Building permits, zoning and land rules in Slope County, North Dakota

Slope County tells applicants to obtain building permits from the Zoning Office, but the published page does not say which projects require a permit¹. Call before ordering plans or beginning site work because the county page also omits the application checklist, fees, review timeline and applicability exceptions¹. North Dakota's current state-code framework took effect in 2026, but the state Community Services agency does not enforce that code; enforcement belongs to jurisdictions that elect to adopt and enforce it¹⁰. Slope County has not identified which building-code provisions, plan review or inspections apply, so ask the Zoning Office about your project¹. A building used for agricultural purposes is exempt from the state building-code chapter only when it is neither a home nor used by the public; that does not establish an exemption from the county permit process⁸.

The Slope County Zoning Office is the county's building-permit contact, and the county directs callers to 701-879-6271¹. The office contact is at the Slope County Courthouse, 206 Main St, Amidon, ND 58620¹. The published process omits the application forms, required documents, review steps, inspections and fees, so call for the current application, drawing requirements and payment instructions¹. North Dakota does not impose one uniform local building-permit fee schedule; permit and plan-review charges are established by the governing authority that administers the permit¹¹. Slope County also has not confirmed an owner-builder exemption, so an owner who plans to perform the work should ask the Zoning Office what contractor credentials or owner affidavits are required before applying^1,7.

Yes. Slope County uses county zoning regulations and county-administered approvals². The available county material does not establish what applies inside incorporated municipalities, so first confirm which jurisdiction controls the parcel². North Dakota law allows county commissioners to regulate building locations and uses, land occupancy and residential or recreational land uses, with different rules in different districts¹². The county's zoning page sends zoning questions to the Slope County Sheriff's Office at the same 701-879-6271 number the Zoning Office uses, and county commissioners have treated setbacks in the county's Zoning Regulations as binding on a conditional-use permit^2,6. We could not confirm Slope County's parcel-specific setbacks, minimum lot size, building height, minimum dwelling size, accessory-home, RV or tiny-home standards. Give the Zoning Office the parcel description and proposed use before buying or designing¹. The state agricultural-building exemption applies only to the state building-code chapter and excludes buildings used as homes or by the public⁸.

The Southwestern District Health Unit administers onsite wastewater permitting for Slope County, while the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality licenses installers^3,5. A local public health permit must be secured before septic work begins, and the installer must also hold the state license^3,4. The combined Bowman/Slope public health office is at 104 1st St. NW #6 in Bowman, with phone (701)523-3144; call before finalizing the homesite to ask for the application and local construction requirements¹³. Site feasibility deserves early attention because only about 20.3% of Slope County soils are rated without severe limitations for a conventional septic drain field¹⁴. That countywide soil statistic does not decide an individual parcel, but it makes a site evaluation and system design important before fixing the house location or purchase budget¹⁴.

Slope County has zoning, but we could not confirm a county rule for occupying an RV or tiny home on private land⁶. Ask the Zoning Office whether the parcel's district allows the use, whether a principal home must be built first, and what septic, setback or time-limit conditions apply¹. North Dakota's limit of 14 nights in any 30-day period applies to state-park campsites and cabins, not to private land in Slope County¹⁵. A new manufactured home is a different category: North Dakota requires residential manufactured homes to be installed by a state-licensed installer and inspected by a state-licensed inspector¹⁶. The state requires at least two installation inspections for a double-wide and one for a single-wide, but those installation rules do not establish that a particular Slope County parcel allows the home^6,16.

1. Call the Slope County Zoning Office at 701-879-6271 with the parcel description and proposed home type; confirm the controlling jurisdiction, zoning district, whether a permit is required, and the applicable setbacks, fees, code and inspections^1,2.

1. Contact the Bowman/Slope public health office at (701)523-3144 for the septic application; the local permit is required before work begins, and the installer must hold a state license^3,4,13.

1. Size the water plan. A private well drawing less than 12.5 acre-feet per year does not need a state permit, while a well drawing more than that amount does⁹.

1. Confirm driveway access with the Slope County Road Department when the parcel fronts a county road¹⁷.

1. If any part of the parcel is in a mapped Special Flood Hazard Area and the county participates in the flood program, get a development permit from the local Floodplain Administrator before any work; we could not confirm who holds that role in Slope County, so ask the Zoning Office^1,18.

1. Obtain the building-permit materials from the Zoning Office and complete the reviews and inspections that office identifies for the project¹.

Check flood status too: North Dakota requires a floodplain development permit from the local Floodplain Administrator before any work in a Special Flood Hazard Area¹⁸. Check water and septic feasibility before treating a parcel as buildable. Slope County averages about 15.6 inches of precipitation annually, and severe drought occurs in about 15.5% of years¹⁴. Only about 20.3% of county soils avoid a severe conventional-drain-field limitation, so obtain a parcel-level septic evaluation rather than relying on a county average¹⁴. About 82.3% of the county has slopes of 15% or less, but parcel access and the actual homesite still need field review¹⁴. Slope County is exceptionally sparse, with about 674 residents and 0.6 people per square mile; the nearest city of 100,000 or more is about 246 miles from the county center¹⁴. About 18.2% of county land is federally owned, so verify boundaries and legal access rather than assuming adjoining open ground is part of the parcel¹⁴. The effective property-tax rate is about 0.4%, with a median annual bill near $460, but obtain the specific parcel's tax record before closing¹⁴.