Lafayette County launches online building permit and zoning applications

Lafayette County has moved one of its most common government tasks online, putting building permit applications and planning and zoning applications in a digital system that lets users submit, track and manage requests from anywhere.

The change came from the county’s Building & Planning Department, led by Director of Development Services Joel Hollowell and based at 300 N. Lamar Blvd. in Oxford. The department administers the Lafayette County Zoning Ordinance and Land Development Standards and Regulations, issues building permits and enforces the 2012 International Building Code.

For homeowners, contractors and property owners, the practical impact is immediate. A homeowner planning an addition, a builder trying to keep a project moving, or a developer preparing a site plan no longer has to rely entirely on in-person visits and paper forms to get a filing started or check on its status. That visibility matters in a county where permits and zoning decisions often shape what gets built, where it gets built and how fast it can move.

The county’s permit rules remain in place. Residential structures in subdivisions and all commercial structures require permits in Lafayette County. Residential building permits start with a $150 base fee, plus 30 cents per living-area square foot. Commercial permits start with a $150 base fee and an additional valuation-based fee.

The new online system also lands in the middle of a tightly scheduled planning process. The Lafayette County Planning Commission has five members appointed by the Board of Supervisors and meets on the fourth Monday of each month. Agenda requests must be filed by the first day of the month, or the next business day if that date falls on a holiday or weekend. Site plan applications are due on the first business day of each month.

Lafayette County adopted its zoning ordinance on Jan. 18, 2018, and land-use debates have remained active. In March 2026, the Planning Commission denied a request to downzone part of the Max D. Hipp Industrial Park after a hearing that lasted nearly four hours. That fight drew about 560 signatures on a petition supporting rezoning and centered on a proposed asphalt plant tied to Magnolia Materials.

The county’s online rollout does not change the standards for approval, but it does move a basic government process into a form that is easier to access, easier to follow and harder to lose track of. In a county where development questions regularly draw attention, that may be the most important part of the update.