning which zoning district the parcel sits in and what it allows⁷.
2. Confirm public sewer reaches the lot, since new septic tanks are banned inside city limits².
3. Apply for the building permit; the new-home fee is $0.16 per square foot under roof¹.
4. Build to the statewide Arkansas Fire Prevention Code, 2021 Edition⁴.
5. If you act as your own contractor on your home, Arkansas exempts you from residential contractor licensing, but that is not a permit exemption⁶.

What stays with Pulaski County and the state, and what to check before you buy?

Land outside Sherwood city limits follows different rules. For unincorporated land, see the Pulaski County page. There, the Arkansas Department of Health or its Authorized Agent issues septic permits statewide, including Pulaski County¹¹, and the state's onsite wastewater program can be reached at the Little Rock office listed above¹².

County-level figures, not Sherwood's: Pulaski County's effective property tax rate is 0.8%¹³, and its median property tax bill is $1,562 a year¹⁴.

Watch-outs

• Sherwood's zoning districts, setbacks, lot sizes and rules on RVs, tiny homes and accessory dwellings were not confirmed; ask Sherwood Permits & Planning about any parcel before you commit⁷.
• The city's septic-tank ban covers building, installing, altering and moving tanks for human waste, so a lot without sewer access may not be buildable as a home inside city limits².
• Building permit triggers, inspections and any certificate of occupancy were not confirmed; the fee ordinance only states the new-home rate of $0.16 per square foot under roof¹.

Sources

1. Sherwood Municipal Code § 11.16.03, Building permit fee (Sherwood), quoted and re-checked
2. Sherwood Municipal Code § 5.08.01, Septic tanks prohibited (Sherwood), quoted and re-checked
3. Sherwood Municipal Code § 11.48.01, Adopted (Sherwood), quoted and re-checked
4. 2021 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code (Arkansas statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
5. Sherwood Municipal Code § 11.40.05, Plumbing facilities and fixture requirements (Sherwood), quoted and re-checked
6. Arkansas Residential Contractors Committee Rules and Statutes (Arkansas statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
7. City of Sherwood Permits & Planning, Building Codes Division (sherwoodar.gov)
8. Home Improvement Contractor License Application (Arkansas statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
9. Sherwood Municipal Code § 5.08.01, Septic tanks prohibited (Sherwood), quoted and re-checked
10. codeofarrules.arkansas.gov (Arkansas statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
11. Rules Pertaining to Onsite Wastewater Systems (2024), quoted and re-checked
12. Arkansas Department of Health - Environmental Health (Onsite Wastewater Program) (healthy.arkansas.gov)
13. Effective property tax rate: Bolthole Index county data
14. Median property tax bill: Bolthole Index county data

Written October 16, 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.