Kentucky building departments
Find local permit offices, inspection services, and official resources across Kentucky.
How permitting works in Kentucky
Uniform state code, local enforcement. Kentucky's Uniform State Building Code is enforced by local governments. Permits for single-family homes are mandatory only where a local ordinance requires them, so the city or county rules decide.
A county name is only a geographic starting point. Depending on the address, a city, town, borough, township, or county office may issue your permit. How to check who issues your permit.
Kentucky building codes and licensing
- Residential code
- 2018 Kentucky Residential Code, 3rd Ed. (Aug. 2024), amending the 2015 IRC (815 KAR 7:125); latest amendment effective December 3, 2024
- Commercial code
- 2018 Kentucky Building Code, amending the 2015 IBC (815 KAR 7:120)
- Outside city limits
- Each local government must enforce the Uniform State Building Code with its own or contracted inspectors. Outside local plan-review authority, the state department reviews plans for all buildings except single-family dwellings, and it may not take over enforcement on single-family homes.
- Contractor licensing
- The department licenses electrical, HVAC and plumbing professionals through its Electrical, HVAC and Plumbing divisions, along with building inspectors and manufactured housing licensees. Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction (opens in a new tab)
What is different in Kentucky
- Permits, inspections and certificates of occupancy are not required for single-family homes unless the local government has passed an ordinance requiring them (KRS 198B.060).
- Local governments review plans only for smaller buildings (for example, up to three stories and 20,000 sq ft); larger, educational, institutional and high-hazard buildings go to the state for plan review.
- Urban-county governments may set service districts where farm dwellings and farm buildings are exempt from the state building code.
Kentucky department guides
Browse Kentucky counties
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Planning a project in Kentucky?
Start with what the model codes say, then confirm local rules with the department that serves your address.