Building permits, zoning and septic rules in Biloxi, Mississippi

At a glance

Building permits

Required inside Biloxi city limits; issued by the Building Official¹

Zoning

City planning and zoning through Biloxi Community Development²

Septic approval

MSDH application and approval for an onsite wastewater system⁵

Guest cottages

Accessory to a detached single-family home; lots must exceed 20,000 square feet and habitable floor area is 300–750 square feet⁶

Manufactured-home size

Class A manufactured homes need at least 1,200 square feet of enclosed floor area⁷

Owner-builder

State residential-builder licensing exemption for qualifying work on your own residence; building permits still apply⁸¹

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 11, 2026.

Do you need a building permit in Biloxi, MS?

Biloxi requires a building permit before construction, alteration, moving, enlargement, replacement, repair, removal or demolition of a building or structure inside city limits.¹ The Biloxi Building Official approves and issues building permits under the International Building Code as adopted and modified by the city.⁹ Applicable development permits or certificates must already be issued before a building permit can be issued for the structure.¹

Mississippi offers a residential-builder licensing exemption for qualifying construction or improvement on your own residence, including acting as your own general contractor; that exemption does not waive Biloxi building permits.⁸¹ Ask the Building Permits office to identify the application documents and inspection sequence for your proposed work.¹⁰

Who handles Biloxi building permits and zoning?

Start a Biloxi building-permit application with the city Community Development Building Permits office, rather than treating the county building counter as the city authority.¹⁰⁹ Biloxi Community Development oversees development in the city and includes planning, zoning, building permits, inspections and floodplain management.²

Use the Planning office for the parcel’s zoning and proposed land use, and the Floodplain Management office for flood-related questions.¹¹¹² Septic-system approval is a separate MSDH process, with local inspections through the appropriate county health department.⁵⁴ For a parcel outside Biloxi city limits, read the Harrison County guide for the county building-permit answer.¹³

Does Biloxi have zoning, lot-size rules and setbacks?

Biloxi handles zoning through city Community Development; ask Planning to identify the district and use standards for the address before designing a home.²¹¹ Biloxi’s RMH Residential Manufactured/Mobile Home District has home-space side setbacks of at least 5 feet, rear setbacks of at least 10 feet, and spacing from the park roadway of at least 15 feet.¹⁴ Those measurements are RMH standards, not general setbacks for every Biloxi residential lot.¹⁴

In Biloxi’s RMH District, impervious surface area is limited to 40% of the park area.¹⁵ The RMH height limit is 25 feet, with a separate 16-foot maximum for accessory buildings.¹⁶ Class A manufactured homes must have at least 1,200 square feet of enclosed floor area; that is not a citywide minimum for every dwelling.⁷

How do septic permits work inside Biloxi?

For a Biloxi parcel using an individual onsite wastewater system, MSDH handles the application and approval; a city building permit does not replace that wastewater approval.⁵¹ MSDH’s process requires a complete application, submitted documents and fees, and provides the permit or recommendation needed for installation.¹⁷ The appropriate county health department handles local inspections under the statewide onsite-wastewater rules.⁴

Call the MSDH On-Site Wastewater Call Center for application assistance.¹⁸ Ask Biloxi Community Development about sewer availability and any city connection requirement before choosing a septic design; we could not confirm a Biloxi-specific sewer-connection threshold.² Harrison County’s soil data rate only 10.3% of soils “not limited” for a conventional septic drain field, so obtain a parcel-specific evaluation; that countywide rating does not mean septic is impossible or establish a particular Biloxi lot’s suitability.¹⁹

Can you live in an RV or tiny home in Biloxi?

We could not confirm a Biloxi rule allowing long-term RV occupancy on private land or a specific tiny-home occupancy provision; ask city Planning about the proposed address and dwelling type before relying on either option.¹¹ Biloxi does expressly prohibit travel trailers, campers, manufactured homes and similar vehicles from being used as guest cottages.⁶

Biloxi’s guest-cottage route applies only as an accessory to a detached single-family dwelling, on a lot exceeding 20,000 square feet, with 300–750 square feet of heated or cooled habitable floor area.⁶ Guest cottages also have location, coverage, parking and meter standards; the floor-area range alone does not establish approval for a standalone tiny home.⁶ Mississippi requires inspection before occupation of qualifying factory-built homes installed on or after July 1, 2009, in addition to obtaining necessary local approvals before installation.²⁰

What are the steps to build a home in Biloxi?

Start with Biloxi Planning: identify the parcel’s zoning and ask which development approvals the proposed home needs.¹¹ Resolve the applicable development permits or certificates before the Building Official issues the building permit.¹ For onsite wastewater, complete the separate MSDH application and approval process before installing the system.⁵

Next, submit the building-permit application to Biloxi’s Building Official for review under the city’s adopted and modified building code.⁹ Ask Community Development for the project’s inspection schedule and current building-permit fee; we could not confirm a current applicable fee amount.² Before occupying a structure developed under a building permit, obtain the required Certificate of Occupancy; temporary certificates may be available under the building- and fire-code process with appropriate safeguards.²¹

What should you check before buying land in Biloxi?

Take the proposed building footprint to Biloxi Floodplain Management before committing to a design.¹² In Biloxi special flood hazard areas with the specified base-flood-elevation data, the cited residential rule requires the lowest floor, including basement, at least 1 foot above base flood elevation; that subsection excludes CCHA and Coastal AE zones, so ask the city which standard governs the parcel.²²

For a private well, Mississippi generally requires a groundwater withdrawal permit when surface casing diameter is 6 inches or greater, subject to exclusions; we could not confirm additional Biloxi-specific well requirements.²³ New or altered driveways connecting to a Mississippi state highway require an MDOT driveway permit.²⁴ Ask Biloxi Planning about city-street access requirements and the intended residential use.¹¹

Watch-outs

• Biloxi guest-cottage standards do not authorize using a camper or travel trailer as a guest cottage.⁶
• Biloxi’s cited flood-elevation subsection excludes CCHA and Coastal AE zones; ask city Floodplain Management for the parcel’s applicable standard.²²¹²
• The Mississippi owner-builder exemption concerns residential-builder licensing and does not remove Biloxi’s building-permit requirement.⁸¹

Sources

1. Land Development Ordinance, Article 23-2: Administration (Biloxi), quoted and re-checked
2. Biloxi Department of Community Development (biloxi.ms.us)
3. On-Site Wastewater, quoted and re-checked
4. Mississippi State Department of Health Current Regulations: On-site Wastewater (Mississippi statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
5. Wastewater Frequently Asked Questions, quoted and re-checked
6. Land Development Ordinance, Article 23-4, Accessory Use Standards (Biloxi), quoted and re-checked
7. Land Development Ordinance, Article 23-4, Residential Uses (Biloxi), quoted and re-checked
8. Mississippi Senate Journal, March 9, 2022 (Mississippi statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
9. Land Development Ordinance, Article 23-2: Administration (Biloxi), quoted and re-checked
10. Biloxi Community Development — Building Permits (biloxi.ms.us)
11. Biloxi Community Development — Planning (biloxi.ms.us)
12. Biloxi Community Development — Floodplain Management (biloxi.ms.us)
13. A building permit (2026 county census)
14. Land Development Ordinance, Article 23-3, RMH District (Biloxi), quoted and re-checked
15. Land Development Ordinance, Article 23-3, RMH District (Biloxi), quoted and re-checked
16. Land Development Ordinance, Article 23-3, RMH District (Biloxi), quoted and re-checked
17. On-Site Wastewater, quoted and re-checked
18. MSDH On-Site Wastewater Call Center (apps.msdh.ms.gov)
19. Share of soils USDA rates "not limited" for a conventional septic drain field (SSURGO). A strict rating: the median county is about 6% and a tenth of counties are 0%, so a low figure means most lots need a site evaluation or an engineered system, not that septic is impossible. Cite it only with that caveat: Bolthole Index county data
20. MH-5 Uniform Standards Code for Factory-Built Homes Law (Mississippi statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
21. biloxi.ms.us (Biloxi), quoted and re-checked
22. Code of Ordinances, Chapter 8, Section 8-3-2 (Biloxi), quoted and re-checked
23. Guidelines for Securing the Services of a Water Well Driller (Mississippi statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
24. Mississippi Access Management Guide (Mississippi statewide rule), quoted and re-checked

Written October 11, 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.