Jurisdiction directory

Iowa home project permits by county

Many Iowa households live outside city limits, where the county building department — not a city — issues the permit. 7 Iowa counties, covering the state's largest jurisdictions, are inventoried here.

Model reviewed August 2026

Counties covered

largest jurisdictions first

Municipalities tracked

in Iowa

Population covered

1.4M

residents in listed counties

Code basis

Local

Local adoption of the IRC; statewide code applies to state-owned buildings

Featured counties

The largest and most active permit jurisdictions in the state.

Polk County500,000 residents · seat Des Moines Linn County231,000 residents · seat Cedar Rapids Scott County174,000 residents · seat Davenport Johnson County155,000 residents · seat Iowa City Black Hawk County131,000 residents · seat Waterloo Woodbury County105,000 residents · seat Sioux City Dubuque County99,000 residents · seat Dubuque

All Iowa counties we cover

7 counties, largest first.

Polk CountySeat: Des Moines · 500,000 residents Linn CountySeat: Cedar Rapids · 231,000 residents Scott CountySeat: Davenport · 174,000 residents Johnson CountySeat: Iowa City · 155,000 residents Black Hawk CountySeat: Waterloo · 131,000 residents Woodbury CountySeat: Sioux City · 105,000 residents Dubuque CountySeat: Dubuque · 99,000 residents

Sources

Sources & verification

Iowa Department of Public Safety

Model vintage August 2026. The links above are the issuing agencies' own pages — we publish them so you can confirm the current rule yourself, not as evidence that each fact on this page was re-checked with them today. Cost figures are modeled estimates based on national baselines adjusted for local labor and material pricing, not quotes. Permit rules change; confirm with the building department before starting work.