Off-Grid Living in Carson City, Nevada

Carson City is a bit unusual: it's a consolidated city-county government, so there isn't a separate "county" layer to worry about. Carson City itself (through its Community Development Department and Health and Human Services division) is the authority for zoning, building, septic, and well permitting. Here's what I found researching how this plays out for off-grid living.

Zoning. Land use is governed by Title 18 of the Carson City Municipal Code, which splits the city into use districts. Whether you can put a dwelling, RV, or yurt on a piece of raw land depends entirely on which district it sits in, and a special use permit is required if a use is allowed in one district but not another (CCMC 18.04.020). I did not find a raw-land or off-grid homestead exemption, so assume standard zoning review applies and check with Planning before buying land with off-grid plans in mind.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. Carson City has adopted the International Building Code, International Residential Code, and Uniform Plumbing Code (originally the 2018 editions, with the city more recently moving to adopt the 2024 IBC). Manufactured and mobile homes are handled separately under state rules (NAC 489), which point to Nevada's own installation standards. I didn't find a dedicated tiny-home ordinance with size or permanence thresholds, so treat any unconventional dwelling as a case-by-case zoning and building code question.

Building permits. All construction, off-grid or not, needs permitting and inspection through the Building Division, which enforces the locally-amended IBC/IRC/UPC.

Septic. Residential septic is permitted through Carson City Health and Human Services in coordination with the Building Department, involving test trenches and percolation testing before design approval. Commercial systems are actually state jurisdiction, run through the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection. I found nothing specific on composting toilets, so ask Environmental Health directly if that's your plan.

Greywater. No Carson City-specific greywater ordinance turned up in my research. It would fall under the adopted Uniform Plumbing Code, administered by the Building Division, but there's no clear standalone permit or exemption on record.

Rainwater. Nevada allows rainwater harvesting statewide, and I found no Carson City rule narrowing that. This is a state-level baseline right, not something the city added.

Wells. Permitted, but wells must be drilled by a State Engineer-licensed driller, who applies for the permit at the Carson City Building Department and reports the well log to the state Division of Water Resources.

Utility disconnection. Nothing prohibits living off-grid in principle, but you're still on the hook for code-compliant water and wastewater (well and septic permitting above). One wrinkle: parts of Southeast Carson City fall under a mandatory sewer-connection resolution, which could override full wastewater independence if your parcel is in that zone.

My advice: call Planning early about your specific parcel's zoning district before you assume anything is allowed by right.