Building permits, zoning and septic rules in Davis County, Utah

Yes, if your parcel is unincorporated: Davis County requires a written building permit before you start new construction, a home addition or remodel, a basement finish, an accessory structure over 200 square feet, a pool, a carport, or gas, electrical, mechanical or plumbing work, and the permit must be signed by the county's Enforcement Officer or a designee before work begins¹. Check the county's jurisdiction map first — if your property sits inside one of the shaded municipal areas, the city, not the county, issues the permit¹. The permit itself is reviewed against Utah's statewide State Construction Code, currently the 2024 International Building Code, 2021 International Residential Code and related 2023-2024 editions, so Davis County isn't writing its own construction standards from scratch^9,10. One exception: a structure used solely for agricultural purposes and not for human occupancy is exempt from the State Construction Code's permit requirement, though a plumbing, electrical or mechanical permit can still apply to work inside it¹⁰.

Davis County's Community & Economic Development office handles building permits for unincorporated land, at the Davis County Admin Building, Suite 304, 61 South Main Street, Farmington, Utah 84025, at (801) 451-3279¹. Applications and plans go in online through the county's building permit portal, using the single-family or non-single-family checklist depending on the project¹. Fees scale with square footage or the project's valuation, and the simplest permits — those needing no plan review, no bond and a single inspection — have a $202 minimum, plus a 2.5% surcharge if you pay by card¹. Shums Coda Associates performs inspections for construction under Davis County jurisdiction; schedule at 800-286-0374 or UT@shumscoda.com with at least 24 hours' notice^1,3. A Certificate of Occupancy — issued only after the final building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical inspections all pass — is what actually lets you move in; a power-to-panel permit alone only authorizes construction power and testing, not occupancy¹¹.

Davis County zones all unincorporated land, while each city maintains zoning for its own jurisdiction². In the county's R-1 Residential Single-Family zone, a lot needs at least 9,000 square feet with 75 feet of width, and a house must sit at least 25 feet from the front and rear property lines and 8 feet from each side, with a maximum height of two stories or 30 feet⁷. Those dimensions are specific to R-1, so verify the parcel's district before drawing a site plan⁷. In the agricultural zones, minimum lot area is 1 acre in A-1, 5 acres in A-5 and 10 acres in A-10, with 25-foot front and rear yards and 10-foot side yards in each⁷. A home can be up to 35 feet tall in A-1 and A-10, while barns and farm accessory buildings in A-10 can reach 100 feet⁷. Agricultural parceling has a separate path: each parcel must contain at least 5 acres, have qualifying access and sufficient water, and carry a recorded agricultural-use restriction; residential use still requires subdivision compliance¹². Utah law makes one internal accessory dwelling unit inside a primary dwelling a permitted use in county areas zoned primarily residential¹³. We could not confirm county rules for detached accessory dwellings, RV or tiny-home occupancy, manufactured-home placement, minimum dwelling size, or lot coverage, so ask Davis County Planning at (801) 451-3278 about the parcel's district².

Davis County requires a Health Department permit before installing an onsite wastewater system; the application, fees, location approval, and intermediate and final inspections all come before completion⁴. Reach the Environmental Health Division at (801) 525-5000 or at the Clearfield Main Campus, 22 South State Street, Clearfield, Utah 84015⁴. Raw land also needs a Statement of Feasibility based on the county's records and GIS review, site and soil evaluations, any percolation testing, and groundwater monitoring needed for the site⁴. Only 6.2% of Davis County's soil is rated free of severe limits for a conventional drain field, so settle feasibility before fixing the house location or budget⁸. The health inspector must approve the excavation and installation, and the excavation cannot be backfilled before final approval⁴. Alternative systems, holding tanks, temporary systems, and vault privies remain regulated¹⁴. An occupied building within 300 feet of public sewer may be required by the city or county to connect instead⁴.

We couldn't confirm a Davis County rule that answers this directly. The county's zoning and building-permit pages establish that zoning and permits apply in unincorporated areas, but neither states whether long-term RV or tiny-home occupancy is allowed, limited or barred on a residential lot². Utah's recreational-vehicle-park sanitation rule sets conditions for RVs and tiny houses inside licensed RV parks — data-plate or certification requirements, and compliance with local codes — but that rule governs RV parks, not living in an RV on your own unincorporated parcel, so it doesn't settle this question either¹⁵. Call Davis County Planning at (801) 451-3278 before you buy with this plan in mind, and ask specifically about your parcel's zone².

1. Confirm jurisdiction first: check whether your parcel is unincorporated (Davis County permits and zones it) or inside a shaded city area (the city has jurisdiction)^1,2.
2. If you'll do the work yourself rather than hire a licensed contractor, file the county's Owner-Builder Form; you're capped at one residential structure a year and three in five years for your own noncommercial use⁶.
3. For raw land that will use onsite wastewater, obtain the Health Department's Statement of Feasibility and then the required installation permit before construction⁴.
4. Submit your building permit application and plans online through Davis County's building permit portal, using the correct checklist for a single-family home¹.
5. Pay the permit fee — based on square footage or project valuation, minimum $202 for the simplest permits — and add 2.5% if paying by card¹.
6. Schedule required inspections with Shums Coda Associates at least 24 hours ahead as work proceeds^1,3.
7. Pass final building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical inspections to get your Certificate of Occupancy before moving in¹¹.

Soil is the biggest constraint: with only 6.2% of the county's soil rated free of severe limits for a standard septic drain field, get the Health Department's feasibility review before committing to a house site^4,8. If the land fronts a state highway, a driveway or new access point needs a UDOT conditional access permit¹⁶. Confirm local access rules separately because unincorporated-county driveway requirements remain unconfirmed. Federal land covers 23.5% of Davis County, and the county averages about 1,248 people per square mile; the nearest city of 100,000 or more is about 17 miles from the county center⁸. Typical property tax runs about 0.5% of assessed value, with a median bill near $2,546 a year⁸. Annual precipitation averages 25.6 inches, while severe drought occurs in roughly 28.4% of years⁸.