Administrative overview · FIPS 19137
Montgomery County permit authority
The first compliance decision is jurisdictional: identify the office with statutory authority over your parcel, then use its filing and inspection sequence to keep the project moving.
Jurisdictional status
County
This county profile is the primary starting point for unincorporated-area permitting.
Responsible agency
Montgomery County Zoning Division
For a project in or near Montgomery County, this office is the identified point of contact for permit intake, statutory code enforcement, plan review coordination, and inspection release conditions. Confirm the parcel’s boundary and project type before relying on the county lane.
Direct contact
712-623-5197
Call before mobilizing if the project has a boundary, occupancy, fire, septic, or utility question.
Permit counter
Montgomery County Engineer/Zoning Administrator, 406 W. 4th Street, Red Oak, IA 51566
Operating hours
Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Review expectation
N/A. No standard review timeline was published. A zoning permit becomes void after six months if construction, alteration, or change of use has not commenced; proposed construction or alteration must be completed within 18 months.
Compliance workbench
Choose the next project decision.
Apply online
Open the verified digital gateway, application form, and review timeline.
Open guide →Fees & penalties
Understand fee schedules, enforcement exposure, and stop-work liabilities.
Open guide →Codes & exemptions
Read the code framework, minor-work exemptions, and inspection lane.
Open guide →Agency website
Visit the primary public source for current notices and contact changes.
Open guide →Source trail
Official sources for this profile
Use these direct agency or licensing links to confirm current instructions before you file, pay, or schedule work. External pages control if their information differs from this directory.
Project questions
Frequently asked questions for Montgomery County
Who handles permitting for this jurisdiction?
Montgomery County Zoning Division is the identified county-level authority for this profile. Confirm that the property is in its service area before filing.
How should I begin an application?
No verified online portal was located in the reviewed public materials. Contact 712-623-5197 and request the current application route before preparing a final submittal.
How long might review take?
N/A. No standard review timeline was published. A zoning permit becomes void after six months if construction, alteration, or change of use has not commenced; proposed construction or alteration must be completed within 18 months.
How are inspections scheduled?
Contact Zoning Administrator Barry Byers at 712-623-5197. File a written zoning application with duplicate, scaled plans showing the lot, proposed structure location, size, height, use, and related information; include State approvals such as stormwater or confinement permits and County Sanitarian well/septic approvals when applicable. The lot and building location must be staked before construction. No county inspection-scheduling portal or separate county technical inspection procedure was published; coordinate any required technical inspections with the applicable state or other authority.
Which codes and exemptions should I review?
No separate 2026 technical IBC/IRC edition was identified in the county's published materials. Montgomery County enforces the Revised Zoning Ordinance for unincorporated Montgomery County, effective July 14, 2021, including zoning permits/certificates, permitted uses, lot and setback standards, site plans, land-disturbance thresholds, subdivision, and applicable State of Iowa and County Sanitarian/DNR approvals. The published county program is a zoning-certification program rather than a separately identified county building-code inspection program. Agricultural uses do not require a zoning permit/certificate under the county ordinance. For non-farm development, no permit is required for routine maintenance, repair, or remodeling with no change of use or additional lot coverage; essential services; or ordinary lot/yard improvements such as children's playhouses, drives, fences, concrete patios, decks, play equipment, retaining walls, sidewalks, and landscaping, unless the improvement is on, over, or within 10 feet of a septic system or utility easement. The ordinance identifies new accessory buildings of less than 120 square feet, signs under 20 square feet, and land disturbance under 1 acre as outside the listed non-farm permit triggers. Agricultural exemptions do not eliminate separate septic, DNR, electrical, or other applicable approvals.