Building permits, zoning and land rules in Chatham County, Georgia

Yes. Unincorporated Chatham County requires permits for new structures and listed structural, occupancy, demolition, roofing, signage, parking-lot, storage-tank, electrical, plumbing and mechanical work¹. Georgia's mandatory construction codes apply statewide, including where they are not locally enforced¹¹. An owner may perform detailed work on an owned single-family dwelling by filing Chatham County's notarized homeowner affidavit, provided the owner lives there or will live there after construction and hires only licensed contractors for assistance⁷. Land-disturbing approval is required before clearing, grading or digging, and the county's minimum inspection sequence includes zoning setbacks, foundation or slab, trades, framing, insulation and building final¹². The building final and Engineering approval of site improvements come before the certificate of occupancy and electrical-power release¹².

Chatham County Building Safety & Regulatory Services accepts permit applications, conducts plan review and handles inspections for unincorporated Chatham County¹³. Applications may be submitted at the office or through its online portal, but the office does not accept them by fax or email¹³. County Engineering publishes separate forms for land-disturbing activity, plat review, plot-plan review, watershed-impact review, floodplain approval and certain water-and-sewer plan reviews¹⁴. Chatham County also publishes zoning, subdivision and development-review fees rather than one universal permit price; for example, the owner-occupied single-family variance base fee is $620¹⁵. The Metropolitan Planning Commission maintains the county zoning ordinance and handles zoning-board matters¹⁶. Confirm jurisdiction first because county zoning governs unincorporated Chatham County, while incorporated municipalities may administer their own zoning^2,3.

Yes. Chatham County zoning governs land use and development throughout the unincorporated area². Use the official zoning map—not the Tax Assessor's database—to identify the district, then use the matching use and development schedules⁶. Setbacks vary by district, use and street classification; the residential schedule includes a minimum of 20 feet from a design right-of-way line and 25 feet from saltwater marshland, except an elevated pier or wooden deck¹⁷. Building height also varies, although the nonresidential schedule uses 36 feet in many listed districts¹⁷. Some listed nonresidential districts have 40% building coverage, but that is not a countywide residential limit¹⁷. Chatham County has no confirmed single countywide minimum dwelling size or minimum lot size; ask the Metropolitan Planning Commission for the standards tied to the parcel's district¹⁶.

Chatham County Environmental Health is the local approval office for on-site sewage systems, operating within Georgia's statewide environmental-health framework⁴. Environmental Health permits and inspects those systems, and a Georgia-certified installer must perform the work⁵. The County Health Department must complete its final inspection before final cover is placed⁵. Only 0.2% of Chatham County soils are rated without severe limits for a conventional drain field, so make septic feasibility a purchase contingency¹⁰. Georgia generally requires connection when public or community sewer is available within 200 feet of the property line or in an abutting public right-of-way¹⁸. A county water-and-sewer tap fee must also be paid before a building permit is issued when Consolidated Utilities serves the property¹⁹. Ask Environmental Health about the proposed house and drain-field locations before finalizing a site plan²⁰.

Chatham County's use schedule permits camping sites in the R-A district only for temporary overnight residence serving a recreational purpose⁸. That allowance does not confirm permanent RV residence or camping in another district; ask the Metropolitan Planning Commission about the parcel and proposed duration before relying on an RV for housing^8,16. A site-built or modular tiny home used as a dwelling must meet applicable dwelling codes and the county's district rules^6,9. Temporary manufactured or mobile-home placement follows a separate path requiring a Zoning Administrator permit, compatible development pattern, approved foundation and skirting, with no additions⁸. That temporary manufactured-home rule also requires a tract of at least 20,000 square feet and includes additional conditions, so it should not be read as general permission for every manufactured home⁸. Chatham County has no confirmed countywide minimum dwelling size; ask zoning staff before ordering a unit¹⁶.

1. Confirm that the parcel is in unincorporated Chatham County, identify its official zoning district and verify the proposed use and dimensional standards with the Metropolitan Planning Commission^3,6,16.

1. Obtain Environmental Health approval if the lot will use septic, and determine whether a Consolidated Utilities tap fee applies^4,19.

1. Obtain floodplain review before the building permit if the project is in a special flood-hazard area²¹.

1. Secure land-disturbing approval before clearing, grading or digging, then submit the building-permit package^12,14.

1. Obtain Public Works approval for a new residential or commercial driveway and any required right-of-way permit^7,22.

1. Schedule the required construction and septic inspections^5,12.

1. Pass the building final and obtain Engineering approval of site improvements before the certificate of occupancy and power release¹².

Before closing, verify the zoning district and have zoning staff confirm the proposed use, setbacks, height and lot standards^6,16,17. Ask Environmental Health whether the lot can support septic; only 0.2% of Chatham County soils are rated without severe limits for a conventional drain field^10,20. Ask County Engineering whether the site is in a special flood-hazard area because covered development requires review before the building permit²¹. Public Works approval is required for a driveway serving new residential or commercial construction⁷. Chatham County's typical home value is about $340,029, while reported farmland value is about $4,753 per acre¹⁰. The effective property-tax rate is about 0.9%, and the median annual property-tax bill is about $2,463¹⁰.