Off-Grid Living in Vigo County, Indiana

I've been digging into Vigo County, Indiana for anyone thinking about building off-grid there, and the short version is: this is a zoned county, so you can't just buy raw land and start homesteading without paperwork.

Zoning first. Unlike a lot of rural Indiana counties, Vigo County has a countywide Unified Zoning Ordinance covering the unincorporated areas plus Riley, Seelyville, and West Terre Haute (Terre Haute city itself is separate, with its own zoning and Board of Zoning Appeals). The Vigo County Area Planning Department administers this, and you'll generally need an Improvement Location Permit before putting up a structure. I'd call the Area Planning Department directly with your parcel and plans before you buy or build.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. I couldn't confirm specific minimum square footage rules or how the county classifies tiny homes or RVs used as permanent residences. The permit process points to a standard Improvement Location Permit and site plan for "new home/addition/structure," so it looks like everything goes through the same door, but I'd ask Area Planning directly before assuming an RV or tiny home is treated the same as a stick-built house.

Building permits. The Vigo County Building Inspections Department, under the County Commissioners, issues building, electrical, plumbing, and demolition permits under county building codes (which layer on top of Indiana's state minimum code). If your land touches a floodplain, note that Indiana now directs local floodplain administrators to use updated state (INDR) flood mapping data rather than older FEMA maps.

Septic and composting toilets. Septic systems are permitted and licensed locally by the Vigo County Health Department's Environmental Health division, operating under Indiana's statewide onsite sewage rule (410 IAC 6-8.3), which does allow aerobic tank systems. I didn't find anything specific to composting toilets for Vigo County, so check with Environmental Health on that.

Greywater and rainwater. Neither has a Vigo-specific ordinance that I could find. Greywater likely still needs to route through septic-compliant handling in practice, and rainwater harvesting isn't prohibited, but if you plumb it into the house, that falls under the county's plumbing code enforcement.

Wells. Well drillers must be licensed by the state (IC 25-39, 312 IAC 13), and many Indiana county health departments require a permit before drilling or installing a pump. Vigo's Environmental Health division is the logical local contact, though I couldn't confirm a published Vigo-specific well permit fee or process, so ask them directly.

Off-grid utilities. I found no county rule mandating hookup to public electric, water, or sewer. Living disconnected looks legal as long as you've got your zoning, building, and septic/well permits sorted.

Bottom line: Vigo County isn't hostile to off-grid living, but it is a "get the permits first" county, not a "no rules" county.