Off-Grid Living in Ellsworth, New Hampshire

I'll be upfront: Ellsworth, New Hampshire is one of the smallest towns I've researched for this site, population under 100, and it shows in the paper trail. There's no town website I could find, no published zoning ordinance on Municode or eCode360, and no planning board or building inspector page anywhere official. That absence is itself informative, but it isn't proof of anything, so treat everything below about town-level rules as "not confirmed" rather than "confirmed unzoned."

Zoning and land use. New Hampshire is a home-rule state where zoning authority belongs to individual municipalities, not the state. The NH Municipal Association's own zoning atlas project notes that not every one of the state's cities and towns has adopted zoning, and that the atlas doesn't capture every nuance, so you have to check with the specific town. I could not find an Ellsworth zoning ordinance or map anywhere official. Given the tiny population, it's plausible Ellsworth has never adopted formal zoning, but I'm not going to tell you that's confirmed. Call the Town Office and ask directly.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs, building permits. Same story: no evidence of an adopted building code, a building inspector, or any RV/tiny-home rule at the town level. State law (RSA 155-A) leaves it up to each municipality whether to adopt a building code and enforcement structure. Without a located Ellsworth ordinance, I can't tell you whether a permit is required to build or to live in an RV or tiny home there. Ask the Town Office who, if anyone, handles building permits.

Septic and wastewater. This one is solid regardless of what the town has or hasn't adopted: NH DES regulates individual sewage disposal systems statewide, including in Ellsworth. Any structure connected to a water supply has to be connected to an approved wastewater system, and DES's Subsurface Systems Bureau has to approve septic design before installation, replacement, or expansion. Towns can add their own local septic rules under RSA 485-A, but I found no Ellsworth-specific health ordinance layered on top.

Greywater and rainwater. No Ellsworth ordinance either way. Absent a state DES residential greywater rule and any local addition, these fall into a genuinely gray area, pun intended. Rainwater harvesting doesn't appear restricted by anything I found.

Wells. Private well construction in Ellsworth is governed by the statewide NH Water Well Board program under RSA 482-B. No town-specific well ordinance was found, so the state framework is what applies.

Utility disconnection. No subdivision regulation or occupancy rule requiring hookups was found for Ellsworth. Given the rural character, going off-grid on utilities seems plausible, but it's not officially confirmed either way.

My honest bottom line: Ellsworth's state-level obligations (septic through DES, wells through the Water Well Board) are real and apply no matter what. Everything at the town level is an open question that only a phone call to the Ellsworth Town Office can settle.