Building permits, zoning and land rules in Hardin County, Ohio

Ordinary residential construction in unincorporated Hardin County does not need a county structural-code building permit, but township zoning approval can still gate a dwelling¹. Ohio places detached one-, two- and three-family dwellings within the Residential Code of Ohio, enforced by the certified residential building department having jurisdiction². We could not confirm which certified building department serves each Hardin County parcel, so ask the township zoning officer who it is before construction. We also could not confirm a county-specific owner-builder exemption; where a certified department has jurisdiction, an owner-builder must submit plans and wait for approval before covered work begins¹⁰. Inside the Village of Ada, new construction needs a village zoning certificate⁵. Septic approval is separate everywhere⁴.

Hardin County Regional Planning directs countywide infrastructure projects and works with township zoning officers¹¹. Reach Regional Planning at One Courthouse Square, Suite 130, Kenton, OH 43326, by phone at (419)674-2215 or by email at mark.doll@hardincountyohio.gov¹¹. The county publishes township regulations, but the townships administer them rather than one county zoning office³. Contact the parcel's township zoning officer for its district, allowed use, dimensional standards, zoning certificate and current fee. Buck Township leaves its zoning-certificate fee to a trustee resolution¹², and Hale Township requires two scale drawings with a non-farm application, with the zoning officer acting within 30 days⁸. The Hardin County Engineer's Office handles house-number requests and county-road driveway permits^13,14.

Hardin County has no single countywide zoning ordinance; the county page lists township regulations for Blanchard, Buck, Cessna, Dudley, Goshen, Hale, Pleasant, Taylor Creek and Jackson Townships, and does not say that list is complete³. Inside villages, Ada and Forest have their own zoning^5,6. Blanchard, Buck, Dudley, Goshen, Hale and Taylor Creek each publish the same eight district types, from A-1 Agricultural through mobile-home park, commercial, industrial, flood plain and mineral extraction^8,15. Pleasant Township's resolution was amended in January 2026³. Standards differ by township. Blanchard's A-1 district allows one new residential lot with at least 200 feet of road frontage and 2 acres¹⁵. Buck's A-1 sets front setbacks 100 feet from the road centerline and 40 feet at the side and rear for non-farm homes¹². Cessna's A-1 requires 80 feet front and side and 40 feet rear¹. Heights are generally 35 feet in Buck and Cessna's A-1, R-1 and R-2 districts, but 15 feet in Cessna's mobile-home park district¹. Agricultural buildings in Cessna skip the zoning certificate but still file an application for setback and size review¹.

The Kenton-Hardin Health Department permits household sewage systems in Hardin County⁴. Start with its site and soil evaluation before fixing the house location; submit the application and $320 fee at least 48 hours before the evaluation⁷. Before permit issuance, provide a county-engineer address, recorded survey and an installer-prepared scaled drawing for approval⁴. The packet states a $424 installation permit, valid for one year or until installation and approval, and suspends installation from December 1 through March 1⁴. An off-lot discharging system needs an Ohio EPA NPDES permit before the local sewage permit, so off-grid does not mean unpermitted sanitation⁴. A follow-up inspection is required within 12 months after installation⁴. Because 0% of mapped soils are rated free of severe limits for a conventional drain field, make septic feasibility an early purchase contingency¹⁶. Confirm current fees with the department because the cited packet was updated in 2022⁷.

Hardin County has no confirmed countywide private-land RV rule, so ask the parcel's township zoning officer before relying on an RV during construction. In unincorporated Cessna Township, an RV used as a residence for more than 30 days outside an approved RV park requires a conditional-use permit, renewed annually¹. Cessna does not regulate "tiny homes" as a named use; a tiny home treated as a dwelling must be allowed in its district and meet the floor-area minimum¹. That minimum is 800 square feet for a single-family dwelling in A-1 or R-1 and 600 square feet for a mobile-home dwelling¹. Hale Township uses the same 800 and 600 square-foot minimums in A-1⁸. Other townships may differ³.

1. Identify the parcel's township, municipality and zoning district; ask the local zoning officer about allowed use, setbacks, height, zoning certificate and current fee³.
2. Ask which certified residential building department has jurisdiction and what plan approval it requires under Ohio's residential code¹⁷.
3. For a farm building, get a local determination: Ohio's exemption from the building code requires a county or township zoning inspector to issue a certificate that the structure is for agriculture¹⁸. In Cessna Township, agricultural buildings skip the zoning certificate but still need a setback-and-size application¹.
4. Apply to the Kenton-Hardin Health Department for the septic site and soil evaluation before fixing the house location⁷.
5. Obtain the county-engineer address and recorded survey, then have the installer submit the scaled sewage drawing⁴.
6. Send deeds, parcel splits, surveys and subdivision plats to the Engineer's Tax Map Department for approval when applicable¹⁹.
7. Obtain the septic installation permit and any county-road driveway permit before work, then arrange the septic follow-up inspection^4,14.

Confirm the township, municipality and zoning district first, because Hardin County's published local rules do not establish one uniform countywide answer³. Put septic feasibility in the purchase contingency: 0% of mapped soils are rated free of severe limitations for a conventional drain field, even though 100% of county land is at a slope of 15% or less¹⁶. Ask the health department whether a private-water-system permit is needed; its packet makes that determination conditional and lists a $392.90 permit fee when required⁴. Confirm county-road access with the Engineer's Office because driveway installation or work along a county road requires its permit^13,14. In Hale and Buck Townships, a zoning certificate must be presented before initial gas, electric, water or sewer service^8,12. Hale also identifies a floodplain and drainageway district, but the available excerpt does not supply the complete development specifications, so ask the township before building in mapped flood-prone land⁸.