Off-Grid Living in Wakulla County, Florida

I've been digging into what off-grid living actually looks like in Wakulla County, Florida, and the short version is: it's doable, but every piece (land use, building, septic, well) is permitted separately by a different authority, and there's no single "off-grid exemption" anywhere in the county code.

Zoning. Wakulla County runs countywide zoning through its Land Development Code, adopted under state authority (F.S. chapters 125, 163, and 177). The Board of County Commissioners sets the zoning districts, and your allowed uses, density, and setbacks come out of that code plus the county's Comprehensive Plan. There's no carve-out for just parking on raw land without an approved use or structure, so I'd confirm your parcel's zoning district with Planning & Zoning before you buy or build.

Dwellings, tiny homes, and RVs. I could not find a Wakulla-specific rule setting minimum dwelling size or governing long-term RV living. That doesn't mean anything goes, it means you should call Planning & Zoning directly and ask how they treat tiny homes and RV occupancy, since state RV standards under Florida Statutes Chapter 320 would apply as a baseline regardless.

Building permits. The Wakulla County Building Department enforces the Florida Building Code plus floodplain rules on any construction in the county, whether that's a house, a shed, or trade work like electrical and plumbing. Applications go through the county's CitizenServe portal or in person, and inspections happen before occupancy.

Septic and composting toilets. This one changed recently. As of January 2, 2025, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), not the county Health Department, took over septic (OSTDS) permitting in Wakulla. On top of that, if your property sits in the Priority Focus Area of the Wakulla Basin Management Action Plan, any septic repair or modification there has to upgrade to a nitrogen-reducing system, per a county/DEP mandate that took effect May 1, 2024, regardless of lot size. Composting toilets don't appear to have their own separate track, so I'd assume they fall under the same DEP/DOH framework unless you get a specific variance.

Greywater and rainwater. I found nothing Wakulla-specific on either. Greywater defaults to the statewide Florida Building Code restriction (basically toilet/urinal flushing only, with approved discharge), and rainwater harvesting is genuinely unclear at both the county and state level, so treat it as unaddressed rather than approved.

Wells. Private wells are permitted through the Northwest Florida Water Management District, which covers Wakulla along with over a dozen other counties. You need a district permit for construction, repair, or abandonment of a well, and the county Health Department also runs a related limited-use water well program.

Going fully off the grid. There's no standalone ordinance banning or blessing full utility disconnection. In practice, you can live disconnected from public utilities, but you still need Building Department sign-off for occupancy, a DEP-approved septic system, and an NWFWMD-permitted well if you're not on public water.