Daviess County, on the Ohio River in western Kentucky, shares a metropolitan planning commission with the City of Owensboro — a single body administering zoning and land use for the county and its city together, from 200 East Third Street downtown. Its Building & Electrical Division also issues the building, electrical and HVAC permits, reviews plans and inspects, for the unincorporated county and Owensboro alike (270-687-8665 for permits; Monday to Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm). In the small city of Whitesville the city clerk oversees permits.
The Kentucky Building Code and Kentucky Residential Code apply without local amendment, as everywhere in the Commonwealth, so what the county controls is zoning, subdivision regulation, its fee schedule and its inspection programme. The Ohio River frontage along the county's northern edge brings floodplain review into a good many files, and the agricultural land across the rest of it brings the code's agricultural exemption into play more often than in the metropolitan counties.
This guide covers Daviess County. The City of Owensboro within it is served by the same planning commission and permit office; Henderson, McLean, Ohio, Hancock and Webster counties around it run their own arrangements.
One commission for zoning and permits. Daviess County and Owensboro share a metropolitan planning commission for zoning and land use, and its Building & Electrical Division issues building permits on both sides of the city line. Only Whitesville handles its own permits through its city clerk.
What requires a building permit in Daviess County?
What is local in Daviess County is the inspection programme, the fee schedule, zoning and planning, contractor registration, and the shared planning commission and the county's zoning.
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- Any construction, alteration, repair, demolition or change of occupancy under the Kentucky Building Code or Residential Code
- Zoning and subdivision approval through the metropolitan planning commission
- Electrical, plumbing and heating and air work, each by a state-licensed contractor on its own permit
- New buildings, additions and any structural work on an existing building
- Alterations, repairs and renovations under the building or residential code, and any change of occupancy
- Decks, accessory structures above the code threshold, retaining walls over 4 feet and in-ground swimming pools
Often exempt
- Ordinary repairs that do not alter structure, egress or systems, and agricultural buildings within the statutory definition
- Ordinary repairs that do not alter structure, egress or systems
- Painting, papering, flooring, cabinets and similar finish work
- Like-for-like replacement that the codes place below the permit threshold
- Small accessory structures below the code's threshold — the zoning ordinance still applies
What is actually local, and what is not
The code is the Commonwealth's and cannot be added to. Daviess County's layer is its building inspection programme and the certified inspectors staffing it, the fee schedule its ordinance sets, the zoning ordinance and planning commission that govern use and site development, any local contractor registration it requires, and the metropolitan planning commission shared with Owensboro and the Ohio River floodplain along the county's northern edge.
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 programme reviews smaller ones. Kentucky rules
Who handles permitting in Daviess County?
The Owensboro Metropolitan Planning Commission Building & Electrical Division is the enforcing authority for Daviess County and Owensboro, issuing building, electrical and HVAC permits and inspecting with certified inspectors as the state regulation requires, while the commission administers zoning and subdivision regulation for the county and the city together. The health department handles on-site sewage across the unsewered county, and the state Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction retains its role on certain commercial projects and licenses the trades.
Not sure this scope needs a permit?
Get a free quote →| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Authority | Owensboro Metropolitan Planning Commission Building & Electrical Division |
| Planning office | 200 East Third Street, Owensboro, KY 42303 · permits 270-687-8665, permits@owensboro.org |
| Phone | (270) 687-8650 |
| Hours | Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm |
| City | Owensboro is served by the same division; Whitesville by its city clerk |
| Codes | Kentucky Building Code and Residential Code, without local amendment |
Permit types
Residential permits
A Daviess County house project outside the city limits clears zoning and files the building permit at the metropolitan planning commission, against the Kentucky Residential Code, and the electrical, plumbing and heating and air work carried out by state-licensed contractors. On unsewered land the health department's on-site sewage approval runs alongside, and an agricultural building may fall outside the building code within the statutory definition.
Commercial permits
Commercial and industrial work in Daviess County — the riverport, the aluminium and distilling industries and the highway corridors — clears zoning through the planning commission, then building plan review, with the state department retaining a role on certain commercial projects, elevators and boilers.
Plan review, local programmes and the state's role
In Daviess County the Ohio River frontage brings floodplain review into the file along the northern edge, the agricultural exemption reaches a good deal of the county's land, and the shared metropolitan planning commission administers the zoning. Fees a local government charges are required by statute to cover the cost of the service performed and not to exceed it.
Kentucky has no general contractor licence: the state licenses the trades, and cities or counties may require their own contractor registration. Kentucky rules
Daviess County permit costs and fees
Fees follow the county's schedule, which by statute may not exceed the cost of the service performed, with the trades permitted separately under the state licences.
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Call 1-855-478-4290 →| Item | Fee or rule |
|---|---|
| Building permit | The county's fee schedule, by project type and construction value |
| Zoning and subdivision | Through the metropolitan planning commission shared with the city |
| Trade permits | Electrical, plumbing and heating and air by state-licensed contractors |
| On-site sewage | Health department approval on unsewered land |
| Statutory limit | Local fees may not exceed the cost of the service performed |
| City side | Work inside Owensboro files with the same OMPC division |
Agricultural buildings sit outside the code. Kentucky's codes exempt agricultural buildings within the statutory definition from the building code, which in a county with as much farmland as Daviess reaches a real share of the construction. The exemption is defined by use and by statute, not by appearance — a building that later changes use loses it, and that change is itself a permitted event.
Trade permits and who may pull them
Permit required
- Unsewered sites — health department on-site sewage approval alongside the building permit
- Electrical — state-licensed electrical contractor; separate permit and a certified electrical inspector
- Plumbing — state-licensed master plumber; separate plumbing permit, inspected under the state plumbing code
- Heating and air conditioning — state-licensed HVAC contractor; separate mechanical permit
- Fire sprinkler and fire alarm — sprinklers by a state-licensed fire sprinkler contractor and alarms by a state-licensed electrical contractor; system plans are reviewed with the building plans, and the fire official may inspect
Typically exempt
- Like-for-like replacement the trade codes place below the permit threshold
- Electrical or heating and air work a homeowner does on their own home, which state law exempts from the trade licence — a permit is still needed
Rather not deal with the Daviess County building department?
Get a free quote →The trades are permitted separately and done by contractors holding state licences. Kentucky rules
How to apply for a Daviess County building permit
Zoning approval, and planning commission or site development review where the ordinance requires it, precede the building permit.
The state reviews plans for larger and higher-risk buildings, and the local programme reviews smaller ones; homes are local.
The state licenses the trades; general contractor registration, where it exists, is the city's or county's own.
Reviewed against the Kentucky Building Code or Kentucky Residential Code as adopted, with no local amendments to satisfy.
Fees are set by local ordinance and by statute may not exceed the cost of the service performed.
Footing to final, with the trades inspected on their own permits, then the certificate of occupancy.
Review, corrections and what actually causes delay
Daviess County reviews zoning and the building permit at the same shared commission. What delays a file here is an agricultural exemption claimed for a building that is not agricultural in the statutory sense, and a floodplain question raised late on riverside land.
Want this handled start to finish?
Get a free quote →Inspections in Daviess County
Inspections follow the codes' sequence — footing, foundation, framing, rough trades, insulation and final — and are requested from the local inspection programme by permit number, with the electrical inspections carried by a certified electrical inspector. Work that passes final receives a certificate of occupancy for new buildings and changes of occupancy. Daviess County inspects in the codes' sequence through the OMPC Building & Electrical Division, with electrical inspections carried by a certified electrical inspector as the state regulation requires, and the certificate of occupancy following the finals.
Daviess County permit search and official resources
- Daviess County Fiscal Court — the county government and its building inspection office
- Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction — the statewide codes and trade licensing
- 815 KAR 7:125 — Kentucky Residential Code — the code governing one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses
- Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction — the statewide codes, trade licensing and the Division of Building Code Enforcement
- 815 KAR 7:120 — Kentucky Building Code — the mandatory uniform state building code and its general provisions
- 815 KAR 7:125 — Kentucky Residential Code — the code governing one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →Frequently asked questions
Do the county and Owensboro share planning?
Yes. The Owensboro Metropolitan Planning Commission administers zoning and land use for the county and the city together, and its Building & Electrical Division issues building permits for both.
Which office issues my permit?
The OMPC Building & Electrical Division at 200 East Third Street, Owensboro, both outside and inside the Owensboro city limits (Whitesville: its city clerk).
Are agricultural buildings exempt?
Within the statutory definition, agricultural buildings fall outside the building code; the exemption turns on use as defined by statute, and a later change of use is itself a permitted event.
Can the county amend the building code?
No. Kentucky's mini/maxi framework means no local government may adopt or enforce any other building code.
Who licenses the trades?
The state Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, whose licences are valid across the Commonwealth.
Which code editions apply?
The 2018 Kentucky Building Code, Fourth Edition and the 2018 Kentucky Residential Code, Third Edition, both built on the 2015 International Codes with Kentucky amendments.
Simplify Daviess County permitting with Alliance Permitting
Daviess County answers zoning and permits from one commission. We clear zoning first, file the permit with the commission’s Building & Electrical Division, and test the agricultural exemption against the statute rather than the barn.
Ready to break ground in Daviess County sooner?
Send us the scope and the parcel. We confirm the review path with the Owensboro Metropolitan Planning Commission Building & Electrical Division, assemble the submittal, file it, and track it through issuance — corrections included.
More Kentucky permitting guides
More Kentucky permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Daviess County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.