Breckinridge County, Kentucky Building Permit Guide

Breckinridge County has a local building inspection program: the fiscal court’s directory lists a County Building Inspector at 270-302-7105 and a county electrical inspector at 859-481-8151, and HBC’s county sheet lists one local building inspector for the county. The county has not adopted zoning; a February 2026 hearing on creating it ended with no action. The fiscal court’s office in the Hardinsburg courthouse is at 270-756-2269.

What requires a building permit in Breckinridge County?

The fiscal court publishes its ordinances online, and none of them is a building permit or fee ordinance, so the county’s permit list is the building inspector’s to give. What the code itself settles is the split between that local program and the state.

Separate permits apply whatever the building: electrical, state plumbing and state HVAC permits, a septic permit where there is no sewer, and a Transportation Cabinet permit for access to a state highway.

What the county decides and what the state holds

The fiscal court’s own development rules are few and specific. Ordinance 2025-0121 replaced the county’s 2022 ordinance on setbacks, screening and decommissioning for solar energy system installations. Ordinance 2015-0810 sets specifications for county roads. Ordinance 2025-1117A, adopted on December 15, 2025 and effective on adoption, imposes a moratorium on the construction, development and operation of data centers of any size and all data storage facilities within the fiscal court’s jurisdiction for 365 days, so that the judge/executive and magistrates can study environmental impacts, utility capacity and local rules; on its own terms it lasts until mid-December 2026.

Zoning is an open question rather than a rule. On February 16, 2026, the fiscal court held a special called planning and zoning public hearing at the fairgrounds, where Meade County’s planning and zoning administrator described how that county’s system works; residents spoke both against a new layer of government and for a formal land-use policy, and no action was taken.

Breckinridge County building department: who handles permitting

The fiscal court’s department directory is the best map of the county’s permit contacts. County offices are at 208 South Main Street in Hardinsburg, the county seat.

HBC’s contact sheet for the county, updated July 17, 2025, also names the state building, manufactured housing, electrical, elevator, HVAC, plumbing and boiler inspectors assigned to Breckinridge County.

Cities in Breckinridge County

HBC’s sheet lists one local building inspector for the county and does not name any city with its own. The three cities run their own city halls:

Breckinridge County permit types

The county posts no permit applications online, so applications come from the building inspector. The categories a project falls into are set by the code and the county’s few ordinances.

Residential permits

Houses, garages and other residential buildings up to three stories and 20,000 square feet fall in the local inspector’s jurisdiction under section 104.15 of the Kentucky Building Code, and HBC’s building-codes page says single-family homes are reviewed and inspected by the local building official where a program exists; the county inspector sets the forms, fee and inspection stages. A rural lot without sewer needs the health department’s onsite sewage approval, and a driveway onto a state highway needs a Transportation Cabinet permit.

Building or remodeling a home here? Alliance handles home building permits, so the crew isn't waiting on the counter.

Commercial permits

Smaller commercial buildings (assembly, business, factory or mercantile uses for 100 people or fewer, and churches for up to 400 people or 6,000 square feet) are local. Larger ones, and every school, health care or high-hazard building, go to HBC through its SmartGov portal, where plan review is charged by the square foot: 15 cents for most business, mercantile and storage buildings and 16 cents for assembly, high-hazard and institutional ones, with a $285 minimum. Data centers and data storage facilities of any size cannot be built or operated while the moratorium lasts, and solar energy system installations come under Ordinance 2025-0121.

For tenant improvements and new commercial builds, Alliance handles commercial permit filing through issuance. More on this: commercial building permits explained.

What comes before the building permit

• Zoning. No county zoning permit exists; a city may have its own rules inside its limits.
• Septic. Health department site review and permit on unsewered land.
• Roads. County road specifications are in Ordinance 2015-0810, and the Road Department at the county road garage handles county roads; state highways need a Transportation Cabinet permit from Highway District 4, whose permit supervisor works from 634 East Dixie Avenue in Elizabethtown (502-764-0744).
• Floodplain. FEMA lists the county as a participating community, with a flood map dated May 8, 2024; check the map before siting a building.
• Moratorium. Check that the use is not a data center or data storage facility.

Breckinridge County permit costs and fees

The fiscal court’s posted ordinances include no building permit fee schedule, so county permit fees are quoted by the County Building Inspector (270-302-7105) and electrical fees by the county electrical inspector. For buildings in state jurisdiction, the fees are HBC’s, from section 121 of the Kentucky Building Code:

Worked example: a new 25,000-square-foot warehouse (storage) is over 20,000 square feet, so it goes to the state, and HBC’s plan review fee is 25,000 x 15 cents = $3,750. A 12,000-square-foot warehouse would stay with the local inspector, at the county’s fee. Health department septic fees, electrical inspection fees and Transportation Cabinet permits are separate.

Trade permits and who may pull them

• Electrical. The county directory lists a county electrical inspector (859-481-8151), and HBC’s sheet sends applicants to the County Judge/Executive’s office or the city office where the work is done. HBC licenses electricians and electrical contractors; a homeowner may wire his or her own home with a permit.
• Plumbing. State permits and inspections, with the state plumbing inspector’s office hours at the health department on Hardin Street on Thursday from 8 to 9 a.m. Central time. HBC issues plumbing permits to licensed master plumbers and to homeowners for plumbing in their own residences.
• Heating and air conditioning. State HVAC permit and inspection by the HVAC inspector HBC assigns to the county.
• Boilers and elevators. State inspectors on the county sheet.
• Contractors. Kentucky has no general contractor license, and the county’s posted ordinances create none.

How to get a building permit in Breckinridge County

Review, corrections and what causes delay

No review time is published for county permits. Common hold-ups come from the county’s own calendar and rules: the plumbing inspector’s office window is one hour a week, the health department must clear an unsewered site, and any data center or data storage project is barred until the moratorium ends. Projects that cross the 100-occupant or 20,000-square-foot line go to HBC, which issues no construction approval until its fees are paid. If the fiscal court later adopts planning and zoning, the steps will change; as of the February 2026 hearing no action had been taken.

Inspections in Breckinridge County

Local projects are inspected by the county building inspector, who schedules the stages for each permit; HBC’s page notes that where a local program exists, single-family homes are reviewed and inspected by the local official. Wiring is inspected by the county electrical inspector, plumbing by the state plumbing inspector under the state permit, and heating and cooling by the state HVAC inspector. State-jurisdiction buildings are inspected by HBC’s building inspector for the county, and elevators and boilers by the state inspectors for those trades.

Kentucky building code

Breckinridge County enforces the Kentucky Building Code and Kentucky Residential Code through its local inspector within the limits of section 104.15, with HBC handling larger and higher-risk buildings. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists Breckinridge County (community 210025) as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program, with a current effective flood map dated May 8, 2024.

Kentucky has one mandatory statewide building code that local governments may not add to. Cities and counties enforce it and run zoning. The state reviews plans for larger and higher-risk buildings, and the local program reviews smaller ones. Kentucky rules

Breckinridge County permit search and official resources

There is no online county permit search; permit records are held by the building inspector’s office, and requests for county records go through the fiscal court clerk at the courthouse (270-756-2269). Fiscal court minutes from 2024 to 2026 are posted on the county’s site. For parcel facts before applying, the Property Valuation Administrator (208 South Main Street, 270-756-5154) holds assessment records, and the county clerk’s office in the same building (270-756-2246) holds recorded documents; the farm-exemption rules in the state code turn on how a tract is registered with the PVA.

• Breckinridge County Government
• County department directory (building and electrical inspectors)
• County ordinances
• Ordinance 2025-1117A, data center moratorium
• Ordinance 2025-0121, solar energy systems
• Ordinance 2015-0810, county road specifications
• Fiscal court minutes
• Minutes, February 16, 2026 planning and zoning hearing
• City of Hardinsburg
• HBC county contact sheet, Breckinridge County (updated July 17, 2025)
• HBC building codes: state and local jurisdiction
• 2018 Kentucky Building Code, Fourth Edition (sections 104 and 121)
• HBC Division of Plumbing
• HBC SmartGov portal
• Kentucky Transportation Cabinet permits
• Transportation Cabinet district permit contacts
• FEMA Community Status Book, Kentucky

Breckinridge County permit FAQs

Does Breckinridge County have a building inspector?

Yes. The fiscal court directory lists a County Building Inspector at 270-302-7105, and HBC’s sheet lists a local building inspector for the county.

Does Breckinridge County have zoning?

No county zoning has been adopted. The fiscal court held a public hearing on planning and zoning on February 16, 2026 and took no action.

Can a data center be built in Breckinridge County?

Not during the moratorium in Ordinance 2025-1117A, adopted December 15, 2025 for 365 days, which covers data centers of any size and all data storage facilities.

When does a building go to the state instead of the county?

When it exceeds three stories or 20,000 square feet, holds more than 100 people in assembly, business, factory or mercantile use (for a church, more than 400 people and over 6,000 square feet), or is a school, institution or high-hazard building.

Who inspects electrical work?

The county electrical inspector listed in the directory (859-481-8151); HBC’s sheet also points to the County Judge/Executive’s office.

Can I do my own plumbing?

In your own residence, yes: HBC issues plumbing permits to homeowners for their own homes. The state plumbing inspector’s office hours are Thursday mornings at the health department.

Where do I get a septic permit?

From the Breckinridge County Health Department, 220 South Hardin Street, Hardinsburg (environmentalists 270-756-2462).

Simplify Breckinridge County permitting with Alliance Permitting

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in Kentucky. We prepare your paperwork, file it correctly and coordinate with the permitting authority through issuance. We are not a contractor and we do not perform licensed plan review or inspections; that work stays with your licensed team and the jurisdiction.

This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Breckinridge County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.