County Permit SearchU.S. compliance directory
South DakotaUnion County

Administrative overview · FIPS 46127

Union 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

Union County Planning and Zoning

For a project in or near Union 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

605-356-3354

Call before mobilizing if the project has a boundary, occupancy, fire, septic, or utility question.

Permit counter

209 E Main Street, Suite 100, Elk Point, SD 57025

Operating hours

Operating hours not verified

Review expectation

Ask the agency for its current review estimate

Compliance workbench

Choose the next project decision.

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 Union County

Who handles permitting for this jurisdiction?

Union County Planning and Zoning 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 605-356-3354 and request the current application route before preparing a final submittal.

How long might review take?

A typical review timeline was not verified. Ask the agency for its current completeness and review estimate.

How are inspections scheduled?

Call Union County Planning and Zoning at 605-356-3354 to coordinate any required inspection. The Planning Director or an authorized representative may inspect at reasonable times to enforce the ordinance or investigate a suspected violation, following lawful entry procedures. No online inspection scheduler or published staged structural-inspection sequence was found; state trade inspections are separate.

Which codes and exemptions should I review?

Union County administers its 2008 Revised Zoning Regulations, as subsequently amended, within the county's unincorporated territory. No separate county-adopted structural model-code edition was verified. For covered new nonresidential work begun after July 1, 2026 where no local structural code applies, South Dakota's statutory design baseline is the 2024 International Building Code, subject to exclusions for residential structures, manufactured/mobile homes, farmsteads, and accessory farm buildings. State electrical, plumbing, and other trade requirements remain separate. The county ordinance broadly requires a separate building permit to erect, construct, change, enlarge, alter, repair, move, improve, remove, convert, demolish, use, occupy, or maintain each regulated building, structure, or land-use change; it publishes no general cosmetic-work exemption list. The Planning Director may waive the site-plan submission when plan review is unnecessary, but this is not a permit exemption. South Dakota law prohibits requiring a permit for an owner-occupied detached single-family home's same-size repair or substantially similar replacement of a door, downspout, fascia, fence panel or post, gutter, nonstructural siding, soffit, or window, except for designated historic property.

Before contacting the permit counter

Have the project facts ready.

A productive call starts with a clear description of the property and proposed work. Keep the site address, parcel or assessor number, project valuation, existing occupancy, approximate square footage, structural scope, contractor information, and desired start date in front of you. Those facts help the Authority Having Jurisdiction route the question to building, planning, fire, environmental health, or another reviewing discipline.

Questions worth asking

  • • Is the parcel inside an incorporated city or county service area?
  • • Does this scope require building, trade, zoning, fire, or site permits?
  • • What plans and supporting documents make the submittal complete?
  • • How much lead time is needed for each inspection?