Louisville Metro’s Department of Codes and Regulations, through its Construction Review division at 444 South Fifth Street (502-574-3321), permits and inspects construction across Jefferson County — city and county are the same jurisdiction, coextensive since the 2003 merger — except inside the City of Jeffersontown, whose own Building Department at 10416 Watterson Trail (502-267-8333) reviews, permits and inspects all construction inside its city limits. Metro’s ordinance adopts the Kentucky Building Code and Kentucky Residential Code in full, making them the official standards for all construction and permitting within the Metro area, which is what the Commonwealth’s mini/maxi framework requires of every local government.
The complication is the small cities. Jeffersontown permits and inspects its own construction. The other incorporated cities inside the Metro boundary are covered by Construction Review, which coordinates its reviews with them where needed; by agreement with Metro, some of those cities issue sign permits themselves, and where they do, separate approval from Louisville Metro is not required. A project inside one of them should confirm the position with the city before work begins rather than assume the Metro office covers everything.
This guide covers Louisville Metro, which is coextensive with Jefferson County. Oldham, Bullitt, Shelby and Spencer counties to the east and south run their own arrangements, and the small cities inside the Metro boundary should be checked individually on signs.
One government, dozens of small cities inside it. Louisville Metro permits Jefferson County except Jeffersontown, which has its own building department. The other small cities are coordinated with by Construction Review, and by agreement some of them issue sign permits locally — in which case separate Metro approval is not required. Check the city before the project starts.
What requires a building permit in Louisville Metro?
What is local in Louisville Metro is the inspection programme, the fee schedule, zoning and planning, contractor registration, and Metro's own contractor licensing and the small cities inside its boundary.
Short on time to read all of this?
Get a free quote →Typically permit required
- Any construction, alteration, repair, demolition or change of occupancy under the Kentucky Building Code or Residential Code
- Local contractor licensing through Metro, which is separate from the state trade licences
- Signs, which some small cities inside the Metro boundary permit themselves by agreement
- 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. Louisville Metro'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 small cities inside the Metro boundary and Metro's own contractor licensing, which the state does not issue.
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 Louisville Metro?
The Department of Codes and Regulations is the enforcing authority, with its Construction Review division handling building, HVAC, electrical and fire protection permits, plan review and inspections, and licensing contractors alongside the state trade licences. Plumbing permits come from the state, whose plumbing plan review and permit office is at 312 Whittington Parkway, Suite 202. Planning and Design Services administers the Land Development Code and zoning, Jeffersontown runs its own building department and zoning, and the state Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction retains its role on certain commercial projects, elevators and boilers.
Not sure this scope needs a permit?
Get a free quote →| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Department | Louisville Metro Department of Codes and Regulations |
| Office | Construction Review, 444 South Fifth Street, Louisville, KY 40202 |
| Phone | (502) 574-3321 |
| Hours | Weekdays; call ahead to confirm counter hours |
| Filing | Metro's online permitting portal, with a public permit search by number, address or contractor |
| Contractor licensing | Required by Metro, separately from the state trade licences |
Permit types
Residential permits
A Louisville house project files through Metro's online portal against the Kentucky Residential Code as adopted by Metro ordinance and the Land Development Code's zoning requirements. The contractor holds Metro's own licence — Kentucky issues no statewide general contractor licence, so the local credential is the one that matters — and the electrical, plumbing and heating and air work is carried out by contractors holding the state licences the department issues.
Commercial permits
Commercial work in Louisville Metro runs through the Office of Construction Review, with the department's plan reviewers checking against the Kentucky Building Code as adopted; the state Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction retains a role on certain commercial projects, elevators and boilers. Metro publishes a step-by-step guide and a worked submission example, and its business portal lets anyone search permits, planning and zoning applications and property maintenance cases by address or contractor.
Plan review, local programmes and the state's role
In Louisville Metro the Land Development Code and its zoning overlays govern setbacks and lot coverage, the Ohio River floodplain and the Metropolitan Sewer District's stormwater requirements reach a large share of the county, and preservation districts govern much of the older city. 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
Rather talk it over?
Call 1-855-478-4290 →Louisville Metro permit costs and fees
Fees follow Metro's published schedule, paid through the online portal, with the state's own plan review and inspection fees applying where the department retains that role.
| Item | Fee or rule |
|---|---|
| Building permit | Metro's published fee schedule, by project type and construction value |
| Contractor licence | Metro licensing, separate from and additional to the state trade licences |
| Trade permits | Electrical, plumbing and heating and air permits by state-licensed contractors |
| Signs | Permitted by some small cities inside the Metro boundary by agreement |
| State fees | Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction fees where it reviews the project |
| Statutory limit | Local fees may not exceed the cost of the service performed |
The licence that matters here is local. Kentucky issues no statewide general contractor licence, so Louisville Metro's own contractor licensing is the credential a general contractor needs — and it does not carry to Lexington, Bowling Green or Northern Kentucky. The state licences cover only electrical, plumbing, heating and air, boiler, fire sprinkler and fire alarm work.
Trade permits and who may pull them
Permit required
- General contracting — Louisville Metro's own contractor licence, since the state issues none
- 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 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 Louisville Metro 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
Louisville Metro reviews through the Office of Construction Review, publishing a step-by-step guide and a submission example for applicants. What delays a file here is a project inside a small city whose own sign or review position was not checked, and a contractor licensed in another Kentucky jurisdiction but not in Metro.
Want this handled start to finish?
Get a free quote →Inspections in Louisville Metro
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. Louisville Metro inspects in the codes' sequence through the Office of Construction Review, with electrical inspections carried by a certified electrical inspector as the state regulation requires and the certificate of occupancy following the finals.
Louisville Metro permit search and official resources
- Louisville Metro building permits — the ordinance adopting the state codes and the small-cities arrangement
- Louisville Metro permits and licences — submittal documents, fees and licensing
- Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction — the statewide codes and trade licensing
- 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
Frequently asked questions
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →Is Louisville separate from Jefferson County?
No. The city and county merged in 2003 and are coextensive; Louisville Metro’s Department of Codes and Regulations permits construction across the county except in Jeffersontown, which has its own building department.
Do the small cities inside Metro issue permits?
Jeffersontown does: its Building Department at 10416 Watterson Trail (502-267-8333) reviews, permits and inspects all construction inside the city. The other small cities rely on Metro’s Construction Review, though by agreement some issue sign permits locally, in which case separate Metro approval is not required. Check with the city first.
Which building code applies?
The Kentucky Building Code and Kentucky Residential Code, adopted in full by Metro ordinance; Kentucky's mini/maxi framework means no local government may adopt or enforce any other building code.
Do I need a Metro contractor licence?
For general contracting, yes — Kentucky issues no statewide general contractor licence, so the local credential is the one required, and it does not carry to other Kentucky jurisdictions.
Who licenses electricians and plumbers?
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 that supersede conflicting model provisions.
Simplify Louisville Metro permitting with Alliance Permitting
Louisville is one government over a whole county with dozens of small cities inside it, and a licence that stops at the county line. We confirm the office that owns the permit before filing, and hold the Metro credential rather than assuming a licence from elsewhere travels.
Ready to break ground in Louisville Metro sooner?
Send us the scope and the parcel. We confirm the review path with the Louisville Metro Department of Codes and Regulations, 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 Louisville Metro permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.