Building permits, zoning and land rules in Mercer County, West Virginia

Yes, a county permit is required, and it comes from the Floodplain Administrator. Mercer County's floodplain ordinance makes it unlawful to undertake development, new construction, a substantial improvement, or the placement or relocation of any structure, including a manufactured home, within Mercer County without a completed application, a site plan and a permit from the Floodplain Administrator¹. A $20 floodplain determination fee applies to all proposed development, and in a regulated flood hazard area the permit fee is $10 per thousand dollars of estimated construction value for a one- or two-family dwelling¹. Fees double if work starts before the permit is issued¹. In flood hazard areas, county officials may inspect construction, and a certificate of compliance is required before occupancy or a permanent utility connection¹. We could not confirm that the county has adopted a general building code or runs a building department for ordinary homes, so ask the County Commission about anything beyond the floodplain permit¹. The City of Princeton has adopted the West Virginia State Building Code itself, so a Princeton parcel follows city rules⁵. Structures used primarily for agriculture are exempt from the State Building Code and any adopted county or municipal building code⁶.

For the county's building and development permit, contact the Mercer County Office of Floodplain Management in Princeton, which handles the determination, permit, inspections and certificate of compliance¹. The floodplain determination fee is $20, while development-permit fees vary with the estimated construction value¹. Septic permits and water-well permits are not issued by that office or by any town: contact the Mercer County Health Department in Bluefield for both, wherever the parcel sits in the county³. Zoning is a third, separate matter; the county has none, so ask the city or town if the parcel is inside one². A new driveway connecting to a state highway needs a free permit from the West Virginia Division of Highways, not a county permit⁷.

Mercer County does not have countywide zoning, and the County Commission has stated that Mercer County has no zoning laws². That answer covers county-administered zoning; it does not establish the rules inside incorporated municipalities, which may regulate land through their own ordinances^2,8. No county rule was confirmed for tiny-home occupancy, minimum dwelling size, setbacks, building height or short-term rentals in unincorporated areas, so ask the County Commission about the parcel rather than treating silence as permission. Floodplain regulation still applies without zoning: development, placement or relocation of a structure in a regulated flood-hazard area can require a permit, site plan and certificate of compliance¹. Mercer County's agricultural exclusion under its dilapidated-building ordinance is limited to that ordinance and is not a blanket exemption from health, floodplain or state requirements⁹.

The Mercer County Health Department issues onsite sewage and septic permits, conducts site evaluations and performs inspections in Mercer County³. Contact that office before choosing a house site because only about 3.4 percent of county soils are rated without severe limitations for a conventional septic drain field¹⁰. That soil rating does not make a parcel unbuildable, but it makes early evaluation and room in the budget for an alternative or engineered design especially important. The same Health Department is the local permitting authority for constructing, modifying or abandoning a water well; site approval comes before permit issuance, and a certified well driller must perform the work³. We could not confirm a complete Mercer County rule for privies, holding tanks, composting toilets or other off-grid sanitation, so take a proposed alternative system directly to the Health Department before buying equipment or relying on it in a site plan.

Mercer County's countywide rules for living in an RV or tiny home outside mapped flood-hazard areas could not be confirmed, so absence of countywide zoning should not be read as automatic approval². Within an identified floodplain, RV placement and occupancy require a completed permit application and certificate of compliance, and the RV must satisfy the ordinance's construction provision, remain for fewer than 180 consecutive days, or be fully licensed and ready for highway use¹. Ready for highway use means the RV stays on its wheels or jacking system, has only quick-disconnect utilities and security devices, and has no permanently attached additions¹. A manufactured home in a flood-hazard area requires a licensed West Virginia manufactured-home installer, a permanent anchored foundation and an engineered design with the lowest floor and utilities at least 2 feet above Base Flood Elevation¹. Ask the County Commission about occupancy and parcel-specific restrictions, the Health Department about wastewater, and the relevant municipality if the property lies inside town limits^2,3.

1. Apply to the Mercer County Office of Floodplain Management for the development permit with a site plan, and ask whether the house site is in a regulated flood-hazard area; the determination fee is $20¹.

1. Ask the County Commission whether any other county building requirement applies, because the county's general building-code adoption could not be confirmed¹.

1. Apply early to the Mercer County Health Department for septic approval and any needed water-well permit³.

1. If you will personally perform the work, document the owner-builder exemption from contractor licensure; that exemption does not waive applicable permits or inspections⁴.

1. Obtain a free Division of Highways permit before building a driveway onto a state highway⁷.

1. If land disturbance reaches 1 acre, or is part of a larger common plan, apply through the state environmental agency's electronic system for stormwater coverage¹¹.

Start with septic suitability and terrain: only about 3.4 percent of Mercer County soils avoid severe conventional-drain-field limitations, only 24.3 percent of land has a slope of 15 percent or less, and about 87.4 percent is wooded¹⁰. Check the flood map before pricing a house site, driveway or utility run because regulated flood-hazard development can require county permits, inspections and a certificate of compliance¹. The nearest city of 100,000 or more people is about 101 miles from the county center, while Mercer County has roughly 58,057 residents and a density near 138.6 people per square mile¹⁰. For carrying costs, the effective property-tax rate is about 0.5 percent and the median annual property-tax bill is about $589¹⁰. Verify legal access and obtain the state permit if the driveway enters a state highway⁷.