Danville, Kentucky Building Permit Guide

Danville sends building permit applicants to City Hall’s shared offices: the city’s building and land use permit page leads to the Danville-Boyle County Planning and Zoning Commission at City Hall, 445 West Main Street (859-238-1235), whose staff includes the Boyle County building inspector (859-238-1107), and HBC’s sheet lists that one inspector for the whole county. The City of Danville adds its own floodplain permit (lowest floor at least one foot above base flood elevation), land disturbance permit, historic-district review and contractor business license.

What requires a building permit in Danville?

Inside the city, the building permit list is the county inspection office’s, and the city layers its own approvals on top. The permit stays tied to the same 445 West Main Street counters either way.

What the city decides and what the state holds

Danville writes the rules that are its own: the floodplain ordinance its City Engineer administers, the stormwater utility and its permit duties as a Phase II municipal separate storm sewer system, the historic district and its Architectural Heritage Board, whose members the City Commission appoints, and the business license. Zoning is shared: the city has four of the ten seats on the joint planning commission that administers one zoning ordinance for Boyle County and its cities. The Kentucky Building Code itself cannot be amended locally. Large and higher-risk buildings go to the state Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction (HBC) under section 104.16 of that code: assembly, business, factory and mercantile buildings for more than 100 people (church buildings only above 400 people and 6,000 square feet), schools, hospitals and other institutional or high-hazard uses, and buildings over three stories or 20,000 square feet.

Danville building department: who handles permitting

Everything a Danville project needs is in or near City Hall. The planning office, directed by Hannah Gray, lists the Boyle County building inspector among its staff; the city’s own offices handle engineering, floodplain, stormwater and licensing.

The county’s own pages, the full fee list and the farm exemption are covered in the Boyle County guide. Planning Commission meetings (9 a.m., fourth Wednesday) and Board of Adjustments meetings (5:30 p.m., third Tuesday) are held in the Danville City Commission Chambers at City Hall.

Danville permit types

A Danville job usually collects permits from three desks: the county building permit, any joint zoning approval, and the city’s floodplain, land disturbance and licensing approvals. The planning commission’s applicant hub posts its forms and links its online applicant portal.

Residential permits

Homeowners and builders use the county’s 2025 residential application, which asks for the estimated cost and square footage and whether the lot is in a floodplain. On a Danville lot in a flood zone, the city floodplain application comes first: it records the FEMA zone and panel, the base flood elevation, the required lowest floor elevation with one foot of freeboard (basement and mechanical equipment included), and, for work on an existing house, its market value, because work costing 50% or more of that value triggers the substantial improvement rules. A house in the historic district needs a certificate of appropriateness for new construction, additions, exterior alterations, site changes or demolition.

The certificate application lists what the heritage board expects with it: a site plan for any addition, new building, demolition or site change (showing buildings, parking, driveways, sidewalks, landscaped areas, lighting and sign locations, ground-mounted equipment, topography, drainage and flood plain areas), a lighting plan for new fixtures, elevations for any change to front or side facades, including doors and windows when their design or material changes, with a full list of materials, and the sign or public art worksheet where one applies. The owner must sign unless the request is only for a sign. The board’s authority covers only properties inside the designated district; owners outside it need no certificate. The planning office also posts state and federal rehabilitation tax credit material for historic buildings.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial, industrial and multi-family projects start with the joint commission’s zoning permit application (two 11 x 17 plan sets, landscape and stormwater plans, and water, sewer and floodplain verification letters), and site development plans go to the Planning Commission. The general contractor then files the city’s subcontractor list (Form SC) with the building permit number, so Business Licensing can check every firm holds a Danville license. A floodproofed non-residential building needs a floodproofing certificate on the city’s flood application.

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

What comes before the building permit

• Zoning. Map amendments and plats go to the Planning Commission; variances and conditional uses to the Board of Adjustments.
• Historic review. Certificate of appropriateness applications are due at least 10 days before the Architectural Heritage Board’s meeting on the third Wednesday; signs are reviewed by Planning and Zoning first.
• Floodplain. City floodplain construction permit; in a floodway, a no-rise certification.
• Land disturbance. City permit through the stormwater portal.
• Utilities and streets. City water and sewer; state routes belong to the Transportation Cabinet’s District 7.

Danville permit costs and fees

Building permit fees follow Boyle County’s 2025 Building Permit Fee Schedule, and zoning fees the joint commission’s schedule effective January 1, 2020. The city also bills a monthly stormwater utility fee on water accounts.

Worked example: a 1,600-square-foot addition to a Danville house is 1,600 x $0.25 = $400 under the county schedule; if the house needs a variance for a setback, add $275 for the Board of Adjustments. A new 5,000-square-foot shop that stays under local jurisdiction pays 5,000 x $0.20 = $1,000 for its zoning compliance permit and 5,000 x $0.15 = $750 for the building permit; a building large enough for state review pays the county a flat local fee instead ($750 up to 10,000 square feet). Commercial stormwater fees are based on impervious area.

Trade permits and who may pull them

• Electrical. HBC’s sheet sends applicants to the County Judge/Executive’s office or the city office where the work is done for the local electrical inspector, and the county Building Inspection page gives a separate electrical-permit contact. A homeowner may wire his or her own home with a permit; otherwise an HBC-licensed electrical contractor files.
• Plumbing. State permits and inspections from the Boyle County Health Department on South 3rd Street, where the state plumbing inspector keeps office hours on Monday and Thursday mornings, 8 to 9:30. HBC issues plumbing permits to licensed master plumbers and to homeowners for their own residences.
• Heating and air conditioning. State HVAC permits and inspections.
• Licenses. City Code section 16-2 requires every contractor and subcontractor working in Danville to buy a city business or occupational license, and an unlicensed firm can draw a stop work order. The county separately licenses contractors for $50 a year.

How to apply for a Danville building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

No review time is published for building permits. Board calendars set the pace for anything that needs approval: Planning Commission filings close about three weeks before its fourth-Wednesday meeting, and the heritage board will not consider an incomplete certificate application, nor full-size drawings sent by email (it asks for sheets no larger than 8½ by 14 inches). Floodplain files stall without a base flood elevation, the required lowest floor elevation or, in a floodway, a no-rise certification.

Site work has its own checks. As a Phase II storm sewer community, Danville must control runoff from construction sites and after construction under its state stormwater permit, so a land disturbance permit and erosion controls come before grading, and the city’s stormwater staff take reports of sediment or other pollution leaving a site. Sidewalks along a lot are the owner’s to repair or replace, and the City Engineer’s office advises on sidewalk work at 859-238-1200.

Inspections in Danville

The county inspector checks three stages on the 2025 application: foundation (footer dug, steel in, ready to pour), framing (fully framed, after the service rough-ins, before insulation and drywall) and final (all service finals done, house ready to occupy). A new dwelling cannot be occupied without a certificate of occupancy. The state plumbing and HVAC inspectors inspect under their own permits.

The city’s floodplain application sets the elevations a finished building must meet, including utilities and heating and electrical equipment raised or floodproofed to the stated height. Codes Enforcement, at 859-238-1200, handles property complaints such as grass over 12 inches, and the city issues temporary certificates of occupancy for retail fireworks sales on its own form.

Kentucky building code in Danville

Danville building work is inspected under the Kentucky Building Code and Kentucky Residential Code by the county’s inspection program, with city floodplain and historic rules alongside. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists the City of Danville (community 210019) as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program, with a current effective flood map dated October 16, 2025.

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

Danville permit search and official resources

Applications filed online can be followed in the county and planning portals linked from their pages. For older building or zoning files, the planning commission takes written public records inspection requests at City Hall, and the city’s forms page links its records request process.

• Danville-Boyle County Planning and Zoning Commission
• Planning and zoning staff and meeting records
• Applicant hub and online applicant portal
• Zoning permit application
• Planning and zoning fee schedule (effective January 1, 2020)
• 2026 Planning Commission meetings and deadlines
• 2026 Board of Adjustments meetings
• Architectural Heritage Board FAQs
• Certificate of appropriateness application
• Boyle County Building Inspection
• Boyle County 2025 building permit fee schedule
• Residential permit application 2025
• Danville floodplains and floodplain permits
• Danville floodplain permit application
• Stormwater utility and land disturbance permit
• Engineering and Public Services
• Subcontractor list (Form SC)
• City forms and documents
• Codes Enforcement
• HBC county contact sheet, Boyle County
• HBC Division of Plumbing
• 2018 Kentucky Building Code, Fourth Edition
• FEMA Community Status Book, Kentucky

Danville building permit FAQs

Who handles building permits in Danville?

The city’s building permit page leads to the joint planning office at City Hall, whose staff includes the Boyle County building inspector (859-238-1107).

How much is a permit for a house addition in Danville?

Under Boyle County’s 2025 schedule, 25 cents per square foot with a $50 minimum, so a 1,600-square-foot addition is $400.

Do I need approval to change the outside of a house downtown?

In the designated historic district, yes: a certificate of appropriateness from the Architectural Heritage Board, which meets on the third Wednesday; apply at least 10 days before.

How high must a new building sit in a Danville flood zone?

The lowest floor, including basement and mechanical equipment, must be at least one foot above the base flood elevation, under the city’s floodplain permit.

Do contractors need a Danville license?

Yes. City Code section 16-2 requires every contractor and subcontractor to buy a Danville business or occupational license.

Can I do my own plumbing?

In your own residence, yes, with a state plumbing permit, which HBC issues to homeowners for their own homes.

When does the Board of Adjustments meet?

At 5:30 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month in the City Commission Chambers, 445 West Main Street.

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