Building permits, zoning and land rules in Andrew County, Missouri

No county building permit is required for a home or other structure in unincorporated Andrew County, because the county states it has no authority to issue building permits¹. Andrew County likewise issues no county occupancy permit in its unincorporated area¹.

That answer stops at city limits. Inside Savannah, a building permit may be needed for a new home, fence, roof or patio, and it is issued from City Hall only after utility-connection applications are submitted, approved and paid². Septic is not part of that city process: the Andrew County Health Department still handles it³.

The county's published statement does not say whether any residential building code applies or whether inspections happen, so ask the Andrew County Commission about your parcel^1,6.

Andrew County has no building department that issues building or occupancy permits for unincorporated land¹. The Andrew County Commission is the first call for county-government questions, because it publishes the county's no-zoning and no-permit position¹.

Each other approval has its own office. Septic permits and inspections come from the Andrew County Health Department⁴. A local floodplain development permit could be required for work in a floodplain⁷. A driveway onto a Missouri state highway needs a written MoDOT driveway permit before the county assigns an address⁵.

Inside the City of Savannah, building permits go through the city's Building/Zoning Inspector, and the city publishes a building permit rate schedule that applicants are told to call and verify^2,8. Other incorporated cities set their own rules, so call the city for any parcel inside its limits.

Unincorporated Andrew County has no county zoning ordinance¹. The county therefore sets no zoning-based minimum dwelling size, minimum lot size, setback, lot-coverage or building-height rule there¹.

Cities are different. The county's own page says there may be zoning issues in the incorporated cities, and the City of Savannah publishes a zoning map and names a Planning & Zoning Administrator¹. Confirm which side of the city line a parcel sits on before treating it as unzoned.

No zoning does not remove septic, floodplain or road-access requirements^4,5,7. We could not confirm a general county subdivision rule, so ask the Andrew County Commission before dividing land¹.

The Andrew County Health Department handles on-site sewage permits and inspections for the whole county, including land inside cities³. Installation permit applications are available through its office, and its Environmental Public Health Specialist handles the inspections and permits⁴.

Residential lots of 3 acres or more are generally exempt from permitting, with exceptions, and commercial property needs a permit regardless of lot size⁴. With two or more systems on a property, the exemption requires 10 acres per system and at least 360 feet between systems⁴. Larger subdivisions may fall under Missouri Department of Natural Resources rules⁴.

Only 12% of county soils are rated without severe limits for a conventional drain field, so make a soil evaluation an early step⁹. An individual homeowner may install a system; otherwise the installer must be Missouri state-registered⁵. The health department links a permit fee schedule, but we could not read the amounts, so ask the department⁴.

In unincorporated Andrew County, no county rule governs RV occupancy, tiny-home occupancy, accessory dwellings or temporary camping, because the county has no zoning ordinance¹. That is a county answer only: a city can set its own rules inside its limits¹.

Sanitation is the practical limit. Any RV or tiny home that uses an on-site sewage system falls under the Andrew County Health Department's permit and exemption rules, and floodplain and state-highway driveway requirements still apply^4,5,7. Ask the Health Department whether a permit or exemption covers your specific parcel and use⁴.

1. Confirm the parcel is outside an incorporated city; the no-zoning and no-building-permit answers apply to unincorporated Andrew County¹. For a parcel in Savannah or another city, start with that city's building and zoning office².
2. Ask the Andrew County Commission about any building-code, inspection or subdivision question tied to the site¹.
3. Contact the Andrew County Health Department before designing the septic system, and get either a construction permit or confirmation that an exemption applies^3,4.
4. Use a state-registered installer, or install it yourself as the individual homeowner, then complete the required inspections^4,5.
5. If the driveway enters a state highway, get the written MoDOT driveway permit before requesting the county address⁵.
6. If the site is in a flood hazard area, complete floodplain review before construction⁷.

Start with septic feasibility: only 12% of county soils are rated without severe limits for a conventional drain field, and the acreage exemption does not guarantee a workable site^4,9. Check floodplain status, since qualifying work can require a local development permit⁷. Confirm legal access, and allow time for a MoDOT permit if the driveway meets a state highway⁵.

We could not confirm private-well permit rules or a countywide water or sewer connection requirement, so ask the Andrew County Health Department and identify the serving water district before closing⁴.

For carrying costs, the effective property tax rate is about 0.8% and the median annual bill is about $1,495⁹. Farmland averages about $5,070 per acre, a county benchmark rather than a parcel appraisal⁹.