Off-Grid Living in Dawson County, Montana

Dawson County, Montana is about as light-touch as it gets when it comes to land-use rules, but "light-touch" doesn't mean "no rules at all," and I want to walk through what I actually found before you stake a claim or park a tiny home out there.

Zoning: Dawson County has no countywide zoning ordinance. The only zoned ground is inside two small, voter-created districts, Highland Park and Forest Park, administered by the county Planning Department, plus whatever the City of Glendive or Town of Richey enforce inside their own limits. Everywhere else is essentially unregulated for raw-land occupancy, at least for now. Worth flagging: a group of landowners has filed paperwork with the county to form a new Southwest Dawson County zoning district, so "unzoned" status in a given area isn't guaranteed to stay that way. Check with the Planning Department before you assume a parcel is zoning-free.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs: I couldn't find a county-specific ordinance on tiny homes or RVs as residences. Inside Highland Park or Forest Park you'd need a Zoning Compliance Permit from the county for any new structure. Outside those districts, you default to Montana's state rules (IRC Appendix Q covers foundation-built tiny homes, and RV/park-model rules apply to wheeled units).

Building permits: Montana's state exemption is the backbone here: residences with fewer than five dwelling units, and private garages, don't need a state building permit. Dawson County hasn't set up its own certified local building-code enforcement program, so outside Highland Park/Forest Park there's essentially no local building permit step. Inside those two districts, the Planning Department requires a Zoning Compliance Permit (which is a zoning check, not a full code review) for new construction or additions.

Septic: Permitted, and this is one area where the county is clearly in charge. Dawson County's Registered Sanitarian, under Public Health/Environmental Health, issues septic permits following Montana DEQ's statewide Circular DEQ-4 standards. That office is also who you'd go to for composting-toilet systems that tie into an approved wastewater system.

Greywater: No county-specific rule turned up, so this inherits Montana's state administrative framework, which allows some in-home greywater reuse without a permit but restricts subsurface irrigation setups. Confirm specifics with the county sanitarian.

Rainwater: No county restriction found on basic rooftop collection for personal, non-potable use. Larger-scale collection could brush up against Montana DNRC water-rights law.

Wells: No separate county well ordinance; DNRC's statewide exempt-well framework governs. New development may still trigger a non-degradation review tied to septic siting through county Environmental Health.

Utility disconnection: I found no ordinance forcing a single private home to hook up to grid, water, or sewer. But zoning-compliance and septic/water review steps still apply where relevant, so "off-grid" doesn't mean "review-free."

Bottom line: Dawson County leaves you a lot of room outside its two small zoned districts, but septic permitting through the county sanitarian is non-negotiable, and you should call the Planning Department to confirm your parcel isn't inside a zoned or newly-forming district before you build.