Dodge County, Wisconsin - Land Resources and Parks Department-Zoning, Parks, Economic Development, Maps, Land Information, Property Description, Survey, Planning

Dodge County has adopted a uniform building numbering system throughout the County, due to the importance of uniformity among communities and townships for mail delivery and 911 emergency services. If used properly, this system expedites and facilitates better and faster services to the public.
The Building Numbering System is designed to identify the location of a building in the event of an emergency. The numbers are laid out using a grid system. Whoever uses the system on a regular basis, such as the EMS, can anticipate where an address will fall. (Just looking for the form? Click here.)

THE SYSTEM

This system is tied to the original government land system which all buildings and new construction is referenced to. Every "40" acre land corner throughout the County has been assigned a North and West grid number. These numbers start at the southeast corner of the County and increase in number by 100 at every "40" corner. This allows for 50 even and 50 odd numbers available per every 1/4 mile, which means a number will be available for approximately every 26.4 feet. Even numbers will normally be on the north and the east sides of the streets with odd numbers on the south and the west sides of the streets. A north or west designation is assigned to the streets based on its predominant direction. Since new construction is normally surveyed or dimensioned with reference to the "40" lines, assignment of new building numbers should be easily and readily determined.

GETTING A NEW ADDRESS

A new postal address is also known as a Building Number and a Fire Number. In Dodge County the Land Resources and Parks Department assign a new address upon request, by using the Building Number application. The Town of Ashippun assigns their own numbers and in the Town of Beaver Dam a Town representative makes the measurement required for assigning a new number.

ASSIGNING AN ADDRESS

The location of the driveway determines the address. Once it is known where the driveway will be located a Building Number may be requested. The County issues the Building Numbers for all the Towns within Dodge County except the Town of Ashippun, other numbers are not official. The measurement from the new driveway is very important. It is used in calculating the new number as well as positioning the driveway on the maps used by the EMS (Emergency Services.) The new number may be used in the future as a reference number for other new addresses. The Building Number Application asks for a simple sketch of the Building number site as well as a measurement.

The measurement should be from an existing Building number to the requested numbers driveway. The existing Building number does not have to be on the same side of the road. Sometimes the existing Building number has a U-shaped drive. In this case note on the sketch the U-shaped drive and indicate which entrance the measurement was taken from. Sometimes there isn't a nearby Building number or the distance to the nearest building is too great. In this case there are a couple of options. If there is a question, call the Land Resources and Parks Department to get advice on what could be used as a reference point for the measurement. A couple of alternative reference points could be lot lines on Certified Survey Maps (CSM's) or a nearby intersecting public road. To make the measurement if the site has a CSM, a lot line can be used as the reference point instead of the nearest existing building number.

Once a new number has been assigned, notification is sent to the applicant, the Town Clerk for the Town the new number will be located in, and the Dodge County Sheriff's Department. The Town is then responsible for notifying the emergency services and for posting an address sign.

OTHER CONCERNS WHEN REQUESTING A NEW NUMBER

If the road the new address will be located on is a County Road the County Highway Department must be contacted about a driveway permit. If the driveway will be off a Town Road the Town should be contacted in order to meet any requirements they may have.

The Building Numbering System was designed partially to create a postal address, but the primary concern with the system is to facilitate the location of a building in the event of an emergency. In working to aid the emergency services not only is the number itself important but also the road name. The Land Resources and Parks Department keeps a list of Public Road names within the County. When creating a new road, to prevent duplication of existing road names as well as preventing using similar road names, please call Land Resources and Parks for information on road names. Avoiding using duplicate names and same road name different road type (example: Star Drive and Star Lane) helps everyone working with the Building Numbering System. (Just looking for the form? Click here.)