A building permit in unincorporated Kent County is issued by the Department of Planning Services through its Division of Inspection and Enforcement, with the Director of Planning Services serving as the building official appointed by the Levy Court — the county is the code authority here, under Chapter 105 of the county code.
Kent’s amendments are not cosmetic. The county deleted the residential code’s rule that footing size follows its prescriptive tables and the soil’s load-bearing value, and replaced it with its own: continuous footings at least 8 inches deep by 16 inches wide, sized to the loads they carry. Single-story deck footings must be at least three times the widest side of the post, and the county asks drawings to note a soil bearing capacity of 2,000 pounds per square foot in the design criteria table.
This guide covers unincorporated Kent County. Incorporated cities and towns that have adopted and enforce their own building code and permit procedures issue their own permits; confirm which authority holds the code for the address before you file.
Footings follow the county minimum, not the code’s tables. Kent County replaced the residential code’s footing tables with its own rule — continuous footings at least 8 inches deep by 16 inches wide, sized to the loads they carry — so check footing details against the county amendment before you submit.
What requires a building permit in Kent County?
Delaware has no statewide building code. Each county, and each town that runs its own building department, adopts and enforces its own, and the editions, amendments and effective dates differ between them — so a rule that applies in one part of Delaware may simply not apply 30 minutes away. New Castle County administers its code through the Department of Land Use, Kent County through its Department of Planning Services (Division of Inspection and Enforcement), and Sussex County through its Building Permit Office and Building Code Office, which also cover a number of incorporated towns that have not taken the function on themselves. Above them sit statewide rules: plumbing, mechanical, fuel gas, energy and fire codes set at state level, electrical inspection by a state-licensed agency, and the State Fire Marshal's plan review. So in Kent County the questions are which authority holds the building code, which edition it is on, and which edition and amendments the Levy Court's building code carries, since Kent replaces the residential code's footing tables with its own minimum footing size.
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Get a free quote →Typically permit required
- A building permit from the Division of Inspection and Enforcement for construction, additions and most alterations
- Footings drawn to the county minimum: continuous footings at least 8 inches deep by 16 inches wide, sized to the loads they carry
- A building permit from the county or the municipality, depending on which holds the code for the address
- State Fire Marshal plan review on new buildings, additions, changes of occupancy and fire-damaged work
- Electrical work under the state's own regulation, inspected by a licensed electrical inspection agency
- Sediment and stormwater approval from the delegated agency, and DNREC permits where they apply
Often exempt
- Farm buildings, other than dwellings, used only for farming on a parcel of at least five acres with a reasonable expectation of $2,500 a year in gross farm income (a plot plan and an agricultural building use permit are still needed)
- Ordinary repairs the county's adopted code places below the permit threshold
- State Fire Marshal plan review on buildings used wholly as dwellings of no more than two families
- State Fire Marshal plan review on buildings used wholly for farming purposes
- Ordinary repairs that the county's adopted code places below the permit threshold
Which authority holds the code for your address
Kent County adopted its building code by Levy Court ordinance and amended it in ways that show up on site — most of all by replacing the residential code's footing tables with a county minimum: continuous footings at least 8 inches deep by 16 inches wide, sized to the loads they carry.
Delaware has no statewide building code — each county and town that runs a building department adopts its own — but plumbing, mechanical, fuel gas, energy and fire codes are set at state level, electrical work is inspected by state-licensed agencies, and the State Fire Marshal reviews plans for most non-residential work. Delaware rules
Who handles permitting in Kent County?
Unincorporated Kent County is served by the Department of Planning Services, Division of Inspection and Enforcement, at the Levy Court complex in Dover. The Director of Planning Services is the building official, and the division handles plan review, permits and inspections.
Not sure this scope needs a permit?
Get a free quote →| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Authority | Kent County Department of Planning Services, Division of Inspection and Enforcement |
| Office | Kent County Administrative Complex, 555 Bay Road, Dover, DE 19901; Monday to Friday 8:00am to 5:00pm |
| Phone | (302) 744-2451; applications online through the county’s MGO Connect portal |
| Building official | The Director of Planning Services, appointed by the Levy Court |
| Adopted editions | 2018 IBC and 2018 IRC with county amendments, effective 5 October 2020 |
In 2025, building permits issued in unincorporated Kent County authorized 720 new privately owned housing units, all of them single-family homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey.
Permit types
Residential permits
Houses, additions, decks, garages and finished basements are reviewed against the county’s adopted residential code, with the county’s footing amendment in place of the code’s tables: continuous footings at least 8 inches deep by 16 inches wide, sized to the loads they carry, deck footings at least three times the widest side of the post, and small accessory structures under 300 square feet (other than pole buildings and garages) levelled and anchored at each corner.
Commercial permits
Commercial and multi-family projects are reviewed under the county's adopted building code, with the State Fire Marshal's plan review generally running alongside the county permit. Kent did not adopt the International Fire Code; fire provisions are addressed through adopted NFPA standards, so the fire dimension of a project follows those standards and the state review rather than a county fire code.
The state reviews that run alongside the permit
In Kent County the Division of Inspection and Enforcement carries the building permit while the state reviews run alongside it.
Delaware has no general contractor licence: contractors need a state contractor business licence and Department of Labor registration, and electricians, plumbers, HVACR and fire protection contractors are licensed by the state. Delaware rules
Kent County permit costs and fees
Kent County charges permit fees under the schedule in Chapter 128 of the county code, on the valuation of the work (materials and labour) as confirmed by the building official. Chapter 105 adds a school-district surcharge of 1.16% of the construction valuation for the local school district and 0.09% for POLYTECH, limited to the first $1,000,000 of value for non-residential buildings.
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Call 1-855-478-4290 →| Item | Fee or rule |
|---|---|
| Building permit | Valuation-based under the Chapter 128 fee schedule, plus the Chapter 105 school-district surcharge; after-the-fact permits pay double the base fee |
| Footing design | Continuous footings at least 8 inches deep by 16 inches wide, sized to the loads, under the county’s amendment to the residential code |
| Farm building | Exempt where used only for farming on at least five acres with a reasonable expectation of $2,500 a year in farm income; a plot plan and an agricultural building use permit are still required |
| Fire provisions | Addressed through adopted NFPA standards; the county did not adopt the International Fire Code |
Draw the footings to the county minimum. Kent County’s amendment sets continuous footings at least 8 inches deep by 16 inches wide, sized to the loads they carry, with its own rules for deck footings and small accessory structures, so check footing details copied from other drawings against the amendment before you file.
Trade permits and who may pull them
Permit required
- Electrical — by a licensed electrician, inspected by a licensed electrical inspection agency
- Plumbing — by a plumber licensed through the state Plumbing and HVACR board
- Fire protection — by a contractor licensed by the State Fire Marshal, whose licence number goes on the plan review
- Mechanical and fuel gas — under the statewide codes adopted by the state Plumbing and HVACR board, enforced by the county or town
Typically exempt
- Work the adopted code edition places below the permit threshold, which differs between the three counties
- Like-for-like replacement not amounting to a new installation
Rather not deal with the Kent County building department?
Get a free quote →Electricians, plumbers and fire protection contractors hold state licences, and electrical inspection is carried out by licensed inspection agencies. Delaware rules
How to apply for a Kent County building permit
County in unincorporated areas, the municipality where it runs a building department, and in some towns the county for building with the town for zoning.
The three counties are on different editions with different effective dates and amendments.
Required on new buildings, additions, changes of occupancy and fire damage, except two-family dwellings and farm buildings, and on sprinkler, alarm and fuel installations and tenant fit-outs.
Sediment and stormwater approval from the delegated agency (conservation district, county or city), and DNREC wetlands or beach approvals where the site needs them.
Many permit offices ask for the Delaware contractor business licence, contractors must be registered with the Department of Labor, and some municipalities require their own licence.
Footing to final with the authority, electrical through a licensed inspection agency, then the certificate of occupancy.
Review, corrections and what actually causes delay
The Kent County correction to plan for is a foundation drawn to the model code when the county’s amendment governs. Drawing continuous footings to the county’s 8 by 16 inch minimum, and deck footings to its post-size rule, avoids a resubmittal.
Inspections in Kent County
Inspections follow the sequence in whichever code edition the authority has adopted — footing, foundation, framing, rough trades, insulation and final — requested from the county or the municipality against the permit number. Electrical inspections are the exception: they are carried out by licensed electrical inspection agencies, and their approval documentation is what the permitting authority and the State Fire Marshal rely on. A certificate of occupancy closes the file, and where the fire marshal reviewed the plans its own approval is a precondition of that certificate. In Kent County the Division of Inspection and Enforcement carries out the inspections against the permit number, with the footing inspection checking the county's minimum footing size, and a certificate of occupancy closes the file.
Want this handled start to finish?
Get a free quote →Kent County permit search and official resources
- Kent County permitting requirements and adopted codes — what needs a permit and which editions apply
- Kent County building permits — the Division of Inspection and Enforcement's permit process
- Delaware State Fire Marshal, building plan submittals — what needs plan review, the fee formula and what must accompany a submission
- Delaware Code title 16, chapter 66 — the statutory plan review requirement and its exceptions
- Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control — wetlands, subaqueous-lands and beach approvals, and the sediment and stormwater programme
Frequently asked questions
Who issues building permits in Kent County?
The Department of Planning Services, through its Division of Inspection and Enforcement, with the Director of Planning Services serving as the building official appointed by the Levy Court. Incorporated towns that run their own code issue their own permits.
How does Kent County size footings?
Kent County deleted the residential code’s rule that footing width follows its tables and the soil’s load-bearing value. Instead, continuous footings at least 8 inches deep by 16 inches wide, sized to the loads they carry, and single-story deck footings must be at least three times the widest side of the post. Drawings should note a soil bearing capacity of 2,000 pounds per square foot.
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →Which code editions does Kent County enforce?
The county adopted the 2018 International Building Code and 2018 International Residential Code by Levy Court ordinance, with county amendments, effective 5 October 2020. It did not adopt the International Fire Code, addressing fire provisions through adopted NFPA standards and the Delaware Fire Prevention Regulations instead.
Are farm buildings exempt in Kent County?
Farm buildings, other than dwellings, used only for farming on a parcel of at least five acres with a reasonable expectation of $2,500 a year in gross farm income are exempt from the building code, but the county still needs a plot plan and an agricultural building use permit. Ordinary houses and commercial buildings are not exempt.
Does the State Fire Marshal review my project?
For new buildings, additions and changes of occupancy, the state plan review generally applies alongside the county permit. Buildings used wholly as dwellings of no more than two families, and buildings used wholly for farming, sit outside it.
Do I need a permit to finish a basement or add a deck?
Usually yes once the work crosses the adopted code’s threshold. Deck and addition footings must meet the county’s own footing amendment, so confirm the requirement with the Division of Inspection and Enforcement first.
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21+ years of jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction work is what flags a rule like Kent’s footing amendment before it holds up a foundation. Our team confirms the review route with the Division of Inspection and Enforcement, checks the footing details against the county’s amendment, assembles and files the submittal under Chapter 105, and tracks it through to a certificate of occupancy — corrections included.
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More Delaware permitting guides
More Delaware permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Kent County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.