Do I need a permit for shed or accessory structure in Unincorporated Bulloch County?

It depends. Whether shed or accessory structure needs a permit in Unincorporated Bulloch County comes down to the details of your project.

The 200 square foot figure quoted for Georgia is a model figure, not an enforceable statewide threshold. It appears at Section R105.2 of the International Residential Code with Georgia Amendments, but the Georgia amendments delete Chapter 1, Scope and Administration, without substitution and keep it in the code only as a reference and guide for local governments to use in the development of their own administrative procedures. Georgia jurisdictions that follow that guidance exempt one-story detached accessory structures other than storm shelters up to 200 square feet, but the threshold that binds at your address is the local one. Several Georgia cities draw the line lower, so do not assume 200 applies where you live. Sandy Springs requires a permit for detached structures of 120 square feet or larger, and Savannah requires one for a new closed-roof accessory structure over 120 square feet. Ask your building department for the figure that applies at your address. A local size exemption is an exemption from the permit, not from the rules. Zoning setbacks, height limits and lot coverage still apply, and so does the construction standard in the body of the Georgia residential code. Running electrical or plumbing to the shed triggers a separate trade permit regardless of the structure size. Bulloch County's own permitting office is the Bulloch County Building Permit and Inspection Department, reachable on 912-489-1356 at https://bullochcounty.net/permitting/. Its online permit portal is https://bullochcountyga-energovpub.tylerhost.net/Apps/selfservice#/home. It issues permits for the unincorporated county. If your city does not run its own building department, and many smaller Georgia municipalities do not, this is the office that will handle the job. Ask specifically about the size that triggers a permit and about setbacks, since those are set locally and are the two things people most often get wrong on a shed. Bulloch County Development Services lists a permit as required for any structure over 200 square feet, including a garage, pole barn, storage building, or shed. Under zoning Section 1403, accessory structures must be at least 10 feet from any property line in the AG-5, R80, R40, R25, R15, and R8 districts, or 5 feet in the R2, R3, and PUD districts, and a detached accessory building must be at least 12 feet from the house. Accessory structures must be in the side or rear yard (not required on AG-5 lots of five acres or more), and one may not be put on a lot before the principal structure is built.