Planning and Development Services of Kenton County (PDS), at 1840 Simon Kenton Way, Suite 3400, in Covington, provides planning, zoning and building code services for Kentucky’s third most populous county — the Northern Kentucky county across the Ohio from Cincinnati, running from the riverfront cities of Covington and Ludlow south through Independence to the rural southern end. The agency, set up in 1961, serves the county and its 19 cities together, and its Building Codes Administration department reviews plans, issues building permits and inspects for the county and most of those cities. The City of Independence is the exception: it runs its own building inspection (859-363-2947), with permits through the city’s online portal.
That structure is the practical fact for anyone building here. Covington, the largest city, has about 41,800 residents, and like most of the county’s cities it relies on PDS for building permits rather than running its own building department. The Kentucky Building Code and Kentucky Residential Code apply without local amendment, as they do everywhere in the Commonwealth, so what varies is the zoning, the fee schedule and which city’s ordinance governs the site.
This guide covers Kenton County and the cities served by the joint agency, including Covington, Erlanger, Edgewood, Fort Mitchell and Villa Hills. Independence issues its own building permits. Boone and Campbell counties on either side run their own arrangements.
One agency, 19 cities. Kenton County’s planning, zoning and building services run through a single joint agency serving the county and its cities rather than through separate offices in each municipality — though Independence keeps its own building inspector. In a county with 19 cities and two county seats, that consolidation is the reason a Northern Kentucky permit is usually simpler to place than the map suggests — but the governing zoning is still the individual city’s.
What requires a building permit in Kenton County?
What is local in Kenton County is the inspection programme, the fee schedule, zoning and planning, contractor registration, and the joint agency and the member cities' zoning ordinances.
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- Any construction, alteration, repair, demolition or change of occupancy under the Kentucky Building Code or Residential Code
- Zoning approval under the ordinance of the city or the county area in which the site sits
- 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
- 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. Kenton 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 joint agency serving the county and its cities together, and the individual city zoning ordinances it administers.
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 Kenton County?
Planning and Development Services of Kenton County is the joint agency, providing planning, zoning and building code services for the county and its member cities, with certified inspectors as the state regulation requires of any local inspection programme. Its Building Codes Administration department reviews residential and commercial plans, issues building and electrical permits and inspects the work; building permit questions go to 859-957-2408 or permits@pdskc.org. Independence runs its own building inspection. The county’s fiscal court and the individual city councils adopt the zoning ordinances, some cities such as Covington issue their own zoning permits, and the state Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction retains its role on certain commercial projects and licenses the trades.
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Get a free quote →| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Agency | Planning and Development Services of Kenton County |
| Office | 1840 Simon Kenton Way, Suite 3400, Covington, KY 41011 · building permits 859-957-2408, permits@pdskc.org |
| Phone | (859) 331-8980 |
| Hours | Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm |
| Coverage | The county and its cities through one joint agency; Independence issues its own building permits |
| County seats | Covington and Independence |
In 2025, building permits issued in unincorporated Kenton County authorized 135 new privately owned housing units, all of them single-family homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey.
Permit types
Residential permits
A Kenton County house project files with the joint agency against the Kentucky Residential Code and the zoning ordinance of the city or county area where the site sits, with the electrical, plumbing and heating and air work carried out by state-licensed contractors on their own permits. Kentucky issues no statewide general contractor licence, so any local registration requirement is the city's or the county's own and should be confirmed before the application.
Commercial permits
Commercial work in Kenton County — the riverfront redevelopment in Covington, the interstate corridor through Erlanger and Fort Mitchell — clears the applicable city's zoning, then building plan review, with the state department retaining a role on certain commercial projects, elevators and boilers. The joint agency's single point of contact is what most distinguishes the process here from a county where each city permits separately.
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In Kenton County the Ohio and Licking river frontages bring floodplain review into the file, the hillside and steep-slope provisions of the river cities govern much of the northern end, and each member city's own zoning ordinance decides use and setbacks. 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
Kenton County permit costs and fees
Fees follow the agency's schedule, which by statute may not exceed the cost of the service performed, with the trades permitted separately under the state licences.
| Item | Fee or rule |
|---|---|
| Building permit | The agency's fee schedule, by project type and construction value |
| Zoning | Under the ordinance of the city or county area in which the site sits |
| Trade permits | Electrical, plumbing and heating and air by state-licensed contractors |
| Statutory limit | Local fees may not exceed the cost of the service performed |
| Local registration | Any contractor registration is the city's or county's own, not the state's |
| State fees | Department fees where it reviews the project |
The county is the unit that matters. Kenton County has about 175,800 residents; Covington, its largest city, has around 41,800. In Northern Kentucky the joint agency is the office that issues building permits for most of the county — which is why a search for a city building department here often leads back to PDS.
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Permit required
- Zoning — under the individual member city's ordinance, administered by the joint agency
- 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
The trades are permitted separately and done by contractors holding state licences. Kentucky rules
How to apply for a Kenton 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.
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Kenton County reviews through the joint agency, which is a single point of contact for a county of 19 cities. What delays a file here is a zoning question answered from the wrong city's ordinance, and a contractor assuming a licence from another Kentucky jurisdiction carries into Northern Kentucky.
Inspections in Kenton 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. Kenton County inspects through the joint agency's certified inspectors (Independence through its own), with electrical inspections carried by a certified electrical inspector as the state regulation requires, and the certificate of occupancy following the finals.
Kenton County permit search and official resources
- Planning and Development Services of Kenton County — the joint agency, its services and its member cities
- Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction — the statewide codes and trade licensing
- 815 KAR 7:120 — Kentucky Building Code — the mandatory uniform state building code
- 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
Who permits construction in Kenton County?
Planning and Development Services of Kenton County, a joint agency serving the county and its cities together, issues building permits everywhere except Independence, which has its own building inspector.
Why is there no Covington building department to call?
Covington’s building permits are issued by the joint county agency, PDS; the city itself issues the zoning permit (and, in historic districts, the certificate of appropriateness) that must come first.
Which zoning ordinance applies?
The ordinance of the individual city, or of the county area, in which the site sits — the agency administers several, and they differ.
Does the county have two county seats?
Yes — Covington and Independence, and the Fiscal Court meets in both. PDS’s office is in Covington.
Do I need a local contractor licence?
Kentucky issues no statewide general contractor licence, so any requirement is the local jurisdiction's own; confirm it before applying.
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.
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More Kentucky permitting guides
More Kentucky permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Kenton County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.