Building permits, zoning and land rules in Laramie County, Wyoming

Yes. Laramie County Planning & Development requires a building permit before construction begins in unincorporated Laramie County, and inspections are required as the work proceeds^1,2. Exceptions exist for some accessory buildings and agricultural buildings; for detached accessory structures, the permit-exemption threshold moved from 200 to 400 square feet on December 2, 2025⁹. Laramie County's amended 2024 International Codes took effect January 1, 2025 and cover building, residential, fire, plumbing, mechanical, fuel-gas and existing-building work administered by the county⁹. The county has deferred application and inspection enforcement of commercial building permits to the Wyoming Department of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety, but residential-code enforcement stays with the county¹. County guidance says that on your primary residence you may do all of the work yourself, including electrical work, as long as it meets the adopted codes².

Laramie County Planning & Development is the building department for unincorporated Laramie County, at 3966 Archer Pkwy, Cheyenne, WY 82009¹. Call (307) 633-4303 for permitting questions, (307) 633-4615 to schedule an inspection, or email building@laramiecountywy.gov for building-permit information¹. Residential applicants must apply through the county's online portal and provide the required materials, including a plot plan, foundation details, building plans, applicable ownership evidence and fees; an incomplete or unpaid application will not enter processing¹⁰. The county states that plan review takes 10 business days after complete payment¹⁰. The former Citizen Access Portal is offline, but legacy records remain available at the office kiosk and staff can make parcel information available in the SmartGov public portal after an email request¹.

Yes. Laramie County adopted the 2025 Laramie County Land Use Regulations along with an Unincorporated Zone District Map that sorts county land into districts, including the rural categories LU, RR, RRH and RRL and the urban categories URLD, URMD and URHD³. The county's zoning rules apply everywhere except incorporated cities and towns and federally owned land, so ask the city or town about land inside municipal limits^3,11. Minimum lot sizes in the rural districts are 5.25 to 10.4 acres in RR, 10.5 acres and up in RRH and 5.25 acres in LU; RRL covers older lots of 0.1 to 5.24 acres recorded before the new regulations¹¹. In the urban districts a single-family lot needs at least 8,000 square feet in URLD, 4,000 in URMD and 2,000 in URHD, and URLD principal-structure setbacks are 20 feet front, 20 feet rear and 10 feet on the sides⁴. Confirm the parcel's district on the county parcel viewer, then call Planning & Development with the parcel number^1,11. Wyoming law gives every county board of commissioners general authority to regulate land use in unincorporated areas, but not to block agricultural use or mineral extraction¹².

Septic and other small wastewater systems in Laramie County are permitted through Environmental Health, not Planning & Development and not a state office, for any system that treats less than 2,000 gallons of domestic wastewater a day⁴. Wyoming DEQ's small-wastewater program permits directly only in Campbell County (commercial systems), and Carbon, Niobrara, Platte and Weston Counties; every other Wyoming jurisdiction, Laramie County included, runs its own permitting under that same general framework¹³. All small wastewater systems, whether residential or commercial, must be permitted before installation, repair or modification⁵. A system generating 2,000 gallons a day or more instead goes to Wyoming DEQ's Water Quality Division¹³. Soils matter here: USDA's soil survey rates about half of Laramie County's soil, 49.7%, as not severely limited for a conventional drain field, so plan on a site evaluation and be ready for an engineered system on the other half¹⁴.

It depends on the zoning district. In the unincorporated rural districts RR, RRH, RRL and LU, county guidance says you can live in a tiny home on wheels, but you must have a permit¹¹. In the urban residential districts URLD, URMD and URHD, county guidance says no to living in a tiny home on wheels or an RV on the property¹⁵. For an RV on a rural-district parcel, we could not confirm a rule, so ask Laramie County Planning & Development before you rely on it¹. Inside an incorporated city or town these county district rules do not apply³. Statewide rules about licensed campgrounds and RV parks do not answer whether you can live in an RV on your own land. Whatever you live in, a home with plumbing still needs a permitted septic system through Environmental Health⁵.

1. Confirm your parcel's zone district, minimum lot size and setbacks with Laramie County Planning & Development before you design anything^1,3.
2. If you'll drill a well, file Wyoming's U.W. 5 "Application for Permit to Appropriate Ground Water" and get it approved before drilling; the filing fee is $50, and a licensed Wyoming water-well contractor has to do the work⁶.
3. If you need an onsite septic system, apply for a permit through Laramie County Environmental Health before you install, repair or modify it^4,5.
4. If your lot sits near one of the county's mapped flood-hazard watersheds, check with Planning & Development for floodplain status and any floodplain development permit before you build^8,16.
5. If you're building a new driveway or altering an existing one onto a county road, get an access permit from Laramie County Public Works first¹⁷.
6. Apply online for your Laramie County residential building permit with the plot plan, foundation details, building plans, applicable ownership evidence and fees; processing does not begin until the application is complete and paid¹⁰.
7. Allow 10 business days for plan review after complete payment, then schedule required inspections as work proceeds by calling (307) 633-4615; a Certificate of Occupancy for a site under the 2025 site-plan rules requires a Certificate of Compliance first^1,4,10.

Water: a well permit takes state approval before drilling, and Laramie County has been in severe drought roughly 14.8% of years on record, so ask about well depth and yield before you count on one^6,14. Soils: about half the county's soil, 49.7%, isn't severely limited for a conventional septic drain field, which means roughly half is, so get a site evaluation before you assume a standard system will work¹⁴. Terrain: 82.9% of Laramie County land sits at 15% slope or less, which is favorable for building and driveways on most parcels¹⁴. Flood: check whether your parcel is near one of the county's mapped watersheds and pull the FEMA flood map for the parcel before you close¹⁶. Access: parcels of 35 acres or more are generally exempt from Wyoming's subdivision-permit process but still need a recorded 40-foot ingress/egress and utility easement to a public road, and any new driveway onto a county road needs its own access permit from Public Works^7,17. Taxes: Laramie County's effective property tax rate runs about 0.6%, with a median bill around $1,893 a year, against a typical home value of $393,457 and farmland running about $2,003 an acre¹⁴.