Owensboro building department

The City of Owensboro doesn’t have its own building department. Building permits for Owensboro and Daviess County come from the Owensboro Metropolitan Planning Commission (OMPC). The OMPC is a joint agency of Owensboro, Whitesville, and Daviess County, not a city department. Its Building & Electrical Division is funded entirely by plan review and permit fees. The office at 200 E. Third Street is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Call (270) 687-8665 for building and electrical permits, or (270) 687-8650 for planning, zoning, subdivisions, and addresses.

What the division issues

• Building permits for new construction, remodeling, additions, and rehabilitation
• Electrical and low-voltage permits
• HVAC permits
• Sign permits and parking lot permits
• Certificates of occupancy

Demolition permits come from the City of Owensboro Public Works Department. In the City of Whitesville, the city clerk oversees residential construction (12 units or less) and zoning review. Use the OMPC GIS map service to check whether a parcel is in Owensboro, Whitesville, or unincorporated Daviess County. It has layers for parcels, zoning, FEMA flood zones, both city limits, and the county boundary.

When you need a permit

OMPC’s homeowner pamphlets set out these thresholds. The pamphlets are still posted, though they cite the older 2007 Kentucky Residential Code.

Project	Permit?
New home, addition, or manufactured home	Yes
Work that replaces or alters structural members (joists, rafters, wall framing)	Yes
Replacing roof covering, siding, or windows with no structural work	No
Detached garage, shed, or storage building	Yes, unless smaller than 12 ft x 18 ft and not on a permanent footing and foundation
Any new electrical work	Electrical permit, always
Swimming pool	Separate pool permit application

An accessory building can’t be permitted unless a house already stands on the lot. Additions and detached buildings need a site plan drawn to scale. It must show property lines, distances from the new structure to lot lines and other buildings, and any platted easements. Interior-only remodels don’t need a site plan. The pamphlets say typical residential setbacks are 25 ft front, 20 ft rear, and 5 to 10 ft on the sides. Accessory buildings entirely behind the house can go as close as 3 ft to the rear or side lot line, unless an easement requires more. They must be at least 6 ft from the house, and building coverage usually can’t exceed 50% of the lot.

Applying and plan review

New buildings, additions, and certain remodels need plan review against the Kentucky Building Code before a permit is issued. A general contractor can apply for you, or you can apply yourself. The application asks for your general, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical contractors, the construction type, and the size of any addition on each floor. Applications, fee schedules for building, electrical, and plan review, and the required-inspections list are on the OMPC Forms page. The office has no online permit portal.

Some larger buildings must also go to DHBC in Frankfort for state plan review under KRS 198B. OMPC coordinates with the state and often inspects jointly with state inspectors. OMPC also reviews zoning for every business license and checks downtown projects against the Downtown Overlay rules (Article 21).

Working without a permit costs extra. Under KRC R108.2.1 and KBC 108.2, OMPC charges an added fee equal to the permit fee, with a $500 minimum. A $100 permit becomes $600.

Inspections

Work	Minimum inspections
New building, addition, or remodel	3: footer/foundation, framing, final for occupancy
Electrical	2: rough-in and final
HVAC	As required; checked against the KRC/KBC, International Mechanical Code, NFPA 54, and Manual J

OMPC’s inspection request form lists (270) 687-8665 for inspection requests. Your builder can schedule inspections, but the owner is responsible for making sure the final is done. Additions need a certificate of occupancy before the new rooms are used. OMPC inspectors are cross-certified in building and electrical work. Owensboro Municipal Utilities and Kenergy won’t connect power until an OMPC inspector approves the final electrical inspection.

Electrical, HVAC, and plumbing licensing

Kentucky licenses electricians statewide, and only licensed electrical contractors may pull electrical permits. A homeowner may get an electrical permit for work on their own home after an interview with an OMPC electrical inspector. That work is inspected the same way as a contractor’s. HVAC systems must be installed by a state-licensed HVAC contractor, and OMPC has a separate homeowner HVAC permit application.

Plumbing is permitted and inspected by the state, not the OMPC.

Work	Inspected by
Building, electrical, HVAC	OMPC (a state HVAC inspector also works out of the OMPC office as needed)
Plumbing	State plumbing inspector at the Daviess County Health Department, 1600 Breckenridge Street; office hours 8–9 a.m. weekdays, (270) 852-2906
Manufactured home installation, elevators, boilers	State inspectors

Homeowners may be allowed to do plumbing on their own home with the plumbing inspector’s approval.

Floodplain

Owensboro and Daviess County take part in the National Flood Insurance Program. OMPC checks every new-structure address against the flood maps. In a special flood hazard area, you must also get a Stream Construction Permit from the Kentucky Division of Water. The lowest floor must be above the 100-year base flood elevation, confirmed with an elevation certificate. Floodplain rules are in Article 18 of the OMPC Zoning Ordinance.

Codes and appeals

Kentucky sets building codes statewide. The 2018 Kentucky Building Code and 2018 Kentucky Residential Code took effect January 1, 2019, and OMPC enforces the National Electrical Code. Appeals of code decisions go to the Owensboro-Daviess County Building Code Appeals Board.