Building permits, zoning and land rules in Caddo Parish, Louisiana

Unincorporated Caddo Parish, Louisiana requires a building permit for most construction and remodeling, including most electrical, plumbing and HVAC work; painting, flooring and listed code exemptions may not require one¹. Projects inside Greenwood and Oil City must go directly to those towns for building permits¹. The City of Shreveport's Division of Permits and Inspections issues parish building and trade permits².

Permitted work may need one or several inspections, depending on the project and applicable code¹. Outside city limits, each inspection on a building permit carries a $68.25 fee¹. Caddo Parish Public Works also requires a development permit to build in the parish, and a structure built or moved onto land needs one when it is larger than 20 feet by 30 feet^6,13. Building in a flood hazard area requires an elevation certificate⁶.

A homeowner may apply for a residential building permit, but registered and licensed contractors must perform all electrical, plumbing and HVAC work¹. Residential work valued over $7,500 also requires a Louisiana Homeowner’s Exemption from Licensure¹.

Caddo Parish construction under the Shreveport permit arrangement must meet the 2021 International Residential and Building Codes, the 2020 National Electrical Code, Louisiana amendments and local regulations¹.

The City of Shreveport Division of Permits and Inspections handles building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits for Caddo Parish². The division is at 505 Travis St. Government Plaza, Suite 130, Shreveport, LA 71101, phone 318-673-6100². Apply, pay and request inspections through My Government Online². Inside Shreveport, the city approves building plans and administers its own building permits; onsite sewage permitting remains with the Louisiana Department of Health through the Caddo Parish Health Unit^2,4. Permit applications generally need a site plan, construction plans, a statement of work and, when a contractor applies, a copy of the contract; approval waits until requested documents are attached¹. Permits issue after the plans and specifications are reviewed and approved and payment is made¹.

Permit fees vary with project scale, and starting work without a permit doubles the permit fee and can bring other penalties¹. Caddo Parish Public Works' Permits Department at 318-226-6949 handles 911 addresses, culvert permits and right-of-way permits through online-only submissions¹⁴. Flood-zone questions go to Public Works at (318) 226-6934⁶.

Commercial premises outside Shreveport city limits need a certificate of occupancy before use, even without construction; the permit guide excludes home businesses outside city limits from that requirement¹.

Yes, in part. The Caddo Parish Unified Development Code applies to land within the Caddo Parish Planning and Zoning Commission's planning area, and the Metropolitan Planning Commission keeps the official planning-area boundary^3,8. Parish Public Works describes the MPC area as five miles outside Shreveport's city limits⁶. The Caddo Parish Planning and Zoning Commission, created by ordinance in 2022, hears planning and zoning matters in that area and makes recommendations to the Caddo Parish Commission⁷. Inside Shreveport, the city has its own zoning code; septic permitting stays with the Louisiana Department of Health through the Caddo Parish Health Unit^4,15.

For land beyond the planning area, we could not confirm what zoning applies; ask the Metropolitan Planning Commission (318.673.6480) whether your parcel is inside the planning limits before you buy⁷.

Inside the planning area, setbacks depend on the district: the front setback is 30 feet in R-A and R-E and 20 feet in R-1-12, R-1-10 and R-1-7¹⁶. Within the parish planning area, zoning also decides where manufactured homes go: they may only be placed in districts the Use Matrix allows, and a district marked "E" needs a special exception approved by the Caddo Parish Planning and Zoning Commission⁸. Adding a second house is also regulated parishwide: a tract under five acres must be subdivided first, so call the Caddo permits department to see whether you have enough land¹¹.

Septic systems in Caddo Parish need a Louisiana Department of Health permit: no one may install, alter or operate an individual sewerage system without a permit from the state health officer^4,9. Sanitarians in each parish health unit run that permit system; in Caddo Parish, that is the Caddo Parish Health Unit at 1035 Creswell Avenue, Shreveport, (318) 676-5222^5,17.

Louisiana allows a septic system only where community sewer is not available, and the state must decide that a sewer connection is not feasible before issuing a permit⁹. A mechanical treatment plant is allowed only when a conventional system would not work⁹. That matters here: only 13.6% of Caddo Parish's soils avoid NRCS's "very limited" rating for a conventional drain field, so expect a careful site review and possibly an individual mechanical treatment plant^9,12. Final approval comes after an inspection or the licensed installer's certification, which is due within 15 days of completion⁹. Caddo Parish also requires health-unit approval for soil absorption and spray irrigation systems⁴.

Not in an RV, inside the planning area: the Caddo Parish Unified Development Code says no recreational vehicle may be used for living, sleeping or housekeeping in any district, or be hooked up to public utilities^3,10. For land outside the planning area, we could not confirm the rule, so ask the Metropolitan Planning Commission and Caddo Parish Public Works before buying land to live on in an RV^7,13.

A tiny home built as a real dwelling needs the same permits as any house, including the Shreveport building permit and the parish development permit^2,6. Within the parish planning area, the UDC allows no more than one accessory dwelling unit per lot; a detached ADU can be a prefabricated or shipping-container structure if it meets the International Residential Code, and it cannot exceed 60% of the main house's floor area or 1,800 square feet, whichever is less⁸. On a tract under five acres, a second residence also means subdividing¹¹.

Within the parish planning area, a manufactured home placed outside a park must sit on a concrete slab or runway and meet the code's design standards⁸.

1. Ask the Metropolitan Planning Commission whether the parcel is inside the planning area and what its zoning is^7,8.
2. Check the flood zone with Caddo Parish Public Works at (318) 226-6934; get an elevation certificate if the site is in a flood hazard area⁶.
3. Get a 911 address and any culvert or right-of-way permit for the driveway from the Public Works Permits Department, online only; the building-permit guide also lists driveways among projects that need a permit with a site plan^2,14.
4. Without community sewer, apply for a septic permit at the Caddo Parish Health Unit^5,9.
5. Submit the site plan, construction plans, statement of work and any required contract copy with the building-permit application through My Government Online^1,2.
6. Pay the variable permit fee after the plans and specifications are approved; do not begin early, because the fee doubles when work starts without a permit¹.
7. Schedule every required inspection through the same system^1,2.
8. Ask the Division of Permits and Inspections what occupancy approval your home requires; the published commercial certificate requirement does not establish the residential rule^1,2.

Flooding: Caddo Parish Public Works says flooding can occur anywhere in the parish, and it will check whether a parcel outside the MPC area is in a flood zone⁶. Because the parish is in the National Flood Insurance Program, unincorporated residents can buy rate-restricted flood insurance⁶. Development in a regulatory floodway needs a no-rise certification before a permit can issue¹⁸.

Soils and sewer: with only 13.6% of soils avoiding the NRCS “very limited” rating for conventional drain fields, ask the Caddo Parish Health Unit about the lot before you close^5,12.

Zoning and lot size: confirm whether the land is in the planning area, and remember that a second house on under five acres requires subdividing^7,11.

Costs and climate: farmland averages about $4,525 an acre and typical homes about $153,000¹². Property taxes are low, about 0.6% effective, a median of $1,081 a year¹². Caddo Parish gets about 52 inches of rain a year yet was in severe drought in 17.7% of years, and mid-century projections show about 28 days a year at or above 100°F¹². The parish is about 65% wooded and nearly flat, with 99.2% of land at 15% slope or less¹².