Beginning Sunday, April 19, 2026, through 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 22, 2026, Sussex County will be transitioning its financial and permitting systems to a secured cloud-based environment. This upgrade will improve reliability, speed, and security, allowing the County to better serve you.

During this period, services will be limited to drop-off transactions, which will be processed once the upgrade is completed. The County will be unable to accept payments, process permits, or issue certificates of occupancy. The Citizen Self Service portal on the County website also will be unavailable during this time.

The County is providing this information in advance so you may plan accordingly, including submitting any building permit requests the week prior to the upgrade.

The County appreciates its customers’ understanding and apologizes for any temporary inconvenience.

The Sussex County Planning & Zoning Office is responsible for administering the land use process within unincorporated areas of the county. The office is the public point of entry for subdivision, zoning change, conditional use, special use exception and accessory use requests.

The Planning & Zoning Office staff supports the County's Planning & Zoning Commission and Board of Adjustment, as well as County Council, on land use applications submitted to County government. The office manages all land use applications, and schedules public hearings on subdivision, zoning or other land use requests.

The Planning & Zoning Office provides zoning information for building permits, including property line setbacks and structure locations. Additionally, the office coordinates inspections of properties - including investigating public complaints - to ensure zoning compliance with the County Code.