Off-Grid Living in Montgomery County, Illinois

I'll be upfront with you: this was a tough one to research. Montgomery County, Illinois doesn't have much of an official web presence when it comes to zoning, building, or land-use codes, at least not that I could turn up through public searches. I found exactly one verified Montgomery County, IL government page (the Health Department), and everything else on the county-specific side came up empty or got confused with same-named counties in Maryland, Indiana, Texas, and North Carolina. So I want to be honest about where the gaps are rather than paper over them.

Zoning and dwellings. I could not locate an official Montgomery County zoning ordinance, planning department page, or building code online. Illinois counties do write their own zoning ordinances under state enabling law, so one almost certainly exists here, covering things like minimum dwelling size, RV occupancy, and tiny home rules, but I couldn't confirm the specifics. Your best move is to call the County Clerk's office or County Board, since in a lot of rural Illinois counties zoning duties get handled by the Clerk's office or a part-time zoning officer rather than a standalone department.

Building permits. Same story: no confirmed county page. Statewide, Illinois only recently moved toward a first statewide building code (effective 2025) through the Capital Development Board, but whether or how Montgomery County has adopted or layered its own requirements on top of that, I couldn't verify.

Septic systems. This one I can speak to with more confidence. Septic systems in Illinois are regulated at the state level by the Illinois Department of Public Health under its Private Sewage Disposal Code, but permitting and inspection is delegated down to the county health department. The Montgomery County Health Department is the confirmed local authority here, even though I couldn't find their specific septic permit page or fee schedule.

Private wells. Also state-administered with local delivery. IDPH licenses well contractors and sets construction standards statewide, and Illinois EPA notices confirm the Montgomery County Health Department is your local contact for well permitting and inspection in this county.

Greywater, rainwater harvesting, and full utility disconnection. I found nothing on the books at either the state or county level specifically addressing these. That doesn't mean they're illegal, it just means the rules aren't spelled out anywhere I could verify, so you'd be relying on however local zoning and building codes are applied in practice. Call the county health department and ask directly before you build a system around an assumption.

Bottom line: for anything septic or well-related, the Montgomery County Health Department is your go-to and the rules trace back to state IDPH code. For zoning and building, I'd start with the County Clerk or County Board to even figure out who handles it, since I couldn't confirm that on my end.