Published
The manufactured home placement permit: who can hold it, what it costs, and the 75-foot line
Not a building permit — a placement permit
A manufactured home does not go through the site-built permit path. Fremont County has a form of its own for it — the Manufactured Dwelling Placement Permit Application, retrieved 14 August 2026 — and the form’s first surprise is who may hold it:
“Placement permit to be obtained only by homeowner, or Idaho-licensed manufactured dwelling installer.”
— Fremont County Manufactured Dwelling Placement Permit Application. Retrieved 14 August 2026
Read the word only the way the county printed it: not the general contractor, not the dealer’s driver — the owner, or an installer holding the Idaho manufactured dwelling installer license. The signature on this permit is a legal gate, and the form also asks for the installer’s license number and state registration number in its own block.
What the form prices, exactly as it prints it:
| Line on the form | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Placement of a single-wide manufactured home (installation/re-inspection) | $78.75 | Per placement, each |
| Placement of a double-wide or larger | $252.00 | Per placement, each |
| Intent to declare real property | $71.50 | Marked optional on the form |
| Setback review | amount not printed | Determined by the regulating jurisdiction — ask before you budget |
| New construction (garage/shop, deck/porch, other) | priced by square feet | Blank lines — computed when the sizes are known |
The application also collects a septic permit number up front, under local government approvals — which makes the health-district sequencing part of this form, not a later discovery. And in the home-information block, between year, size and VIN, it asks for one more thing: Snowload, in PSF. The number on the county’s paperwork is the same conversation this site has been having all fall.
Two details in the fee table deserve a second read. The placement lines live under a header the county wrote as “Installation/re-inspection” — the fee and the re-inspection visit travel together, so the number you pay at the counter is tied to the county actually coming back out to check the set. And the office-use block at the top of the form shows the path after that: received date, plan review, site plan approval, and a district and zone assignment, each initialed and dated by staff. This is a form that expects to be walked through a building department, not mailed in — which is also why the signature block ends with a certification that the information is true and correct and that all work will conform to governing laws and rules.
What you bring: the site plan
One copy, 8-1/2 by 11 up to a maximum of 11 by 17, labeled with what the form lists:
- Identity: map and tax lot number, subdivision name and lot number, site address, zoning, applicant name and phone.
- The lot drawn true: north arrow, drawn to scale, footprint with actual dimensions including garage, carport, decks and retaining walls, and locations of all cuts and fills.
- The edges that decide: zoning setbacks on front, side and rear, all public and private easements, driveway corner elevations, slope directions, and existing structures versus new or relocated ones.
- Water spelled out: the simple site plan sheet asks for all surface water — floodplains, lakes, rivers, streams, canals and wetlands — plus the road and driveway access.
What you bring: the building plans
“Two (2) full sets for illustrating the manufactured dwelling foundation, basement & any additional construction.”
— Fremont County Manufactured Dwelling Placement Permit Application, plan submittal requirements. Retrieved 14 August 2026
The form’s plan rules, in its own bounds — minimum 11 by 17 up to 24 by 36 maximum:
- Scale: architectural or engineering only.
- Sections: a minimum of two cross sections at mid-point of each direction of the foundation or basement.
- Elevations: exterior, all views.
- Walls: basement wall, foundation and retaining wall sections.
- One manufactured-specific catch: documentation by the manufacturer indicating the dwelling’s roof can support over-framing of a garage roof — if the garage goes on top, the factory has to say the roof carries it.
Where it sits: setbacks and water
The form saves its sharpest lines for lot placement:
“County setback standards are from property lines to proposed construction. 75’ setback on all sides from River, Streams, Lakes” — with the note that these may vary if measured from the average annual high water mark or the stream corridor.
— Fremont County Manufactured Dwelling Placement Permit Application, simple site plan sheet. Retrieved 14 August 2026
Seventy-five feet from water on all sides is the printed rule, and on corridor ground water is usually the reason a lot is pretty. Then the form drops the harder one:
“Subdivision Setbacks Must Be Met Before County Setbacks, Check with Your Homeowners Association”
— Fremont County Manufactured Dwelling Placement Permit Application. Retrieved 14 August 2026
One more block on the form is easy to skip and shouldn’t be: the set-up or installation contractor section, with its own name, address, phone and fax lines, kept separate from the installer-license block. The county wants to know who will physically be on the lot when the home is set — and if that changes between application and installation, the form on file is the one that matters.
Covenants come before the county. A placement that clears county rules can still violate subdivision setbacks — the same layering that makes corridor lots differ, and the city has its own form entirely for in-town property: Ashton’s application.
Sequence it like a builder
- Settle the zoning question with the jurisdiction first — where a manufactured dwelling may legally sit is a planning question, and this permit assumes that answer is already yes.
- Line up the septic permit before the application — the form asks for the number, so the health district comes first.
- Decide who holds the permit: you, or an Idaho-licensed manufactured dwelling installer whose license number goes on the form.
- Draw the site plan to the form’s own list — water, easements and setbacks on one sheet — and print plans at the sizes it names.
- If a garage or deck is in the plan, get the manufacturer’s roof over-framing letter while you are ordering the home, not after it arrives.
- Bring us the lot and the plan — we will walk the whole file with you: (208) 656-1516.
A manufactured home is the fastest house to set and the easiest to rush. The county’s form is short because it expects the answers to already exist — septic number, installer license, subdivision setbacks, the factory letter. The owners it treats well are the ones who arrive holding all four, and a winter pour schedule matters too if a foundation is in the plan: cold weather has its own rulebook.
Common questions
What is a Fremont County manufactured dwelling placement permit?
A county permit specific to setting a manufactured home on a lot - separate from the site-built building permit path. The application collects job site and owner information, the septic permit number, the installer's license and registration numbers, and the home's year, size, VIN, value and snow load in PSF, along with a site plan and two full sets of building plans.
What does a manufactured home placement permit cost in Fremont County?
The application retrieved 14 August 2026 prices it: $78.75 for placement of a single-wide, $252.00 for a double-wide or larger, and an optional $71.50 line for intent to declare real property. The setback review fee is marked determined by regulating jurisdiction with no amount printed - confirm it with the county before budgeting.
Who is allowed to obtain the placement permit?
The form states it can be obtained only by the homeowner, or by an Idaho-licensed manufactured dwelling installer - and it asks for the installer's license number and state registration number in its own block. A general contractor or dealer cannot hold it.
What plans does Fremont County want with a manufactured home application?
One site plan labeled with the map and tax lot number, subdivision, zoning, setbacks, easements, slope directions and all surface water, plus two full sets of building plans - minimum 11 by 17 up to 24 by 36 maximum - showing the foundation or basement with a minimum of two cross sections at mid-point of each direction, all exterior elevations, and wall sections.
How close can a manufactured home sit to water?
The form's printed rule is a 75-foot setback on all sides from river, streams and lakes, which may vary if the setback is from the average annual high water mark or the stream corridor. County setbacks run from property lines to proposed construction - and subdivision setbacks must be met before county setbacks, so the homeowners association rules apply first.
Does the placement application really ask for snow load?
Yes - the home-information block includes a Snowload field in PSF alongside year, manufacturer, size and VIN. It is the same number that drives engineered design in this corridor, and the county's paperwork wants it stated for the record on the placement itself.