Building permits, zoning and septic rules in Hocking County, Ohio

An ordinary home in unincorporated Hocking County does not require a county residential-code building permit because the county has no certified residential building department¹. Ohio's residential building code supplies uniform requirements wherever a certified building department has jurisdiction, but we could not confirm a certified Hocking County department or separate county residential code for unincorporated land¹⁴. The Hocking County Health Department still requires its Building Placement Permit before construction starts on a new or replacement home outside Logan City and licensed manufactured-home parks¹. A dwelling or other structure intended to have plumbing, sinks or drains also needs approved plans before construction, alteration or placement¹¹. Manufactured homes and commercial buildings, including transient or cabin rentals, need a building permit through the Ohio Department of Commerce¹. An agricultural building can qualify for a state building-code exemption when the applicable county or township zoning inspector issues a certificate declaring that specific structure will be used in agriculture¹⁵. Inside Logan, the city's own rules apply instead: new buildings and alterations need a zoning permit, and the zoning inspector may require a separate building permit².

The Hocking County Health Department issues Building Placement Permits for residential homes outside Logan City and outside licensed manufactured-home parks, at 740-385-3030 or 350 St Rt 664N, Logan, OH 43138¹. The 2026 fee for a residential Building Placement Permit is $55¹⁶. The county's rules here apply to unincorporated land; inside Logan, the city's own offices issue building and zoning permits, while septic and wells stay with the Hocking County Health Department⁴${PB}. Manufactured homes and commercial buildings, including transient or cabin rentals, go through the Industrial Compliance Division of the Ohio Department of Commerce for building permits¹. Hocking County Regional Planning, at 93 West Hunter Street, Logan, Ohio 43138 and (740) 380-9634, reviews land splits and administers the county's floodplain regulations; it does not issue building permits or septic permits^6,17. New construction and remodeling in the county require Health Department plan review and permits for plumbing, onsite waste disposal and water systems, while Regional Planning supplies the floodplain determination^5,18. Driveway permits come from the County Engineer on county roads¹⁰. A published county planning fee schedule lists a $100 minor-subdivision lot-split fee and a $25 driveway permit fee, and other agencies may charge separately¹⁹.

The City of Logan adopts and administers its own zoning code, run by the city zoning inspector, planning commission and board of zoning appeals³. Its districts include single-family residential, multi-family residential, manufactured home park, business and manufacturing²⁰. Logan's zoning covers land inside its corporation limits only¹⁸. Zoning can be adopted only by township or municipal officials or by a vote of citizens, so rules outside Logan depend on the township⁵. We could not confirm whether a countywide zoning ordinance has taken effect, so ask Regional Planning which rules apply before treating rural land as unzoned¹⁸. County subdivision review is separate from zoning⁶. Most new minor splits must contain at least 80,000 square feet, or 1.836 acres, and must meet health, frontage, shape, floodplain, survey and engineer requirements; an abutting-landowner transfer is an exception to the minimum⁹. We could not confirm a minimum dwelling size, setback, lot-coverage limit or building-height limit for land outside Logan, so ask Regional Planning to check the parcel and applicable local jurisdiction¹⁸.

The Hocking County Health Department, not Regional Planning or the city, permits household and small-flow sewage systems serving a dwelling or building that produces less than 1,000 gallons of waste per day⁴. A site evaluation is required before home placement or construction, and the approved review remains valid for five years²¹. The Health Department must inspect the finished system before it is covered, and the home or building cannot be occupied until the system is approved⁷. The department inspects again one year after installation, while the operation permit must be renewed after ten years⁷. Only 7.5% of county soils are rated without severe limitations for a conventional drain field, so make the site evaluation an early purchase contingency rather than assuming a standard system will work¹³. The 2026 fee for a new or replacement system is $588 plus a $74 state fee, $662 in total¹⁶. Where sewer service is unavailable, a privy may be permitted only under limited conditions; the permit carries a $50 local fee plus a $74 state fee¹².

We could not confirm a general Hocking County rule allowing or prohibiting long-term RV or tiny-home occupancy on private rural land. Ohio expressly allows human habitation in an RV for the period covered by a licensed campground's license, but that rule does not answer whether you may live in an RV on an ordinary private parcel²². A tiny home or other dwelling intended to have plumbing, sinks or drains falls within the Health Department's Building Placement Permit language¹¹. Hocking County permits privies only under limited conditions, so the listed privy permit is not blanket approval for every off-grid parcel or sanitation method¹². A used or relocated manufactured home installed as a residence must comply with Ohio's manufactured-home installation standards, and manufactured homes in the county areas covered by the Health Department page need a building permit through the Ohio Department of Commerce^1,23.

1. Identify the parcel's township or municipality and confirm the applicable zoning authority; Logan zoning applies within the city limits, while zoning outside Logan remains unconfirmed¹⁸.
2. If the tract is being split, take the proposal to Regional Planning for subdivision, health, access and deed-processing review^5,6.
3. Obtain the required floodplain determination from Regional Planning⁵.
4. Secure road-frontage or driveway approval from the township trustees, County Engineer or ODOT, depending on who maintains the road⁵.
5. Have the Health Department evaluate the site, then obtain septic and private-water permits where those systems are needed^21,24.
6. Obtain the Health Department Building Placement Permit before starting a new or replacement home outside Logan City and licensed manufactured-home parks¹.
7. Have the sewage system inspected before covering it, and complete the final water and plumbing inspections before occupancy^7,25. Projects governed by the Ohio Building Code also need a certificate of occupancy before use, while manufactured-home and commercial projects covered by the county page need their building permit through the Ohio Department of Commerce^1,26.

Start with wastewater feasibility: only 7.5% of Hocking County soils are rated without severe limits for a conventional drain field¹³. Then check terrain and clearing costs, because 37.4% of the county is at a slope of 15% or less and 84.8% is wooded¹³. Ask Regional Planning for a floodplain determination and verify that any recent split passed the county's subdivision process^5,6. Confirm legal, usable access with the authority that maintains the road; new splits typically require at least 100 feet of frontage with a usable driveway location⁵. Confirm whether public sewer is actually available before assuming you can avoid septic, because Sewer District connections require approval and a tap fee²⁷. For a short-term rental, county lodging-tax registration and tax rules do not themselves establish land-use approval²⁸.