Land Clearing Permits in Hattiesburg & Forrest County, MS

Inside the City of Hattiesburg, the Land Development Code the city publishes lists a city Land Disturbance Permit for clearing at every size, including under half an acre. From one acre the state’s small construction stormwater permit is added, and from five acres the state must approve before the city issues anything. In unincorporated Forrest County, clearing under an acre needs a notification to the county Planning Department, and one to five acres needs a county permit.

Each rule below carries its source. Requirements vary by parcel, scope and jurisdiction, and the governing authority makes the determination.

Inside the City: Clearing Counts, at Any Size

Hattiesburg’s Land Development Code was adopted as Ordinance 3209 on 21 February 2017 (City of Hattiesburg Land Development Code). Section 9 covers stormwater, and it starts with a definition that matters for anyone clearing land: land disturbance activity is “any clearing, filling, excavation or grading activity on one or more contiguous undeveloped lots.” Clearing is named first.

Section 9.2.1 then says no land disturbance may begin without meeting the ordinance’s requirements, and Table 9.2 sets out what those are by size:

Area disturbed	City Land Disturbance Permit	State construction permit
Under half an acre	Yes	No
Half an acre to 0.999 acre	Yes	No
1 to 4.999 acres	Yes	Small Construction General Permit, notice of intent and SWPPP
5 acres or more	Yes	Large Construction General Permit, approved by MDEQ first

Two details sit behind the table. From half an acre of impervious area, a stormwater pollution prevention plan and calculations are asked for even below an acre. And at five acres or more, the code says the city will not issue land disturbance or construction permits until the state has approved the large construction permit.

The copy linked above is the adopted version the city hosts. The code may have been amended since; confirm the current text with the city before relying on a detail.

What Is Excepted

Section 9.2.2 lists the activities that need no land disturbance permit:

• Emergency work immediately necessary to protect life, property or natural resources.
• Existing nursery, agricultural or silvicultural operations carried on as a permitted main or accessory use.

The exception has a limit written beside it. The code says activities that do not need a city permit are still subject to fines for not complying with best management practices. Being exempt from the paperwork is not the same as being free to let a cleared slope wash into a ditch.

Whether a job is farming, forestry or development is the city’s call, not the contractor’s. Clearing a pasture to keep grazing it is a different thing from clearing the same pasture to sell as house lots.

How the City Permit Works

The Director of Engineering reviews Land Disturbance Permit applications, sending them to the Site and Design Review Committee where required, and the Building Office in the Department of Urban Development issues the permit. Several conditions in section 9.2 shape the schedule:

• Clearing stays inside the permitted area. Section 9.2.3 limits clearing and grading to the part of a lot or tract covered by a valid permit.
• Seven days to stabilize. Section 9.2.4 says cleared or graded ground must be stabilized with vegetative or manmade cover within seven days of clearing or of construction going idle, and the city can require reseeding if seed has not taken within two weeks.
• Controls go in first. Erosion and sediment controls are required before land disturbance begins, and the permittee notifies the Director of Engineering after they are installed and at least two days before disturbance starts.
• Streams and wetlands. Where waters of the United States would be filled, rerouted or dammed, the applicant must show the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permits. Whether a wet spot counts is a formal determination, not a judgment made on site.

Permit applications other than minor repairs are made in person. The city’s Building Department is at 200 Forrest Street, 601-554-1003 (City of Hattiesburg, residential permits).

Outside the City: Forrest County

In unincorporated Forrest County, the Planning Department administers the county’s stormwater, floodplain development and subdivision ordinances. It does not issue building permits or administer building codes, and it asks to be contacted before any development, small or large. It is at 641 N Main Street in Hattiesburg, (601) 545-6000.

The county’s stormwater ordinance, adopted in January 2005, sets its permit tiers in section 6.1 (Forrest County stormwater ordinance):

• Under 1 acre: no permit or pollution prevention plan, but notification to the Planning Department.
• 1 to 5 acres: a county permit, with a notice of intent and a pollution prevention plan filed with the Planning Department.
• Above 5 acres: a state permit from MDEQ, with a copy to the county.

Land in a mapped floodplain along the Leaf River or its creeks may bring the county’s floodplain development ordinance into play too, so raise it at the first call. Towns elsewhere in the Pine Belt, such as Petal, Laurel or Purvis, set their own rules; check with the town before assuming Hattiesburg’s apply.

The State Layer and Burning

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality issues the construction stormwater permits that both the city and the county build on: the Small Construction General Permit for one to under five acres, and the Large Construction General Permit for five acres and more.

A permit to disturb land is not a permit to burn what comes off it. Under MDEQ’s open burning rules, land clearing debris may not be burned within 500 yards of an occupied dwelling unless a forced-draft system such as an air curtain burner is used, and then not within 50 yards. Burning is also barred where a local ordinance prohibits it, where smoke would create a traffic hazard, and during a High Fire Danger Alert (MDEQ open burning fact sheet). These rules are current as of September 2026. In practice, most clearing debris near town is ground in place or hauled.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a permit to clear a small lot inside Hattiesburg?

The city’s permit table lists a Land Disturbance Permit even under half an acre, and its definition includes clearing on undeveloped lots. Existing farm and forestry operations are excepted. Confirm with the city for your parcel.

Does forestry mulching count as clearing?

Removing trees and brush from an undeveloped lot is clearing under the city’s definition, whatever the machine. Ask the city if you are unsure.

What does Forrest County need for clearing under an acre?

No county permit, but its stormwater ordinance asks for notification to the Planning Department. One to five acres needs a county permit.

Get the Permit Question Settled Before the Machine Arrives

We flag the likely triggers at the walk-through and help identify the right office; the city, the county and the state make the call. Ranges for every kind of work are on the Hattiesburg pricing guide, what makes the Pine Belt different is on our Hattiesburg land clearing page, and the mulching figure is broken down in our Hattiesburg forestry mulching cost guide. When you are ready, request a free quote.