Butler County, Kentucky Building Permit Guide

Butler County’s contact sheet from the state Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction (HBC), last updated in October 2026, lists a local building inspector, but only with a personal e-mail address. That leaves the Judge/Executive’s office in Morgantown (270-526-3433, per the Barren River Area Development District’s directory) as the local contact, HBC for state plan review, plumbing and HVAC, and the Butler County Health Department for septic systems. Ask that office for any county fee.

What requires a building permit in Butler County?

The published record does not settle which projects need a county permit. The sheet confirms that a local inspector serves Butler County but gives no scope, and names no county building ordinance, application or fee. Before building a house, addition, barn or commercial building, ask the Judge/Executive’s office what the local inspector permits. These approvals are certain:

HBC states that one-family homes are reviewed and inspected by a local building official wherever a local single-family program exists, and that elsewhere a house gets only HVAC and electrical inspections, though it must still meet the Kentucky Residential Code. Ask which describes Butler County today.

What the county decides and what the state holds

The Fiscal Court, which meets on the second and fourth Mondays at 5:00 p.m., runs county roads through its Road Department and, per the sheet, the local electrical inspection arrangement; any building inspection it runs must enforce the state codes unchanged. HBC keeps state plan review, all plumbing and HVAC permits (Butler County is not on the state’s local HVAC list, updated May 13, 2025), elevators, boilers, manufactured housing and the trade licenses.

Butler County building department: who handles permitting

The sheet lists, after the local inspector, the state building and manufactured housing inspectors and the state electrical, elevator, HVAC, plumbing and boiler inspectors for Butler County. Office contacts come from the development district’s directory, the health district and the state:

Cities in Butler County

Check with Morgantown City Hall before building in the city. For Rochester and Woodbury, ask the city clerk and the Judge/Executive’s office.

Butler County permit types and supporting documents

State filings for a Butler County project are made in HBC’s SmartGov portal, which covers building, HVAC, manufactured housing, plumbing and fire prevention permits and starts by asking whether the project is local, expanded or state jurisdiction. Septic forms are filed at the health department in Morgantown.

Residential permits

Get any county residential application from the local inspector; the Judge/Executive’s office or HBC can say how to reach the inspector. For septic, the health district asks for the site evaluation application (DFS-319), its owner affidavit signed by the property owner, a property drawing and the fee. Plumbing permits go to a licensed master plumber or to a homeowner who will do the work personally in a home they occupy or are building for their own residence, apply before starting, file an affidavit and take no more than one new-home homeowner permit every five years. HVAC permits are sold only to licensed or authorized applicants.

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

Commercial permits

Kentucky’s code divides commercial review between local programs and HBC. Because Butler County’s sheet does not say whether its local inspector handles commercial work, call HBC Building Codes before a store, office, church or apartment building is designed. State review requires complete construction documents and approval before construction; commercial plumbing is also reviewed by the state, and modular units need site placement approval each time one is set.

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

What comes before the building permit

• Septic. Off sewer, the health district evaluates the soil and later permits a system designed by a certified installer.
• Utilities in Morgantown. Ask Morgantown Utilities about connections inside its service area.
• Deeds and plats. Recorded at the County Clerk’s office.
• Floodplain. Butler County participates in the flood insurance program; on land in a mapped flood zone, ask the Judge/Executive’s office about floodplain review first.
• County roads. Ask the Road Department on Boat Factory Road about any work affecting a county road.
• State highways. A Kentucky Transportation Cabinet permit is required for an entrance, a utility installation or a drainage change on a state right-of-way, through the District 3 office in Bowling Green.

Butler County building-permit costs and fees

Butler County has no building permit fee schedule online and no fiscal court fee order is published; ask the Judge/Executive’s office or the local inspector for any county fee in writing. Published charges come from the health district and the state:

Worked example. A two-bath house with 13 openings on septic pays $545 to the health district ($230 evaluation and $315 permit) and $50 + (13 × $14) = $232 for state plumbing, $777 in total, before the HVAC permit (priced in the portal) and the local electrical fee. The state plumbing fees date from March 1, 2022.

Trade permits and who may pull them

• Electrical. Private-property electrical permits are not sold in the state portal. The Butler County sheet points applicants to the Judge/Executive’s office, or the city office for a city job, for the local electrical inspector; the state electrical inspector for the county is also listed.
• Plumbing. State permits, inspected by the state plumbing inspector, whose office hours at the Butler County Health Department are Monday 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. Central. A farm dwelling with its farm buildings on 10 acres or more, outside any city’s limits, in bona fide agricultural use and registered with the PVA can claim the state farmstead exemption.
• HVAC. A state permit for every new construction project, available only to licensed or authorized applicants, with inspection by the state HVAC inspector the sheet lists.
• Licenses. HBC licenses electricians, plumbers and HVAC contractors. There is no state general-contractor license, and the published sources show no Butler County contractor license or registration.

How to apply for permits in Butler County

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Septic timing is the usual hold-up on rural Butler County lots: the owner has to arrange and pay for two backhoe pits, 40 to 50 feet apart and 42 inches deep, and tell the health department when they are open, and the drawing must show every well, pond, stream, sinkhole and easement. Once issued, the septic permit lapses if work does not begin within a year. For state-reviewed buildings, nothing may start until the plans are approved.

Butler County building inspections and final approval

Ask the local building inspector which inspections a house or other project receives and how final approval is given. The health district’s certified inspector inspects the finished septic system and approves it before it is backfilled and used. State inspectors cover plumbing, HVAC, manufactured homes, elevators and boilers, and any building HBC reviewed; the local electrical inspector checks wiring.

Kentucky building code in Butler County

Butler County appears in FEMA’s Community Status Book as a participant in the National Flood Insurance Program, with a current effective flood map dated January 8, 2014: flood insurance is available in the unincorporated county, and building in a mapped flood zone is subject to the county’s floodplain rules.

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

Permit search and official resources

State permits for Butler County are tracked in HBC’s SmartGov portal. Ask the Judge/Executive’s office about local permit records, the County Clerk for recorded deeds and plats, and the health department for septic files.

• State contact sheet for Butler County inspectors (Oct. 2026)
• State inspector contact sheets, all counties
• Butler County, Morgantown, Rochester and Woodbury officials (Barren River ADD)
• Butler County Health Department
• Onsite sewage program and forms
• Onsite sewage installation guide and fees
• State building codes: local and state jurisdiction
• State Division of Building Code Enforcement
• State SmartGov permit portal
• State plumbing permits and fees
• State plumbing FAQ: homeowner and farmstead rules
• State HVAC permits
• State list of local HVAC jurisdictions
• Kentucky Transportation Cabinet permits
• KYTC district permit offices
• Kentucky highway districts by county
• FEMA Community Status Book, Kentucky

Butler County building permit FAQ

Does Butler County have a building inspector?

The state sheet lists a local inspector; ask the Judge/Executive’s office (270-526-3433) or HBC (502-573-0373) how to reach the inspector and learn what needs a permit.

Where is the septic office?

The Butler County Health Department, 104 North Warren Street, Morgantown; 270-526-3221.

What do septic permits cost?

$230 for the site evaluation and $315 for the construction permit.

When can I see the plumbing inspector?

Mondays from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. Central at the health department.

Can a homeowner pull a plumbing permit?

Yes, for a home they live in or are building to live in, doing the work personally under a state homeowner permit and affidavit.

When does the Fiscal Court meet?

The second and fourth Mondays of each month at 5:00 p.m.

Who approves a driveway on a state highway?

KYTC District 3, 900 Morgantown Road, Bowling Green; 270-746-7898.

Simplify Butler 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 Butler County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.