Henderson County, Kentucky Building Permit Guide

Henderson County runs its own building inspection program. The county Codes Department, led by Codes Administrator Randy Tasa, issues building permits for unincorporated land, enforces the building, property maintenance and zoning codes, and takes walk-in questions in three short daily windows at 1990 Barrett Court, Suite H (270-827-6030). The City of Henderson has its own Code Enforcement office, and the joint Henderson City-County Planning Commission next door handles zoning maps, subdivisions, addresses and floodplain permits for both. Permit fees come from Ordinance 23-10, adopted by the fiscal court on August 8, 2023.

What requires a building permit in Henderson County?

Henderson County is one of the Kentucky counties where a house needs a local building permit. The Codes Department’s fee ordinance prices permits for single-family homes, so new dwellings, additions and the accessory buildings the ordinance lists all go through the county office before work starts. Its Building Permit Checklist sets out what must be in hand.

What the county decides and what the state holds

The fiscal court sets the local layer: the zoning ordinance it adopted under KRS 100.201 to 100.271 (Appendix A of the county code), the permit fees in section 101-4, the electrical fees in section 128-11, a code enforcement board and the 1990 resolution that puts driveway culverts in county hands.

The state keeps the building code itself and the bigger jobs. Section 104.16 of the 2018 Kentucky Building Code gives the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction (HBC) plan review and inspection of assembly, business, factory and mercantile buildings for more than 100 people (church buildings only above 400 people and 6,000 square feet), every educational, high-hazard and institutional building, anything over three stories or 20,000 square feet, and state-owned property. That is why the county checklist asks for the date and a copy of any state approval before a permit issues.

Henderson County building department: who handles permitting

HBC’s county contact sheet, updated April 21, 2025, lists two local building inspection offices: the county’s at 270-827-6030 and the city’s at 270-831-1277. The county’s own pages fill in the rest.

Electrical inspections for the city and county are booked through the shared mailbox hendersoncoelectricalpermit@gmail.com on the planning commission’s contact page.

Cities in Henderson County

Henderson County permit types

The county works from one County Building Permit Application for most jobs, with separate forms for electrical permits, conditional uses and variances, and affidavits of exemption from workers’ compensation for an individual or a corporation.

Residential permits

For a new house the checklist wants a site plan drawn to scale (lot dimensions, every structure and its distance to the lot lines, yard depths, setbacks, driveway access, erosion control, utility lines and any gas line), a plat surveyed and recorded with the county clerk, the septic permit or proof of sewer, floor plans and a wall section, and the address. Garages, carports, storage buildings, in-ground pools and other accessory structures fall within the ordinance’s definition of residential work. Pole barns have their own inspection checklist and post-frame requirements sheet.

Manufactured housing rules changed in 2026. Ordinance 26-04, adopted May 12, 2026, amended the county zoning ordinance to allow qualified manufactured homes in every zone that allows single-family dwellings, with architectural compatibility standards and a maximum age for homes placed in the county, to comply with KRS 100.348 and House Bill 160 of 2025. The county Board of Zoning Adjustment still hears conditional use requests to place manufactured homes.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial and industrial jobs use the same application with a complete set of drawings. Where the building falls under section 104.16, HBC reviews the plans first and the county asks for a copy of that approval. Exhaust hoods and commercial signs carry their own flat fees. The checklist requires a county occupational license number for every contractor on the job.

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. The checklist asks whether the use is permitted or conditional in its zone. Conditional uses and variances go to the county Board of Zoning Adjustment; zone changes, development plans and subdivisions go to the planning commission.
• Recorded plat. Lots must be surveyed and recorded; a minor subdivision plat is $50 plus $1 a lot and an agricultural division $10.
• Road access. Driveway access must be approved by the county engineer under the Access Standards Manual before a permit can issue.
• Septic. Where there is no sewer, the septic permit comes before the building permit.
• Flood zone. The site must be outside the 100-year flood area or have floodplain approval.
• Energy projects. Ordinance 26-03, adopted May 12, 2026, put a moratorium on Tier 2 battery energy storage systems in the zoning ordinance; the minutes do not state its end date. Resolution 26-12 the same day declared new large-scale solar farms inconsistent with the comprehensive plan’s goals. The planning commission’s Data Centers page posts a proposed two-year moratorium and a first-draft data center ordinance.

Henderson County permit costs and fees

Building permit fees come from section 101-4 of the county code as rewritten by Ordinance 23-10, which the fiscal court adopted on August 8, 2023 after a first reading on July 25; it replaced fees that had not changed since July 2000. The fee includes the cost of inspections.

The ordinance’s definition of residential work takes in duplexes, apartments, manufactured homes, garages, carports, storage buildings, in-ground pools and accessory structures. It caps any one permit fee at $500,000.

Worked example: a 2,000-square-foot single-family house costs 2,000 × $0.15 = $300 for the building permit and its inspections. Electrical, plumbing and HVAC permits, the septic permit and any planning fees are separate.

Planning commission filing fees (effective January 1, 2022) are added on top of the permit: a site plan or development plan $50, a rezoning $200, a major subdivision preliminary plat $100 plus $1 a lot, and before the county Board of Zoning Adjustment $40 for a conditional use, $50 for a variance and $40 for an appeal, each with a $50 land-use-restriction recording fee that is refunded if the request is denied or withdrawn.

Trade permits and who may pull them

• Electrical. Ordinance 23-08 (section 128-11, adopted July 25, 2023) makes it unlawful to install, alter or repair covered wiring without a permit from the electrical inspector. A house is charged $75 per inspection; industrial and commercial work 1.5% of the documented electrical contract, labor and materials included, capped at $10,000 per property a year unless the fiscal court approves more; small commercial services $1.25 per amp. Work under $200 still needs a permit but pays no fee, a permit is void if work has not begun within 60 days, and starting first doubles the fee. Permits go only to licensed electrical contractors, holders of a limited license, or a county homeowner. Generation or storage facilities sited by the Public Service Commission are treated as utilities outside county electrical inspection.
• Plumbing. A state permit, with the state plumbing inspector holding office hours at the health department on Klutey Park Plaza on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8 to 9 a.m. Central. HBC issues plumbing permits to licensed master plumbers and to homeowners for plumbing in their own residence; the county checklist wants the plumbing inspector’s sign-off on water and sewage facilities.
• Heating and air conditioning. State HVAC permits, inspected by HBC’s HVAC inspector for the county; a homeowner may do his or her own HVAC work with a permit.
• Contractors. Kentucky has no general contractor license. The county requires an occupational license number for every contractor and a workers’ compensation affidavit for the general contractor and all subcontractors.

How to get a building permit in Henderson County

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The checklist commits the Codes Department to act on a building permit application within two weeks of submission, the period set in section 6.02(C) of the county zoning ordinance, and reserves the right to decline any application that does not meet the checklist. Missing items stall the clock: an unrecorded plat, no septic permit, unapproved driveway access or a flood-zone site without floodplain approval.

Inspections in Henderson County

Inspections are part of the county permit fee. The department posts a dwelling inspection checklist and a pole barn checklist so builders know which stages the inspector will want to see; call 270-827-6030 during the office windows to book. Electrical inspections are charged per visit for houses under Ordinance 23-08, so each electrical inspection on a house is a separate $75 charge.

Violations of the zoning and property maintenance codes go to the county Code Enforcement Board.

Kentucky building code

The Codes Department enforces the Kentucky Building Code and Kentucky Residential Code in the unincorporated county; local rules sit in the zoning ordinance and the fee sections of the county code. Henderson County participates in the National Flood Insurance Program (community 210286); FEMA’s Community Status Book shows a current effective flood map of May 8, 2024 and Community Rating System class 8, a 10% discount for policyholders. The joint city-county Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance took effect on February 20, 2013, and the planning commission states that all floodplain development needs a local permit from its floodplain administrator.

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

Henderson County permit search and official resources

There is no online permit search. Permit records are kept by the Codes Department; planning records, plats, addresses and floodplain files are kept by the planning commission, whose open records rule asks for a written application to the executive director as custodian, answers within three working days and charges 10 cents a page for copies.

• Henderson County Codes Department: forms, checklists and ordinances
• County building permit application
• Building permit checklist
• Ordinance 23-10, building permit fees (2023)
• Electrical permits
• Ordinance 23-08, electrical permit fees (2023)
• Code enforcement
• Building and development contact list
• Henderson County zoning ordinance
• Planning commission filing fees (2022)
• Street address procedures
• Flood damage prevention ordinance and floodplain administrator
• Data centers: proposed moratorium documents
• Planning commission open records rules
• Road Department
• Driveway culvert FAQ
• Fiscal court and planning agendas and minutes
• Fiscal court minutes, May 12, 2026
• HBC county contact sheet, Henderson County (updated April 21, 2025)
• HBC building codes: state and local jurisdiction
• 2018 Kentucky Building Code, Fourth Edition
• HBC Division of Plumbing
• HBC Electrical Division
• HBC SmartGov portal
• Kentucky Transportation Cabinet permits
• FEMA Community Status Book, Kentucky

Henderson County permit FAQs

Do I need a county permit to build a house in Henderson County?

Yes. Outside the City of Henderson the county Codes Department issues the building permit and inspects the house; inside the city, go to the city’s Code Enforcement office on Fifth Street.

How much is a building permit for a new house?

15 cents a square foot under Ordinance 23-10, with a $50 minimum, so a 2,000-square-foot house is $300. Inspections are included.

When is the Codes Department open?

The office at 1990 Barrett Court, Suite H keeps three windows each weekday: 7 to 8:30 a.m., 11 a.m. to noon and 3 to 4 p.m.

How long does a county permit take?

The checklist says the department will act within two weeks of a complete submission, as the county zoning ordinance requires.

Can I wire my own house?

Yes. Ordinance 23-08 lets the electrical inspector issue a permit to a county homeowner as well as to licensed contractors; a house pays $75 per inspection.

Who installs my driveway culvert?

On a county road, the Road Department installs it under a 1990 fiscal court resolution and the owner pays for the pipe, rock and work. On a numbered state road, call the state road office at 270-826-4145; inside city limits, the city garage.

Can I put a manufactured home on my land?

Since Ordinance 26-04 (May 12, 2026), qualified manufactured homes are allowed in every county zone that allows single-family homes, subject to compatibility standards and a maximum age. The planning commission can tell you how your zone treats a placement.

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