Building permits, zoning and septic rules in Goodhue County, Minnesota

At a glance

Building permit

Required; township zoning approval is needed before the county will issue it¹

Zoning

Yes, outside incorporated city limits; townships also review projects³

Septic permit

Required; issued by the county's own Environmental Health Division⁴

Owner-builder exemption

Yes, via the Owner as Contractor form⁵⁶

Shoreland lot coverage

Impervious surface capped at 25% of the lot in the Shoreland District⁷

Manufactured home

Must pass federal installation inspection (CFR 3285/3286)⁸

Large-tract subdivision

Platting required for 5+ lots of 2.5 acres or less each⁹

Nearest city of 100,000+

About 33 miles from the county center¹⁰

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on September 25, 2026.

Do you need a building permit in Goodhue County, Minnesota?

Goodhue County requires a building permit for construction under the Minnesota State Building Code, which the county has adopted by reference for buildings and structures within its jurisdiction¹¹¹. Minnesota's current State Building Code has been in effect since March 31, 2020, with the Minnesota Mechanical Fuel Gas Code effective April 6, 2020, and it applies statewide as the standard for construction, reconstruction, alteration and repair¹². Before Goodhue County will approve a building permit, your township must approve the project's zoning first, and the county's own page directs applicants to contact their township clerk for that approval². Some agricultural buildings on qualifying agricultural land are exempt from the state building-permit requirement and fee, though that exemption doesn't extend to a house or other non-agricultural structure¹³.

Who is the Goodhue County Building Division, and how do you reach them?

Goodhue County's Building Division is part of the Land Use Management Department at the Government Center, 509 W. 5th St., 1st floor, in Red Wing, Minnesota, open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.². Reach the division at 651-385-3114 or by email at [email protected]². The building official's job covers authorizing use and occupancy of structures, conducting project inspections, issuing building permits, receiving permit applications and reviewing construction documents¹⁴. Driveway permitting onto a county road runs through the separate Goodhue County Public Works Department rather than the Building Division, so plan to contact Public Works for that permit².

Does Goodhue County have zoning?

Goodhue County's zoning ordinance applies to all areas of the county lying outside the limits of incorporated municipalities, administered by the Zoning Division of the county's Land Use Management Department³¹⁵. Incorporated cities such as Red Wing, the county seat, run their own separate zoning and building-code programs, so a parcel inside a city follows that city's rules instead of the county's³. Even outside city limits, your township still has its own say: Goodhue County requires township approval of a project's zoning before it will approve your county building permit, so contact your township clerk before you apply². The county's zoning ordinance sorts unincorporated land into primary districts, including Agricultural Protection, Agriculture, Agriculture/Urban Expansion, Suburban Residence, Business, Industry, Wild and Scenic River, Commercial Recreational and Mixed Use Hamlet, plus Floodplain and Shoreland overlay districts, and every use must be permitted or conditionally approved in its district¹⁶. In the county's Shoreland District, total impervious surface on a lot cannot exceed 25% of the lot's total area, a limit worth checking before you plan a large house, driveway or outbuilding near water⁷.

How do septic permits work in Goodhue County?

Septic systems in Goodhue County go through the county's own Environmental Health Division, which administers the county's SSTS ordinance under Minnesota Pollution Control Agency rules rather than a separate health district⁴. Reach Environmental Health at the Government Center, 509 W. 5th St., 1st floor, in Red Wing, or by phone at 651-385-6132¹⁷. Minnesota law has counties, cities and townships review designs and issue construction permits for most septic systems, reserving state MPCA permitting for large systems designed to handle more than 10,000 gallons a day, well beyond a typical home¹⁸. Only about 10.8% of Goodhue County's soils carry no severe limitation for a conventional septic drain field under the USDA soil survey, so budget for a site evaluation to turn up limits that call for an engineered or alternative system on many parcels¹⁹. For a primitive dwelling using a toilet-waste treatment device rather than a full septic system, Minnesota law requires septage disposal to follow local ordinance, or, absent one, to avoid surface water, drainageways, steep or wet areas, with the material buried or covered in soil²⁰.

Can you live in an RV, manufactured home or tiny home on your land in Goodhue County?

Whether Goodhue County allows long-term RV occupancy or tiny-home occupancy on private land outside an organized campground is unconfirmed; the county's zoning ordinance has some camping and recreational-vehicle provisions, but no page reviewed for this guide established a general rule for private land, so ask the Zoning Division before you buy with that plan²¹. Minnesota's recreational-camping-area law, which requires a state Department of Health license for any site accommodating five or more tents or RVs, governs organized campgrounds rather than a single RV on your own land, so it doesn't answer that question either²². A new manufactured home installed for occupancy in Minnesota must be inspected under the federal Installation Standards Programs, and alterations need documentation submitted to the Department of Labor and Industry or the local authority before work begins⁸; Goodhue County's own siting rules for a manufactured home were not confirmed in the pages reviewed, so check with the Zoning Division for where one can go on your parcel²¹.

Building a home in Goodhue County: the steps, in order

1. Contact your township clerk for zoning approval of your project; Goodhue County requires this before it will approve your county building permit².
2. Confirm your parcel's zoning district and any Shoreland or Floodplain overlay that could apply, including the Shoreland District's 25% impervious-surface cap²¹⁷.
3. Submit a building permit application to the Building Division with a dimensioned site plan showing your property lines and the location of your well and septic system, plus two full-size sets of construction drawings²²³.
4. If you'll act as your own contractor, file the Owner as Contractor form with your application²⁶.
5. Apply separately for a septic permit with the Environmental Health Division before you install or replace a system¹⁷⁴.
6. If you need a new or changed driveway onto a county road, contact the Goodhue County Public Works Department for that separate permit².
7. Keep your work accessible for each required inspection; work may not proceed past an inspection point, or be covered up, until the building official approves it²⁴.

What to check before you buy land in Goodhue County

Goodhue County gets about 34.7 inches of rain a year and spends only about 3.9% of years in severe drought, and 86.5% of its land sits at 15% slope or less, so gentle, easy-to-build terrain is the norm here²⁵²⁶²⁷. About 20.9% of the county is wooded and none of it is federal land, so most parcels are open farmland or pasture rather than forest²⁸²⁹. If you're buying a larger tract with an eye toward splitting it later, Minnesota requires platting for any subdivision creating five or more lots of 2.5 acres or less each, and a city or township can extend its subdivision rules up to two miles beyond its limits⁹. Confirm whether your land sits in a floodplain before you buy, since Minnesota requires a floodplain permit for building a house, placing fill, or installing a culvert or bridge in a mapped floodplain³⁰. A typical Goodhue County property carries an effective property tax rate near 1.1% and a median tax bill around $2,866 a year, against a typical home insurance premium near $2,000 a year, though your own parcel's numbers depend on its assessed value and coverage³¹³²³³. The nearest city of 100,000 or more people is about 33 miles from the county's center¹⁰.

Watch-outs

• Goodhue County will not approve a building permit until your township approves the project's zoning first; contact your township clerk early, since this step comes before the county's own review².
• Driveway permitting onto a county road runs through the Goodhue County Public Works Department, a separate office from the Building Division, so budget time to apply there too if you need a new or changed access².
• Whether Goodhue County allows long-term RV occupancy, tiny-home occupancy, or short-term rentals on private land is unconfirmed at the county level; call the Zoning Division before you buy land with any of those plans²¹.

Sources

1. Goodhue County - Building (Land Use Management) (2026 county census)
2. Goodhue County Building Division (Land Use Management) (goodhuecountymn.gov)
3. Goodhue County Zoning Ordinance (2026 county census)
4. Goodhue County - Septic (Environmental Health) (2026 county census)
5. Permit Applications - Building - Goodhue County, Minnesota (2026 county census)
6. Permit Applications - Building - Goodhue County, Minnesota, quoted and re-checked
7. Goodhue County Zoning Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
8. Manufactured home information (Minnesota statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
9. 2025 Minnesota Statutes, Section 462.358: Official Controls: Subdivision Regulation; Dedication (Minnesota statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
10. Distance to the nearest metro area: Bolthole Index county data
11. Goodhue County Ordinance Number 2003-11: Adopting the Current Minnesota State Building Code, quoted and re-checked
12. 2025 Minnesota Statutes, section 326B.121 (Minnesota statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
13. Minnesota State Building Code Adoption Guide (Minnesota statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
14. Building - Land Use Management - Goodhue County, Minnesota, quoted and re-checked
15. Goodhue County Zoning Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
16. Goodhue County Zoning Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
17. Goodhue County Environmental Health Division (goodhuecountymn.gov)
18. SSTS design (Minnesota statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
19. Share of soils without severe limits for a conventional septic drain field (USDA SSURGO): Bolthole Index county data
20. Minnesota Administrative Rules, part 7080.2450 Maintenance (Minnesota statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
21. Goodhue County Land Use Management, Zoning Division (goodhuecountymn.gov)
22. 2025 Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 327 (Minnesota statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
23. Permit Applications - Building - Goodhue County, Minnesota, quoted and re-checked
24. 1300.0210 INSPECTIONS (Minnesota statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
25. Annual precipitation: Bolthole Index county data
26. Share of years in severe drought: Bolthole Index county data
27. Share of land at 15% slope or less: Bolthole Index county data
28. Wooded share of land: Bolthole Index county data
29. Federal land share: Bolthole Index county data
30. Floodplain Regulations (Minnesota statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
31. Effective property tax rate: Bolthole Index county data
32. Median property tax bill: Bolthole Index county data
33. Typical home insurance premium: Bolthole Index county data

Written September 25, 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.