County seat: Great Falls
Building in Cascade County
How zoning works here
This county administers zoning across the unincorporated county.
Cascade County has adopted countywide zoning regulations (CCZR, adopted 2007) that apply to all unincorporated land outside the incorporated cities of Great Falls, Belt, Cascade, and Neihart; a Location/Conformance Permit is required for all structures and land-use changes countywide.
This county publishes a zoning GIS layer. View the county service.
Building permits
This county issues building permits for unincorporated areas
Cascade County does NOT have a certified county building department for building code enforcement. The county Planning & G.I.S. Department issues Location/Conformance Permits (zoning compliance permits) for all structures and land-use changes within the zoning jurisdictional area (which is countywide excluding Great Falls, Belt, Cascade, and Neihart). Non-exempt building code permits for unincorporated Cascade County are issued by the Montana State Building Codes Bureau (DLI). Within the City of Great Falls, the city issues its own building permits.
Who to call
Building permits
Cascade County Planning & G.I.S. Department (issues Location/Conformance Permits under county Zoning Regulations)
Sanitation / septic
Cascade City-County Health Department (CCHD) Environmental Health
Floodplain administrator
Cascade County Planning & G.I.S. Department (Floodplain Regulations)
Cities with their own jurisdiction
Inside these limits the municipality, not the county, is generally the planning and permitting authority: Great Falls, Belt, Cascade, Neihart.
Check a specific parcel in Cascade County
County rules are only part of the picture. Terrain, soils, septic feasibility, flood, wetlands and access are parcel-specific.
County authority details researched from primary county sources and verified 2026-08-14. County rules change and this page is a starting point, not a determination. Confirm anything you intend to rely on directly with the office that administers it. Sources: www.cascadecountymt.gov, www.cascadecountymt.gov, www.cascadecountymt.gov, www.cascadecountymt.gov