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 prescriptive footing tables and instead requires footing width to be sized to the load-bearing value of the soil on the parcel, so a soil determination can sit on the critical path of a foundation that would be table-driven elsewhere in the state.
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 are sized to your soil, not to a table. Because Kent County removed the residential code's prescriptive footing tables, the load-bearing value of the actual soil governs footing width — so a soil determination can be the item that sets a foundation's schedule rather than an afterthought.
What requires a building permit in Kent County?
Delaware has no statewide building code. Each of the state's three counties 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 thirty minutes away. New Castle County administers its code through the Department of Land Use, Kent County through the Levy Court's inspections office, and Sussex County through its Building Code Office, which also enforces for a number of incorporated towns that have not taken the function on themselves. Above all three sits the one genuinely statewide construction requirement: 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 sizes footings to the measured soil rather than to the code's tables.
The state layer is narrow but firm. Under Delaware law the State Fire Marshal must review plans for all new buildings and additions, for any building undergoing a change of occupancy, and for any part of a building damaged by fire, explosion or other cause — with two exceptions that matter: buildings used wholly as dwellings of no more than two families, and buildings used wholly for farming. That means almost every commercial project in Delaware carries a state plan review alongside its county or municipal permit, and almost no ordinary house does. Electrical work is separately regulated at state level, and licensed electrical inspection agencies rather than the county carry out the inspections.
Typically permit required
- A building permit from the Division of Inspection and Enforcement for construction, additions and most alterations
- A footing design sized to the soil's load-bearing value where the county's amendment reaches the foundation
- 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
- Environmental, sediment and stormwater approvals from the state environmental department where they apply
Often exempt
- Farm buildings, other than dwellings, used exclusively for farming on a parcel of at least five acres
- 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
This is the first question on any Delaware project and it has three possible answers. In an unincorporated area the county is the building authority. In a municipality that runs its own building department — the larger cities do — the municipality issues the permit and the county does not. And in a number of smaller incorporated towns the county enforces the building code while the town handles zoning, so a project needs both and neither office can answer for the other. Because the three counties are on different code editions with different amendments, the answer also determines which standard the work is built to. Beyond that, Kent County adopted its building code by Levy Court ordinance and amended it in ways that show up on site — most of all by removing the residential code's prescriptive footing tables and requiring footing width to be sized to the load-bearing value of the actual soil, which puts a soil determination on the critical path for many foundations.
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.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Authority | Kent County Department of Planning Services, Division of Inspection and Enforcement |
| Office | 555 South Bay Road, Dover, DE 19901 |
| Phone | (302) 744-2451 |
| Building official | The Director of Planning Services, appointed by the Levy Court |
| Adopted editions | 2018 IBC and 2018 IRC with county amendments |
Permit types
Residential permits
Houses, additions, decks, garages and finished basements are reviewed against the county's adopted residential code — but with the footing tables removed, foundation design turns on the soil's load-bearing value rather than a lookup, so deck and addition footings in particular can need a soil determination before the county will sign off on the design.
How Delaware contractor credentials work
Delaware does not issue a general contractor licence in the way many states do. What it requires instead is a business licence, and most Delaware jurisdictions will not issue a permit to a contractor who does not hold the relevant one — some municipalities require their own local licence on top of the state's. Trade competency is regulated separately and at state level: electricians are licensed through the state's board of electrical examiners, plumbers through their own board, and fire protection contractors are licensed by the State Fire Marshal, whose licence number must appear on a fire protection plan review application. In Kent County the licence check happens at permit issue, so an unlicensed trade on the application stops the file rather than merely risking a penalty later.
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
Three state processes commonly run in parallel with a Delaware building permit. The State Fire Marshal's plan review is required on the categories set out in statute, is charged on the estimated cost of construction against a published formula, and must be approved before the work it covers proceeds. Electrical inspection is carried out by licensed inspection agencies rather than by the county or the town. And the state environmental department holds sediment and stormwater, wetlands and coastal jurisdiction, which reaches a large share of projects in the low-lying and coastal parts of the state. In Kent County the Division of Inspection and Enforcement carries the building permit while the state reviews run alongside it.
Kent County permit costs and fees
Kent County scales its permit fees to the work under Chapter 105, which also carries a permit fee surcharge established by the Levy Court. The cost item that surprises people is not on the fee schedule at all: the soil determination that the county's footing amendment can require.
| Item | Fee or rule |
|---|---|
| Building permit | Scaled to the work under Chapter 105, which also carries a Levy Court permit fee surcharge |
| Footing design | Sized to the measured soil load-bearing value, because the county deleted the residential code's footing tables |
| Farm building | Exempt where used exclusively for farming on a parcel of at least five acres |
| Fire provisions | Addressed through adopted NFPA standards; the county did not adopt the International Fire Code |
Put the soil determination on the schedule, not the wish list. Where a foundation's footing width depends on the soil's load-bearing value, the soil work is a scheduling item, not an optional extra — building it into the timeline avoids a foundation stalling at design review in Kent County.
Trade permits and who may pull them
Trade work in Delaware is regulated at state level even where the building code is not. Electricians, plumbers and fire protection contractors hold state licences, and electrical inspection is carried out by licensed agencies rather than by the authority that issued the building permit.
Permit required
- Electrical — by a licensed electrician, inspected by a licensed electrical inspection agency
- Plumbing — by a plumber licensed through the state 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 code edition the county or municipality has adopted
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
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.
Sediment and stormwater, wetlands and coastal review, which reach much of the low-lying and coastal state.
Most jurisdictions will not issue a permit without them, and some municipalities require their own.
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 recurring Kent County delay is a foundation that was designed to the code's tables when the county requires it to be sized to soil. Commissioning the soil determination early, and designing the footing to its result, keeps a project from stalling at design review — the drawings themselves are rarely the problem.
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 foundation inspection turning on the soil-sized footing, and a certificate of occupancy closes the file.
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 sixteen, chapter sixty-six — the statutory plan review requirement and its exceptions
- Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control — sediment and stormwater, wetlands and coastal approvals
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.
Why does the county ask about my soil?
Kent County deleted the residential code's prescriptive footing tables and requires footing width to be sized to the load-bearing value of the actual soil, which puts a soil determination on the critical path for many foundations.
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. It did not adopt the International Fire Code, addressing fire provisions through adopted NFPA standards instead.
Are farm buildings exempt in Kent County?
Farm buildings, other than dwellings, used exclusively for farming on a parcel of at least five acres are exempt from the building-permit requirement. Ordinary houses and commercial buildings are not.
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. Because footings are sized to soil here, deck and addition foundations in particular can need a soil determination, so confirm the requirement with the Division of Inspection and Enforcement first.
Simplify Kent County permitting with Alliance Permitting
More than twenty-two years of jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction work is what flags a rule like Kent's footing amendment before it stalls a foundation. Our team confirms the review route with the Division of Inspection and Enforcement, gets the soil determination onto the schedule where the county's amendment reaches the foundation, assembles and files the submittal under Chapter 105, and tracks it through to a certificate of occupancy — corrections included.
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Send us the scope and the parcel. We confirm the review path with the Kent County Division of Inspection and Enforcement, assemble the submittal, file it, and track it through issuance — corrections included.
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.