Off-Grid Living in Perry County, Illinois

I've been digging into Perry County, Illinois for anyone thinking about going off-grid here, and the short version is: it's doable, but you're dealing with two layers of government depending on exactly where your land sits.

Zoning: county-wide, but towns opt out

Perry County has a countywide Zoning Code (Chapter 40), administered by the county Zoning Administrator, with its own map and Board of Appeals. But that code explicitly does not apply inside incorporated municipalities like Pinckneyville, Du Quoin, Cutler, or Willisville, those places run their own zoning and permitting. So the very first thing I'd tell anyone is: find out if your parcel is inside city limits or in unincorporated county land, because the answer to almost every other question depends on it.

Dwellings and mobile homes

The county zoning code is specific about mobile and manufactured homes: they require a Special Use Permit, and to even qualify as a "mobile home" under the code, the structure can't be more than ten years old and must be at least 900 square feet per its Certificate of Title. Manufactured homes built after mid-1976 also have to meet HUD standards. For stick-built tiny homes or long-term RV living, I did not find a specific county rule in the zoning code excerpts I reviewed, so that's genuinely unclear, call the Zoning Administrator before you commit to a plan.

Building permits

The county has building regulations on the books, but as with zoning, if you're inside a municipality (Pinckneyville is a documented example), the town issues its own zoning certificate and building permit, not the county. Illinois adopted a new statewide building code effective January 1, 2025, though I couldn't confirm exactly how Perry County has locally adopted or amended it, so ask directly.

Septic, wells, greywater, rainwater

Septic systems are permitted through the Perry County Health Department, which administers Illinois's statewide private sewage rules (Title 77 Part 905). You'll need to file paperwork and a fee with them before building anything not on city sewer. The same department handles private well construction permits under the statewide Illinois Water Well Construction Code, and wells must be drilled by an IDPH-licensed contractor. Composting toilets, greywater reuse, and rainwater harvesting are not specifically addressed in any Perry County or Illinois source I could find, treat these as unconfirmed and check with the Health Department before installing anything nonstandard.

Utilities

There's no county ordinance I found that bans or blesses living fully off-grid from electric or water utilities. Practically, it comes down to satisfying the dwelling, septic, and well rules separately, there's no single "off-grid permit."

My honest bottom line: Perry County is not hostile to off-grid living, but it's a patchwork, and confirming county-vs-town jurisdiction first will save you a lot of wasted calls.